Practical information |
The Republic of Poland (until December 1989 the Polish People's Republic) is situated in Eastern Europe, bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea and an enclave of Russia, to the north-east by Lithuania, to the east by Belarus, to the south-east by Ukraine, to the west by Germany and to the south by Slovakia and Czech Republic.
Poland is one of the larger countries in Europe (the land area 312, 638 sq. km making it the 9th largest country in Europe and the 66th in the world). The climate is temperate in the west but continental in the east. Poland has short summers and cold snowy winters. Most of the inhabitants profess Christianity: about 95% are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. The official language is Polish, spoken by almost all of the population. The national flag has two equal horizontal stripes, of white and red. The capital is Warsaw. The former capital is Kraków. You are going to Kraków.
Zloty is internally exchangeable at most important currencies like USD, DEM, GBP, etc. You can change money in places indicated Kantor and in banks. Kantors usually provide slightly better exchange rates. Changing money with people in the street is not advised. Please, note that only new zloty is in use now. As some people still give prices of goods in old zlotys, one should know that 10,000 old zlotys equals to 1 new zloty.
| United States | 1 USD |
3.5 zl |
| Czech Republic | 1 CSK |
0.10 zl |
| Finland | 1 FIM |
0.63 zl |
| France | 1 FRF |
0.56 zl |
| Georgia | 1 GEL |
2.8 zl |
| Germany | 1 DEM |
1.9 zl |
| Hungary | 100 HUF |
1.8 zl |
| Italy | 1,000 ITL |
1.9 zl |
| The Netherlands | 1 NLG |
1.7 zl |
| Russia | 10,000 SUR |
6.0 zl |
| Spain | 100 ESP |
2.2 zl |
| Sweden | 1 SEK |
0.44 zl |
| Ukraine | 1 UHR |
1.9 zl |
| United Kingdom | 1 GBP |
5.5 zl |
Major credit cards become more commonly accepted, and you can use them in many shops and restaurants. The number of cash disposing machines (in Polish bankomat) is increasing. However we advise you to take some cash when leaving big cities. The most popular credit card in Poland is Visa.
The following section is copied from Explore Poland. We encourage you to visit this great site!
The first thing to remember about Polish cuisine is that it does not belong to dietetic ones. This means fat, heavy and highly energetic food, and very tasty of course - generous and hearty. This is not only our opinion. Besides some meals may be surprising for foreigners. You can find here such tidbits as sour milk, resembling joghurt but with more bitter taste, sauerkraut, with its German origin well known in Russia and other Baltic countries, and of course sour cucumbers. These are not spoiled meals. Small amounts allow to prepare a wonderful and rich bouquet of tastes.
Poles, like other nations in central Europe, appreciate wild mushrooms. It's not true that all varieties are poisoning - on contrary they are sometimes indispensable as seasoning or can be used as separate meal. Of course lot of others are lethal poisons so you had better rely on restaurants or big shops. Don't prepare any meal from mushrooms bought by chance at the road.
To experience some of Polish specialties try the following:
You will not find these dishes in any American fast-food bars, try in milk bars, refreshment bars at trains stations or any restaurant. You can also try dishes prepared from seasonal game: wild boars, ducks, deers or venisons. Or maybe bisons??? They can be found in typical Polish restaurants.
Poles drink a lot. Not every Pole and not every time. Our national drink is vodka ("wódka" - pronounced as voodka), and the Polish vodka is one of the best in the world. The most known brands are "Wyborowa", "Chopin", "Zubrowka" or "Belvedere". Especially I recommend "Zubrowka" called in Western Europe also "Grasovka" or "Bison Vodka". You may find it also in other countries. But only in Poland you will find the original. You will recognize it by a grass halm in the bottle. This drink is a must. If you don't drink - it does not matters - buy it. It will be a excellent gift.
Vodka should be served very cold (frozen). Only so vodka tastes good. Don't drink a warm one. It's terrible. The most popular drink is the "Screwdriver", which is vodka and orange juice. You may also try vodka with cola or vodka on the rocks (should be very cold).
General rule for choosing a place to eat - seek an advice from someone who knows the region. You may also choose well-known fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut or Kentucky Fried Chicken., but you will not find any national specialties here. You can take some risk and try in bar mleczny (milk bars) - which served as fast food during the communist era.
It is very difficult to define criteria for Polish cuisine. There are places with ugly appearance serving unforgettable meals and there are five star places where you'll be seriously disappointed. For sure it is good idea to rely on hotel restaurants. However the most important in all cases is your sense of smell (the rule doesn't apply to far east cuisine). Should you nose be disgusted with smells coming from the kitchen - look for another place. Despite all limitations presented above I bly recommend you the typical Polish cuisine. It's old tradition assures wonderful experiences.
In last years many foreign restaurants have been founded especially in big cities. It will be not so difficult to find an French, Italian, Austrian or even Mexican restaurant. But... try first Polish cuisine. Smacznego. (bon appetit)
By the way...
...you can't eat a bison.