The strangest things in Poland

What did you find really strange?What really shocked or surprised you? Tea served in a glass, stray dogs, no smoke alarms, or maybe something entirely different...

The first thing that I noticed was a strange smell in the air. There are also many muzzled dogs and strays. 80-90 yr old women riding bicycles. Shoes off at the door similar to Japan..not strange just different. Having to pay to take pictures in museums. 15 yr olds in bars. Funny looking twins running the country.

Aaaargggh....

1.The way they drive. There's a one lane road and everyone passes whenever they want into the oncoming traffic, which in turn makes them drive onto the side of the road.

2.The way they lock their apartments and cars 10 million times. It's only strange to me because I never lock my house or my car. well, my car sometimes when I leave my chihuahua sitting there so nobody steals him. But not 10 million times.

3. They put ketchup on their pizzas
4. They don't served you ice cold water in restaurants
5. They stare at you if you look different. I have to wear a brace on my leg and all the people were staring at it when I was there. Made me feel very uncomfortable. They make you feel like an alien.

Ick!!!!!

I put teryaki sauce on mine sounds gross but actually its really good.

they also put corn on there pizzas, yuk

They pay their bills at the post office...
They change tires for the winter...

ok i know some ppl wont like this....but this is what i found to be the strangest..... seeing east indian, black and asian ppl in poland...dont get me wrong i am not racist it was just strange to see them in the ryneks hustling ppl in polish...when a few years earlier the only colored person in poland was olisbalde... times are a changing...

OMG that's a good topic.

What's so strange with putting ketchup on your pizza. :P I always thought it's normal. :)

Heh, it's hard to think for me what is strange in Poland because I was raised there...

Maybe that:
1. Nobody cleans after dogs so imagine how lawns look like...
2. After plane lands people claps, at least they used to, this tradition seems to fade away... (it looked strange to even to me, are people happy that the plane did not cruch or what :))

3. Polish eat potatos with everything... Have a lot of names for potatos, depending on region... (ziemniaki, kartofle, pyry, bulwy, I am sure you have more those are the most popular)

4. In most schools if you have good marks you are "kujon" (what is English translation?) because of people jelousity... If you have bad marks you are cool... I could never understand that althought I am Polish.

It's because they have winter's weather.

I do not think so... Thwy do not change tires in Detroit either, at least people I know... And weather same as in Poland...

It’s same with Korea and Russia. I like it, foot are relaxed, but flour shouldn’t be cold, though.


But do they have snow? You would never get same tracking with all seasons tires. It's just safer.


Very true for most of Russia, I hate it!

gossip is a national sport

It’s same for Russia, Belorus and Ukraine, too. I like it


Sometimes observed it in Russia, just a way to say thank you to pilots. (guess happy it didn't crash, too)

Oh, planty of snow... I aslo wonder how it is possible. I agree also that is safer with changing tires. I was sliding so many times that I waas surprised why the owner did not change tires (it wasn't my car I was just driving). When I asked him why he does not change tires he said: Change tires? Why? :)

Miranda: Gossip? National sport of which country? Poland? I disagree, look how much American gossip about other ppl and celebrities especially, Polish likes to gossip but not that much...

Vlad again :): ok, but Poland is 2nd country of the world if we are talking about eating potatos. So we eat more than Russian, Ukrainian and so on. Guess who's first? Ireland :) (maybe because of Polish immigrants :))

In some region of Poland (where there are still some forests left) you will notice country people with their tractors or horses dragging bales of wood (trees) from the local forest before winter starts. You gotta keep the household warm in the winter. Last year when I visited my childhood place I couldn't believe how devastated the forest I grew up (it was maybe 15 years ago) by was. It shouldn't even be called a forest preserve now as there's one tree every 10 meters (used to be 1 tree every 2 meters).

I never said it was wrong. Even with cells and TP news travells faster - Polish are unbeatable.

Oh really? I've never saw anything like that, maybe because I am from big city (althought visiting countryside sometimes). And remember that the percenatage of forrest increases, and is above 25%..., so do not give impression that Polish do not care about forest, despite it might be true in your area obviously.


Ok, did I say it is wrong? (althought I admitt right here, I think it's wrong) :P I believe Americans beat Polish in gossiping... Maybe somebody else would speak up. :)

Yes, during a week of my stay in a Polish country I saw 2 tracktors dragging bales of trees. I knew the guys and I am positive they weren't "forest workers" or something and didn't have any permit :). I'm sure Vlad could confirm it as this is happening in Russia too.

Regarding "forest increases" - that may be statistically true, but when they plant five 3-feet long tree and cut four 50-year old 70-feet tree, there is a huge difference overall :).

All Asian love rice, I was working for Korean company (LG Electronics) in Korea for two years, and were getting rice three times per day! I were skipping first one, but at the end contracts I was so sick of it. When I return I couldn't eat rice for two years. For sure I would prefer to eat different kind of potatoes

Somehow you are trying to prove that we do not care about forest in Poland :P. Ok than let me give you another argument. There are more and more national parks, and they expand their size :). Bears and Bizons are preserved in them... The forest that are choped off are those that were planted in the past. They do not chop off old natural forests... Or at least it's what I heard... All of info I give here are from radio audition, and newspaper article.

BTW, how come in Canada they have so much troubles with bears, and in Poland I have never heard about any problem with them. I know I know, we have waaaaaay less bears than in Canada, but remember that in Poland there are hardly any uninhabited places, and Canada has plenty of them...

hello is right about teh forest - I lived in a Polish village for 4 months and I have seen it with mine own eyes.

My point is - in the US when people are afraid to pick up a mushroom as it's likely they would pay a $500 fine (it's illegal to remove any kind of undergrowth from parks/forest preserves in the US). In Poland, you can steal a 70-feet tree and nobody will even care as "my neighbour does the same in the winter time".

You need to plant 5 trees for every tree you remove... And somehow all the people that I know that buy field did that (ok, there were just 2 guys...) to avoid fine. But again, maybe because I am from city.

It must be illegal in Poland, too. Now I’m surprised.

I loved our landing at Warsaw's airport. If people clapped, I could not hear them but I just loved how we were able to disembark right on the tarmac, a la Casablanca. And, lo and behold, there actually were people on the observation deck ! Something I had not seen at a North American airport since I was a child (security prevents outdoor observation in many airports now). For me, it was simply magical.

All Poles are world-class experts in politics and sports.

In a fast-food restaurant (like Mc Donalds or KFC) you need to order like for two people not to leave hungry. The food portions/sizes are like 40% smaller than in the US. Good thing for people who care to be slim :).

Excellent tracking on all seasons tires. Nobody changes tires for winter in USA.
Get lots and lots of snow. Best snowmobile trails around.


Kujon is called a "teacher's pet"

Yes, the clapping. Still goes on. I Was on Jugoslavian airlines and they do that too.

Oh. I know a good one. Traffic lights. In Poland first the light is green, then yellow then red. Same as in the US. But in Poland when it turns green again, the yellow light appears just before the green. In US, there is no yellow after the red and before the green.

good point, there also much smaller than the ones in oz, the chips/fries in poland are not nice...too soggy

One thing I don't like about polish society is the way people have to address other people by pani/ pan, mgr engineer etc...in oz that finished years ago...everyone is called by there first name...no barriers...I once address a person by his first name and received a bucket load of abuse..(the usual spin- have you no respect etc)

Be prepared...this will change in poland one day

Yeah, the pan/pani thing.

1.In schools you share a desk with another student, In US you have your own desk.
2.In Poland you carry a worek with tennis shoes for gym class.
3.They have warm milk for lunch breaks. YUK!!!
4.They start kindergarten at age 6, in the US they start at 5
(I have more later)