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Poland Shopping, Culinary, and Accommodation

Europe

Shopping

Overview

Glass, enamelware, handwoven rugs, silverware, handcrafted jewelry, folklore dolls, wood carvings, and clay and metal sculptures. Shop opening hours: Mon-Fri 06.00-18.00/19.00.

Nightlife

Introduction

There are discotheques in almost all major cities, and there are also nightclubs in Warsaw. With its 17 theaters and three opera houses, the capital reflects the great music and theater tradition of the country.

  • Top-engineering-schools: Provides detailed population data for major cities of Poland. Also covers geography information including rivers, mountains, lakes, and national borders.

Culinary

Overview

Starters (przekaski) are eel in aspic, marinated fish in sour cream, rollmops, kulebiak (a mushroom and cabbage pie), kabanos (a long, thin, heavily spiced sausage) or mysliwska (a pork and venison sausage). Soups like barszcz (beetroot soup with sour cream) or rosol (beef or chicken bouillon) are often served in cups and with small pies filled with meat or cabbage. Pierogi (filled dumplings), usually filled with white cheese or white cabbage, are eaten not only in Poland. There are also different variants in the Russian Federation and Finland. Popular dishes include zrazy zawijane (mushroom-filled roulades in sour cream) with boiled kasha (buckwheat) and golonka (knuckle of pork). The Polish national dish bigos (white cabbage and sauerkraut with porcini mushrooms) was originally a meal of the hunters of the Polish landed gentry, the slaughterhouses. You always had a cauldron of Bigos with you. Today Bigos is eaten all over Poland, in the ski huts of Zakopane as well as in Suwalki, on the Masurian Lakes, in the elegant bars of Warsaw as well as in the rustic cellar bars of Kraków on the Vistula. A celebration in Poland is unthinkable without this spicy and spicy dish bigos. Poland also has a wide range of fresh fish (ryba). Carp is served in a sweet and sour aspic sauce, and poached pike with horseradish cream comes highly recommended. Polish pastries (ciastka) are excellent. Drinks: Vodka (Wódka) is drunk ice cold. Wyborowa is said to be the best vodka, but there are many other flavors like zubrowka (bison grass), tarniowka (sloe), sliwowica (plum) and pieprzowka (with white pepper). Popular beer brands include: Zywiec, Okocim and EB.

Accommodation

Hotels

Most international hotel chains are represented in Poland. Advance booking is recommended in the high season. Further information can be obtained from the Tourist Information Office in Berlin (see addresses) and the Polish Hotel Association, Ul. Nowogrodzka 44 m 2, PL-00-695 Warsaw (tel: (22) 622 69 91/-93).

Camping

Poland has over 200 campsites. 75% offer 220V power connections and some have 24V connections for caravans. Laundry and dining rooms, grocery kiosks and restaurants also come as standard. Campsites are divided into two categories. In the 1st category, each pitch is at least 100 square meters, the space is illuminated and the reception is staffed all day. The season lasts from mid-May to the end of September. With the card of the Camping Association (FICC) you get a 10% discount. More information from the Polish Association for Camping and Caravanning (Polska Federacja Campingu i Caravaningu), ul. Grochowska 331, PL-03-838 Warsaw (tel: (22) 810 60 50).

Other accommodation options

There are about 1200 youth hostels. More information from the Polish Youth Hostel Association (Polskie Towarzystwo Schronisk Mlodziezowych), ul. Chocimska 28, PL-00-791 Warszawa (tel: (22) 849 81 28). In total, around 4000 farms offer countryside holidays. A large part of them are members of the Polish Federation of Rural Tourism. The organisation’s logo, a stork on the roof, guarantees a good standard of quality. More information from: Polska Federacja Turystiki Wiejskiej Gospodarstwa Goscinne, ul. Wspolna 30, p. 544, PL-00-930 Warsaw (tel: (602) 45 91 37).

Culture

Religion

89.8% Roman Catholic; also Polish Orthodox, Protestants, Old Catholics and Jews.

Social Rules of Conduct

Social etiquette: There are big differences between city and country life: the rural population is very religious and their lifestyle is more traditional than in the city. When greeting people shake hands, women are greeted with a kiss on the hand. The usual forms of politeness are expected and hosts are happy to receive a bouquet of flowers. Clothing should be restrained but casual. Smarter attire is expected in good restaurants or on special occasions. Smoking: Smoking is prohibited in public buildings (e.g. in train stations, bus stops, in bars, cafés, discotheques, in smaller restaurants without a designated smoking area) and on public transport. restaurants larger than 100 square meters, may set up spatially delimited smoking areas. Photography: Military installations, industrial buildings and transport hubs marked with a crossed-out camera may not be photographed. Tipping: The service charge is not included in the bill, approximately 10-15% tipping is expected.

Climate

Best travel time

Moderate, warm summers and cold winters. In autumn it is mostly sunny and relatively fresh. There are good conditions for winter sports in the Sudetes and Carpathians from December to March. The best travel time for summer vacationers begins in mid-June and lasts until the end of August.

Country data

Phone prefix

+48

Area (sq km)

312685

Population

37,846,611 (Source: homosociety)

Population density (per square km)

123

Population statistics year

2020

Member of the EU

yes

Main emergency number

112

Poland flag vs map