Visiting Poland

Poland is a wonderful country with a tumultuous history that is unmatched and often overshadowed by the history of its neighboring countries, just as those very neighbors tried to overshadow them in the past. With a rich history and an even richer culture, Poland is a country that will continue to surprise you no matter how many times you visit. I have compiled a list of some things to keep in mind if you should decide to visit.

The currency: Poland uses the złoty (abbreviated as zł and most commonly, PLN). Approximately 3 złoty equals 1 US dollar. Be careful when exchanging your money! You DO NOT want to become the victim of a bad exchange rate. Always check the exchange counter rates before handing over your cash to the person behind the counter. And if you can’t find a good exchange rate at what they call a “kantor” (a currency exchange office), then try a bank.

Things are cheap in Poland.

For all you shoppers who travel to shop: Galeria = Mall

Getting around from city to city is fairly easy. Either use the PKP (Polish State Railway) or the PKS (Car Communication Enterprise, i.e. coach buses).

Many of the Poles outside of Warsaw aren’t a fan of the capitol (this Polish girl told me that one reason the Poles aren’t a fan of Warsaw is because most of the city was rebuilt after its unfortunate demise during WWII). In fact, if you talk to many of the students within Poland they will almost always ask you if you have visited, or plan on visiting, Krakow. Let me just break it down like this: Warsaw is what Washington DC is for Americans and Krakow is what New York City is for Americans. Now, this doesn’t mean that Krakow is like New York City, because it’s far from it (difference in size, atmosphere, people, history, etc.). And the same goes for Warsaw and Washington DC. However, Krakow was once the capitol of Poland, as New York City was once the capitol of America, the capitol eventually becoming Warsaw as America’s eventually became Washington DC.

Visit Krakow! (there will have to be a separate article on Krakow.)

Like many European countries you can drink in public. So, if you want one for the road you can visit an “Alkohole,” which is a 24 hour liquor and beer store.

Polish beer is very much underrated. Here are some brands:

• Tyskie (the Budweiser of Poland (light beer))
• Żywiec
• Okocim (for porter fans the Okocim Porter is a must!)
• Lech
• Zawiercie
• Ciechan
• Książęce (my personal favorite, specifically Książęce Ciemne Łagodne ( Mild Dark ))

Although Polish beer is great, and many Poles drink beer, vodka is the national drink of Poland. It’s definitely a must to try some of the vodka, of which there is a wide variety. Even if you avoid buying a shot yourself (in Poland you drink vodka straight and to the bottom of the shot glass (“do dna” in Polish)), you will inevitably have a shot bought for you by any Pole you start talking to at a bar.

There are an insurmountable amount of monuments dedicated to events that have shaped Poland and effected the country both in a negative and positive way. One thing that you see a lot is this symbol that’s a combination of P and W (called “Kotwica” (anchor)), which was a WWII emblem for the Home Army and the Polish Secret State. There are a number of things that PW stand for, but overall it’s suppose to signify Polish defiance towards occupiers.

Chopin, Copernicus and John Paul II were all Polish and are very important not only to the Poles, but to Polish culture as well.

Lastly, there is a saying that “a guest in the house is a God in the house.” The Polish people are amongst the friendliest that I have ever met, and they will certainly make you feel welcome if you should choose to visit their country.