About Poland

Welcome to my site

The aim of About Poland is to help people understand traveling, the way of life and culture in Poland, whether you are of Polish Descent, considering a Polish Vacation or will be becoming an ex pat, working and living in Poland. The information on this site should be helpful. It does not give the Official Tourist Agency view; in the main it is taken from my many years experience of living and working in Poland.

I am an Englishman and have been living and traveling in Poland for over 18 years, I believe the fact I am not Polish gives me a different perspective on the Polish Nation and Culture. I have also spent time in North America, the Middle East and Asia over the years so I hope to be able to give guidance and help on intercultural matters.

Poland is a country of great interest to the casual observer and has regions suitable for every activity. However, I will be taking an honest view of the good and the bad, the interesting and the dangerous. I hope that this either explains the culture in Western terms or prepares the visitor before coming to our country. There are also some humorous or ironic anecdotes included on the site. Please email me if there is anything you would like me to write about on this site.

Poland General Information

Poland General Information gives the demographics of Poland, the population, regions, (Woiwodships), Average Salary, Unemployment, Politics, you can also listen to the National Anthem. Many facts about the country and its people which helps give a backgound to other information on this site.

Poland Travel

Poland Travel by Road Rail and Air let us help you decide the best way to travel in Poland and some hints to stop you getting ripped off. There are some notorius taxi scams, particularly at the major airports. Generally the cost of travel is low, unless you get a Warsaw Airport Taxi.

Polish Language

The Polish language is quite difficult for none Poles, I have used phonetics in the past to help me communicate in Polish, not the official phonetics which need a language degree to understand them, but my own English version which you can find in these pages.

Polish Entertainment

Polish entertainment and tips on where to go to find music in Poland, about Polish TV, how Poles spend their free time. Dancing, the different types of music and some anecdotes about Poland.

Polish Tourist Attractions

Recommended Polish tourist attractions and places of interest all these places should be on every tourists list of places to visit, I can recommend them. Some more hyped attractions are dissapointing but these stand out as the most interesting places to visit.

Polish Business

Polish Business requires a knowledge of the Polish culture to be successfull. Nowadays there are some excellent Polish businesses run by modern thinking well educated Poles, although equally, there are some companies that have difficulty in expanding their business into the international market.

Map of Poland

The best map of poland which will enable you to find any location within Poland, you can zoom, pan and have full control. The map of Poland has changed many times over history.

Polish Government

The Polish Government and Politics, like all developing democracies take many years to settle and create stability. Poland is no different, although the record of embarrassing descisions and leader faux pas is considerable the democracy of Poland is strong. this is a view of the countries politics from a none Polish Observer

Hotels in Poland

A short guide to some of the more popular Hotels in Poland, in particular the major hotel chains, the country has quite a long list of hotels, the quality of which may vary greatly, not allways according to the price. We try to give sound advice from experience.

Polish Traditions

Polish traditions, some of which may seem strange to other cultures, many of them have religious significance, some are very polite and other have no explanation. You must learn some of the basics if you are to visit Poland

Polish Words

polish words and information about the language many words and phrases to help the traveller to poland, we also include phonetics, both official and our own version which is less difficult but works OK

Polish Genealogy

Discovering your family history can be very frustrating in Poland, whilst during the occupations, and other historic events recorde were kept, many of these have been destroyed by successive occupying govrnments. There are some places that can help you to look for your polish genealogy and family History.

Polish History

Polish history has been very tempestuous from the birth of the nation to World War Two, from the country ceasing to exist to the break out of the Gdansk Shipyard. Few countries have such a varied history with so many divisions.

Famous Poles

There are many famous poles in several areas of life, Frederic Chopin is perhaps the most well known, there is only one photograph of the master, we show that here. There are no lack of well known Polish people in the arts, science and literature.

Polish Climate

The Polish climate is very variable, from over 40 degrees C in summer down to minus 25 in winter and evrything in between. So it is rather complicated and very dependent on where you are in Poland. We have two versions of the Polish climate, one for afficionados and one for normal people informing you of what to expect the year round.

Polish Sport

Polish sport is dominated by the game of football, although there are several other sporting activities which are very popular in the country. Some sports are less well known in western countries such as vollyball, Speedway and water polo, but popular in Poland.

Communism

Life in Poland under Communism, whilst in the USA, the McCarthy era has left a lasting fear of that word. older people living in some communist countries would explain that not everything was bad and that many of the older population would welcome communism back, here is an insight into the way of life during the communist era in Poland.

20 Years

How has 20 years of democracy affected Poland, the majority of people are much better off, although many people would prefer to return to a system where everyone had a job and people were more sharing and caring.

Polish Business Consultants.

Polish Business Consultants - We can help you with your new business in Poland or expand your existing area of operations. Dont get pulled in by amateurs, let us help you avoid problems and reach profitability in Poland.

About Poland

Some background information on the About Poland site. The site is a collection of my experiences and knowledge of the country and culture, I endeavour to give advice on Poland from my own personal point of view in order to help the tourist, visitor or people interested in Poland and the Polish way of life.