The school will be held at the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics ("MIM"), University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland.
Poland is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Agreement. List of countries (from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), citizens of which are not required to have a visa when entering Poland.
The currency in Poland is złoty (abbr. PLN or zł) divided into 100 groszy (abbr. gr). 1 PLN is worth about 0,30 EUR or 0,42 USD. In hotels, decent restaurants and most shops you can pay with a credit/debit card, in some places you can pay with Euro. There is quite a lot of ATMs in Warsaw, a few of them are located at the airport. You can also exchange cash in banks and so called kantors.
English is the most commonly spoken foreign language in Poland. You can expect a hotel receptionist or a (decent) restaurant waiter to understand English. You cannot expect a public bus driver or a newspaper selling person to speak English, though. Unless you are lucky.
More information:
The easiest way to get to Warsaw from abroad is by air. The Frederic Chopin Airport (IATA code: WAW) is placed just 5 km from MIM. Polish national airlines LOT operates to many European airports and a few directions out of Europe, many other European airlines operate to Warsaw.
It is also possible to come by train. Warsaw has direct connections with Berlin (6¼ h), Cologne (12½ h), Amsterdam (16 h), Prague (8½ h), Vienna (7½ h), Budapest (11 h), Kiev (19 h), Moscow (18½ h). See Polish railways connection search engine, the main station in Warsaw is "Warszawa Centralna".
Although local and regional trains tend to be of low standard, the Inter-City and above categories trains as well as international sleeper trains are rather comfortable and safe. See for instance here or here for some advices.
Of course you can travel by car. Note, however, that Polish roads quality differs from Western standards, in particular there is no motorway leading to Warsaw. See for instance here or here for some advices. Make sure that your navigation system has a detailed and up to date map of Poland or have such a map on paper.
Warsaw has a well-developed public transport system and we recommend using it. A few advices:
More information in Globan 2008 Local Transport Guide - this is the minimal version, you can find guides customized for most popular (as we expect) hotels in the Accommodation tab.
There is a lot of taxis in Warsaw and usually they are the fastest mean of transport. However, when using them you should be careful and follow a few advices in order not to be deceived.
Beware of drivers who approach you at the airport, these drivers usually charge exorbitant rates. A taxi car should have a clear "TAXI" sign (not for instance "TAKI"), taxi ranks (check them or ask about the price), a company name, and a telephone number. When possible order your taxi by telephone. Warsaw Airport reccommends MPT, Sawa Taxi and Merc Taxi corporations.
Maximal legal taxi prices: starting fee - 6,00 PLN, day rate - 3 PLN/km, night and holiday rate - 4,50 PLN/km. A taxi from the airport to MIM or a hotel placed near Pl. Zawiszy should cost about 20-30 PLN during the day and about 40-50 PLN at night or on Sunday.
There is no additional charge for luggage.
It is possible to rent a bike in Warsaw, for instance here.
