Discovering Warsaw

It has been 8 months that I have been living in Warsaw and studying in the academy of fine arts.

It is an incredible city and offers a growing culture scene which is very attractive. The most amazing thing is that everything here is a lot cheaper than in Spain so if you go there on Erasmus, you can make the most of travelling the area and eating out in restaurants. You can also do lots of different activities that you wouldn't do very often in your home country.

To tell my story, I will break it down in parts.

The academy of fine arts

Although my speciality is drawing, here I decided to do photography which is my true passion in the media arts subfaculty. The academic side of this experience is less important really, if you are in my situation don't think that this experience is mostly about that because it won't be, you're here to discover and develop personally.

In media arts, the professor graded me so highly it was quite insulting, all Erasmus students attained grades as high as 9 or 10, no matter how much effort we put in or no matter how much we attended class. The classes were in Polish so only a few professors met with us personally from time to time to see that we were completing the set exercises. The photo studio was useless. The only assignment that motivated me a little but was reportage photography. I think it is only if you are more interested in artistic performance or something of the sort, that the professor would show more interest in your work.

At least the coordinators of the main office were really nice and would organise interesting activities for Erasmus students such as going to watch the opera or going on various excursions.

The indoor pool is free for those studying fine arts.

Polish, the impossible language

Not everyone can speak English but you can get through almost any situation without speaking Polish. The problems arise when you have a problem where you have to go to the hospital or the police station. Learn to say hello, goodbye and thank you, at least. Be patient, some people are rude who work for the public sector and get annoyed if you don't understand and they have to use English. People can either be very polite with foreign students or the complete opposite.

Weather

I don't remember having to cancel any plans because of the bad weather. This winter has been one of the hottest in Poland for the last few years. The worst weeks were in January and February when the temperature dropped to -15ºc, but there was only one month when it was around -5ºc - 7ºc. It hardly snowed. By March, the weather had improved and it was even better than in Vitoria, I assure you.

Public transport

If you have a student card, the transport card costs 160 zlotys (38 euros) for the three terms and 60 zlotys (14 euros) for one month. At the start, you will believe everything the ticket inspectors tell you but don't let them fool you into buying the three term card in the first minute. To find out what is the best for you, you have to download the mobile app 'Jakojade', it's really easy and useful, with that you will find out the best transport connection from anywhere in the city. If you mobile battery dies, just remember that 'all roads lead to Centralna (train station)'. If you have a bad sense of direction, you can take a metro from Centrum or from Centralna.

If you are struggling in the cold winter nights, taxis are quite cheap, from 20 zlotys (5 euros) a normal taxi will drop you off at your house, as long as you don't live on the outskirts of the city. With an uber, it will be even cheaper.

There is a public bike service which is called the 'verturilo'. It is very practical but best to use them in the summer months.

Travelling

Buses: Polskibus and Simplebus are the two cheapest bus companies which offer a variety of routes, and sometimes offer you free food, and are very practical.

Train: there are certain discounts for students, but you have to go the Centralna Train Station to make an enquiry.

Plane: Go on the Ryanair website and check out the deals on flights. If you book in advance, you can sometimes get to Gdansk or Wroclaw for less than 5 euros. The bad part is that if you go to Modlin airport, it is quite far out and you have to take a bus or train to get there.

Blablacar is another good option, the prices are really cheap.

You can also hitchhike, it is qutie common, no one will look at you weirdly.

Popular destinations to visit from Warsaw

Poland: Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia, Wroclaw, Krakow, Lublin, Lodz, Torun, Poznan, Zakopane (ski season).

Other countries: Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Brussels, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vilnius, Riga...

Remember that if you plan to visit Russia, you need to order a visa one month in advance.

Parks

The best park is definitely łazienki, it is really big, beautiful and very well looked after. The university library garden is also very pretty, especially when the sun is setting.

Although it is a bit far out, the grounds of the house where Chopin was born are magical. It is located in Zelazowa Wola, about 50 minutes from the centre of Warsaw.

Museums

The typical more popular ones are:

• Muzeum Narodowe
• The Warsaw Uprising Museum
• Wilanowski Palace
• The Royal Castle
• The Fryderyk Chopin Museum
• Copernicus Science Centre

For modern art lovers, I would recommend visiting Zachęta – Narodowa Galeria Sztuki.

There are some very curious museums such as The Neon Muzeum - Poland's first Neon Museum dedicated to the documentation and preservation of Poland's cold war era neon signs.

Most are free on Sunday.

Markets

My favourites were the antique koło markets and the vegetarian food you could find in in wisła market (when it was good weather).

Food and restaurants

Specialities

The most famous dish in Poland is the 'pieroguis' (dumplings), which is like stuffed ravioli but larger and made from a different pasta.

There are many different types of soups, the best known are goulash, zurek and borsch. They also have lots of different types of smoked sausage.

There are lots of Polish recipes that use apples since it is the most widely grown fruit in the country. You can not leave without trying the apple and cheese pies.

They also have a habit of putting gherkins in almost everything!

Restaurants

• The most famous and popular restaurant that Erasmus students visit are those of the national franchise Zapiecek which serves traditional Polish food of a good quality and price.
• Other restaurants popular with students include Podwale, Bazyliszek, or Szwejka, Jeff's... the cheapest being Podwale. In these restaurants, they have a deal of the day (ask about it because it is only in Polish). In podwale for example, chicken Mondays is 16 zlotys (4 euros) and a litre of Tyskie beer is 8 zlotys (2 euros).
• My favorite hamburger restaurants: Bobby burger (burgers for 9 zlotys) and Burn (typical American burger place that has huge hamburger competitions).
• The best place for crepes is Manekin. There is always a bit of a queue but it's worth it.
• If you ever want to treat yourself, I would recommend Aioli or Wabu (a more expensive sushi restaurant which is apparently really good although I have never been). I will miss good sushi for a cheap price when I leave this city.
• There are also vegetarian options, my favourite was Beirut. A cozy bar where they make a delicious hummus and falafel.
• Of course they have fast-food restaurants like KFC, Burger King, pizza take-outs... which are even cheaper than in Spain.

Nightlife

Warsaw has loads of different places to go out: typical Erasmus bars, modern bars, more quiet pubs...

• The bars that are open until 1am are: Remond (Tuesdays and Thursdays), Park Klub (Wednesdays) and Multipup (Sundays) where you will great big beer dispensers which costs 10 zlotys for students and 20 zlotys if you're not a student. The music is shabby and a bit crap in these bars but you will always spend a lot of time there. You'll feel like you're in Spain but a decade ago.
• The nightclubs in Marszałkowska street are a good choice for Fridays and Saturdays (after 23:00, entry costs around 15-20 zlotys): Sketch, bank, Hybrydy, klubokawiarna, Organza...
• In Zurawia street there is Kapitol and Foksal xviii. When the summer season starts, there are party boats on the wisła. Erasmus and the ESN often organize parties and themed nights out in all these places.
• The nightclubs close around 3:00/4:00 in the winter season, but you can always go to Luzztro which is an electronic music club later on.
• It is also worth mentioning Pijalnia where a 30cl beer costs 4 zlotys (1 euro). That is a deal that will drive us Spaniards mad! But look after yourself and don't go too mad haha.
• For more calm and quiet bars, we loved going to Powisle, Plan b and Eufemia. These places also had more of a glam atmosphere.
• For a more luxury bar, go for a cocktail on the roof of the Marriot between 18:00 and 19:00 which costs around 20 zlotys.
• For a calmer atmosphere, you can stay in the Pawiloni quarter, where you will find bars of all different themes, which are almost always crowded. I used to go to this Turkish one there was shishas on one side and you got popcorn with your beer. There is also happy hour in the week in most bars. On the other hand, my favourite bar in the Praga quarter was called W oparach absurdu.
• If none of these takes your fancy, you might like to go to Padbar, a giant bar full of x-boxs that you can play for free if you buy a drink.

Beer

I really love beer so living in Poland has been great for this. Many girls here order beer with a straw and drink it with this pink syrup that I never knew about, but it ruins the taste I think. For a pint of beer, in a bar it costs 8 zlotys and 2, 50 zlotys in the supermarkets. Some of my favourites are Tyskie, Okocim and Ciechan. But the best quality and price is książęce (available in blonde, dark brown and black) if you buy it in Biedronka. Honey beer is popular over here.

If you want to try some Polish beers I would recommend going to Piwpaw, Cuda na kiju and Pod mosteczkiem. The last place I mentioned is a biker/rock bar and the service is excellent. The prices in these places are a bit higher but very worthwhile.

Where to live

You can ask your university department to assign you a buddy (mentor) so that they can help you with this and any other issues that arise.

Depending on what you study, you have the option of staying in a student residency (about 100-120 euros per month) which is assigned by your university. I lived in an apartment (cost about 200-300 euros per month). I have seen some awful residencies such as Akademik, but you'll get by fine if you like going out! Always better not to make the mistake of living with Spanish people as you will miss out on meeting people from different countries. You'll have time to meet up with lots of other Spanish people, and you'll notice that we are the majority here. It depends on what you want to do and if you want to learn languages.

Good areas to live: Śródmieście, Powisle, Stare miasto, Mokotow.

Areas not as good: The outskirts of the city and Praga quarter. But if this is the case it doesn't matter, because like I said before the city is very well connected. I have met people who live in Praga for a much better price and in my opinion, it is worth it. Do not base your opinion solely on its bad reputation.

Tips

• Play is the cheapest option for a mobile sim card, there are different offers with internet included in the price. They are sold almost everywhere in the city and it works great.
• Before you get to Poland, make sure you have a credit card that will not charge extra when withdrawing money from ATMs. Evo is the bank that Erasmus students usually use.
• It is quite normal for living rooms to be used as bedrooms. So you will often see some flats with regular rooms and a lounge that is considered a bedroom, which has a sofa bed and no closets.
• I will miss 24 hour opening times. Poland are more logical in that some alcohol shops and some gyms are open all day.
• Supermarkets are open from between 7-8 am until 10. 11 pm, even on a Sunday which is very convenient. Some of them are also open 24 hours in certain parts of the city. Biedronka (which has a ladybug logo) is the cheapest supermarket.
• They sell medication in supermarkets but they do not sell tomato sauce. They have almost every variety of fish you can think of.
• There are lots of Christmas decorations in the city and are often left up until February. That includes the ice rink in the market square.
• I have not seen anyone dance as badly as 90% of Polish men.
• It is normal to see lots of drunk people on the streets. It is a city where lots of crazy and different people live.
• There is at least one shooting range for anyone over 18, like the ones that you find in the USA.
• Under the university library is a tenpin bowling alley which is quite good.
• When the weather is good (which does happen, don't worry) the banks of the river wisła are filled with young people during the night and during the day. People gather for barbecues and the best thing is is that they allow you to drink alochol outside.