Can anybody help me figure out HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN STAY IN POLAND? Here are details:

*I am a US citizen.

*I'm in Poland as a regular Tourist. (I have family here).

*I will be applying for my Polish citizenship in Warsaw, and it might take another month or two, to get the application finished and submitted.

*I arrived in Europe via Zurich airport, Switzerland, on November 1, 2008. (I flew from USA). My passport was scanned in the computer at Zurich airport.

*Then I went to France for 3 weeks, by train, and back again, to Zurich. Nobody scanned nor stamped my passport on either of these trains.

*Then later I came to Poland by train, arriving December 21 2008. Nobody stamped my passport on the train, although they did take everybody's passports and keep them on the overnight train (which was from Switzerland to Austria, not Poland).[/u] (From Austria I took 3 more small trains, to arrive in the small village in Poland where I am now).

So, do I have "90 days" here in Poland starting from Dec 21 2008 when I arrived in Poland by train?

Or do I have "90 days" in the "whole EU/Schengen area" starting from back on November 1 2008?

Or does the "Schengen rule" about "90 days in the whole EU combined" not apply, since I arrived via Switzerland?

I need more time here in Poland than just til the end of January. So I should probably address this matter now, rather than "later". Thanks for any advice.

(Do I need to register with local Police to make it "official" that I am in Poland? And what about applying for an "extended stay visa"?)

Thanks !!! -- Christine