Poland's short on mountains, really!

I have been less than charitable about the Polish Tourist Organisation's depiction of Poland as 'land of mountains and sea'. The latter is too cold for my tastes. The former - well, if one uses the most demanding definition of the word 'mountain' in English - height above base of at least 2,500m, then Poland has no mountains at all!

Above: You may need to do a double take on this pic, looking south along the road that runs from Nowy Targ towards the Slovakian border. Rearing above the gentle undulations are the Tatra mountains. The highest point in Poland, Rysy, is 2,499m above sea level. All the peaks in the Tatras over the magic 2,500m reside in Slovakia. And my guess is (correct me if I'm wrong), that the horizon in this pic is composed of Slovakian peaks (this being taken north of Białka Tatrzańska).

Part of the problem is linguistic. The Polish word for 'hill' and/or 'mountain' is góra. Just as Polish does not have separate words for 'arm' and 'hand' (both are ręka). Yes, there are diminutives of góra (górka, pagórek), but to 'go upstairs' is iść na górę, 'go uphill' is iść pod górę. While I find it difficult to find lexicographic evidence, I feel that Poles (and let's face it, 97% of us live at less than 500m above sea level) are more inclined to be liberal with the 'm' word.

See this post, in particular this photograph*, in which the overcrowding in Poland's Tatras becomes all too apparent.

But this is not to heap disrespect on the undulating south. Poland has much in the way of attractive and interesting upland, generally unknown to most Poles and foreigners alike. From the Sudety in the south-west to the Bieszczady in the south-east, there is much excellent walking territory here. And indeed, the fact that Eddie and I have returned to Dobra in the Beskid Wyspowy for the third time in a year signifies that for us at least, there's upland charm in abundance around these parts.

*Photo by courtesy of Ewa Świętochowska