Polish Language Blog

It’s been a long winter everywhere…I think everyone is ready for the Spring! However weather doesn’t always cooperate with us…

Over 100,000 people in Poland have been left without power (bez prądu) as the country battles with a paralysing blanket of snow that also brought chaos to its transport system.

In an Easter address to Poland Bronisław Komorowski, the Polish president, described the weather as a bad “April Fool’s Day joke”.

Engineers from electricity companies struggled to restore power to towns and homes after the weight of snow brought power lines down (zerwane linie energetyczne) and caused tree branches to snap and bring more lines down. The worst affected regions were to the east and south of Warsaw where as many as 80,000 people were left without power.

The weather also took its toll on Poland’s airports with hundreds of flights either cancelled or delayed (setki lotów odwołanych lub opóźnionych).

Local authorities in Poland warned that the continuing battle with winter weather was putting an intolerable strain on budgets, with the mayor of the southern town of Bytom proposing that they might have to follow the “Scandinavian example” and leave some roads covered in snow.

The blizzard (zamieć) conditions stretched into the neighbouring Czech and Slovak republics where snow falls up to 15 inches deep in mountain regions blocked roads and cast an icy blanket over attempts to celebrate Easter.

Hopefully Spring will come soon…everywhere:)

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

The Wild Boar (Dzik) is the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig. It lives in woodlands all over central Europe, and can be found throughout most of the forests of Poland. Wild boars are covered in a coat of coarse, bristle-like hairs ranging from dark grey to brown. They can reach up to 440 lb (200 kg) and can grow up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long, and weigh up to 705 lb (320 kg). Male boar are generally larger than females. Wild boar have four continually growing tusks (kły), one in each quadrant of the jaw. If surprised or cornered they may become aggressive and can cause injury with their tusks. However, this is quite rare and usually only occurs if a sow feels the need to defend her piglets. Wild boar in Poland are usually found in herds – stada (‘sounders’) of around 20 individuals. Sounders are made up of females and their young. When males reach maturity they leave the group and live mainly on their own. Wild boar usually live to around 10 years of age, although some have been recorded living as long as 25 years. Herds of wild boar may travel together over a large home range, but do not migrate. Wild boar are omnivores (wszystkożerne) and feed on a wide variety of foodstuff, including: birds, reptiles, insects, eggs, leaves, roots and tubers, wood, fruit, seeds, mushrooms and dung! Wild boar are generally active at dusk (zmierzch), dawn (świt), and at night (noc). During the day they hide out in dense woodland or other thick cover to rest.

Wild boar are truely fascinating creatures and are present in fairly large numbers in the vast and unspoilt forests of the west of Poland. The numbers of boar Lubuskie are kept at a fairly constant level and in a healthy condition by various hunting clubs who manage the woodland to best benefit the boar.

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

The Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska) is one of the largest countries in Central Europe, bordering Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. Its northern frontier on the Baltic Sea gives it easy access to Scandinavian and North Sea ports. Poland`s shape is roughly square, measuring 400-440 miles across.

The capital, Warsaw, is situated in the center of the country. Poland`s surface area of 120,727 sq. miles ranks eighth in Europe. The country lies almost entirely on the North European Plain and is a land of gentle relief, rarely rising above 350 feet except along the southern border with the Sudety and Carpathian mountain ranges. Rysy is the highest mountain peak, 8200 feet above sea level.

Approximately one-fifth of the land is maintained as pasture and meadows. About 27% of the total area is covered by forest. The longest rivers which cross the country northward are the Vistula (667 miles in length) in the center, and the Odra (530 miles) which flows along Poland`s western border.

Territory:

total area of the country -312,685 km2 (120,727sqm)

territorial sea – 8,7 thousands km2

Poland is the 9th biggest country in Europe, and 63rd in the world

Neighboring countries (border length):

Russia (Kaliningrad District) (210 km)

Lithuania (103 km)

Byelorussia (416 km)

Ukraine (529 km)

Slovakia (539 km)

Czech Republic (790 km)

Germany (467 km)

Length of sea border (528 km)

Total length of national border 3582 km

Poland is mostly lowland.

The average height equals 173 m. Low-laying parts of the country (lower than 300 m) constitute about 91,3% of Poland’s territory, uplands (300-500 m) – 5,6 %, and mountains (over 500 m) only 3,1 %.

Despite the majority of lowland Polish landscape is very varied. Poland is famous for its lakes (there are over 9300 of them) and rivers (main rivers of Poland are Vistula (Wisła) and Odra).

Climate:Continental; moderate, changeable weather.

Average temperatures:

January

on the coast and the West from 0 to -1

North-East from – 4,5 to – 5,5

In the mountains (South)- 7

July:

on the coast 16,5

In the South 19

Average annual rainfall: 600 mm

The highest mountain`s peak: Rysy (Tatra mountains) 2499 m.

The longest river: Wisła (Vistula) 1047 km.

The biggest lake: Śniardwy (Mazury Lake District)b13,8 km2

The deepest lake: Hańcza 108 m

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)