Guide to survive a winter in Poland

The favorite season of the year for the majority of people that live in Poland is coming… the warm Polish winter.

Temperatures below 0 degrees certainly provoke happiness and joy to all the population and it also encourage to make a lot of open air activities.

If this is going to be your first winter in this country, I wrote for you a ‘Guide to survive a winter in Poland'(since the point of view of a Mexican).

1) Keep calm

 If you never saw snow in your life (like me before coming to Europe) and suddenly you see white things falling down from the sky… do not freak out! It is just snow and it is harmless.

2) Prepare your mind

You need to understand that the winter that you will spend in Poland might be the coldest you’ve ever lived in your entire life!



3) Time at home

It is really possible that you will spend at home more time than ever, you need to download thousands of movies or TV series ( I can recommend you Dexter, House of Cards or Narcos), because at 4:15 pm the light of the sun will be gone… and also because of the intense cold you might not want to go out to the streets.

4) Getting fatter and fatter

 During this time of the year you will eat, eat and eat all the time, it is really possible that when the winter is over you might need to go shopping… but remember more fat in your body will make you feel warmer :P

5) Struggle with the public transportation

 During winter it is really common that you will be walking with temperatures below zero degrees and when you enter to the metro, bus or tram the heater will be turned on to the maximum and you will feel extremely hot! This also increases the possibilities to get sick due to the extreme changes in temperatures.



6) Get dressed like an ‘onion’

In Spanish is common to say to get dressed like an ‘onion’, but why? … a lot of people in Poland, especially foreigners get dressed with a lot of jackets or sweaters when they go to their universities or jobs. Literally we look like onions because we are ‘peeling’ ourselves to get used the temperature… colder or warmer places. In my case, it does not matter how many clothes I put on… I will always feel cold :P

7) Resignation

This might be the best advice on this guide… the feeling of resignation… the faster you realize that you will not see the light of the sun in the case you are working in an office, that it will be extremely cold, that walking in the snow is not that funny like in the American movies, and that the Polish winter only last like 4 or 5 months… in that moment you will be ready to survive a winter in Poland

And it does not matter that a lot of people says: Poland is not that cold…. Well for a Mexican it is!! :P

Chido-Fajny: Mexican blogger living in Poland

View Comments (5)

  • Hola, Yo soy una latina ahora en visitando España pero viajando la proxima semana a Polonia por navidad y año nuevo. todo mis planes estaban marchando bien hasta que alguien me dijo que fuese con cuidado que los Polacos son super racistas o que mejor cambiara mis planes. eso me dio un poco de panico y comence a hacer una investigacion mas profunda sobre los choques culturales y al parecer si pueden haber unos problemas. yo soy Cafecita, i sea no blanca pero tampoco negra, morena latina. me considero atractiva, hablo español e ingles y quiero ir a pasarla bien. el amigo al cual visito que conozco de Costa Rica es de Australia entonces no conozco a ningun Polaco. te agradezco si me respondes y me cuentas si tuviste algun percanse al llegar a Polonia o en tu estadia que por lo que leo ya llevas un par de años. un saludo.

    • Hola! :D Mira como en todos los lugares del mundo existen algunas personas o situaciones que desgraciadamente no se pueden controlar. En mi experiencia personal lo mas 'racista' que me ha tocado vivir es que me dijeron 1 vez negro en las calles.... lamentablemente los 'Hooligans' son las personas racistas que existen en este hermosos país.
      Te recomiendo ampliamente que vengas a Polonia y veas las festividades en esta época del año. Estoy 99.9% seguro que no te pasará absolutamente nada :) Es un país super seguro, la gente es increíble y la verdad no tienes absolutamente nada de que preocuparte :)
      No te espantes en verdad... Polonia es un país extraordinario!! :D
      ¿Que ciudad planeas visitar en Polonia? :) Saludos... si tienes alguna pregunta... no dudes en escribirme ;)

      • Pues mira, primero voy a Zakapone y luego a Gdansk. que alguien me diga o llame a alguien negro no es muy placentero. es increíble ignorancia a flor de piel porque no lo somos pero bueno espero que todo marche bien. muchas gracias por responder a mis preguntas y tu opinión sobre la situación. un saludo :)

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