Tipping is usually already included in the bill, but you can additionally leave up to 10% of the amount. It is customary to give to waiters, taxi drivers and hairdressers, rounding the amount when paying for services. Rounding by more than 10% is not accepted.
Sights of Poland
In 1927, at the UNESCO conference in Paris, a convention was adopted for the protection of the cultural and natural scientific heritage of the world. In accordance with the convention, the UNESCO World Heritage List was created, which includes more than half a thousand objects from different countries: the most valuable ancient monuments and urban complexes, glaciers and caves, national parks and shrines.
According to barblejewelry, there are 8 monuments from this list in Poland:
Warsaw Old Town. It was rebuilt from ruins after World War II. Painstaking reconstruction was carried out on the basis of old plans, drawings and descriptions. As a result, an architectural complex has risen on the site of the destroyed quarter, more similar to the medieval original than the pre-war one.
Royal Krakow. It is the largest monument of history and culture in the country. If Wawel personifies the soul of Krakow and all of Poland, then the Old Town is called the heart of Krakow. In addition, the UNESCO list includes the ancient settlement of artisans Stradom and Kazimierz, which was once a city of Polish Jews.
Salt mines of Wieliczka. This is a seven-story underground city. The tourist route passes on three levels through halls decorated with salt sculptures with galleries and lakes. And at a hundred-meter depth, banquets and balls are held here.
Medieval Torun. Among several hundred Gothic buildings is the birthplace of the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
Crusader castle in Malbork. Once here was the capital of the state of the Teutonic monastic order. Now the 700-year-old castle has been restored and turned into a museum.
City-fortress Zamosc. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it was built in an open field as an urban architectural complex: Jan Zamoyski, the right hand of King Stefan Batory, wanted to build his residence here. The talented project of the city belongs to the Italian Morando.
Auschwitz-Brzezinka (Auschwitz-Birkenau). It was decided to keep the largest Nazi concentration camp intact, as a reminder of the crime against humanity committed here.
Belovezhsky national reserve. It is located on the territory of two states – Poland and Belarus. This largest forest in Central Europe has been preserved in its original form. The symbol of Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the bison, the largest animal in Europe.
Poland: Money and currency of Poland
National currency of Poland – EURO
Poland: Cuisine of Poland
Many dishes of Polish cuisine are similar in terms of cooking technology and a set of products to dishes of Ukrainian and Russian cuisines.
From appetizers and cold dishes in Polish cuisine, all kinds of salads made from fresh, pickled and salted vegetables, seasoned with mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt, meat, fish products and poultry, to which various vegetables are served as a side dish, are popular. They prepare stuffed eggs, eggs with mayonnaise, as well as a spicy snack of cottage cheese, to which chopped parsley, dill, green onions, pepper, and salt are added.
Breakfast is often served with yogurt, curdled milk, and hot boiled potatoes are usually served with curdled milk.
The first courses are most often represented by borscht, cabbage soup, pickle, beetroot, saltwort, soups-mashed potatoes. In Poland, it is customary to serve borscht and cabbage soup with hot boiled potatoes instead of bread.
Favorite dishes in Polish cuisine are tripe dishes (Warsaw-style flaki, flaki in sauce, tripe soup).
Fruit and berry sweet dishes (fruit salads, ice cream, sweet pancakes), confectionery and bakery products are varied in Polish cuisine.
Poland: Culture of Poland
Poles make up 97% of the population. Germans also live in the country – 0.8% (mainly in the regions of Pomozh and Silesia), Ukrainians – 0.65%, Belarusians – 0.53%. All other nationalities account for less than 1% – these are Gypsies – 0.06%, Lithuanians – 0.05%, Slovaks – 0.05% and Jews – 0.04%.
Holidays and weekends:
- New Year – January 1
- Easter – Sunday and Monday (usually 1-2 weeks earlier than Orthodox)
- Workers’ Day – May 1
- Constitution Day – May 3 (Constitution of 1791)
- Feast of the Body of the Lord – Thursday (date depends on Easter)
- Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God – August 15
- All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day – October 30 – November 1
- Independence Day – November 11 (restoration of the state independence of Poland in 1918)
- Christmas – December 25-26
