!["Polish]("https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3264\/2585188371_98c382a244.jpg" "\\"<a")
<\/a>Image by Fuchsia Rascal dorkyvegan\/flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n
Shopping in Poland can be a fun and even exciting adventure where you can find an array of wonderful Polish shops and markets offering many items. The most popular Polish items include such things as hand-woven rugs, silverware, glass and enamelware, handmade amber and silver, woodcarvings, clay and metal sculptures, and of course, dolls (lalki<\/strong>) in traditional regional costumes (regionalne kostiumy<\/strong>).<\/p>\n Amber is a really big thing in Poland. The most popular place to get polish amber is Trojmiasto (Tricity \u2013 Gdynia, Gdansk and Sopot) \u2013 since those cities are situated on the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n There is just so much to choose from \u2013 mostly jewelry and souvenirs made of amber \u2013 ships, little houses, figurines of people.Polish amber, also known as Gold of the North, is the most valuable type of amber. Its rich, honey-like structure makes this Baltic treasure a genuine piece of art.<\/p>\n Here<\/a> you can read a very interesting article about the history of amber.<\/p>\n Polish shops (sklepy<\/strong>) and markets (bazary<\/strong>) hours (godziny<\/strong>) are normally Monday through Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00. Occasionally, you will find a few Polish markets open until 20:00 through the week and 16:00 on Saturday. A few are even open 24 hours per day known as night shops. Supermarkets and larger department stores are normally open from 10:00 to 19:00.<\/p>\n For those of you who are confused about time: in Poland it is a 24 hour cycle. So, for example 1pm is 13:00 and 12am is 24:00.<\/p>\n Polish currency is the zloty. Denominations of the Polish Zloty are Zl200, 100, 50, 20 and 10 with new coins in the amount of Zl5, 2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 groszy, in which 100 groszy equals one Zloty.<\/p>\n You can find several foreign currency exchanges so you can have plenty of Polish currency to buy all the great items you find. The majority of exchanges are found at hotels, border crossings, and bureaus de exchange (polish name \u201ckantor<\/strong>\u201d). On the other hand, if you have Euros many of the larger hotels and stores accept this currency so you will not have to have your money exchanged.<\/p>\n Along with Euros and Polish currency, many of the Polish shops also accept American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa. If you prefer cash then you can receive cash from your Visa credit card at most of the banks.\u00a0 Banks are open on Monday through Friday from 09:00 until 16:00 and on Saturday from 09:00 until 13:00. However, in smaller towns the hours may not be the same.<\/p>\n You can find many unique items at Polish markets besides fresh fruits and vegetables such as homemade items handcrafted by local residents. One thing you should know about bazary<\/strong> is that you can negotiate the price. So try to offer 1\/2 of the asking price and see what happens \u2026you will probably get the item!<\/p>\n A shopping trip in Poland can be the highlight of any vacation if you love finding all kinds of regional and handcrafted items to take home as souvenirs or gifts for family and friends. Large shopping centers located in bigger cities such as Warsaw are great places to shop. Personally I like to visit the smaller, quaint shops of locals. They can offer many items that can be a thrilling experience. One of the favorite places my husband and I go to when shopping for unique gifts is Kazimierz Dolny<\/a><\/p>\n In this little town right on the Wisla River you can find beautiful paintings, pottery, handmade baskets and many other items.<\/p>\n
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