POLAND

Gdansk

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland,is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north.

The capital of Poland is Warsaw…

Poland's high-income economy -is considered to be one of the healthiest of

the post-Communist countries and- is currently one of the fastest growing

within the EU.

Poland, is the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38

million people, which makes it the 34th most populous

country in the world.

The national Poland's currency is called the zloty polski , literally, the gold. The zloty is

abbreviated as zl or PLN (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 z³), and is pronounced 'zwo - ti'. The

smaller unit is called grosz, 1 zloty = 100 groszes (one, two, five, 10, 20, 50 gr). The zloty is

converted to the EURO at 1 EUR = appr. 4,2 PLN. Foreign currencies can be easily

exchanged in banks and exchange offices. There are exchange offices in hotels, in all cities, at the

airports, the railway stations and many other places.

The Poland country code 48 will allow you to call Poland from another country. Poland telephone code 48 is dialed after

the IDD. Poland international dialing 48 is followed by an area code.

Gdansk : +48 58International Dialing Prefix : 0 (wait for tone) 0

National Dialing Prefix : 0

ISO Country Code, 2 Digit: PL

ISO Country Code, 3 Digit: POL

Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2%

The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. Summers are

warm and

winters are cold.

Yes: Tak (as in tick-'tack') No: Nie (as in 'nyeh'-nyeh-na-na-na) OK: Dobrze ('dough' plus a 'b' then 'she')Excuse me: Przepraszam (difficult to pronounce because it includes that oh-so-not-English combo - 'p' merges into 'shey' followed by 'pra' and 'shem') What: Co (often used like an English 'what??' and pronounced 'tso') Where: Gdzie ( 'guh' and 'jay') When: Kiedy ( 'key yeh dey') Who: Kto ( 'k' and 'toe') Why: Dlaczego ('dlah' and 'che' and 'go')

How: Jak ('yak'') Good day: Dzien dobry ('jean' and 'dough' plus 'bree' like the cheese) Bye: Czesc (works like 'aloha' or 'ciao' or 'salut', making informal comings and goings easy) Good bye: Do widzenia ('dough' and 'wid zen ya' comes close enough) I don't speak Polish: Nie mowie po polsku ('nie' as above, 'moovie' then 'po' as in really poor, and 'pole sku') I speak English: Mowie po angielsku ('moovie' 'po' angielsku) I don't understand: Nie rozumiem ( 'nie' we know by now and 'row zoo me m' works for the operative word) Help me please: Prosze mi pomoc

Hi: Czesc (use this one on friends only: 'che sh ch' but run it all together as one sound)

Poland has become overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. In 2007, 88.4% of the population belonged to the Catholic Church.

Religious minorities include Polish Orthodox (about 506,800), various Protestants (about 150,000), Jehovah's Witnesses (126,827),Eastern Catholics, Mariavites , Polish Catholics, Jews, and Muslims (including the Tatars of Białystok). Members of Protestant churches include about 77,500 in the largest

Evangelical-Augsburg Church, and a similar number in smaller Pentecostal and Evangelical churches.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Poland's educational system as the 23rd best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.

Education in Poland starts at the age of five or six for the 0 class and six or seven years in the 1st class of primary school.

It is compulsory that children do one year of formal education before entering 1st class at no later than 7 years of age. A

t the end of 6th class when the students are 13, they take a compulsory exam that will determine to which lower secondary

school (Middle School/Junior High) they will be accepted. They will attend this school for three years for classes, 7, 8, and 9. They then take another compulsory exam to determine the

upper secondary level school they will attend. There are several alternatives, the most common being the three

years in a liceum or four years in a technikum. Both end with a maturity examination , and may be followed by several forms of upper education, leading to licencjat, magister

and eventually doktor.

Polish taxi drivers don't have the greatest reputation when it comes to fare charging, particularly from the airport. The big trick is to avoid taking a taxi from a rank directly. You will pay at least 30 percent less if you order one by phone. City Plus Taxi employs a number of English and German speaking drivers, so they’re a logical first choice for visitors to Gdansk. If you dread the thought of trying to phone one of the multitude of taxi companies, ask someone to do it for you - its free!

You can hire a car to get around, and if you're thinking of heading to the Hel Peninsula or elsewhere in the countryside its not a bad idea. However, if you plan to spend most of your time in Gdansk itself, think carefully. Apart from the difficulty of driving on the right, there are trams to contend with, boggling one-way systems, and signs that even native Poles struggle to comprehend. Parking is severely restricted in Old Gdansk, and there are three different enforcement agencies (Parking, Municipal and National Police) to watch out for. The alternative, public transport, is a far better bet.

A good setup here - safe, efficient and cheap transport, through a network of trams, buses and metro.

For centuries the Polish kitchen has been the arena for competing with France and Italy.

In Poland one of the most popular dishes is soup. There is a huge pile of them: "Zurek", "krupnyak", "kapusnyak", "rosol",

"botvinka" etc. baked with onion, cheese and mushrooms. various potato dishes, a fast food sandwich (zapiekanka) and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include pączki, faworki,

gingerbread, babka and others. One of Poland's most famous dishes:dumplings. Polish

dumplings, or pierogi, are instead of tomato sauce .

Poland's national dish is 'Bigos' . It is a soupy stew made from meat (often pork and/or game meats from hunters' excursions, but any meat can be used) and cabbage and/or sauerkraut, red

wine

dumplings

Bigos

Always be on time, it is considered extreme bad manners and poor etiquette to keep people waiting.

When departing, men shake hands with everyone individually. In Polish etiquette (and most other countries) littering is considered bad mannered and unacceptable.

When you meet a group of people, wait to be introduced by a third party. Do not use first names until invited to. Moving from the use of formal to the informal names is such an important step that there is a ritual to acknowledge the changed status and your inclusion in their ‘inner circle’. Expect frequent toasting throughout the meal. The host offers the first toast. You should reciprocate with your own toast later in the meal.

Alcohol is served in small glasses so you can swallow in one gulp.

The were Polish!

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)Astronomer, credited for being the first to develop a heliocentric theory of the solar system…

Frédéric François Chopin (22 February or 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer, virtuoso pianist, and music teacher of French–Polish parentage. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music. He is also known as "the poet of the piano".

Elzbieta Mozyro

Royal Route

Mariacka Street

The Long Embankment

Oliwa

Wisloujscie Fortress

Old Town Hall

St Mary's Church

St Bridget's Church

Thank You!