Life / Polish movies - what they are like? [34]

I recently viewed Mis, Teddy Bear. I can understand it's a great film, but as a person in the States, I had hard time following it. I belive the humor has to be viewed within the context of the culture and I simply don't have the cultural history of Polish person.

I tried Fire and Sword, too. Had a hard time with it. Well, I get lost in the books, too, and have to read some parts over and over.

However, I did get a good laugh from Fire and Sword. It opens with a person being attacked. He is rescued and what does he say to the man who rescues him -- Dzjiki. (Sorry if I spelled it wrong.) I think if someone saved my life the word Bardzo might be part of what I said.

Travel / TAXI FARE BETWEEN WARSAW AIRPORT AND OLD TOWN ? [16]

One gets close but not exactly in the old town square. No traffic of any kind in the old town square, but foot traffic.

Food / Russian pirogi ("pierogi ruskie") or Polish pierogi? [15]

In my humble opinion, there isn't a common definition. In Krakow I got some fried piergies with the name Russian pierogies. In a Russian restaurant here in my city, Russian pieorgies are yet different than anything I've ever eaten in either Poland or the Ukraine.

Travel / Warsaw Public Transit for Newbs [8]

Thank you for posting this. It will make me more independent with my summer travel.

Food / Help with baking ingrediants. [18]

Cream of tartar and tartar sauce are two quite different things. Cream of tartar is powder that interacts with other ingredients to act as a leavening agent. It comes from grapes from the remains of making wine.

Here is some information I found on the the what's cooking web site:

Cream of Tartar Substitution - The answer is, there is not a good substitution. If cream of tartar is used along with baking soda in a cake or cookie recipe, omit both and use baking powder instead. If it calls for baking soda and cream of tarter, I would just use baking powder.

To deal with the buttermilk question.

Put 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vinegar into a cup and then fill the cup with regular milk to the 1 cup or 250 ml mark. Adjust obviously for different quantities of milk. The acid from the buttermilk or the sour milk is needed to interact with the leavening agents. What is buttermilk -- the liquid left when one turns cream into butter.

Normally, when cream of tartar is used in a cookie, it is used together with baking soda. The two of them combined work like double-acting baking powder. When substituting for cream of tartar, you must also substitute for the baking soda. If your recipe calls for baking soda and cream of tarter, I would just use baking powder.

One teaspoon baking powder is equivalent to 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. If there is additional baking soda that does not fit into the equation, simply add it to the batter.

Life / Polish movies - what they are like? [34]

I found another film with a Polish relationship. The name of it is Ladies in Lavender. It features Maggie Smith and Judy Dench as 60+year sisters living in the Cornwall area of England sometime between the two world wars. After a storm they find a young man washed up on their beach and find he's alive. They take him into their home to nurse him back to health. He doesn't speak English and they can't figure out where he's from. Well, I figured it out when he says Dziękuye (sorry if I spelled this wrong) and kisses their hand. It is a wonderful film.

Food / POLISH CAMPFIRE FOOD [11]


Do you bring the materials from the U.S. or have you found the right things now in Poland? Thus far I've never found marshmallows or graham crackers.

Travel / Torun, Poland - Good Restuarants [12]

Thank you, it's on my list already. I'm looking forward to my visit. It will be the first time in months when I have nothing to do but have fun and enjoy what I want to do from minute to minute.

Food / Żubrówka + apple juice anyone? [41]

What about "Polish flags?" made with vodka and malinowy syrup, I think it was. Anyway, it's red.

Travel / Torun, Poland - Good Restuarants [12]

Oh, certainly I plan that.

Travel / Do Poles speak English? [19]

Let's be more polite, please. Yes, many people in Poland speak English. I find when I'm polite even more people speak will speak English with me. I've been to Poland four times as a volunteer to help teach English to school children and will be going back the 5th time.

Life / Polish movies - what they are like? [34]

I found another Polish DVD in the public library. It is VaBank. It is set is £ódz in 1934. This story could take place anywhere; it's not culturally specific. However it was such fun to see real Polish buildings -- litttle things like the flat stone that is often by the door, the way particularly public buildings are signed. I enjoyed it.

Food / POLISH-STYLE FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDENING [4]

Thank you for posting this. You have given me about 20 new words that aren't in the usual Polish-English dictionary.

Food / POLISH CAMPFIRE FOOD [11]

What's in Birds Milk is not quite the same as marshmallows. The texture nor the flavor is the same.

Life / Kashubia, Kashebe and Kashubians. . . [23]

I live in Minnesota and this is a place where many Kashubians came. There is a book available entitled The Kashubian Community of Southeast Minnesota.

Travel / Warsaw Uprising Museum [7]

I have been there. It is a wonderful museum and at the same time almost a holy place.

Travel / Warsaw seen from the river. Vistula song? [2]

Oh, I didn't know about this. I hope I can work it into a schedule.

Related:

a song about the vistula river.


did you try google? Wisla river

There words here, but may not be accurate. maybe a PL person can verify
amiright.com/parody/70s/boneym4.shtml

krakow.pl/weekend/piosenki_piosenki.php?p=plynie_wisla

He could think about "Płynie Wisła po polskiej krainie" :)

Love / Traditional wedding rings in Poland [11]

First rings are worn on the right hand, not on the left as in many other cultures.

Love / Attending a Polish wedding on my own (I'm English) [25]

I was staying at a manor house that was hosting a wesele. It looked pretty much like a United States wedding reception. There was even a seating chart. However, what was different was that it went on until 4 AM in the morning. When I was out and about at 7:30 AM or so, there were two young couple very much still under the weather of the vodka. I think you will be very comfortable. It sounds more like you are uncertain about being alone, than uncertain about being in a different country. Life doesn't always have to come in pairs. have fun!

Travel / Saturday day trip outside Warsaw, any suggestions? [4]

Kazimierrz Dolny is one of my favorite places. I wouldn't say Wilanów is out of town. It's truly part of Warsaw, or are there two Wilnów locations?

Travel / Is it safe to take a train in Poland? [35]

I'm an American grandmother and I rode trains in Poland this past summer by myself, day trains only, and 2nd class only -- and never encountered anything but thoughtful, courteous, and helpful Polish people.

And about the above comment where Polish train toilet flush, it's the same place as the rest of the world!

Life / You know when you have been too long outside of Poland when... [23]

For me the Krowki is all gone, and you say Proże, but nothing happens. Sorry if I spelled this wrong, I speak little Polish and spell even less.

Travel / Poor Edward in Kraków [28]

Someone mentioned above a train from the airport in Krakow to the center city. Yes, it's there, but the cost is not 150 euros, it was 6 PLN (zl) last summer. Doubt the price has risen to 150 euros in a few months!

Travel / Clothes/shoe shopping in Szczecin [8]

I bought two pairs of shoes in Torun and have received nothing but compliments on them! I was excited to finally be in a place where I could buy shoes that actually fit my feet.

Life / The people of Poland are wonderful!!! [26]

I can add a story. I got on a train at Warsaw Wschodnia on my way to Torun. The train was quite crowded, but I figured it would get better as we wandered through Warsaw. At Warsawa Zachodnia a father and daughter boarded. The train was still a bit crowded so the father sat down across from me and his daughter across the aisle.

My bag was still on the floor and the father asked in Polish if he could place it on the rack. I certainly agreed, using my very elementary Polish.

As the train became less crowded the father moved over to sit by his daughter. As we left the station right before Torun I began thinking I was going to have to put together enough polite Polish to get the bag down as it was too high for me to reach. Just about then the man asked me something in Polish. I said, "Sorry, I'm an English speaker." His daughter turned to me, and said in English, "Where are you going?" I explained Torun was my stop and she explained it was the next stop. The father sat my bag down on the floor. As we entered the edge of Torun, I prepared to walk to the end of the car so I could leave the train quickly. The father said, "Nie nie." So I sat back down. When we got into the Torun station he got up and carried my bag out to the platform and then went back on the train to continue the journey with his daughter.

I could add story after story like this about my journey around Poland this past summer.

History / Good Polish History resource (book), any suggestions? [11]

The Davies book is certainly authoritative. One that I like very much is A Traveller's History of Poland by John Radzilowski. This is very readable and "user friendly."

Food / Nalesniki [23]

Don't give up on eating nalesniki. In different part of Poland they are very different, not to mention what happens when one adds different cooks into the mix in each part of Poland. Try elsewhere than where you decided you didn't like them.

Food / Help with pudding directions: 0,5 minuty = 5 minutes or half a minute? [9]

Thank you very much for such a quick answer. Now I'm off to the kitchen.

Food / Help with pudding directions: 0,5 minuty = 5 minutes or half a minute? [9]

Hi, I tried a cherry pudding mix. It didn't come out quite like I expected, but on the other hand, some things in Polish cooking aren't the same as American cooking.

Krsysztof -- I work about a 60 hour week, but I often read what's on Polish Forum, but don't have agreat deal to contribute.

Looking forward to June 23, 2009 when I board the plane again for Poland.