Law / Be careful where you buy building materials in Poland! [12]


Thanks Foreigner4. It means a lot to me.................................NEXT!

Life / How to deal with rude rich Polish people? [65]

Wealthy Polish people are not very nice folk! I know lots of wealthy Poles in Warsaw who are arrogant pricks and it really takes a lot sometimes for me to 'hold my tongue' and not say something really stupid just to wind them up. A guy I was speaking to at a party repremanded me for using the friendly 'ty', the little sh1t was about 10 years younger than me! I think it's the 'new money' syndrome. 10-20 years ago they were picking their noses selling bucks on street corners and wearing shell suits and now they are zooming about in expensive cars and living in tasteless mansions that look like lego houses with columns outside the front door (always a bad sign). I suspect if the authorities scratched ever so slightly below the surface 98% of these guys would be behind bars anyway.

Life / My girlfriend wants to go back to Poland as she thinks lifes better there [36]

Let's be realistic about this, Poland is VERY expensive, over rated and your gf is deluded. She must believe all the hype about everything being "rosy in the garden". All that is communist style propaganda slotted into one of the most capitalist, uncaring, intolerant societies in Europe. Believe me, you really don't want to become one of those irritating oiks who pose as english teachers here! Other than that you won't have a chance of any other employment.

UK, Ireland / Polish students are rising to the top of the class [30]


The irony of all this is that, as 'Lesser' (I like the name!) hints at, the excellence of the Polish education system IS rooted in the communist era and IS now starting to see a decline (like all over Europe). I just have to board our local bus at the end of the school day to despair at the future of the Polish education system! I suggest everyone watches "Idiocracy" to see what the future holds for humanity!

UK, Ireland / Polish students are rising to the top of the class [30]

It's quite interesting and congrats to their intelligence ( I really believe that they are better educated than British kids but in the ongoing education crisis in the UK that probably isn't too difficult to achieve!) but I do think it's a little unpleasant and in a way another example of perceiving Poles as a nation of people who will 'sell their own mother' to get success. Is that really to be seen as an admirable trait? I personally find comments like "for us failure is not an option, so we value discipline and hard work" somewhat arrogant rather than something to celebrate. Unless of course you adhere to the 1980's world of Gordon Gekko in 'Wall Street'.

Law / Making proper sausages (ex-pat expers in Poland)? [32]

Alex
I'm still interested in this as an idea, although I believe it's getting more and more difficult to get licences for eating / drinking establishments. If you want to meet up to discuss it PM me with contact details.

Travel / Cheap airlines are not THAT cheap anymore ! [30]


Most East European business ventures fail and the directors end up in jail. Let that be a warning to the King of Centralwings, be afraid be very afraid A-hole!

Travel / Cheap airlines are not THAT cheap anymore ! [30]

A long time ago in a distant land I remember reading that most new budget airlines only survive until the 'big guns' move in on the routes they have established. If this is true then the moment Easyjet and Ryanair moved into Poland the others were f@cked. They might be more expensive but are well established and have the financial back-up to keep going.

Travel / Cheap airlines are not THAT cheap anymore ! [30]


HA_HA_HA!!! I've just had anoher sh!t experience with them. They cancelled a flight I was booked on for the 24th. A few days ago got an SMS saying it's on again, followed ten minutes later by an e-mail saying "sorry, mistake, it's off again!"

Spent ten days on hold at their call centre attempting to change the ticket, regularily getting recorded phone comp messages saying that a connection cannot be made to this number (could have gone with a 'real' airline for the price of the time I spent on the phone!). A couple of days ago my wife got through and changed the ticket date, no confirmation was received so I called again yesterday and eventually got through to be told that the ticket had not been changed, or that someone had simply forgot to put it through the system. Had to go through the process again, listening to the stupid little girls friends giggling in the background at her attempts to sort out my problem in English ( although when she said "Y for Wine" with reference to my booking code I almost cracked up as well!). Had I not managed to get through to them before tomorrow I suppose I would have just lost the ticket price. The word around town is that they are in a very bad financial position and ain't going to last much longer. Can't be sure if that's true but I even heard that from a mate who works at LOT (CW is a partner company of LOT)

News / Wojtek Cejrowski gives up his Polish citizenship! [19]


It's on the TVN24 website

Life / A Polish version of "Life Is Beautiful" Movie? [7]

I just mean it is cheap in price. It has been out in the shops for a few years and is no longer a full price film. The guys in the street sell copies of films that were given away free with magazines and 'Life is Beautifull' was one of those movies. You can pick tese movies up real cheap 5zl's

Life / A Polish version of "Life Is Beautiful" Movie? [7]

Hmmmm, I take it that you are not in Poland as it is available as a 'cheap' DVD (10zl) everywhere here and also available from the guys selling movies in the street for 5zl.

Life / How will I be treated in Poland by Polish people? I'm an English person. [26]

You'll be fine but just remember you will always be 'The Foreigner' no matter how hard you try! I agree with 'coolmoon', don't play the 'I love Poland' card too much, it starts to bug folks

Having said that, I'm from a wee Scottish town and people from 5 miles down the road were seen as 'The Foreigner'!

Language / Know the name of this Polish movie? - Quotes from Polish movies. [13]

In case anyone is interested the film I was thinking about was on Polish TV last night! What a surprise....it is called 'Kartka z Podrozy' (Postcard from a Journey) directed by Waldemar Dziki 1983. Don't know how anyone could get hold of a copy but it really is a cracking movie.

News / Plac Wilsona Metro Station selected as most beautiful in the world ! [22]


Good God! Is there really such a thing as a 'most beautiful Metro station comp'? Must rank alongside things like 'Anorexic soap stars on Ice!', '3-legged dogs dance themselves into a tizzy!' and 'Failed Polish actors eat an elephant' Pretty good shows really. The elephant one was good, it took 10 actors a whole 6 episodes to eat that jumbo, although it was an African one with bigger ears.......eh, back to the point, the Plac Wilsona metro just looks like a big mausoleum. Still can't beat Moscow metro I think

News / What you think about the Polish President, Kaczynski? [53]

He knits socks in Hel !!!!

Life / Cultural readjustment... returning to Poland from the West. [58]


LOL :)
Actually I think this is pretty understandable behaviour on your partners side.
I think Polands success is being exaggerated abroad by Polish sources, possibly to attract people back, and many people are very disappointed when they return here. I've already met a few people who returned to Poland after being told that they can now earn the same as they were earning abroad and how everything is improving at a fast rate etc. and then after a couple of months of unemployment and boredom decided to move back abroad as it ain't really as sweet as it was being portrayed. Then again, maybe some folks are just impatient and expect too much.

Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]


The WORST places in Krakow are around the Rynek as the drunk, daft Brits just wander round in circles going from bar to bar and then you go and recommend these places to someone about to visit Krakow. Bit contradictory to everything that has been said on this thread, don't you think?

That all I meant by saying......

Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]


Is there really any point in having this thread?

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]


H, they have Jamaican Blue Mountain in the big supermarket in Promenada, can't remember the name of the supermarket but there is only one! Unfortunately as far as I remember it was around the 120PLN mark for 250g (who the f*** is buying that here?)

Travel / Central Wings cancel certain flights to Poland [38]

Centralwings are a nightmare! I understand that flying with a budget airline problems are part of the course but they really excel themselves. I once had a twelve hour delay with all ground staff scarpering after a few minutes and no way of finding out what was going on. All we were told was we can't leave the airport as things can change at any minute.....12 hours later we took off!

My wife had a flight delayed by 10 hours to London, she lost a whole day out of a 3 day trip. We have also been phoned up twice to be told our flights are cancelled and we can get on a plane a day earlier or a day later.

We reported them to the Polish aviation authority but had the usual 10 months of bull ending with a letter saying 'not our fault so go f@ck yourselves!' (ok, it didn't quite say that but that was the jist of the letter). I also wrote to them to complain about the seating of two completely drunk passengers in the emergency exit seats and I mean paralitically drunk oafs, a Polish guy with his Scottish girlfriend! This was on the twelve hour delayed flight and that pair spent the whole twelve hours getting trashed at the airport This letter received no response at all. Disgrace!

Life / Warsaw - most boring capital in Europe, after Brussels - comments? [78]

Cheers! I'll drink to that!

Life / Warsaw - most boring capital in Europe, after Brussels - comments? [78]

Funnily enough Lemon had a pretty bad reputation last year. Two of my mates were beaten up by the bouncers and I must add that neither of my mates can be considered English yobs, stag party types or troublemakers. Went there a few times but found it uncomfortable to sit around in (not mentaly but physically!). By the way it's on Sienkiewicza.

I still have to keep stressing that the best places are the wee pubs behind Nowy Swiat in the former little shops, another 2 opened last week!

Life / Warsaw - most boring capital in Europe, after Brussels - comments? [78]


Actually I think the "underground" myth making marketing of Praga is far more interesting than the reality. One still feels like an extra in Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' wandering around there. Avoid the arty farty/ DJ/ curator cum poetry joints, no-one will talk to you anyway! The words HEAD and ARSE spring to mind!

Travel / Poland is becoming too expensive to visit. It is a nice country, but [46]


They did a special deal over one week where you did not pay tax on the ticket. It's worth checking the centralwings site on Mondays as that's when they usually kick in special deals. You have to move fast though, like a greased penguin on a banister!

Life / What do Poles do for fun? [49]

In their free time Polish men like to take steroids and Polish women like to take slimming supplements

Travel / Poland is becoming too expensive to visit. It is a nice country, but [46]


Yep, if you are lucky enough to get a 'special' after standing in line for an hour. My last ticket to the UK cost 10GBP and that was a centralwings 'special'. I believe that's about 50-55PLN. So I stick by my statement!

Travel / Poland is becoming too expensive to visit. It is a nice country, but [46]

Sorry to have to say it but in a rather blunt way michaelp is actually right. Everyday grocery shopping prices here are just becoming crazy, I really don't know how folk at the lower wage scale can afford to eat here at all. Electricity prices went up 30% in one go. Price of train travel is lunacy (I can fly to UK for less than return train ticket Warsaw-Krakow) and still the pavements and roads are f##ked, everything is dirty, people are rude and just out to get as much money as possible, rents increase at such an alarming rate that soon ALL small stores will shut down for good and only those ugly malls with no choice will survive (although rumour has it that rents in the malls are increasing as well and many shops are bailing out). It seems you cover debt by just increasing the price of everything