Zielona Góra is situated in the west of Poland, about 2 hours drive from Berlin, 5 hours drive from Warsaw and 2 hours drive from Poznań.
It has about 140 000 inhabitants and is in quite an attractive location, surrounded as it is by gently rolling hills and forests. The name of the city in both Polish, Czech, and German, means ‘green mountain’. There is also an airport located in Babimost, north-east of the city.
Zielona Góra was a German town until WWII and the town retains a western feel. The region is prosperous, with a relatively high proportion of employment being in the service sector. The inhabitants are well used to German tourists not being able to speak Polish and so have developed a tolerance for shopping in sign language. They are also very likely to speak a bit of German if they do not speak English. In any case, while Polish is very hard to master and speak flawlessly, it is relatively easy to manage survival language. Polish has only three tenses and pronunciation is strictly regular, as are most grammar rules.
Zielona Góra is located in the Lubush province, which is filled with lakes. There are over 600 lakes in the province, the nearest one is 8km apart from Zielona Góra. If you are not sure what to do during spring and summer days, grab a swimsuit and go visit one of the lakes.
The town has an attractive pedestrian area in the centre with a good range of shops and services. Its size means that you are never more than 15 minutes by bus from anywhere, frequently much less. It is easy to get to know your way about, but it is also big enough to find a range of diversions.
