An unscathed town in beautiful surroundings (Jelenia Gora (Poland))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Jelenia Gora (Poland)
Date:	10/08/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice Rynek, lots of hiking nearby

Disadvantages: Outside of the city centre, it's pretty average

I usually get to see Jelenia Gora in the early morning, just as the streets are starting to get busy. The reason for this is that when I head to Czech Republic from Warsaw for concerts and the like, I tend to take the night train to Jelenia Gora and then hitchhike the relatively short distance to Prague rather than take the much more expensive direct option.

Jelenia Gora is close to Czech Republic but it's not particularly well connected with it when it comes to public transport, trains certainly don't go over this border and I'm not sure any buses do either. Trains connect Jelenia Gora with Wroclaw - the journey is painstakingly slow but the views through rolling countryside are nice. The trainline also continues further south to the ski resort of Szklarska Poreba.

Like the majority of Silesian towns Jelenia Gora came through WW2 unscathed, so the centre has many beautiful historic buildings so much so perhaps that it has a slightly twee feeling to it and is quite a contrast from the more run down streets on the outskirts. Jelenia Gora despite having a population of around 86,000 has a pretty sleepy mountain town feel to it and things tend to close early. Despite the attractiveness of the town, there's actually not a great deal to do.

Once you've trodden the historic old town, it's worth checking out the impressive Cyprian Kamil Norwid Theatre before taking one of the hourly trains towards Szklarska Poreba where you will be lucky enough to see the Karkanosze Mountains, the green tree filled valleys below the mountain range is beauitful but it looks best and most natural when there's a bit of snow around.

If you are paticularly energetic then hiking in the Karkanosze National Park could be up your street, another possibility is climbing the hill behind Jelenia Gora where the first stronghold was built to protect Poland from the Czech Republic (Gora Boleslawa Krzywoustego - named after the city's founder.) If you prefer museums then it's probably wise to head to the Regional Museum, I've never been there but I've heard good things and supposedly they've recreated life as it was traditionally in the region 100s of years ago.

Summary: Explore the region