Poland

Poland is a country in Central Europe. It has a long Baltic Sea coastline and is bordered by Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), Slovakia, and Ukraine. The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. The climate is oceanic in the north and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental as one moves south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 20 °C (68 °F) and 27 °C (80,6 °F). Winters are cold, with average temperatures around 3 °C (37,4 °F) in the northwest and -8 °C (17,6 °F) in the northeast. With almost ten thousand closed bodies of water covering more than one hectare each, Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world. In Europe, only Finland has a greater density of lakes. Poland has 21 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,561 ft) in elevation, all in the High Tatras. The Polish Tatras, which consist of the High Tatras and the Western Tatras, is the highest mountain group of Poland. More than 1% of Poland's territory is protected within 23 national parks. In this respect, Poland ranks first in Europe. Most Polish national parks are located in the southern part of the country. In addition, wetlands along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. Poland has variety of regions with beautiful landscapes and small-scale organic and traditional farms. Travelers can choose different types of activities such as bird watching, cycling or horseback riding. Culturally you can sight-see at many churches, museums, ceramic and traditional basket-making workshops, castle ruins, rural centers and many more.