Poland is one of the largest and most important countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Sitting in-between the East and the West, with the ex-Soviet Union on one border and Germany and the bulk of western Europe on the other, the country has often paid the price for this position as armies swept through and divided up the country on their way to battle their foes in either the east or west, but it has also brought many benefits in terms of culture and architecture. A visitor to Poland is offered many natural well as historical treats, not to mention the chance the explore Poland’s burgeoning and exciting underground music and art scene.

Climate

In the north and east the winters can get very cold, often around minus eight degrees, but in the summer time most of the country is pleasant and sunny with the average temperature somewhere between twenty and twenty seven degrees Celsius. The further west and south you go then the generally warmer the region is, but unless you travel in the midst of an especially cold winter, the weather will be nothing remarkable or unbearable.

Culture and People

Poland has given the world many significant individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Kazimierz Pułaski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederic Chopin. There is a strong literary tradition in the country, and it has produced such notable greats as Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Prus, Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Stanisław Lem and, Ryszard Kapuściński. Writer's Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska all of whom have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. There are also many important people in the world of film such as Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński and, Krzysztof Kieślowski, who have each made their mark on the international stage