Poland is a multifaceted country where the capital and medieval old towns have the modern and traditional way of life. Horse-drawn carts negotiate country lanes in areas where the new millennium appears to have got lost somewhere down the road.

Situated in the heartland of Europe, it has been both a bridge and a front line between eastern and western Europe. Today it is the place to go if you are interested in seeing how a nation builds and reinvents itself.

Poland has a temperate climate characterized by relatively cold winters and warm summers. Winters become increasingly severe inland from the Baltic coast, with January temperatures averaging -1° C  in the north and going as low as - 5° C  in the southeast. July temperatures range from 16.5° C near the coast to 19° C in the south. Rainfall varies with altitude, ranging from less than 20 inches a year to as much as 50 inches in the southern mountains.