Poland has a moderate climate with both maritime and continental elements. This is due to humid Atlantic air which collides over its territory with dry air from the Eurasian interior. As a result, the weather tends to be capricious and the seasons may look quite different in consecutive years. This is particularly true for winters, which are either wet, of the oceanic type, or - less often - sunny, of the continental type. Generally, in north and west Poland the climate is predominantly maritime, with gentle, humid winters and cool, rainy summers, while the eastern part of the country has distinctly continental climate with harsh winters and hotter, drier summers.

 

The period your visa is valid "according to Polish regulations" is the basic period for which you have the right to visit and stay in Poland. Foreigners can apply for visas in Polish diplomatic outposts abroad. They must be ready with their personal details, dates of arrival and departure to and from Poland as well as the purpose of their visit. The consulate will confirm acceptance of applications with the appropriate stamp in the passport.

You must also pay a fee when applying for your passport. Regardless of the type of visa and period of its validity visa payments range from 10-80 euros. In the case of visa applications being refused by a consulate no payments made will be returned. In connection with Poland’s EU accession, transit visas have been reintroduced for citizens of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Thanks to a beneficial bilateral agreement, citizens of Ukraine will not have to pay a visa fee.

 

Polish currency is the zloty (zł, PLN). One zloty is divided into 100 groszy (1 zł = 100 gr).
Banknotes with the following denominations 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 zł and coins with the following denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 gr and 1, 2, 5 zł are in the circulation.
In 2012, Poland is to join the EURO zone, but the date may still change.

 

Polish cuisine has elements taken from the cooking traditions of the many national groups that lived in the country side by side for centuries, notably the Jews, Ukrainians, Belarussians and Lithuanians. There are also some Russian, German, Czech and Austrian influences as well as dishes from more distant regions: Italy, France and the Middle East.

One Polish speciality is a profusion of excellent smoked meats, especially sausage (kiełbasa), very popular throughout the world, made after traditional recipes and smoked over juniper or fruit-tree twigs. Try kiełbasa myśliwska with juniper berries and kiełbasa lisiecka with a number of spices including garlic. You'll be delighted by the cured and smoked hams, poultry, pork and beef fillets, and bacons. Equally delectable are Polish pâtés made from a variety of meats including game.

Poland is renowned for its multifarious types of delicious bread: white, brown, wholemeal, with raisins, prunes, sesame seeds, poppyseed...

An essential part of the main Polish meal of the day - which, incidentally, is eaten much earlier than in the West - is soup. One of the most popular soups in the country is barszcz (fermented beetroot soup), often served with beans or uszka, ravioli-type pastries stuffed with meat or mushrooms. Another tasty fermented soup is żurek - made of rye-flour and cooked with mushrooms, and served with potatoes, diced sausages and hard-boiled eggs. A true gourmet treat is wild mushroom soup thickened with sour cream and served with tiny uszka. Other popular soups are kapuśniak (made of brined cabbage), krupnik (barley soup on rich chicken stock with vegetables and chunks of meat), potato soup, and tomato soup. And there is also rosół - poultry or beef bouillon served with noodles and sprinkled liberally with parsley.

Meat is prepared in a variety of ways: roasted, stewed, fried, grilled. It's served both hot, with savoury gravies, and cold, accompanied by mustard, grated horseradish, pickled mushrooms or cucumbers.

Perhaps the best-known Polish culinary classic is kotlet schabowy - fried pork loin chop coated in breadcrumbs and served with potatoes and cabbage. Pieczony schab (roast pork loin) stuffed with prunes is simply mouthwatering. Other popular pork dishes include roasted or boiled golonka (pork knuckle) and kaszanka (a kind of black pudding), once staple peasant food, today served in the best restaurants. The same applies to smalec (dripping), melted with pork scratchings, chunks of meat and onion, seasoned with salt, pepper and often aromatic herbs.
One of the best beef dishes is zrazy zawijane - stewed rolls stuffed with a pickled cucumber, a piece of sausage and mushrooms, and served with buckwheat groats. Groats also go well with the stewed Cracow-style duck with mushrooms (kaczka po krakowsku). A relative rarity which you can try only on special occasions is a roast suckling pig stuffed with spicy buckwheat groats.

The Polish cuisine is noted for superb dumplings, especially pierogi, which are made from noodle dough, stuffed with minced meat, chopped brined cabbage mixed with mushrooms, cottage cheese, or fruit, and boiled. One favourite variety is pierogi ruskie, with a stuffing of cheese, potatoes and fried onion. Other popular vegetarian dishes include naleśniki (pancakes), pyzy (steamed dumplings made from potato flour) and knedle (dumplings stuffed with fruit).

The Polish national dish is bigos, made of brined cabbage with a variety of meats, smoked meats and mushrooms. Another speciality worth trying is gołąbki - cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice or groats, served with tomato or mushroom sauce.
Popular starters include herring prepared in a numbner of ways, for example with onions, apples and cream.

Pastries and cakes are a traditional type of dessert in Poland. Most often they are made from yeast dough (baba, drożdżowe) but there are also Swiss-roll types with poppyseed (makowiec), dried fruit and nut fillings (rolada), mazurek, apple Charlottes (szarlotka), cheesecakes (sernik) and gingerbreads (piernik). Doughnuts (pączki) with rose conserve are another favourite.
As for drinks, the Polish speciality is clear vodka, but there are also many popular flavoured brands. These include Żubrówka ("bison vodka") with a grass blade from the Białowieża Forest, and Goldwasser from Gdańsk, which contains specks of 22-carat gold. Beer lovers won't be disappointed either: Polish beer is as good as German or Czech, and many breweries, notably in Żywiec, Warka and Elbląg, have been well-known for centuries. On cold days, a drink of mulled beer or wine with honey and spices makes a popular pick-me-up. Stronger spirits worth recommending include a stunning number of fruit and herbal drinks consumed for their medical or warming-up properties, or simply because of their excellent taste. Try some Polish liqueurs: meads or sweet cremes made from alcohol, egg yolks, vanilla or chocolate and often used in desserts.

 

In the case of an accident, injury, childbirth, sudden illness or sudden deterioration of health, you must call an ambulance or go directly to hospital, in particular to the hospital A&E department (SOR). The medical transport is free of charge in such cases. The European Health Insurance Card or a substitute certificate must be presented in hospital.
Emergency ambulance service:
from landlines 999
from mobile phones 112