Poland

Poland (Polska in Polish) is 38 million people country in the central part of Europe. It belongs to the European Union (EU) and it's surrounded by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad. The population has a mostly Catholic Christian tradition, the official language is Polish (with Kashubian as a regional language; German, Belarusian, Ruthenian and Lithuanian as national minory languages) and the official currency is the Polish złoty (zł). The country is considered the most powerful economically in whole Europe, as well as the 2nd most populated (behind Russia). Poland is one of the most touristic places in Europe because of its sightseeing points and its price, with 16 sites placed in UNESCO World Heritage list. The main city, and the capital city, of Poland is Warsaw, with other important cities like Krakow, Łódź, Wrocław or Poznań.

What can I visit in Poland?

Poland is quite big so it'll be divided the touristic places among regions (in Poland name voivodeship). Check them out and find out the ones you want to visit.

• Greater Poland
• Kuyavia-Pomerania
• Lesser Poland
• Łódź
• Lower Silesia
• Lublin
• Lubusz
• Masovia
• Opole
• Podlaskie
• Pomerania
• Silesia
• Subcarpathia
• Świętokrzyskie
• Warmia-Masuria
• West Pomerania

History

The first inhabitants

Unforgettable experiences 

This places and experiences are a must if you want to discover and understand Poland.

Planning your holidays

These are some possible journeys you may do in Poland so visit parts of it or discover it all.

What can I eat and drink in Poland?

Lithuanian food has Polish and Ashkenazi influences and their meals are usually based in barley, potatoes, mushrooms, rye and beets. Cepelinai (potato dumpling stuffed with meat, cheese or mushrooms) is the national dish and is usually used as starter. There are other varieties like kukuliai (similar to gnocchi), koldūnai, virtiniai or auselės. One of the most common dishes in Lithuanian cuisine are soups, with many kinds like cabbage soup, cucumber soup, sauerkraut soup, lapienė (greens in a cramy broth), barščiai (hot beet soup), šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup) and the popular vištienos sultinys (chicken broth). Lithuania is also rich in blynai (mixture between pancakes and crêpes), with some examples like kėdainių blynai, žemaičių blynai and lietiniai. Talking about regional food in Lithuania, the regions with more food personality are Dzūkija and Samogitia. In the former some traditional dishes are juka (blood soup), kugel (potato pudding with an Ashkenazi origin) and buckwheat pancakes. In Samogitia region it's typical the kastinys (sour cream forming a soft spread). Another ethnic minory like the Karaites have their own dishes like kibinai (pastry with mutton and onion). The most common bread is ruginė duona (rye bread).

Some other typical dishes are the Lithuanian šaltnosiukai (dumplings filled with lingonberries), įdaryti kiaušiniai (similar to deviled eggs), įdaryti pomidorai (tomatoes filled with savory stuffing) and Lithuanian curd cheese. Some of the dishes with meat are lašiniai (pork underskin fat with little or no meat), vėdarai (pig large intestine with potato), šiupinys (stew made from variety of ingredients), balandėliai (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), dešra (typical Lithuanian sausages), skilandis or kindziukas (pig stomach stuffed with meat and garlic and cold-smoked), suktiniai (beef or pork very thin, filled, rolled up and braised), kotletai or frikadėlės (minced meat and/or onion patties) and šaltiena or košeliena (aspic or meat jelly)
In desserts the most popular one are Lithuanian-style cakes (pyragas) but others are žagarėliai (deep-fried pastries with sugar), kūčiukai or šližikai (tradicional Christmas dinner roll), ledai (ice cream), spurgos (Lithuanian donut), šakotis (Lithuanian baumkuchen), tinginys (Kaunas typical dessert), manų putra/košė (semolina wheat pudding) and skruzdėlynas (pastries stacked on top of one another).


Talking about drinking, the most famous Lithuanian drink is the beer (alus) throughout all the country, usually drank with piršteliai prie alaus (puff pastries served with beer), yet not the oldest one, having midus (mead) that honour. As in many other northern countries, there are many other kind of stronger spirits like trauktinė (strong herbal vodka), degtinė (rye, wheat or potato vodka) or krupnikas (honey liqueur). There are other non alcoholic drinks like gira (similar to kvass), arbata (tea) or kava (coffee). 

Learn some Polish

 Polish is the oficial language of Poland and is currently spoken by 45 million people aprox. Polish language is related to Czech and Slovak (with profund influence of German). It has the largest number of speakers of the West Slavic group and the 2nd of whole Slavic languages. Polish is mother tongue of 38.5 million people in Poland. English is also widely known in Poland, specially in big cities, and Russian too (mainly among old people).
These are some basic words in Polish:

Galician	English	Galician	English
Witce	Hello	Proszę	Please
Jak się masz	How are you?	Dzięki	Thank you
Do widzenia!	Goodbye!	Tak	Yes
Dobranoc!	Good night!	Nie	No
Przepraszam	Excuse me	Nie mówię po polsku	I don’t speak Kashubian

Useful links

 In case you want to look for more information about Poland (https://poland.pl/tourism/) or its regionss, towns and places, here there's a list with some pages to get it:

• A Coruña
• Gdańsk . 
• Pomerania (https://pomorskie.travel/en). 
• Słupsk