Writer: Helena Bergström
Greetings from south-west Poland! We are now on our long journey with a motorhome in Europe, and we have already had time to stop in three different countries: Germany, Czech Republic and Poland. Here in Poland we are enjoying the spa and relaxation in the spa town of Świeradów-Zdrój!
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Greetings from south-west Poland
Świeradów-Zdrój is an ancient (but also very much alive!) spa town in south-west Poland. People come here for spa, wellness and medical treatments combined with hiking, cycling and other nature experiences. In winter, the town also serves as a ski resort.
The town itself is small and cosy, with charming houses - preferably with a carpenter's touch, beautiful balconies and perhaps a few pinnacles and towers to top it off.
Being a tourist centre, there are also plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops, where you can buy anything with frogs on it. There is a legend that a doctor once found a dead frog here that didn't decompose - and he realised that the water in the town had healing properties!
Why have we travelled to Świeradów-Zdrój?
So, why have we travelled to Świeradów-Zdrój? Apart from the fact that this is a very cosy place, we have a special reason to come here. We have started a co-operation with two hotels here - Hotel Buczynski and Park Hotel - both of which are owned by a Polish-Swedish family.
Anna, who runs the great Swedish travel blog Anna at the gate, is not only an avid traveller and dedicated travel writer. She also runs a hotel with her brother and parents.
The backstory is more than amazing. Anna's parents moved from Poland to Sweden a long time ago, where they both worked as sports teachers for a long time. Over time, they got tired of teaching and wanted to try something new in life - they bought a petrol station. They built up the petrol station, sold it, bought a small hotel, built up and sold the hotel... and so on.
When they bought the first hotel in Poland (Park Hotel), it was much smaller, and not as nice as today. But after many years of hard work, here they are with two big, beautiful spa hotels!
Together with Anna, we have put together specially composed spa packages for our new travel agency FREEDOM Xplore - which you can check out here (ad link)! Now we are on site to test the hotels, to refine the packages, to write Swedish-language guides on what to see and do in the local area and much more. Of course, there will be reports here at FREEDOMtravel too!
Unexpected animal encounters while travelling
We will tell you more about Świeradów-Zdrój, about the spa hotels and about what you can see and experience in the neighbourhood very soon. In the meantime, we can show you pictures of some unexpected animal encounters from the past week.
Unexpected animal encounter number 1 was the beautiful green lizard that you can see in the picture below. We saw this on a forest walk on the way to a castle ruin in the Castle Valley in Jelenia Góra, Poland.
Unexpected animal encounter number 2 happened when we were walking to the "Sky Walk" in Świeradów-Zdrój. Other tourists started staring at us - or rather past us - and when we turned around we saw a ... pig!
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Best this week
Best this week? Yes, it is without a doubt our wonderful days in Świeradów-Zdrój, with spa, treatments, relaxation, good hotel breakfasts and great nature experiences.
Your turn... what can you highlight as a positive from your week, big or small?
The week ahead
The week ahead? Wow, more adventures ahead for us! We've got a collaboration coming up in Croatia, but we don't have time to drive there, so we're flying. We'll drive first, of course, to an airport in Germany, and then fly off for a week's adventure in Croatia. We'll update as soon as we can. If you're curious, you can also follow on Instagram at @freedomtravelnews!
Did you miss the last Happy Friday? Read the Great days in Skåne - before leaving for the continent
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bmlarstravellingblog says:
So wonderful to follow you out in Europe. Probably there will be no long trip until the autumn but Sweden is also fantastic. The best part of the week is that we have now emptied the apartment and today the keys are handed in. Less fun was that Laikan had to go with a tow truck to the workshop and something is strange with the gearbox. Now they did not have time to disassemble it and we can drive again but without any guarantees for how long it goes...,
25 April 2025 - 11:19
Helena says:
So sad about the tow and the problems with Laikan! Hope you get a solution in the future so you can feel more confident that there will be no problems again! Great that you emptied the apartment and handed in the keys! And yes, Sweden is fantastic in spring and summer!
25 April 2025 - 19:52
Ditte says:
Nice to visit a part of Poland that feels genuine and also find good co-operation hotels. Wish you continued nice days.
Best this week? Well, a bit of sun towards the end of the week but the heat seems to be lingering. I am enjoying retirement and there are so many fun things to do. Imagine "owning your time" and with money that I worked into earlier in life. It's perfect. I also have a number of jobs that I take on when the mood strikes and I feel like it. Stockholm with its archipelago is perfect to visit now outside the high season. so tomorrow we will take a trip out to Sandhamn.
Wishing you continued good days.
25 April 2025 - 11:40
Helena says:
Yes, this part of Poland feels genuine, it's true! A very nice and relaxed area, which at the same time is a bit touristy, although most of the tourists are from the neighbouring areas; Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. And it sounds like you really make the most of retirement life! Wishing you a great weekend!
25 April 2025 - 19:54
BP says:
Always admired you and a few others who manage to spell these Polish and Slavic names correctly with all the accents left and right. And pronouncing the name of the health resort I don't even want to think about.
Half-timbered houses seem to be characteristic of the town, which looks really cosy and charming.
Good luck with your trip to Croatia! Remember to bring your wallet, backpack, mobile phone and camera;-)
25 April 2025 - 19:25
Helena says:
Although I can actually spell some Polish place names, I have to admit that I copy paste when there are too many accents and apostrophes here and there 😉 Thanks for the packing tips! It feels like we are rushing from one thing to another, so I wouldn't be surprised if we forget something ... hopefully nothing important! 😉
25 April 2025 - 19:56
Anna Nilsson Spets says:
Poland... have travelled through many times and like some places, but it feels ff very eastern.
Nothing positive from this week as you already know, with the broken foot.
26 April 2025 - 8:23
Annika on Travel Friday says:
The best thing this week was probably a couple of really fun padel matches. Fun with Poland - think what a great adventure you are on.
27 April 2025 - 1:22