Life / Is it expensive to give birth in Poland? [26]

Tanya, if you are UE citizen and holder of European Health Insurance Card - it costs nothing. I am a Polish doctor myself (though not an obstetrician) and absolutely disegree that you need to pay in Polish public sector. It is deeply rooted in some people's minds that they need to bribe to get proper treatment, but believe me, only minority of doctors (and they are not necessarily the best ones)accept bribes.

Of course you may also decide to go for the privat sector but only if you are healthy and not having any pregnancy-related problems.
There is a Polish website called "Rodzic Po Ludzku" with reviews of nearly all maternity wards, so your boyfriend may check hospitals in your area and choose the best one : rodzicpoludzku.pl/szukaj.php

And remember if everything is OK it is not the doctor who is important but the midwife (of course only after you and your baby :) )

If you choose a hospital the best would be to join their classes for future parents, so you are not only prepared for delivery but get to know the place and midwifes.

Good luck.

Life / 26th December are shops and restaurants in Poland open? [7]

Shops are always closed on 25 and 26 December. Most would not open untill Monday 29Dec. Some restaurants are open, but not very busy. We rather spend Christmas visiting family at homes, but I am sure in big cities you are going to find restaurants waiting for foreigners ;)

Language / DIALECTS IN POLAND? [28]


Not boring at all! In most cases I can tell which area of Poland a person comes from - listening to the melody, pronunciation, specific words. And many people would recognize where I come from (Wielkopolska), though I am educated and not using dialect. It is the melody that gives me (and other people) away.

UK, Ireland / Where are nice Polish restaurants bars/clubs to go to? in England Midland [6]

I've been to few Polish restaurants in London and Nottingham. Food was OK, but nothing more. It never tastes as good as in Poland :( , so I decided not to go to Polish restaurants in UK any more.

Life / Poznan. The most hated city in Poland? [21]

For me Poznan is the best, most charismatic and unforgettable of all Polish cities (though I may be biased ;) ). Only if you stay there just as a tourist for a couple of days, there is no way you are going to find it out.

If you are lucky enough to live there, got to know people and places, never visited by tourists, you must fall in love with Poznan.

Life / HUMOROUS POLISH TOASTS [19]

Some more toasts:
1/ "Zdrowie wasze w gardla nasze!" (To your health down our throats!)
2/ "Zdrowie pieknych pan po raz pierwszy (piaty/dziesiaty)!" (To the health of the beautiful ladies for the first (fifth/tenth) time )
3/ "No, bo wodka stygnie!" (Hey, vodka is getting cold!)
4/ " Na druga noge!" (To the second leg!)
5/ "Za tych co w kosmosie" (To the ones in the space!)
6/ "No to po maluchu!" (One little one more!)
7/ "Zeby nam sie dzieci tramwajow nie czepialy" (the most absurd one - To our children so they don't cling on to the trams!)

The translations are not really funny, but some of the original toasts are! There are much much more, and new ones are being born nearly every day ;) .

Life / I need five most romantic Polish songs for my girl friend's birthday [29]

One of the most beautiful, romantic and sad songs about longing - Stare Dobre Malzenstwo "Czarny Blus o Czwartej nad Ranem". There are Polish subtitles in the clip

youtube.com/watch?v=nfp-DRAUN8E
Beautiful poetry, but not easy to translate properly.

Food / Pierogi with fruit filling? [30]

For me the best Polish fruit filled pierogi are "pierogi z jagodami" (blueberry dumplings). They are absolutely delicious but should be home made. Though they are not served for Christmas.

They might have been dumplings with dried forest mashrooms or mashrooms and sour cabbage, as they would be usually served for Christmas.

Life / Just cross the damn road...Is Poland strict about road crossing rules? [13]

No, we are not very strict about this in Poland, though police may fine you if they see you crossing at red.
Maybe we are more obedient abroad?

Life / nice polish name for a girl [38]

Do you want a polish name which does not exist in other languages (some of them exist only in other slavic languages) or an international name translated into polish?

If the first, then maybe - Dobrochna, Bogumila, Kalina, Malwina, Bozena, Ludmila, Wanda.
My favourite is Dobrochna - maybe if I ever have a daughter I will give her this name.

UK, Ireland / Have you moved from Poland to Britain? [9]

I meet all your criteria but one - "enjoying living here".
Maybe it's too much to say I 'm unhappy living here, but at the same time it's far too much to say I enjoy it.

Anyway, good luck with your search.

Life / nice polish name for a girl [38]

[quote=Eagle20]Aleksandra--->Ola/quote]
In old times they used two versions of this name - Aleksandra and Oleksandra (Oleksandra still exists in ukrainian), so maybe that's why?