Useful information
Warsaw Transportation
To get from one place to another in Warsaw, you don't need to take a taxi. Use the city transport (buses, tramways, underground) - it is not only cheaper but it will take you any place you want. Timetables are on every stop and in the Internet. Just visit the website www.ztm.waw.pl which also has English version. There you can find information about ticket tariffs, regulations, reductions and other instructions. You can also see a map of Warsaw communication at www.ztm.waw.pl/mapa.php.
Just remember: 1-46 are tramways, 100-527 are day buses, 700-815 are suburbia lines, E-1 - E-6 are the express bus lines and N01-N95 are night buses. Each year there is a few more or less meaningful changes in communication.
It is worth purchasing Warsaw city card, which can be loaded for 30 or 90 days. Students with valid student card are entitled to 50% reductions. Owners of Warsaw city cards can also go by Fast Commuter Rail (SKM) and Mazovia Rails ('Koleje Mazowieckie') in boundaries of Warsaw.
Currency
The currency in Poland is 1 zloty (PLN). We distinguish coins and banknotes of different denominations.
You can change your money in Banks or bureau de change (pl. 'kantor'). The latter might work out cheaper if you change your money in an exchange office that is distant from all the tourist sites.
You can find actual exchange rates e.g. on website www.xe.com/ucc
Monthly costs of living
The basic monthly costs of living on student budget are listed below:
|
Accommodation |
100-120 €/month |
|
Average costs of medical services |
|
|
general practice |
10 € |
Taxes
The most popular tax in Poland is Value Added Tax - VAT. In most cases VAT is 22% of a product's value. There are reduced rates of 7% and 3% for certain products and services. 7% VAT is for foodstuffs, tourist services (e.g. your hotel and restaurant bills), transportation services (e.g. bus tickets), newspapers and magazines.
Some products and services are exempt from VAT tax:
In Poland we can distinguish other kind of taxes:
Bank account
Student who takes up studies abroad must have an account in the bank where he or she receives the money and scholarship.
In Poland foreign student can open a bank account. The bank requires the identification document and certificate about being a student of a certain university. The procedure of opening account lasts a couple of days.
Sometimes the bank does not want to open an account for a foreigner because of his or her low credibility. In such situation a student should ask for help his or her caretaker at the faculty (the university usually helps in opening a bank account).
The best way to avoid any problems with opening a bank account in Poland is to have an account in your home country.
The banks in Poland are open form Monday to Friday from 8:00 or 9:00 to 16:00.
Climate in Poland
Poland lies in the zone of temperate climate with features both of maritime and continental climate. Winters may be mild or very cold, while summer is sometimes cold and rainy and sometimes hot and dry. The best time to tour is summer. Spring begins in March when temperatures vary from -1°C to +20°C until the end of May. July is the warmest month. During summer temperatures reach from +21°C to +32°C. Autumn begins with September. Days are getting colder. December is the beginning of winter with snowfalls when temperatures can even be -20°C. In high parts of mountains the snow stays unmelted until May.
Telephones
There are phone cards of one telecommunication operator available in Poland. You can buy it in kiosks, shops, post offices. They last for 10, 15, 20 units. You can use them for local and country phone calls.
At every post office you can buy a special phone card that enables you to call abroad. Using such cards helps you save even 70% costs of your calling home (it depends on a country). Prices are available at every post office and in Internet. Here are some names of international phone cards: 'Telepin' - www.telepin.pl, 'Telegrosik' - www.telegrosik.pl, 'Świat-TELE2' - www.tele2.pl. Use the card that is the cheapest for calling your country. Using the cards is very easy: dial the number of card's operator (given on each card), dial the code and then 00 + area code to the country + area code to the city + number of a person you want to call. Some call centers that offer cheap calls to different countries were also opened in last months.
The biggest mobile phones operators in Poland are: Orange, Era GSM, Plus GSM and PLAY. They offer telephones for standing charges and for pre-paid cards. Each year there are different promotions. To get a telephone with standing charges a person needs to complete many formalities. Therefore it is easier for foreigners to buy a pre-paid card. Starter card costs from 5 to 40 PLN and is available in every operator's office. Telephones cost from 200 PLN to 600 PLN. If you want to re-charge your card you need to buy a pre-paid card in any kiosk and dial the code.
Tourist information IT
In every big city there is tourist information where you can find information about monuments and places worth seeing. You can get maps, postcards and guides there. Usually people working in tourist information speak two or three languages. Tourist information is located at airports, railway stations, near main squares or streets.
However the easiest way to find out about Warsaw is via Internet, starting from Wikipedia to e.g. www.e-warsaw.pl/2/
Travelling around the country
You can travel in many ways: by train (PKP), by state bus (PKS) or private bus. All the information about the timetables and tickets are available at the PKP and PKS stations or in Internet:
Polish students are entitled to a 37% discount for travelling around the country (they need to have a valid student card). For Inter City trains it is 33% off. Foreign students are entitled to the discount as well. They must have valid ISIC card (Remember: Euro<26 card does not entitle to this discount).
Academic Calendar
The academic year begins with the first full week of October. The exact date of the beginning of a new academic year is decreed by the WUT Rector and is announced in June of the previous academic year. The year is split into 2 semesters of 15 weeks each.
There are several breaks:
Successful students do not have to take September retakes, accordingly their break extends until the beginning of October.
Each year in the middle of May there is a class-free day with students' festivities called 'Juvenalia' - time for having fun before summer exinanations.
Calendar for every year
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