After the first couple times of riding the bus I became much more comfortable, and after living in Warsaw for several months, I did not have to use any maps to help me figure out which bus to take!
The first couple of months that I lived in Poland, I was nervous to take the long-distance trains. To buy tickets, you had to use a website written entirely in Polish and it was difficult to figure out the correct tickets to buy. With time (and the help of a local Polish resident), my friend and I were able to purchase tickets to visit Poznan, Poland. This is a city located on the western part of the country near the border with Germany. On our first train ride, we were unsure of when we should get off. They made announcements about the stops on the train, but they were all in Polish. We had to pay close attention to every announcement and look outside at the scenery to see if we were at the correct location. We loved being able to take the trains, because it was a great way to see the scenery of the Polish countryside!
Riding buses (or trams or subways) and walking is definitely connected to the culture and environment. Not many people in the city own their own cars. Therefore, they rely on the use of public transportation. Also, since Warsaw is a flat city, it is easy to walk around between locations. Throughout Poland, public transportation is very affordable and well-connected. If you live in a city, there is no need to own a car. You can use public transportation to get anywhere that you want anywhere that you want in the cities or around the country.
