Hostel Helvetia - FAQ

A: There's a train almost every our. The journey with Express Train or Intercity Train takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. It costs about 86 PLN for one way second class ticket. Ususally it's no problem in buying tickets before departure, but you have to arrive to the station about 40 minutes earlier because of big queuses. For friday afternoon and saturday morning we recommend to buy in advance (one day before). More information at http://www.intercity.pl/en/main

A: It depends on your travveling style, but generally Poland is cheaper than west european coutries (with EURO). Below you can find some examples of prices (1 EUR is appr. 3.8 - 4.2 PLN, 1 USD is appr. 3.0 - 3.3 PLN) :

• fastfood dinner: 10-12 PLN
• dinner in regional restaurant: 30-40 PLN
• a bottle of beer in a shop: 1,5-3 PLN
• a bottle of beer in a a pub: 5-9 PLN
• a loaf of bread: 1.5 - 2 PLN
• 1 kg of ham / cheese: 15 - 30 PLN
• entry to museum: 4 - 12 PLN
• car rental (1 day) - from 120 PLN
• cheapest bed in Hostel Helvetia: 43 PLN

A: You can find current offers for Express and Intercit trains at: http://www.intercity.pl/en/main and hhttp://www.intercity.pl/en/77

A: International trains are considered rather expensive in comparison to buses (especially if you buy one way ticket) so if you want it cheap take a bus.

A: Its here: http://rozklad.pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en?

A: Try this page: http://www.e-podroznik.pl/.

A: Try following links:
Very good forecast for Poland - excellent for planning outdoor activities
Weather.com - includes 10 day forecast

A: We recomend site http://www.warsawtour.pl. There's a lot of information about sightseeing, calendar of cultural events and more.
For cultural events check also http://www.multifest.pl.

A: Te average temperature in Warsaw varies from -4 C in January (the coldest month) to 24 C in July (the warmest month).
For summer season (June-September) no extra clothes are needed, some t-shirts, blouses and simple rain coat or jacket is enough.
For spring (March-May) and Autumn (September-November) you can expect temperatures between 5 and 15 C and some rain. Think about warm sweater and good jacket or coat.
Winters (December-February) are not very cold, but temperature falls quite often below zero (approx -5 C). There are some days in winter, when the temperature can drop below -20 but it is not standard situation as some people think. Except for warm jacket you should take good shoes (be prepared for snow), cap, gloves and scarf for this season.

A: Try the following:
Appetizers:
Herring in vinegar or oil with a shot of vodka
Soups:
Żurek -sour rye meal mash,
Barszcz [borsch] - beet,
Kwaśnica (only in the south of Poland) - sauerkraut soup
Main courses:
Schabowy cutlet - breaded pork chops
Bigos - sauerkraut with pieces of meat and sausage,
Pierogi - dumplings with meat, cottage cheese or fruits,
Golonka - pork knuckles cooked with vegetables
Dessert:
We have variety of home made cakes Sękacz, Makowiec - poppy seed cake, Sernik - cottage cheese cake

More about Polish cuisine: Wikipedia - Polish cuisine

A: Here's the list
Adria Airways - www.adria-airways.com
Aer Lingus - www.flyaerlingus.com
Aeroflot - www.aeroflot.ru
AeroSvit - www.aerosvit.com
AirBaltic - www.airbaltic.com
Air Europa - www.aireuropa.com
Air France - www.airfrance.pl
AJet Aviation - www.ajet.com
Alitalia - www.alitalia.it
Austrian Airlines - www.austrian.pl
Belavia - www.belavia.by
Blue1 - www.blue1.com
British Airways - www.ba.com
Centralwings - www.centralwings.com
CSA - www.csa.cz
Direct Fly - www.directfly.pl
EasyJet - www.easyjet.com
El-Al - www.elal.co.il
Finnair - www.finnair.com
Germanwings - www.germanwings.com
KLM - www.klm.com
Lufthansa - www.lufthansa.pl
Malev - www.malev.hu
Norwegian - www.norwegian.no
PLL LOT = www.lot.com
SAS - www.scandinavian.net
SkyEurope - www.skyeurope.com
Brussels Airlines - www.flySN.com
Swiss International Air Lines - www.swiss.pl
Tunis Air - www.tunisair.com.tn
Turkish Airlines - www.turkishairlines.com
Wizz Air - www.wizzair.com

A: Wyborowa - pure vodka - the most famous brand
Żubrówka (Bison Vodka) - Vodka flavored with unique kind of grass (there's a grass strow in each bottle) that grows only in one place in Poland (Białowieża). Mixed with apple juice makes famous polish drink called "apple pie".
Krupnik - vodka with honey (kind of stron liqueur) - excellent for cold days.