History / Ross kemp on Polish Gangs/Nazis - Untermenschen Nazis..?? [69]


fascism has historivcally shown itself to be both murderously anti-semitic and anti-intelectual.

That pondlife Griffin in the UK has said openly that the majority of his ridiculous "party's" members are poorly educated, and fascists (real ones, not the toytown kind in the bnp) today, as we can see from some of the more deranged people who post here, seem to have an obsession with Jewish people.

For no reason except their own inadequacy.

Life / Questions about Lublin [39]


I don't know the guy in question, but I know a few foreign people in Lublin, who all love the place.

It's a bit provincial (fair enough, it's in the provinces!), but the thousand plus university staff mean that there's plenty happenning.

Prices (at least when I was last there) are quite a bit lower than Warsaw, the nightlife is OK unless you expect capital city stuff, the countryside around is pleasant. A good city.

Life / ITV/C4 can't get these channels in Konstancin [12]

How do you get BBC Iplayer outside UK?

UK, Ireland / Legally changing my Polish name [28]

I'm used to Polish people mispronouncing my surname. In ten years here, only two or three people have got it right. I once had an old cow at Poczta Polska tell me I pronounce my own name incorrectly. The ignorant old b**ch would be fired if she was in the UK and said that to a Polish person. Even friends I've known for years get it wrong, though the pronounciation should be obvious to anyone with intermediate level English.

I wouldn't change it though.

Mr H made a good suggestion.

One possible solution is to follow the example of someone I used to know. She was a psychiatrist. Her surname was Nutter. So for obvious reasons, she usd a pseudonim (I think her maiden name) for work, and her own name outside work.

So keep your surname, by all means, but consider adopting a professional name while at work. After all, lots of actors and singers do, and certainly some doctors.

UK, Ireland / Sad life of a Polish migrant in the UK. Ch. 4 - Language [66]

smarrerweeim?

News / Poland. Sold for nothing. [341]


The same Dostoevsky who.....

Some things are just too....

Study / What is your opinion of Nicolaus Copernicus University? [10]


Using a map he got from a British man.

Life / UK expat recently moved to Warsaw - lots of ongoing questions :) [27]

Those water filters really work.

Food / What is this? Dark whisky Scottish or Polish? [58]

:-))

I once drank some home-made whisky here. Bimber really, from Podlasie, but the old guy who made it used to put it in old whisky bottles and some people didn't notice. Actually rather passable.

Food / What is this? Dark whisky Scottish or Polish? [58]


That's not at all bad. Better than the rum from Polmos Warszawa which is more of a rum flavoured vodka.

You'll notice some shops, especially supermarkets, only have the Dark with Scotch on the label, and some smaller shops still have stock from when they used to make it in Poland.

A bargain really, because it's quite drinkable.

Food / What is this? Dark whisky Scottish or Polish? [58]

I can maybe shed some light on this.

Dark Whiskey was/is a well known Polish-made brand, on the market for some years and actually not at all bad.

They used to produce it at Polmos in Zielona Góra.

Now they import it.

So it's a Polish brand that is now imported from Scotland, for reasons of economy of scale.

Life / Poland not so cheap anymore!! [47]


Is the difference because of individual state taxes? Excuse my naivete - I've never visited the US. I heard something about Native American reservations selling cheap cigarettes, but I was wondering if people in California and New Mexico cross the border to by them cheap, just as British cross the water to France and Belgium.

In Warsaw, you can still get cheap Ukrainian cigs for 5zl, sometimes 5.50 for the smokeable ones, but more and more the smuggled ones come from Belarus or even (yuk) Moldova.

Food / Recipe for Kotlet Schabowy (in English) [15]

DNZ's recipe is good.

The only thing I would do differently is to dredge it in flour (seasoned flour works well) before dipping it in the egg. Maybe (if you fry in butter or smalec) add a little water to the pan. I've seen that done here and though it sounds odd, it works.

Work / Is 8000zl Brutto per Month a good salary in Wroclaw??? [39]


For once I agree with Grzegorz!

In Wrocław it's fine, even in Warsaw it's not bad.

How much you can save depends on how much you like the good life.

UK, Ireland / Why do Poles come to England? [514]


We're talking about the same report. It was a eight (or was it 9?) month study, published on 1/4/08 in response to the Government report of the previous year. 2007.

Your quote from, I think, The Telegraph, made that clear.

UK, Ireland / Why do Poles come to England? [514]

Is that the minority response to the Government report of 2007?

By the way. YOU said


Please read the report. Properly. It found that increased immigration requires increased infrastructure.. It did NOT refer to the economic benefits that immigration brings, nor their tax which pays for the infrastructure. It wasn't about economic benefit or absence thereof. It was about infrastructure.

But for you,

UK, Ireland / Why do Poles come to England? [514]


Could you provide a link to the report? It would be interesting to see. I don't remember hearing anything, at least not this year.

UK, Ireland / Sad life of a Polish migrant in UK. Ch. 1 - Staring [43]


@ Magdalena, I really wish that were true.

The night bus to Bródno or Gocław can be hair raising. The tabloid newspapers here pick up on some horrific stories from small towns too, often involving alcohol. Not long ago someone was killed after being thrown from a moving train near Otwock. By two chavs who were stealing his mobile.

UK, Ireland / Sad life of a Polish migrant in UK. Ch. 1 - Staring [43]


You get just the same sort of thing here in Poland. Very similar.

About the staring, it doesn't seem rude here - people stare much more than they would in the UK.

Krysia seems to have met the wrong people though. London can be very unfriendly.

Life / Poland's westernization [44]

Is Poland Western or Eastern?

To a Russian or Ukrainian, it's certainly in the West. There's the 'moody Slavic soul' here, but there's always been a part of Poland that looks West rather than East.

Life / Scientology in Poland [24]


Only as far as L. Ron Hubbard slightly knew Jack Parsons, for a month or two.

I have a couple of friends here who are Scientologists, a married couple. They've never tried to to convert me, I've never asked questions. It's part of their life, which I respect but am outside. I understand Scientology is expensive. They're very rich, let them spend their money how they choose.

But if the chips were down, I'd trust them more than most Christians I know.

We've all seen the documentary films knocking Scientology - but for Xeno's sake give them a break, some of them are decent people.

:-)

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]


The bread is loaded with chemicals, the salad is a few miniscule scraps, the piece of beef (from up to 300 cows in one small patty, apparently) is tiny and there is no cheese, just processed cheese-substitute.

But they add loads of salt to make it tasty, so hey, what's the problem.

The coffee's good value though. And the thousand calory 'pies' taste nice, due to chemicals and slightly burnt fats.

Does anyone remember the time, a couple of years ago when the CEO of McD's went on record to say that contrary to rumours they do not use cows' eyballs in the burgers. The reason? Cows' eyballs are more expensive than the pap they actually do use.

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]


I think Birmingham is still second biggest. Perhaps they mean the whole Manchester metropolitan area?

For reference, some McDonalds in Poland (Marszałkowska/Świętokrzyżka for example, and a few other Warsaw ones) now have a kind of Babcia Klozetowa standing guard over the door, demanding to see your receipt. Let's hope you've not thrown it away.

In some ways this is Polish urban culture reverting to type. God forbid someone should get something they can't prove they're entitled to.

UK, Ireland / Will my British TV work in Poland [4]

No problem!

Someone else may have a different experience though. I just remember what happened when a friend tried to sell me a digital TV and demonstrated it in my flat.

UK, Ireland / Will my British TV work in Poland [4]

If you have digital cable, yes. It wouldn't work in my flat.

If your cable isn't digital, think about digital satellite.

Do you know which cable company it is? For sure they'll have an English speaker in their customer service dept, who should be able to advise.

Food / What ever happened to piwo EB? [5]

That sounds a bit like something from their website!

I remember the EB that was produced in the 90s, until the lawsuit. It was nice beer too, as far as gassy Polish lager can be called nice! There's still an EB available over the border in Kaliningrad, but different stuff entirely.

Whatever happened to Heweliusz? That disappeared around the same time.

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]


This post doesn't make 100% sense. What do you mean?


Apparently they used to be Brewer's Fayre branches which weren't doing as well as the others.

The photo is amazing, isn't it!

Food / What ever happened to piwo EB? [5]

The company who were producing it lost the right to the trademark.

If I remember the details, EB was a pre-war brand. The brewery was in Elbląg (EB = Elbinger Brauerai), the company's head office was in Kaliningrad. Post-war these ended up in different countries. The brewery in Elblag was producing EB. A brewery in Kaliningrad was also producing a beer called EB for the local market. They went to the European Court, and the Kaliningrad company won, because the company and trademark had been registered there.

This was what I was told by an Elbląg local. If anyone knows more, it would be interesting to hear.

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]

Sad but true, food in France is changing. For the worse.

As for the Sunday opening thing, for the past few years the Catholic Church has had Vigil Masses on Staurday evening for people who have to work on Sunday.

My local shop (in a bit of Warsaw which is screaming for a supermarket) has a lot of vodka, beer too, a (very) good selection of wędliny and that's all.

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]


Surely the opposite? If a 7-11 is what I think it is (a neighbourhood convenience store selling basics, like Żabka here) then busy people, even the very busiest go to them. People without a life have plenty of time to plan shopping, trail round hypermarkets etc. Though I see what you mean, given some of the things those shops stock.

I wish the 7-11 near my home in Warsaw would sell fewer pot noodles, prepacked ciasteczki, frozen chips (aarggh), processed Polish 'cheese' in foil wrappers (double aargh) and the dullest types of kielbasa etc. and more fresh meat, real cheese and veg.


One oddity about McDonalds in Poland is that a higher percentage of the 'restaurants' belong to McDonalds themselves, rather than franchisees. Same in UK too, but apparently this is unusual.

One reason they're doing so well, is that there traditionally hasn't been much of an alternative. The bary mleczny are only just beginning to modernise, and many have closed, and the 'mom n' pop' diners, such as they are here, are often dreadful, with nasty predictable bland food, shortages of menu items,extremely surly service, miniscule portions, rising prices, shocking hygiene, locked toilets if there are toilets at all.

McD, KFC, Pizza hut/land/express are nasty too in their own way, but they are clean, bright and the staff are relatively civil. And although the food is disgusting fodder, at least they make an effort at presenting it nicely. And the coffee is usually good.


Me too. Believe it or not, McD's key European markets are Poland and, wait for it, France.

The UK was a special focus for them, but apparently their revenues have gone down due to the rise of something called Greggs, which apparently sells pies, sandwiches and cakes. I don't know if they're good pies etc, but at they can only be better than McDs, and and have at least something in common with local tradition. It's a chain, but it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb the way McD's does.

Out of interest do you thing these: Taybarns places would do well here.
guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/28/taybarns-recession-restaurant

The economic model might have to change due to the slim margins being eaten by any reduction in price to suit the market. But.... Polish friends who have read this article, said that there'd almost be riots to get in, even at the same price. I'm not sure....