Necessary things to bring while coming to Poland From India ..?

In couple of Months coming to Poland,

1) Polish - "Indlish" - English dict. app

2) Travel documents

3) Lots of patience for endless queues and bureaucratic run-around

Interesting @Lyzko

Knowing Polish is a bread-and-butter necessity, don't let anybody tell you differently!

What is definitely necessary is warm winter clothing. You can get this is Poland but make sure you bring something warm to wear for when you arrive as it could be very cold already in November. You will also need a decent pair of winter boots suitable for walking in snow, but again, you can get these in Poland.

Yep, weather surely is a factor as well:-) People always talk about culture shock (including linguistics differences), how about climatic shock too, huh?
Even a fifth former knows that Poland's a heck of lot colder than India (global warming notwithstanding)LOL

@Chemikiem
thank you...

They have totally vanished from the Polish landscape now. Where did you get that from?


This is probably the closest to what you have in mind. Available in EMPiK stores.

I'm not sure I'd agree with that. A few examples: shopping in the Bazarek or Targowisko on a busy day like Saturday or before a public holiday. The queues especially at the meat counters are awe inspiring! It's a real 'bring sandwiches and a deckchair' job and prepare to make yourself comfortable while you wait. Also many people still seem to prefer to do certain kinds of business in person rather than via the phone or internet, and sometimes you have to do things face to face, so you can have a very long wait if you go the gas or electricity providers. I once waited an hour but at least they provide chairs. Just last week, the queue at the Orange salon in one of our local shopping centres was so long that had it spilled out onto the pavement outside! There literally wasn't room in the shop and that was about 11.00am on a weekday.

So you cannot afford yourself internet banking which is readily available to everyone these days? How very strange of you ... Most of those who like to do "business in person" with the electricity or gas provider lay aside the business of paying their bills to the last minute. Queueing is their hobby and you can't deny people their hobbies.


There are shops where you can buy all the stuff, but if you are eager to save a few groszy and loose quite a lot of time, you are free to do shopping in a bazarek. And bring your own deckchair along, dear.


My guess is they had something special on offer, hence the queue. But that regularly happens also in the shops of the so-called "rotten West" on any such occasion.

"Endless queues" is really a term you can only refer to the communist Poland. At that time you simply had to join such a queue if you wanted to buy some stuff for yourself or family because you had no other choice and there was no real alternative to that as it exists today. No, Łyżko's phrase that in Poland you need


is utter rubbish aimed at defaming Poland on all fronts and Ms Atch's attempt to back him up on this is just pathetic. C'mon, people of the rotten West, go back to your senses again.

What a hilarious claim to make, only last week I was person number 47 in the queue at the post office, so my tip to the OP is to bring something to read while waiting at the post office.

Don't be silly Ziemusz. I had to go and see them because the direct debit I had set up wasn't working and it's easier for me to deal face to face than over the phone with my level of Polish. Anyway, I see plenty of people in such places who seem to be doing all kinds of long winded, complex transactions.


I wasn't backing him up. I was disagreeing with you which is not quite the same thing.
I don't think either of you is completely right. Oh and the Orange 'salon' is always a nightmare, I don't think it was a special offer.

Now to add to the list, I'll give an honourable mention to paying one's property tax. If you choose to do that in person you can queue for an hour. Why would you do so, you ask? Well because like direct debits that mysteriously don't function, payments made via bank transfer frequently go a-wandering and have to be traced and located so I now prefer to pay in person and collect a nice comforting bit of paper stamped with the mark of 'authority'.