Poland
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Smoking

After holding out to be one of the few remaining EU countries with no prohibitions on smoking, a new law put into effect on November 15th, 2010 finally limited smoking in public places....
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity

Sunday 8th of January sees the 20th edition of The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. No, Charlie ...
Superstitions

While it would be inaccurate to claim the Poles as being a deeply superstitious nation visitors will be delighted to know the country has more than its fair share of quirky beliefs and customs....
Creepy Poland

You have not come to Poland to visit a pyramid, but that’s exactly what you can do if your journey takes you up north....
Euro 2012: The Draw

With the 16 Euro 2012 finalists now knowing where it is they will be playing in Poland and Ukraine, there has never been a better time to check out In Your Pocket's guides to the host cities....
Izabella Scorupco

You wouldn’t expect to catch James Bond playing hide the sausage with a bearded woman, so it should come as a bit of a bombshell that Izabella Scorupco (his squeeze in Goldeneye) was exactly that – albeit for a role in some nonsense Scando art house flick....
Irena Sendler

Known as the female Schindler, Irena Sendler - who died in May 2008 at the age of 98 - is credited with having saved the lives of some 2,500 Jewish children in the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War....
Lech Wałęsa

Credited as the driving force behind the Solidarity movement, as well as the man who revived a post-communist Poland, Lech Wałęsa remains, for many, the gloriously mustachioed public face of Poland, as well as Gdansk’s most famous resident....
Kazimierz Pułaski

A Polish and American military hero, Kazimierz Pułaski (Casimir Pulaski in English) is almost ubiquitously immortalised on monuments and place names in both countries, but especially in America where some major cities celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day as an official bank holiday....
Solidarity

Although Solidarity was officially christened in 1980, its roots can be traced some ten years earlier....
Not a Queue

A seemingly straightforward concept, while standing in an orderly line is probably as unconsciously ingrained where you come from as staying to the right while passing in a narrow corridor, here in Poland, queuing is a cutthroat game of cunning and sabotage....
National Holidays

ChristmasWinter in Poland can be miserable, but Christmas proves to be anything but. The culmination of the Grinch period is Christmas Eve, and as in most countries is celebrated by eating....
National Anthem

Whether you call it “Poland is Not Yet Lost,” “Song of the Polish Legions of Italy” or “Dąbrowski’s Mazurka,” they all describe the same thing: Poland’s national anthem....
Wolf's Lair

To the English it’s Wolf’s Lair, to the Poles Wilczy Szaniec. Adolf Hitler, however, would have used the term Wolfschannze....

Fat Thursday

picture credit: Marcin Floryan, pl.wikipedia.org

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Fat Thursday might sound strange to those of you who are used to the literal translation of the French term Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but in Poland the last Thursday before Lent begins is just as gluttonous, though. Because the Catholic holiday of Lent typically forbids sweets and treats, Fat Thursday (February 16, 2012) is seen as a last chance to pack it in before abstaining until Easter. The most popular item to consume on Fat Thursday are pączki, large Polish doughnuts (we’re talking bigger than your fist) that are usually filled with rose jelly but can also contain pudding, cheese or even chocolate. The outside of these hefty treats is usually coated in a sweet glaze just to ensure you get plenty of sugary goodness in every bite. Another similar item consumed on Fat Thursday is faworki, a thinner dough ribbon that is fried until crispy and sprinkled with powdered sugar. So why the heaps of pastry? With Lent’s fasting restrictions families looking to use up items that would soon be contraband – lard, sugar and eggs, to name a few – would make the sweet treats to burn through their stores. Today it’s a lot easier to buy faworki and pączki at the local bakery (just look for the word “piekarnia”) than it is to make it yourself, just make sure to buy plenty.

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Poland In Your Pocket

Free Download

Features

More features:

Smoking

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity

Superstitions

Creepy Poland

Euro 2012: The Draw

Izabella Scorupco

Irena Sendler

Lech Wałęsa

Kazimierz Pułaski

Solidarity

Not a Queue

National Holidays

National Anthem

Wolf's Lair

Fat Thursday

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Poland
In Your Pocket