Beautiful local hand knitted jumpers.
Firstly our visit to the town of Jelenia Gora was one of many surprises. Jelenia Gora is the launching town for a visit to the Karkonoski National Park, but it is also a town worth visiting in its own right.
Rathaus
A town more than 900 years old, it has kept its character really well over such a long time. The town was bustling and a vibrancy was detectable. In fact, we get the impression that Poland is well on the way to be strong economically. There seems to be lots of activity and the people seem to have available cash to purchase as they see fit.
The tourist material was available in many languages and in plentiful supply - suggesting a confidence in visitor numbers.
We later headed off towards the Karkonosz Mountains close to the Czech border. A beautiful part of the county with our first stop being the Szklarka Waterfall. We had an extended walk through the forest of fir trees and beeches - a very pleasant and relaxing place to spend time.
After this we visited the national park and villages associated with it. Lots of activities for all ages with hiking being one of the summer favourites. Obviously skiing is the winter option here.
Later in the afternoon we stopped at Dobromiez for our overnight stay in a very pleasant village.
Driving in Poland is much the same as everywhere else but with a few idiosyncrasies- lights must be on at all times, and when you come to a train crossing you must stop. There are no lights or boom gates to warn of an approaching train! But it works. Would this be possible in Oz!
