UK, Ireland / Poland Flying the Flag at Gay Pride in Manchester [75]


Depends where you are I suppose, though the Manchester village was certainly quite provincial when I lused to hang out there. Mind you, that was back in the 80s :-)

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


Usually next to the flour, and called 'Skrobia Kukurydziana'.

As for Kuchnie Świata, they have a lot of things that the supermarkets won't ever stock, like soft drinks and processed foods from the US.

If you live near a Piotr i Paweł, thry have very good Cheddar (from a farm not a factory) and MiniEuropa have plenty of 'western' products, albeit at a price.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


I've heard well-travelled diplomats' kids say that the American School in Warsaw has some of the nastiest kids they've been to school with, talking only about money and possessions.

A word of warning about schools. The British School is near Sadyba, and is run by a company called Nord-Anglia, who for many years have run schools round the world, and are generally considered respectable.

A school with a very similar name operates near Piaseczno, but is run by a private local company and has standards which fall very far short of the minimum one might expect. So much so that a few years ago many of the parents (including most of the expats) withdrew their kids en-masse.

Life / Big foot trouble in Poznan [7]

From Poznań it's just a short and enjoyable trip to Berlin, where there are shops which specialise in larger sizes.

News / Death Sentence in Poland, when was it abolished? Last executed? [26]

Remember that being found guilty by a court isn't the same as actually being guilty, vide the Timothy Evans case.

And that in certain states within the US, especially in the deep south, mentally handicapped people, including some with a very limited capacity to differentiate between right or wrong, have been judicially murdered.

Life / How much is the Internet service in Poland? [11]


But be careful of Play Mobile (sometimes PlayOnline) - they have frequent system problems, like today when customers can't top up their accounts, and their customer service department can only be called macabre.

Life / Shopping (clothes, bedding, etc) on Budget in Warsaw [6]

In the shopping arcades under Central Station there are a couple of haberdashery shops which should stock Dylon dyes. I bought one once from an artists' materials shop, but sorry, I've forgotten which one.

Empik has fabric paints, if you're brave enough to try one in your washing machine :-)

Life / Should we bring our truck or go small? [15]

About on-street parking. You'll probably have somewhere secure to park, but if not, most of Mokotow is outside the paid zone so there won't be a meter. A lot of people park on the street and Mokotow is considered a safe part of town.

At least the part where I live is quite safe to park in.

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


When that post was written, it was true. Now it's not, most of them (except a few in out of the way places and some shopping malls) do breakfast.

McDonalds have identified Poland as one of their key markets. They seem to be everywhere now.

Perhaps nasty cheeseburgers are the new national dish of Poland. That and ketchup, eaten with everything, even pizza :-) and frozen French fries.

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


Sorry for the delay in replying. The answer is not much. I know you have to register not-for-profit organisations at the KRS (court of registration) and the rules are a bit stricter than in 'western' countries. Some lawyers will advise for free if it's a genuine not-for-profit operating on a small scale.

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....

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 / 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]


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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

:-)

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.

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.

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 / 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 / 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]


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.

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.

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.

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 / 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.