Experience in Olsztyn, Poland by Ewa Monika

What is it like to live in Olsztyn? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Olsztyn is a beautiful city with a lot of lakes, parks, etc. We have a few shopping centres, so If you want to visit Olsztyn to do shopping, I think there are better places on the Earth to go. The weather is seasonable changing - it may be quite severe in winter.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Olsztyn?

If you want to know all about student lifestyle in Olsztyn, you have to experience it by yourself starting with visiting Kortowo. It's the area where we have a beautiful campus for students, where our university is located. There are a lot of dormitories, bars, restaurants with the appropiate prices for students. The most spectacular festival is Kortowiada whih starts in April or May (it depends on the year) and lasts for about 4-5 days.

How much does it cost to live in Olsztyn?

If you want to live in a dormitory, the price for a bed in shared room cost about 300-400 zł. Often it looks like there are 3 or 4 rooms with shared kitchen and bathroom, in the room lives 2-3 people - it depends from the dormitory. If you want to rent a flat, you should visit olx.pl website or allegro.pl to find appropiate accomodation. For a single room in an apartament you have to pay about 400-600 zł per month depending on the location; to rent a whole small flat it's up to 1000 zł per month. Normally, the cost of living is about 400 zł per month for food, of course, if you can cook and you're doing meals at home. You have to add cost for public transport which are about 100 zł per month for students. If you want to eat in a restaurant it costs for example about 10-25 zł per meal and 6 zł for a coffee.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Olsztyn? Is there any advice you can give?

Try to find some on olx.pl. Olsztyn is a city "opened to students" so I'm sure you can find anything you need in a really short time.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

A classical polish dish is kotlet schabowy - it's a pork chop which is served with boiled or roasted potatoes and various vegetables. Another meat dishes are kotlet mielony (also pork chop but prepared in a different way) and dewolaj (made of chicken with cheese). We also have delicious soups: rosół (it's just chicken with pasta), pomidorowa (tomatore soup) and another vegetable soups. Another very special polish dishes are pierogi, krokiety, naleśniki, etc - you can find them on Internet.

What places would you recommend visiting in Olsztyn?

Kortowo, Stare Miasto and Zamek.

Is it good to eat out in Olsztyn? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

It's quite expensive to eat outside, but you can find good restaurants in Stare Miasto area. Right there, there is Green Way restaurant for vegetarians, but they serve delicious dishes in a really low price.

Is the nightlife good in Olsztyn? Where is good to go?

The best parties are in Kortowo - at any bar you can reach and of course, Stare Miasto - also any bar. We usually party on Saturdays, in the rest of the days you can only go there to have a drink.

What advice would you give future students heading to Olsztyn?

Firstly try to find accomodation in a dormitory, if there wouldn't be any try to rent something by yourself. Students are really helpful, so if you are going for any kind of exchange, this is the best way to meet new people.