I used Duolingo to start. But it won’t really teach you the grammar, but you will get the basics.
When I travelled to Italy, I looked on YouTube for videos teaching basic greetings and polite phrases in Italian. Very helpful to have someone explaining pronunciation.
Don’t miss the Wieliczka Salt Mines.
Bring some good jokes.
Nie przejmuj się! Amerykanie są za głupi, żeby uczyć się polskiego!
And Żabka stores will be your friend.
Kracow is nice, Warsaw is big. The best are the small towns and cities which weren’t leveled in WWII. I suggest a tour bus guide thru the country. The old abandoned pre-WWII villages are surreal. Ask to visit some. Auschwitz is creepy but worth the visit. Hopefully it’s still authentic. They had a way of displaying these huge photos positioned so that when you looked at them they were looking back on where you were standing. I went in June, late 70s when it was still a COMBLOC country.
For example, start with the name of this city: Łódź.
Duolingo, Memrise, and Rocket Languages. I used all three to teach myself enough Italian to get by in most places in Italy.
My advice is don’t focus on conversation. Too challenging in a short time window.
Learn to read or recognize simple common signs, menu items and basic courtesies.
That will be very helpful
I had a Polish girlfriend who helped. But most anyone under 40 will speak English in the cities.
Warsaw is maybe a day or two and not very interesting. Krakow, Toruń, Gdansk are great. Zakopane is not to be missed. And for fun if you have the time Grudziadz, where my father side came from. Just outside of Gdansk is a wonderful castle made from all brick. Malbork Castle. Not much to see in Eastern Poland but flat farm land. If you enjoy adult beverages Zubrowka is my favorite vodka. When down south in Zakopane, get yourself some smoked string cheese, called ozipek. It is absolutely delicious. The food in the karzmas will guarantee to add a few inches to your belly. Poland is a hidden gem in Europe. The people are a bit stand offish but that comes from growing up under communism. Generally everyone will be friendly and helpful. I wish I were going with you. Have fun.
Take a book with photos it saves time can’t say the wrong thing.
If you are in Warsaw on Sunday, you absolutely must go to Łazienki Park for the Chopin concert.
You are fortunate indeed to be spending time in Poland. I spent several months there for my job. For what its worth, here are my observations on language in Poland
Before heading over, I knew English, French, some rudimentary German, but no Polish. It is a hard language to speak (even harder to read). It also bears little in common with the Romantic or Germanic languages. I was told to focus on learning vocabulary. I carried flash cards with words/phrases all the time, trying to learn 25 new words a day.
It really helped to be able to point to something and name it. Eventually, I learned how to string some words together with phrases such as “where is?” and “How many?”
Learn the phrases the help establish civil interactions, “Please, thank you, Hello, Goodbye, “ etc. It will show you are trying to respect their language and culture, and it will open many doors. Most Polish people I interacted with spoke at least basic English, and once they find out you are not German nor Russian they will likely want to try out their English.
The Polish people I met were friendly and sincere. The Churches (that survived the German/Russian occupations) are beautiful, the countryside is pleasant and the food is amazing. If you can, try to get up to north coast. Gdansk, Gydynia and the Baltic coast are fun.
Enjoy your time in Poland! Dobre zdrowie!
Off topic, but related. A FReeper posted “You could have heard a pin drop” years ago, and I saved it, but neglected to save the FReeper’s screen name.
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, “Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?”
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, “Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
You could have heard a pin drop. ***
A guy with a Polish name goes to an eye doctor who displays a chart with the line:
A-X-J-D-E-R-K-L-N
The doctor asks, “Can you read any of that?”
The Polish guy says, “Can I read it? I KNOW da guy!
If I am dancing with a Polish girl.
Am I Pole dancing?.....