Present for Polish friends ~ is anything hard to get any more?

I'm totally out of touch with what's available in Poland today.

20 to 28 years ago when I used to visit my friend there was a shortage of everything, there was Martial Law, queues, etc, so it was easy for me to take her and her family presents. Anything was well received, from razors to jeans. I used to take an extra suitcase just full of presents.

Now I am wondering what to take when I visit her next month. She lives in Gizycko and has two children, 13 and 5.

Is there anything at all that she cannot get or is hard to get in Poland, or that is horrendously expensive there but cheap here in the UK?

Sorry for the ignorant question but as you can see I am very out of touch!

Bring me some Heinz beans and a bottle of lea and perrins relish.....and i will love you forever......

Take a jar of Branston Pickle. Once they get a taste for it you'll find yourself sending it over by the bucket load.

All the big shops are here now... Tesco, various clothes shops etc.

Regarding Tesco, do they sell the same things as they do in the UK? And is there a Tesco in Gizycko and every small town, like there is in the UK? I cannot imagine seeing Tesco in Poland. I won't really believe it until I see it :-)

There are tescos here in Poland but they are not like the UK tescos. They don't stock the same things either. They are still quite new here so probably not in every town, but most town will have at least one of the main supermarkets here such as Lidl, Carrefour, Tesco, Biedronka and so on...

there is definitely Tesco in Poland , and also Netto , as well as all kinds of Polish supermarket , but they are not in the small villages , and not in all small towns.....

There is tescos here but the service leaves alot to be desired. I think they might be franchises cos the normal tescos rules dont apply (eg the 'one in front') policy. You also cant use clubcard here. Bring some marmite!!!

My mind is boggling. My memory of Polish supermarkets was of bread, mayonnaise and milk, and all the other aisles cordoned off because the shelves were completely empty.

LOVE LIDL!

There are 305 Tesco markets in Poland. 50 Real markets. 40 Carrefours. 25 Auchans. 20 E. Leclerks. Plus you have thausands of smaller supermarkets. There are 1000 Biedronkas alone.

Most things are available so maybe take things that are British/Irish brands e.g. Baileys Irish Cream (I've yet to meet a Polish woman who doesnt love the stuff), a Scottish or Irish Whiskey for the guys is always appreciated, some of those Heroes chocolates, Maltesers etc. All pretty safe stuff.

Kilkline: I am definitely not taking any alcohol. Chocolate isn't safe ~ I'd eat it all before I got there LOL.

Something for the children, that is what I am thinking. What sort of things do they love but would be unable to get in Gizycko?

I'm going to be amazed. Last time I was in Poland I saw a man with a cart selling bananas. I was rather startled, had never seen them before. In fact I seem to recall reading in a book that children of high-up communist party officers were known as the Banana Children as they were the only ones in Poland who had ever seen a real banana.

This girlfriend of mine who lives in Gizycko, she lived in Lublin and in 1981 I took her out to buy shoes. We went to a department store and this big shoe department had exactly three pairs of shoes and none in her size. We went to Krakow for the weekend and while there she was so thrilled to find a shop with a pair (just one pair) of shoes in her size (40). This is the Poland I knew. I will think it an Aladdin's cave in comparison. I'm so glad the Poles don't have to queue and go without things any more.

Cadbury's creme eggs

Well, if you're not taking alcohol or chocolate I'd be surprised if they'll let you visit again. Maybe you could take clothes? I know most Poles are quite unhappy with the choice of children clothing in Poland.

If your friends like gardening you could buy them some fancy gardening device. I guess the choice of this stuff in England is much wider than in Poland.

If they're into books, you can bring them some books in English. English classics can be bought in any Empik, but in paperback, and modern stuff is hardly available in original version (and most Polish translations suck, sorry to say that). So maybe some book in a pretty edition?

Another thing which is probably in larger selection in UK than in Poland is old china, glassware, earthenware etc. Yet, to choose something appropriate youy have to know your friends' taste very well.

As far as children are concerned: in Poland it is hard to get toys in good quality and educational toys (when I had to buy a nice toy for a 5-years-old girl, I had a big problem finding something not stupid, not made of awful pink plastic, to say nothing about any kind of an educational toy. And I looked for it in the second biggest Polish city). But I haven't looked for any toy in UK, so I don't know if it's easier or not.

What about fudge? It's so delicious and so british.Plus it comes in very cute boxes sometimes.

They have fudge in Poland, not sure how widely available it is though. I bought some in Warsaw airport...

My mate has a small factory here in Poland making fudge , so its not rare here....i think the Polish stuff is nicer myself......

one of the business ops i looked at for poland awhile back was a fudge making operation with small carts selling the stuff at various outlets, shopping malls etc.

i foresaw my profit margins rapidly shrinking and my stomach rapidly expanding but the business plan stood up

I fear the Creme Eggs and Fudge would end up in my stomach en route across Europe by train.

Books ~ my friends do not speak English. I write and publish books for a living (google my name), but I won't even take my own books as they won't be able to read them. Well, maybe one of my own just as an ornament LOL.

Ornaments: I don't know their taste at all, nor their children's clothes sizes. Gardening ~ they live in a flat.

Both children are boys, maybe some kind of educational toy that you cannot buy in Poland? But then, it HAS to be in Polish, not English, unless it needs no instructions.

In my town they sell fudge with a photo of my town on it!

This is quite difficult.

I am quite amazed. Surely you read newspapers and watch the news on TV, don't you? and yet, you seems to know very little about todays life in Poland.

If you want my advice, take your Polish friend the same stuff you would get for somebody within the UK.

"I am quite amazed. Surely you read newspapers and watch the news on TV, don't you? and yet, you seems to know very little about todays life in Poland."

(1) No I don't read newspapers. Every few days if I have time I go briefly to the BBC England news page and spend 5 minutes on it. This tells me nothing about life in Poland or what the average Pole would like as a present from the UK.

(2) No, I never watch the news on TV, but I suspect that, if I did, it would tell me nothing about life in Poland or what the average Pole would like as a present from the UK.

(3) Why should that amaze you? If we could get all our knowledge about life in Poland from the newspapers and TV what is the point of having this forum and inviting people to ask questions about life in Poland?

What about a coffee table book just containing pictures of british landscape? I know it`s not very useful, but it could be a nice present.

Tea as well is not a bad idea. Everyone in Poland loves tea (not as much as in England tough:)). I don't know how easy it is to find English breakfast tea and Earl Gray in Poland.

Braz ~ that's a good idea. Pictures of Britain, English tea and a box of Hastings fudge! They can have a holiday in England, in their flat in Poland!

OK please can anyone in Poland give me their opinion on this? I am planning to take the couple and their two children pairs of Crocs, because I do not think you can buy them in Poland. Please let me know if I have got this wrong. I don't want to take them all the way to Gizycko only to find every shop awash with them! I wear these Crocs every single day (I have four pairs). So, what do you think?

Follow this link

shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/footidol

Also, I looked on ebay.pl and could not see any little Mp3 players. I thought maybe the parents and the older child would like me to bring them ones. Again, is this something that is hard to get or expensive in Poland?

Here is an example of the type I would take:

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190242794711

Please help by letting me know if I'd be making a big mistake.

Thanks

Helena

Crocs has a few stores in Poland. Check here
crocs.eu/shop/shop_locator/?m=3&s=2

LOL so do I. Never take them off! I bought them in Poland.


Allegro is full of MP4s

Val I have red, pink, blue and yellow!

OK, so what about the MP3 players?

I go for the natural tones - beige and brown. I like colours that start with B

See above for my comment on MP3s

Tea is usually my gift of choice (unless it's for a really good friend, and I have a better idea of their taste / stuff that they're into and know that they'd appreciate). You can get some fancy tins of Earl Grey, Darjeeling, English Breakfast etc. in places like Wittard, though Fortnum & Mason or Harrods usually go down well. Match it with a tartan tin of shortbread.

For a more personal gift, how about some nice bath products from Molton Brown or Crabtree & Evelyn - to my knowledge, you can't get these brands in Poland.

I don't know what Allegro is!

Auction site