Travel / Gdynia info / Hotels to stay [17]

My parents visit regularly and they Stay in Dwor Oliwski, its in Oliva which is about half an hours drive from Gdynia city center. Its totally stunning and great service, amazing food, spa etc.

Gets my recommendation every time.

Life / A trip to a Polish supermarket [136]

OOOoooh my god.

Ok i just read the first post and a few of the following but; Hell yes do i empathize!

When i first moved here i was so put off by the rudeness of the staff in my local supermarket i stopped going there until i had take 6 weeks of polish lessons, now im not so concerned!

WHY OH WHY OH WHY does everyone have a pointless job? i have to go to a counter and ask for someone to get my vegetables, giving them wieghts and amounts...then i have to take them to another pointless person to weigh them, eventually to the totally necessary checkout point to pay. That, i am at peace with.

once, at the aforementioned 'vegetable request station' i was pushed out of the que because she couldn't understand me when i was asking for 20 mushrooms, after standing asside and being publicly humiliated in front of the rest of the shop, i was then asked again, gruffly 'co?' where upon i repeated myself and was given 5. Handy when making a mushroom risotto..

The same with meat and fish. In British supermarkets you can generally get round and pick anything you need off the shelf and leave in a timely manor unless you want to get something at a deli etc. and the thing about the change. That drives me nuts. Now days i just give them the exact change just to avoid being in the shop any longer than necessary.

And i have been followed by security guards. I dont know where they think im going to hide my pilferings when im wearing a sheer coctail dress with no pockets. That would be highly skilled...and uncomfortable.

My solution: shop at a nice supermarket like Bomi where you get great food and service and a little understanding if you mispronounce something.

katie/kasia

Life / Expats in Poland: Are you going to live in Poland long or short term? [65]

Welcome to the board Mr. Lonman 8)

I have lived here for 8 months and intend to stay indefinitely. I moved here because my Polish boyfriend, who i met in London, had to move back for his business so i came with and so far its been great. Iv been attending a school for Polish (really hard language to learn....) and teaching English.

Positives: Most people under 35 are generally friendly and speak basic English, a night out doesn't cost the earth like it does in London, you get 4 proper seasons (its currently not rising higher than -5, but the summer was long and warm with a beautiful autumn in between) food and booze is quite cheap and the family and friend networks are very close and supportive.

Negatives: Utilities bills are pretty high, and wages are pretty low, for many this = debt. you cant drink the tap water. In my area (gdynia) the local council decide when the cities central heating is turned on (generally between october - march) but if you get a cold snap sooner, it spells thick jumpers and extra blankets. the older generations can be rude and difficult to foreigners, im not sure why. Theres so much red tape with everything (various codes and numbers you need, health care, registration, owning a car etc) to the point im probably technicaly an illegal immigrant, because i dont know where to go and who to ask for the correct info!

Hope thats of some help.

Good luck, and come! its fun.

Love / Are all Polish women the same..... [81]


I turn 21 this week, and Im British...My Polish boyfriend met me in London and brought me over here and he counts his lucky stars hes out of the Polish dating game!

Life / "K*rwa"-why do young Poles find this word so cool ? [67]

I should point out its not just those young'uns. My dear boyfriend aint young, but uses it as often as i would use a punctuation mark.

Its nuts, i find it annoying and have been told im not to say it because its un-ladylike. Pppft. Wateva!
<sorry, i was having a horrifically British moment there>

x

Love / Are all Polish women the same..... [81]


i must be some kindof freak of nature because i have no intrest in money, aslong as we can pay our bills (split equaly between us) and feed ourselves i don't care about anything else money related. How odd.

Love / Are all Polish women the same..... [81]

Well, intresting fact because my boyfriend stole me from England because hes sick sick sick of dating Polish women. No what im about to say is SOLEY IN HIS OPPINION so don't attack me for it.

He recons all they want is your money, he said there nuts and not in a sweet sligly loopy way, he recons there proper cracked, apparently there not as witty as us brits and lack a sence of adventure. The main problem in his opinion is that they are NEVER faithful, he recons its a generational thing, but seemingly incapable of staying with one person.

interesting topic...

Life / Is Poland cold? [40]

I live on the northern coast and have been informed (and mocked, that im wholly unprepared) that its one of the warmer spots in the winter.

am i wrong?

Food / Top food products you'd want to see in a Polish shop [32]

I live in Poland by jsut round the corner from my parents house in London is a Polish food shop, they have a cooler counter just like there would be in any smal supermarket there is here, with kielbasa, kabinosa, cheese, some fresh meats. Loads of jars of stuff, barsch, beetroot, golomki (in a jar?!?! baffeling) ogorki, snacks. Booze, obviously!

Although in North london our nearest supermarket that had a massive isle of Polish products wich was more than adequate for our needs.

xxx

Life / Is it safe for me and my Asian friends to come to Poland? [44]

As a brit that not only feels at home here, but feels 100% safer than living in London, im concerned by this question raised.
Why would someone ask that, due to their skin colour if its safe to go to a sophisticated European city? what do they thinks goign to happen? there going to stopped at customs and told to go home?

Ridiculous.

Everyone is free, go where you like. Stand out, blend in. It DOESNT matter....christ, it makes me angry.

Food / Vegetarian food in Poland? [83]

Hello!

If it was up to my boyfriends mothers cooking we would eat red meat every day, shes a propper polish housewife and she cooks her socks off all day.

I however am from london and I much more partial to things like vegitable stirfry, light soup dishes from wagamama and generaly eastern flavours. I was also a vergitarian for 8 years but began eating meat when i became ill due to my diet.

My suggestions are: pierogi, the things you discribed as 'pasta things' (i know you already said you don't like them) but i find them much more palatable if there boiled and then fried because then there lovely and crisp, not all floppy and rubbery, blergh. The poles know a good soup. Soup here is awsome. Salads are great. Im lucky to live in a nice cosmopolitain city where i can get chinese, indian, thai etc but it sounds like your a bit more rural, bet you can find a nice italian? good soups, pastas, salads, side dishes. If you speek enough polish you can ask for dishes to be made without the meat...

just suggestions, hope iv helped....maby not!

x

Life / Is Poland cold? [40]

I feel this topic has been explored quite thoroughly by the previous posters (is that actualy a term or am i making it up?)

Im from London where it can drop to 0 degrees in the night but rarley stays that cold all day. We had a lovely summer here on the baltic coast (gdynia to be precise) but recently the cold snap has arrived, the gods from above turned our buildings heating on (HURRAH!) and i have made a small nest up against the radiator ever since. But seriously its not that cold right now, lowest in the day has been about 7degrees, but about 10-15 in the day. Its not that cold, i just have rubbish circulation so im always chilly.

My boyfriend tells me 30 years ago it used to drop to about -30ish, but apparently due to our old friend 'global warming' those days are gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

Life / Sending mail to Poland (the quickest way) [11]

Polish post in my experiance is quite terrible, my dear mother sent me a package of cheese from london and it arrived 2 weeks later. It was not edible....so to send things eg. laptop, clothes etc. They use a courier company now, DHL i think. 24hours from order to delivery.

x

Food / Polish Milk, Just not the same [54]

I am SO pleased its not just me. I hate the milk here, it ruined my love of tea and cereal. Eventually i found fresh milk in our local shop, and PG tips and now my life is complete. Hurrah!

x

Work / Any english teachers in Poland here with tips to share? [55]

I would suggest dont start trying to find work at the begging of the summer, everyone goes on holidays and don't really want lessons!

I hadn't anticipated that one..

x

News / 14 year old rape victim from Warsaw denied abortion! [348]

Wow wow wow. So, can someone just make it clear to me, is it illegal to have abortions here? and only legal in the case of a rape?

Food / Polish food is making me fat [49]

Ill second your statment "polish food is making me fat!"

I moved here 3 weeks ago and my boyfriends parents live in the flat above, they insist we join them for atleast one meal a day, sometimes 2, usualy Kapki (cant spell, sorry) about 10 then Dinner about 4, usualy: meat (in a million forms), potatoes (boiled), salad almost ALWAYS with mayonaise on it?! never could i have fathomed that before i got here, and then (from a long line of bakers) some sort of cake or something sweet followed by strong coffe and shwika w chocolate (dried candied plumbs in chocolate)

ordinarily i have about half the callories of this in england so my body is struggling a little but....ITS SO GOOD! its hard to turn down. Along with 'eat Kasia, eat' from his mum and dad its hard to turn down!

xxxx

News / What does Poland mean to you? [66]


You give brits a bad name to the point im ashamed to be one. Im british and i live here in poland now and iv never in all my travels been so warmly welcomed in any other country. Its a shame that your so ill informed on what imigration has done for the UK, without the hard working nature of the Polish imigrants the capital would be a shoddy state.

I suggest you remove yourself from this forum immediatly and possibly do a little research so you can change your, frankly discusting, ignorant behaviour.

As we say in england: Bugger off.

Language / Common mistakes made by foreigners in Polish [90]


I know, i just got it wrong on that occasion, the look on her face was pricless though. And then when i told my boyfrined later he ruffled my hair and said that its probably just the first of many stupid things ill say by accident....8OD

Language / Common mistakes made by foreigners in Polish [90]

the other week i asked for a bottle of vodka after my work out, i ment a bottle of water! quite similar words...easily done. ofcorse the woman thought i was a NuTtErrrr!

x

Travel / Polish visa - Nightmare! [40]

Im from the UK and as i stated before everything is sorted and im now living and working here. end of.

x

Life / The strangest things in Poland [468]

I sugested i go down to the shop to buy mleko thismorning and slipped on some sandals with my rather eclectic PJ's, my boyfriend suggested i change my clothes and with the horrified look on my face (in our flat in london we would always nip to the corner shop in what we slept in) he explained the people are more formal here and have higher expectations of what people should look like

(i feel this also be why i am a source of much pointing, staring and gossiping from random strangers) when im just walking around in what i concider to be my normal london clothes....bizzare place...

p.s. where are all the coloured people?

Travel / Polish visa - Nightmare! [40]

Fortunatly i have little intrest on gaining money from this situation, however i certainly will raise the problem through the correct channels.
But in my case, I am more than happy that i am here, happy and safe. looking for a job and looking forward to a long and happy life by the Baltic.

KatieKasia

x

Life / The strangest things in Poland [468]

I love this post!
I now live here perminantly but only moved from london a few weeks ago, i find the following odd:

*to give a tip at a bar, you say thanks and walk away, or tap the bar with your money as you hand it over, and you put your money in a tray, not hand it into there hand.

*there seems to be little regard for speed limits, drunk driving and street signs. in london you would be hung for the driving here!

*always turning headlights on, regarless for the time of day (only put them on in the dark in the UK)

*again, the people clapping when you land, i physicly Jumped when it happned the first time i landed in Gdansk! my boyfriend said '******* idiots' in polish (he is polish) it irritates him alot.

*people seem to be much much more superstitious here.

*HOW IS IT THAT ALL THE POLISH WOMEN LOOK LIKE SUPERMODELS? - i ask my boyfriend almost every day, there seems to be no answer.

*Iv only met about 2 people who dont smoke, and everyone drinks. I wory about the future of my health.

more to come no doubt...

Katiekasia

Travel / Polish visa - Nightmare! [40]

Hallo,

Well i am in Poland now, and as it turns out the UK embassy where talking ****! I spoke to The town hall here in Gdynia and when i mentioned the London consulate the first word out of the blokes mouth was 'Kurwa!' so thats what he thinks of them...he told me they havnt updated there info in about 7 years and are constantly getting people coming to them with the same problem.

But just to put anyone elce that wants to come out here at ease - im here, im ok and i dont need any silly paper work!

katiekasia
x

Love / Is Poland gay friendly? [25]

I live in Gdynia and when i recently asked my boyfriend is a mutual friend of ours is gay he replied 'he might be, but you could never be openly gay here because people would beat you up' i replied that i think its a terribly old fasioned way of thinking and he agree\d but apparently thats just how it is. i think its a great shame as in london, where im from, you can be whatever you like and nobody will care or notice.

Shame.

katiekasia

Food / A report on certain Polish eating habits [15]

I dont know much because i have only lived here a few weeks but i live with poles and am intergrated into a polish family and it seems to be like:

Breakfast (for normal people) in the morning; cold meats, fish (smoked salmon, pickled herring etc) bread, maby some cheese. around 9-10, or for me, whenever i get up.

Lunch is a more basic affair, maby leftovers from whatever was made the night before, soup, meat and potatoes etc about 12-1 oclock.

'dinner' my (polish) boyfriend points out is the main meal of the day and is sortof 5 o'cock, thats early by british standars and its the main meal. Something like gowmki (pigdeons, i cant spell it po polsku) beef stroganof, chops etc. normaly a meat dish with some carbohydrates and some vegitables or salad.

'supper' being similar to breakfast about 10-12pm (whenever we get back from the bars) just cold stuff from the fridge, bread, spreads, cheese etc. Yummy all round. wit beer and/or wine.

In my experiance his parents also snack on cake and sweet stuff al day washed down with tea/coffee...there quite elderly though and do not much elce but cook and eat.

So thats what i know!

KatieKasia

Work / Just about to move to Gdynia - teaching job Help! [24]

yes its a word i struggle with, is it the same as the word for 'high street' or 'main road' what is it again? if you could write it phoneticly it would be fantastic!

Work / Just about to move to Gdynia - teaching job Help! [24]

heya,
Our flat isnt particualy in a district i dont think, its right in the town centre, about a 5 minute walk from the boulevard. seems quite nice i think....

Travel / Polish visa - Nightmare! [40]

Sorry,

I didnt mean to sound rude or ungreatful, i am looking forward to moving there and i hope to be there for the long haul so i dont want to make it sound like im just 'not bothered' to do all the paperwork. I was just misslead by what many of my polish friends had said, there rational being that: because they dont need anything to come here, surley i wont to go there. so it was a bit of a shock! My boyfriend is happy to sort out my translations etc and i can get everything (apart from the police check wich can take 50+ days) and as im leaving on the 18th of this month i was hoping to have everything in place before i went.

If worst comes to worst ill just have to come back after 3 months and go out again with renewed vigour, but i also cant work until i get it so i cant earn any money.

Thanks for all the responses (the constructive ones anyway) and the advice.

Cheers
KatieKasia