Poland’s history is an immense tale. Forever sandwiched between two powerful and aggressive neighbours, it has over the past millennium defended its freedom and sovereignty on innumerable occasions, only to be overrun and subjugated to occupation by foreign powers time and time again. It has gone from being the largest country in Europe  to completely disappearing off the world map, and seen its population devastated in two world wars. Yet it is testament to the astounding resilience of the Polish people that Poland has not only bounced back from every crushing blow but also had the energy to hold strong to its  own culture.

Polish people are a resilient bunch – even the briefest glance at the country’s history shows this to be true. They exude an age-old spirit of independence, and are  remarkably adaptable and inventive, with each person forming their own solution for any dilemma, whether within the family or within the nation. This isn’t always a good combination, as sometimes explanations on
how things work in the country are not always forthcoming. This can be seen as indifference or an assumption of intelligence; knowing the Poles, it’s probably a little  of both.
Poles are not always realistic, and can be charmingly irrational and romantic at times. This penchant for dreaming could partly explain the country’s astounding record in the fields of arts and science. They are often far more concerned with the present than the future, which is not always optimal (ie populist politics often wins the day). However this is changing, with a rising
number of Poles taking an active part in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage. For example, interest in Poland’s Jewish culture is on the rise, and Polish people turned out in force to help save the Rospuda  River .You’ll rarely see Poles wearing bright colours or flashing a stranger a smile (the latter is seen as a sign of stupidity), yet at dinner, in a train carriage, or out in a group, they can be lively, boisterous, expressive, and ready to enjoy life to the fullest. Once you break the ice with most Poles, you’ll find them warm and hospitable, and if you’re lucky enough to make Polish friends, they will normally be extremely generous and open-handed. There’s a tra-ditional saying that ‘a guest in the house is God in the house’. While they love jokes and are generally easy-going, they may suddenly turn serious and hot-blooded when it comes to  an argument.Homophobia is still rife in the country, and at times it can be shocking to hear homophobic comments loudly proclaimed in public, even by well-educated people. Officials have gone as far as to call for a psychological evaluation of the effect of Teletubbies’ handbag-carrying Tinky Winky on the nation’s children (he’s a boy), although the matter has been treated fairly light-heartedly by most. Drinking in public is socially acceptable, and drunks stumbling around at 9am are a  daily occurrence. Notsurprisingly, given Poland’s history, the past, especially the events of WWII, still has a firm grip on the Polish national psyche. Every family has been directly affected by the Nazi occupation or communist regime, and there are physical reminders of terrible events in many towns and cit-ies across the country. Entry into the EU is, even in a tiny way, helping to
heal the wounds, with some Poles believing that the country is back in the European family. A fatalistic streak still haunts the population though, the result of Poland’s  past upheavals.
By and large, Poles are more conservative and traditional than Western
Europeans, and the Roman Catholic religion plays an important role in this
conservatism. For Poles, the Church’s leading figure is still Pope John Paul II, who retains cult status in  the country.Polish men are passionate about handshaking, and always extend a hand when greeting friends, sometimes before a word is spoken. Women, too, often shake hands with men, but the man should always wait for the woman to offer her hand first. Older men may go so far as to greet a woman by kissing her hand; here, again, it’s the woman who suggests such a form by a perceptible .

Poland’s  population is one of the most ethnically homogenous in the world, with 96.7% of a population of just under 39 million claiming Polish ancestry. Of the remaining 3.3%, 0.4% is German, 0.1% Ukrainian, 0.1% Belarusian, and the final 2.7% is composed of a mixture of Russians, Jews, Lithuanians, Tatars, Roma (Gypsies), Lemks, Boyks and a dozen other groups. The smaller minorities barely rate a presence in Poland, as most groups total less than  5000  members.The ethnic make-up is largely a result of massive migratory movements
in Poland during the aftermath of WWII . However, Poland was for centuries one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan countries, with quite a mixed and varied population. It was also home to the continent’s largest Jewish community (see  p35 ), but today Polish Jews only number between
5000  and 10,000.Population density varies considerably throughout the country, with
Upper Silesia being the most densely inhabited area, while the northeastern border regions remain the least populated. Over 70% of the country’s inhabitants now live in towns and cities, compared with 30% in the 1930s. Warsaw is by far the largest Polish city (1.7 million), followedby Łódź (768,000) and  Kraków  (752,700).

 Since 1990, Poland has pursued a policy of  economic liberalisation, and purely looking at the figures, it’s paying off. The country’s GDP has stead-ily risen since 2000, foreign investment is up (mainly through EU funds), exports are booming, and inflation is among the lowest in the EU. While the economy currently looks rosy, it may not be sustainable in the long term due to Poland’s greatest economic hurdle, unemployment. The official figure sits at 12% but soars to 35% in some parts of the country and among  Poland’s youth.

According to rough estimates, between five and 10 million Poles live abroad, the result of two major episodes of emigration – one at the beginning of the 20th century and another  during WWII. Emigration continued on a smaller scale after the war, particularly during the economic hardships of the ’80s and ’90s. The largest Polish émigré community lives in the USA; Chicago alone is reputed to be home to one million people of  Polish extraction.Since Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, approximately one million Poles have left the country, mainly destined for the UK and Ireland in search of higher paying jobs, or a job at all. Of these, around 80% are under the age of 34, taking with them skills that are proving difficult to replace. The construction and computer  industries are hardest hit, and many workers
from Belarus have crossed the border to fill the manual labour shortage. Workers are also being tempted from Asia and India, and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics there should be a marked increase in Chinese labour – their skills will be required to prepare the country’s inadequate football venues for the 2012 UEFA  European Championships.

Polish women have generally always been independent, resourceful, forth-right, and they have a reputation for beauty. Traditionally, their role in society was that of mother and homemaker, but this attitude has slowly changed over the past few decades and the country’s younger demographic is no longer satisfied with this conventional view. Nowadays women have
the same study opportunities as their male counterparts (since the early 1980s in fact), are well represented in the white-collar workforce, and more and more are entering male-dominated sectors, such as the police force. But prejudice dies hard: some employers can be reluctant to employ younger women, afraid they’ll soon get pregnant, often the top jobs are reserved for men, and politics is almost solely a male domain. The Church’s sanctification
of the family – and women’s traditional place in it – still strongly influences Poland’s social fabric, although this is also diminishing, particularly in the younger  generation.

A restauracja (restaurant) is the main place for a meal with table service. They range from unpretentious eateries where you can have a filling meal for as little as 20zł, all the way up to luxurious establishments that may leave a siz-able hole in your wallet. The menus of most top-class   restaurants are in Polish with English and/or German translations, but don’t expect foreign-language listings in cheaper eateries (nor waiters speaking anything  but Polish).
Restaurants generally open around 11am (at 9am or 10am if they have a breakfast menu). Closing time varies greatly from place to place and from city to province but 10pm to 11pm is usually a safe bet in cities. In villages and smaller towns it may be pretty hard to find somewhere to eat  after 9pm.A Polish bar mleczny (milk bar) is a no-frills, self-service cafeteria that serves mostly meat-free dishes at very low prices. The ‘milk’ part of the name
reflects the fact that a good part of the menu is based on dairy products. You can fill up for around 10zł to 15zł.   Milk bars were created to provide cheap food for the less affluent and were subsidised by the state. The free-market economy forced many to close, but a number have survived by introducing meat dishes, upgrading standards and raising  their prices.
Milk bars open around 8am and close at 6pm (3pm or 4pm on Saturday); only a handful are open on Sunday. The menu is posted on the wall. You tell the cashier what you want, then pay in advance; the cashier gives you a receipt, which you hand to the person dispensing thefood. Once you’ve put theirs). Milk bars are very popular and there are usually queues, but
they move quickly. Smoking is not permitted and no alcoholic beverages
 are  served.A jadłodajnia falls somewhere between a restaurant and a milk bar and serves (usually excellent) home-style dishes. They keep hours similar to  milk bars.In today’s Poland, a  kawiarnia (café) usually serves snacks and light meals along with hot and cold drinks. Generally speaking, the line between a café and a restaurant has become blurred.   Cafés tend to open around 10am and close at any time between 9pm and midnight. Most cafés are
smokers’ territory and, given Polish smoking habits, the atmosphere can be  really dense.finished your meal, return your dirty dishes (watch where other diners

Take a stroll through Warsaw’s pristine Old Town and Royal Castle and you’d think the city had enjoyed a comfortable existence the past 200 years. But at the end of WWII they, and nearly the entire metropolis, lay in rubble and ruin. The fact that Varsovians picked themselves up and rebuilt almost everything is reason enough to pay the country’s capital a visit.Warsaw’s unquenchable energy not only extends to construction. Today it is a thriving, dynamic and progressive city, the epitome of a Polish nation firmly fixed on the future. Its bar, clubbing and music scene is unmatched in the country, and its yearly calendar is filled with theatre productions, operas and art-house film premieres. If culture is your thing, then Warsaw is your place.city’s museums are often testament to its terrible past; many, like the Warsaw RisingMuseum, retell the devastation WWII wrought. But there are more light-hearted gems too, like the picture-perfect palaces at Łazienki and Wilanów. Shoppers will max out credit cards on handmade products, and diners can satisfy their hunger with quality Polish cuisine and an ever-increasing array of food from around the world. True, Warsaw is an acquired taste, and the first impressions probably won’t appeal – stepping off the train or airport bus at Warszawa Centralna train station and staring at the drab blocks lining Al Jerozolimskie may tempt you to hop straight back on. But the vibe and drive of Poland’sgreatest city is infectious, and if you give it a little of your time, you’ll be richly rewarded.

 Kraków, which celebrated its 750th birthday in 2007, is by far Poland’s biggest drawcard, and it’s immediately apparent why. As the royal capital for 500 years, the city was able to absorb much history and talent over the centuries and is today a treasure trove of Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Miraculously, this jewellery box emerged largely intact after WWII. As a result, no other city in Poland can boast so many historic buildings and monuments or such a vast collection of artworks, with some 2.3 million registered.Wawel Castle is Kraków’s centrepiece and a must-see, but most visitors will find themselves drawn to the Old Town, with its soaring Gothic churches and gargantuan Rynek Główny (Main Market Sq), the largest in the nation. Just outside the Old Town lies the former Jewish quarter Kazimierz, its silentsynagogues reflecting the tragedy of the recent past.Kraków is well endowed with attractions and diversions of a more modern variety, with hundreds of restaurants, bars and music clubs tucked away down its cellars and narrow al-leyways. Though hotel prices are above the national average, and visitor numbers are very high in summer, this vibrant, cosmopolitan city is an essential part of any visit to Poland.Give yourself at least several days or even a full week to do Kraków justice. This is not a place to rush through; the longer youstay, the more captivating you’ll find it. And without even trying, you’ll discover something pretty, old, curious or tasty around every corner.

The original, rather small residence was built in the early 11th century by King BolesławChrobry beside the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary (known as the Rotunda of SS Felix and Adauctus). King Kazimierz Wielki turned it into a formidable Gothic castle, but when it burned down in 1499, King Zygmunt Stary commissioned a new residence. Within 30 years a splendid Renaissance palace, designed by Italian architects, was in place. Despite further extensions and alterations, the three-storey Renaissance structure, complete with a courtyard arcaded on three sides, has been preserved to this day.Repeatedly sacked and vandalised by the Swedish and Prussian armies, the castle was occupied after the Third Partition by the Austrians, who intended to make Wawel a citadel. Their plan included turning the castle into barracks, and the cathedral into a garrison church, moving the royal tombs elsewhere. They never got that far but they did turn the royal kitchen and coach house into a military hospital and raze two churches standing at the outer courtyard to make room for a parade ground. They also enveloped thewhole hill with a new ring of massive brick walls, largely ruining the original Gothic fortifications.The castle was recovered by Poles afteWWI and the restoration began immediately and continued up until the outbreaof WWII. The work was resumed after thwar and has been able to recover a good deaof the castle’s earlier external form and it interior decoration.The castle is now a museum containing fivseparate sections, each requiring a differenticket that is valid for a specific time. Therea limited daily quota of tickets for some part so arrive early if you want to see everything ophone ahead to reserve. You will need a tickeeven on ‘free’ days.

If you arrive in Poznań any evening and stroll into its central market square, you’ll receive an instant introduction to the characteristic energy of Wielkopolska’s capital. The city’s Old Town district is buzzing at any time of the day, and positively jumping by night, full of people heading to its many restaurants, pubs and clubs. Though it’s also famous for its numerous trade fairs, which periodically make Poznań near-inaccessible to the casual traveller, the combination of international business travellers and the city’s huge student population has created a distinctive vibe that is quite independent of tourism.In addition to its energetic personality, Poznań offers many historical attractions in its centre, particularly museums, and ts plentiful transport links make it a great base from which to explore the quieter surrounding countryside.

If ever two regions were ruled by water, they are  Warmia and  Masuria. This swath of land bordering Russia’s isolated Kaliningrad is Poland’s lakeland, riven throughout with rivers, canals, wetlands, swamps and ever-present lakes. It’s an aquaphile’s dream come true, with more water-bound fun than the rest of the country put together. Watery action is centred on the Great Masurian Lakes. The region may not contain the thousand lakes that tourist brochures proudly proclaim, but who cares? The lakes’ natural beauty is breathtaking, and there’s enough space for all yachties to find their own sheltered bay. That’s not to say there isn’t any life here – in summer the resort towns are abuzz, and every harbour and wharf packed with locals and visitors.Canoeists and kayakers will find ample opportunity to buff up their shoulder muscles. Aside from lake kayaking, there’s the celebrated Krutynia River to explore, along with the lesser-known  Łyna River. If you prefer less strenuous excursions, passenger boats ply the main lakes, and there’s always the Elbląg-Ostróda Canal to experience.Culturally, Warmia and Masuria have plenty to offer. The legacy of thepowerfulTeutonic Knights dots the landscape in the shape of redbrick Gothic castles, and Nazioccupation has left behind the secret bunker headquarters of Wolf’s Lair and Mauerwald.This is a place many locals only dream of visiting, so count your blessings you’ve made it this far. And however you choose to spend your time, you’ll quickly realise that this is a
beautiful spot, remote enough to be peaceful and developed enough to be accessible.

Every year, Częstochowa (chen-sto-ho-vah) attracts four to five million visitors from 80 countries, who come to fall at the feet of the Black Madonna. Some walk for 20 days over hundreds of kilometres with offerings for the Virgin. Others take a bus from Kraków.Poland’s spiritual heartland is not just for the faithful. The Monastery of Jasna Góra is the country’s national shrine and one of the highlights of the region. Since an influx of resources from the EU, renovations are working their way up the main thoroughfare towards the monastery, adding new pride to ancient reverence.During pilgrimage times – particularly the day of Assumption on 15 August – hordes of devotees become a main attraction for people-watchers, and a deterrent for crowd-weary wanderers.