Life / Retire in Poland - Good or Bad Idea? [74]

It's very easy. It's all about the money. Have you ever heard a pole complain about polish food, alcohol, sights or history of his country?? Certainly not! They only moan about the wages in Poland and/or about our government.

History / What has Poland contributed to the Western civilisation? [69]

Hmm, that strange...I wasn't able to post the whole message, so there is the second part. Hope this time it will be OK. From Admin - it's easier to provide the link to the source. :)

But that way it doesn't look so impressive, isn't it?? :) hehe

OK, I learnt my lesson. Cheers. :)

News / Poland in big development - what are the negative results? [37]

I personally enjoyed my stay in London a year ago, and found that place very charming. Didn't had any bad experience with Londoners, quite opposite actually. They were always very helpful and polite.

Work / Italian girl moving to Poland, where I can ask for a job? [60]

After reading your post one could come to a conclusion that there are no businesses run by polish people in Poland. I hope that you realize that that statement is absolutely NOT true. There is more than just one real estate business in Krakow, and I can assure you, that there would be no problem with finding one being run by a pole.

Life / Polish Men and Fashion [90]


You got a point there, but I think that the situation is improving. You can see it perfectly observing the younger generation.


That's strange. I don't think that it's that dramatically where I live.

UK, Ireland / Stop the exploitation of Polish workers in the UK [101]


If someone comes to the UK with his children I honestly don't think that he is planing to come back to Poland.


First of all, their contribution to the UK is the fruit of their labour; for example a house build by polish workers, a persone cured by a polish doctor or a happy customer served by a polish clerk. Polish imigrants are not being paid for doing nothing you know.

Secondly, it's not that they return with all the money the have earned during their stay in your country. They have to buy food, clothes, pay for rented houses, public transport, for doing their loundry, etc...

Oh, and I've almost forgot about the group of people in UK, that derive the most adventage from the influx of cheap polish labour, mainly the employers.

Love / Do Polish guys have a different approach to dating than others guys? [50]


Who told you that??

People who say in public, that there are going to wait with their sex life after their get marriage are usually being labeled as some kind of Christian wackos.

Real Estate / Real estate in poland - how an average Pole can afford such prices? [78]


According to the Główny Urząd Statystyczny (The Main Statistic Office) the national average polish wage in the second quarter of 2006 was 2427,27 zł.

gospodarka.gazeta.pl/gospodarka/1,33181,3538816.html

And regarding the loan, it seems that a family of four, with a monthly income of 2500 zł netto can take a loan of 215 000 zł in Bank Pocztowy ( percentage is 6,20% ).

A single person, earning 3500 zł netto can take a loan of 375 015 zł in BOŚ ( 5,38%).

In both cases the loan is to be paid in 20 years.

My source : tutej.pl/cms.php?i=13822

PS: Many people in Poland instead of buying a house, build it themselves. That way they don't have to take that big loan at once.

Real Estate / Real estate in poland - how an average Pole can afford such prices? [78]


Well, a single person with a monthly income of 3500 zł netto can take a loan of 314 500 zł in Swiss franks in GE Money Bank, and the percentage then will be 3,05%.

My source: tutej.pl

Travel / 1st time in Poland [78]


There’s more to polish cuisine than just bigos and pierogi.


Don't think so. Have French or Italians abandoned their food for burgers or hot dogs?? No! And neither will poles.

I don't have anything to fast foods. I don't mind eating a hamburger from time to time, but I just can't imagine doing it every day. Common...

Life / Haunted Homes in Poland [173]

So you were messing with a less complicated version of ouija table. I've heard that it can be very dangerous. Hadn't you seen what happened to the girl from "The Exsorcist"? :)

Travel / 1st time in Poland [78]


I said it once, and I will say it again; Polish cuisine has more to offer than just pierogi and bigos. In my house we are preparing bigos only on some special occasions, like Christmas or Easter, and when it comes to pierogi, we don't eat them more then once a month. I really love those dishes, but they aren’t my favorites. .

More than anything in the world I adore stuffed meat rolls + buckwheat cereal + red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or a duck with pyzy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or gołąbki (white cabbage leaves stuffed with spiced minced meat, tomato sauce and rice), or boiled potatoes with dill + pork with gravy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or boiled potatoes with fried smoked bacon + beetroot soup.

Of course in stead of red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta" you can put boiled cauliflower/cabbage/asparagus/string beans topped with breadcrumbs and melted butter, and instead of potatoes you can put "kluski śląskie" or "szagówki" (both are potato dumplings, made of mashed potatoes, an egg and potato flour).

Ok, I will stop there, because in every minute more and more dishes are coming to my mind, and I don’t think that there is enough space for putting them all here.

Oh, and one more thing. When you talk about polish cuisine, you have to mention polish products, which have very unique taste, like polish bread, polish smoked ham, kielbasa, kiszone ogórki (salted sour cucumber, a pickle prepared in a similar way to kiszona kapusta), beer, mead, and many, many more...

You are right about heaviness of polish food though. But it has to be that way, because of the climate of eastern Europe. I can assure you, that I, as well as my family, relatives, neighbors, and friends, eat polish food every day, and we are perfectly fine with it. Ask any polish immigrant in Australia, what is he missing the most, and I bet he will tell you, that polish food. It has centuries of tradition, and I don't think that it is going to fade away because of some hot dogs, and hamburgers.

And yes, I find polish cuisine that crash hot. We may not have the best roads, nor the best national football team, but when it comes to our food, I don’t have any complexes what so ever.

Life / What Do the Poles Think about the Abolition of the Death Penalty? [48]



That is NOT true. The year of the last death penalty being carried out in poland is 1988!!


According to "Wprost" newspaper (25 June 2006) in the last year the amount of homicides in Poland was 2.1 on 100 000 citizens. In Germany it was 3.0, and in USA 5.5.

When it comes to the number of rapes in 2005 per 100 000 citizens, the situation looks like this: Poland 5.1; England and Wales 7.78; Germany 10.7; Sweden 29.03; and USA 32.2.

The number of stolen cars per 100 000 citizens in 2005: Poland 117.46; Germany 245.7; England and Wales 403.4; and USA 421.3.

The crime rate in Poland for the year 2005 was 3 578.9, when in Germany it was 8 045.7.

The most dangerous city in England and Wales in 2005 was Nottingham with 11 550 crimes per 100 000 citizens, while the most dangerous city in Poland, Katowice, had 7 063 crimes per 100 000 citizens. It’s quite funny, because a German city called Remscheid, with a very similar number of crimes to Katowice, is located on the fourth place of the most safe cities in Germany.

Life / Kidnaping in Poland? [58]

Haven't heard anything about it. Where did you get this information from?

Travel / 1st time in Poland [78]

Ok. I'm starting to get a little bit confused. First, you say that polish food is going to be "the food of the past' or reserved for the poor people, and one of the reasons standing behind this situation is the heaviness of cabbage/flower based dishes that occur in polish cuisine, and then you say that the food that is going to replace them is fast food, mainly because it's very cheap?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means that fast food will win with polish food because it is cheaper, and then polish food will be eaten only by poor people. :(

That doesn't make much sense does it lef? And please, don't try to tell me that hamburgers, nuggets and hot dogs are light food...


Now I fell offended by you thinking that as a polish person I have never tried fresh vegetables and fruits. For your information, we do have them in Poland!

Besides, one of my favorite dishes is duck with pyzy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Isn't duck meat considerate to be lean?

And when it comes to fish, Poland has always had an access to the Sea, and so fish from the Sea as well as those from the rivers and lakes do occur in our cuisine.

In the end I will like to repeat that the heaviness of our food is determinated by our climate. The colder the climate is, the heavier the food is tending to be. For example, Eskimo people eat tallow!

I understand that as you live in Australia, you may find bigos not to be among top 5 of your favorite dishes, but please accept that polish people have been eating it since centuries, and still enjoy doing it. Not everybody has to love the food that you do.

PS: One more thing. The kids don’t eat fast food because it’s remarkably tasty, but they eat it because they don’t know better. I think that Frank has raised here a very important issue. Parents are to blame that junk food is so popular in USA and Australia. If the children were fed with proper meals from their early days, fast food wouldn’t be so popular, and you wouldn’t have so big problems with sugar diabetes/ heart attacks/illnesses associated with being overweight in your society.

I’m not blind, nor stupid. I know that many Poles will take the easy path, but observing my family, and friends I’m very confident, that things aren’t going to change drastically in the next few generations.

Let me ask you a question lef. How does the situation look with your national cuisine? Does it still exist, or is it "the food of the past"?

Food / Poles in the Kitchen [4]

I think that few members of this forum already answered your question in this topic: https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/travel/poland-time-1673/

Life / Kidnaping in Poland? [58]


Either they are exaggerating, or they read tabloids.


A sure target?? :) I don't think it's that bad.
Just try to avoid dark alleys, don't show people how much money do you have, follow your instinct when it comes for strangers and everything should be alright. I don't think polish cities are more dangerous for tourists than lets say American ones.

UK, Ireland / Stop the exploitation of Polish workers in the UK [101]

So it seems that I'm the only one of a Polish descent from this forum who likes to go out more often? Strange.
But still, house parties rock!

Work / So where are all you unemployed hard done by workers then????? [35]


Sorry to disappoint you, but Polish people are not that eager to leave their country. It's not that we are that desperate to go abroad. Even when the pay is decent it's not an easy decision to make, and leave people that you love behind.

And I really don't like your attitude. I don't know you, but taking under consideration the tone of your first post you seem to be a bit childish, and unprofessional. Nevertheless, I wish you luck with your search.

Life / Kidnaping in Poland? [58]


Thank you. I really feel flattered, especially since you are one of the users of this forum that I really have a big respect for.

PS: And I truly hope that Mrs. Matyjasz really feels lucky to be with me. :) Then again, she doesn't have any choice, hehehe... :))

Work / So where are all you unemployed hard done by workers then????? [35]


Yes, I know, because during my London period I was working as a cladding fixer...:) I was the only one from my "polish crew", aside from my "polish boss", that could actually communicate with our English supervisors, safety guys and other non-polish workers on the construction site. I was a real blessing for my boss. :)

UK, Ireland / English people attitude towards Poles? [761]


Please, tell me, what has Polish government done to deserve reputation of being racist?

I want to hear some facts from you Cornelius, and not any made up fairy tales.


And where did you hear it? A friend of a friend that knows a guy, whose distant relatives step daughters cousin read about it in a tabloid told you? Be more precise Cornelius. there's no room for gossips on this forum.

And to make it even, my close friend was once beaten up by a group of black women, just because she was white. You won't believe where it happened. In the UK.

Travel / 1st time in Poland [78]


Nope. I'm just an "average Pole".


So now you are trying to say that these are the only vegetables and fruits that Poles eat on a regular basis? Common lef...:)


Tell me then, what do an average Pole like me eat in winter. I'm very curios.


Deer with mushrooms, or boar in cranberries are expensive food, but not duck. I eat it regularly.


According to Wikipedia:
Polish cuisine was influenced by Turkic, Germanic, Hungarian, Jewish, French or colonial cuisines of the past.

I think that this is enough to say that Poles have been exposed to large variety of other foods.
And guess what else? From time to time in my home we eat all kind of pasta's, lasagna, risotto, Chinese lemon chicken, Pot-au-feu, etc... and can appreciate the different taste of this dishes, but still we are proud and bound to our food.


Let me guess, your parents didn't prepared you proper dishes when you were little, right?:)

Be honest, please.


Ah yes. The power of Television. Fortunately we don't have many McDonalds commercials in our TV. We don't have that many MacDonald’s stores in our country either. I wonder why?


So did Bill Gates, but what does that change? :)


Well, I guess that the time will tell.

PS: There is also one more aspect that you didn't took under your consideration, and may be crucial in our discussion, mainly the "Bary Mleczne" (Milk Bars). The are selling Polish food, and they are a lot cheaper than MacDonald’s or KFC. Of course they don't stand a chance in comparison to home made dishes, but still the are a lot better than junk food.

OK, I'm a bit exhausted after work, so I will continue my posting on some other occasion.

Pozdrawiam.

Love / Polish interracial dating [333]


I don't think that Poland was ever that hostile place towards foreigners as some people try to depict it. The only thing that actually has changed is that Poles are getting more and more used to people from other ethnic groups. Blacks, Asians, Indians etc don't get that much stare while walking our streets, than they were given lets say 20 or even 10 years ago. Lets face it, if I was to travel to Africa and land up in a village where they haven't had the chance to see a white person before, I bet I would be a sensation of the day. We are not that different from each other.

Travel / 1st time in Poland [78]


My father is a car mechanik, and my mother is a seamstress - I think that in UK you would call my background "working class". My job is also generally manual, so as you see I am far from being considered to belong to the higher level of Polish society. Still, I appreciate your complement.


Have you ever been in one of those "Biedronka" markets? "Biedronka" is the name of the largest chain of supermarkets in Poland, owned by a Portuguese firm Geronimo Martens. Their prices are very low, mainly because a large proportion of their own label products are being displayed in their stores. Aside of all kind of sodas, juices, meat, noodles, crisps, milk etc. you can find big varieties of vegetables like olives, potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, cabbage, carrots, celery, parsley, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, cucumber, peas, beans, onion, garlic, asparagus, sweet corn, paprika, etc and fruits like apples, almonds, apricots, pears, avocados, bananas, cherries, plums, strawberries, avocados, water melons, pineapples… and the list could go on. It doesn’t look different with availability of those products in winter. Furthermore you can also buy some polish specialties like bigos, kopytka, pyzy, gołąbki, pierogi, surówki, instant gravy, etc… Preparing a polish meal doesn’t have to consume that much time anymore. Just buy pierogis, put them in a pot of boiling salted water, wait couple of minutes and there you go. Of course they will never taste as good as the ones that your grandmother use to do, but they are still better than junk food.


I don't see you mentioning France, Spain, Italy or Portugal. I don't think that the fast foods are that popular in these countries, as they are in Australia or in the USA. Maybe it is because, similar to Poland, they have centuries of cuisine tradition, unlike Oz land and USA? What makes you think that Poland won't make it like those countries? They are still considered western, right?

Yes, Poland is trying to be more like the western countries, but because of the Eastern European reality, it will never become a clone of the USA, nor the Australia.


An average Pole is aware of damaging efects of fast food. Our goevernment is not doing anything about it because it is still a marginall phenomenon in our country.


I always had a problem with taking a complement from a lady, but thank you very much for your recognition. I’m trying to do my best. Actually one of the main reasons I’m participating in this forum is to improve my English.

News / Dealing with constant insults against Polish [323]

OK, let's clarify something here. Polish cavalry NEVER, I repeat NEVER attacked German tanks with swords. This scuttlebutt was a part of Nazi propaganda, and it was made up in order to discredit Polish army in the eyes of his allies.

UK, Ireland / Stop the exploitation of Polish workers in the UK [101]

What's the point of repeating the same statement in several topics? I think that we got the message. :)

News / Dealing with constant insults against Polish [323]

I think that because of your descent you are already on top of their "People That We Truly Hate, and Wish Them To Die In a Sudden and Painful Way" list. I think that it could possibly be more worse for them, if you would be a lesbian and date a Muslim girl. :)

UK, Ireland / BEWARE when coming over UK [363]


It's quite easy actually, they work and earn money.

And to answer your first question, why are the Poles coming to the UK, let me just give you a hint: in Poland you can exchange one pound for almost six zlotych. And even when you take under your consideration the costs of living in England, which are really high in comparison to those in Poland, it's still profitable to go there.

UK, Ireland / Stop the exploitation of Polish workers in the UK [101]



I'm shocked. Is that the way a lady should talk? :) :)


I think that's a very good idea. I'm starting to feel really exhausted reading the same accusations over and over again.