Autumn is the best time of year for visiting Poland
 Autumn in our opinion is the best time of year for visiting Poland, especially if you enjoy sightseeing, photography or walking. The weather can be a bit mixed, but when the sun shines and you have blue skies and the countryside is in its autumn glory, there is no better place on earth. The photograph above of Lake Czorsztyn and Castle Niedzica was taken near the end of October when the trees bordering the lake show stunning golds and reds.
Foodies will enjoy the new season moist and crunchy hazelnuts (about 12 zloty per kg in 2007), apples and pears, blueberries and the vast array of mushrooms.
This is the season of mushroom gathering. Wherever you go in the countryside you will encounter Poles carrying bags for gathering mushrooms. Every walk in the woods becomes a serious mushroom hunt. And the mushrooms come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Women sell them at the roadside, dry them, bottle and freeze them. It's a national frenzy.
Blueberries and blackberries grow on the hillsides, orchard fruits ripen adding more colour to gardens. There is still plenty of daylight and often sunshine. In early September it starts getting dark around 7.30 pm.
Good buys to take home with you, especially if you have children are pumpkins which are very inexpensive, or if you're a flower arranger, buy the colourful gourds that come in interesting shapes of bottle, turban or even swan.
Different wild flowers bloom on hills and meadows. We have come across plants unknown to us in the UK, those growing higher in the hills distinctly alpine with edelweiss-like papery petals.
The tourist attractions such as the salt mines near Cracow, Cracow itself and other popular places become less busy with smaller queues. Children in Poland, like those in the UK return to school at the beginning of September
Tour this holiday rental and view all rooms in the 5 bedroom self-catering house rental. |
