P h o t o g e o g r a p h y

A view from Rysianka Mountain Pasture towards the south

The Pieniny is a mountain range in the south of Poland and the north of Slovakia. The most famous summit of the Pieniny Mountains called Sokolica. It reaches 747 m above sea level. Geologically it is part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, made of limestone. At the top there are pines relic, one of them is 500 years old. South wall Sokolica falls almost vertically, makes more than three hundred meter gap to the Dunajec River Gorge. Linked to: Three Crowns , Niedzica Castle ,   Pieniny meadows ,  Pieniny meadows (continuation)

ABC Wednesday

Karkonosze (Giant Mountains) is one of the most interesting mountain regions in Central Europe, both in terms of landscape and nature. Along the main ridge runs the Czech-Polish border. On both sides of the border are designated national parks, and these together constitute a cross-border biosphere reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. You can find there characteristic rock formations, unique forest ecosystems, alpine animals and plants, including endemic species and post-glacial relicts. The richest place in Karkonosze in terms of the flora are Snowy Cirques. The walls of post-glacier cirques present endemic vegetation, especially the Basalt Core in the Small Snowy Cirque - unique in the whole of Europe. You can find there the relict of the Ice Age - snow saxifrage, and the endemite - basalt saxifrage. ABC Wednesday

Snowy Cirque or Snowy Pits (Polish: Śnieżne Kotły) are two glacial cirques in the western Karkonosze Mountains (Giant Mountains) in Poland. They are a unique example of the alpine landscape in the Karkonosze National Park . They were formed during the last phase of the glacial period and consist predominantly of granite. However, in two exposed places basalt was found (apparently of volcanic origin), which is quite rare in this part of Central Europe. The walls of cirques are about 100 metres, and at the top of the larger cirque, at the Łabski Szczyt, there is a radio and television tower (Wikipedia).   ABC Wednesday

Prague (Praha) is the capital of the Czech Republic, and the fifth most visited European city. The name Prague is derived from an old Slavic root, praga, which means "ford", referring to the city's origin at a crossing point of the Vltava river. Prague suffered considerably less damage during World War II than some other major cities in the region, allowing most of its historic architecture to stay true to form. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination. ABC Wednesday

The Izera (Czech Jizera) is a river that begins on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. It develops from the confluence of the Great Izera in the Izera Mountains and the Little Izera in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše), and flows into the Labe (Elbe) in the Bohemia. From at least 17th century there was here a path named “Stara Droga Celna” (Old Road of Duty). It led from Szklarska Poręba to the glassworks in Orle and then beside the Granicznik rock through the border bridge on the Izera river to the Jizerka village – famous from its precious stones mining and glassworks. After the Word War II the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia was strictly protected and the tourism had practically stopped on the Polish side of the Izera Mountains. The bridge on the Izera river was completely destroyed at the beginning of the 1980s. After the fall of communism and after the long years of struggling with an administrative and official procedures, the wooden bridge was re