The Charming Polish Countryside

Allow me to provide a brief background. Poland is where I was born and lived for the first four or so years of my life (read more about me here). Naturally, I don't remember much from those first few years. In the many years since then, I have been back several times but usually for only two to three weeks at a time.  Each trip I've taken back to Poland since settling in Canada has been an opportunity to learn more about the country, especially in my more-reflective, wiser years. As I stare out at an oh-so-blue Sydney sky today, I think of my friends and family in the Northern Hemisphere and how they can only dream of summer right now. A perfect time to look back at the longest period of time I have spent in Poland since moving away - two and a half months in the summer of 2015 - specifically the moments in the Polish countryside. Golden wheat-fields, reflective lakes, towering pine trees...

Gold as far as the light can see

Skinny pine trees dominate the forest

Polish forests are full of deliciousness, not just for the eye but also for the digestive system.

Gotta love cousins who will spend hours picking forest berries

If you know your way around the edible fungi world and are in Poland during the autumn, you may also find mushrooms of different varieties.

What better way to explore a countryside than by bike? There are endless roads, paved and unpaved, to purposefully lose yourself in. You may even come across a quaint lake to take a dip in.

Lakes, lakes and more lakes!

Taking in the sunset on a summer's night, dockside

Quality time with man's best friend on one of many tranquil lakes

Those summer sunsets

Going back in time on a rowboat

There's plenty of wildlife to spot if you keep your eyes peeled

Such wonderful memories from this summer. I had a chance to get to know my family on a deeper level and experience parts of Poland that I hadn't previously been to. Do zobaczenia, Polska! 

~S~