News / IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day [63]


Pretty well. It's a standard tactic to stand back and pretend to be morally upright while letting hooligans do their dirty work.

History / 13 of December - the anniversary of MARTIAL LAW in Poland [48]

I doubt they care that much. They're just watching the car crash that is PiS from a distance. In Poland, as you may have notices from afar, parties form and reform, disappear and come however the people are the same.

And 13 Dec will be an interesting test of how the paranoid lackeys of Ciemnogrod react in public.

News / IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day [63]

You shouldn't feel ashamed. It isn't your fault in any sense. Although those hooligans may pretend they're acting in the name of or on the behalf of Poland; they aren't. They don't have mass support, Poland has (and has always had) many different opinions and points of view. Those guys ripping up paving stones take advantage of that freedom however they don't respect it.

Love / Portuguese Boy with a Polish Girl - she is more conservative than others. How to approach her? [24]


What first date? She turned him down!

He offered Halloween, she said (accurately or not) that she didn't want to for religious reasons. She did not suggest an alternative.

Love / Portuguese Boy with a Polish Girl - she is more conservative than others. How to approach her? [24]


It looks like she doesn't like him very much, doesn't it.

If her religious observances are a stumbling block, as he mentioned he has got (as I said) two choices. Live with that and have a hard time, or move on to someone less frumpy.

News / IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day [63]

Well Greggs, as you know (though somehow I suspect you don't) fascism is notoriously hard to define, though I tend to go with Adorno's classic definition.

The organisers of the annual fascist riots however, fit that description in every sense and are proud of it. Which is why most people avoid such rabble, and given the violence in certain cities caused by these fascist hooligans, any company employing a diverse workforce is to be commended for looking after their safety.

News / IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day [63]


What's your endless inadequate dribbling about Muslims got to do with the annual fascist riots in Poland?

Love / Portuguese Boy with a Polish Girl - she is more conservative than others. How to approach her? [24]


FFS why not find one who gets down on her knees for reasons other than praying in church. Unless that's what you want of course in which case you'll have to court her in a (very) old fashioned way.

Though if she's so frumpy that she disapproves of Halloween, you may want to look elsewhere anyway.

News / IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day [63]




What's with all the fascists getting touchy about a company giving safety advice to Staff? It's as if they take it personally.

And probably enjoy seeing (on TV or online) pictures of the racist hooligans ripping up paving stones and burning out OB trucks. After all, they both live abroad so it isn't their money that pays for the repairs.

UK, Ireland / Why do UK people look down on us? Maybe because plenty of Polish people work in the sex and cleaning industry? [51]

What's with all these trolling guest posters slagging off expat Poles, Brits, Muslims, whatever, anyway?

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

It's probably a mistake but with online hotel bookings it could possibly be a genuine price. I got a couple of nights at a 5 star (actually 5 star plus) hotel in Al-Ain this year for $80 through booking. It does happen.

I doubt there's such discounts in Katowice but lastminute.com does have the mystery hotels (they don't tell you the name, but you can check easily from the original price & the location) which tend to be 4 or 5 star and are amazing value. They tend to be in places with an oversupply of hotels and during quiet periods. I've never seen one in Poland, but it's possible.

For cheaper hotels, sometimes smaller chains or 'boutique hotels', even good Guest Houses are sometimes a good price and excellent quality. That one called the Willa Aurum in Katowice (unfortunately outside the centre a bit) looked really nice.

For someone working in Katowice, the priority is location, price, and good wifi maybe. Somewhere posh is nice, but convenience comes first.

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

I'd never thought about these booking services until someone I work with recommended them to me and now I use them all the time. The good thing is that you just type in the place and the dates and they give a selection that you can compare. You can sort them by distance, price etc.

Booking is good and usually a bit cheaper than lastminute. Trivago just combines them all and redirects you to the website of the cheapest one, though I'm a bit wary of ones I haven't heard of.

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

The Diament Plaza on ul. Dworcowa looks nice (155zl reduced from 235zl) as does the Diament Spodek (179zl reduced from 235zl). They're both 3 star. The Novotel is 237zl and is 4 star.

The only two hotels I could have really recommended because I stayed in them are both closed now sadly. Nowadays I tend to go back on the same day.

Those prices are through booking. I chose the 18th November at random. Obviously the price is dearer if a lot of people have booked and maybe less if the hotel is empty. Sometimes you can get a very good price from that site on the same day or the day before if they haven't sold many rooms.

Obviously these are online prices. They are usually cheaper than just arriving without a booking or phoning them to reserve. Trivago.com is a good site for hotels - they aggregate all the different booking services and show the cheapest.

Just looking at Trivago, there are a few others too. Prices in £ (sorry!), but you pay in zl.

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

I just had a look at booking and chose the night of 18 November just as an example. The Economy Silesian Hotel was 114zl and the Quality Silesian Hotel was 150zl - 'was' meaning when I just looked - it's a very British way of using English ;-) . Nearer the station (very near) there's the Diament Plaza on a 'value deal' (I usually book these deals) at 155zl and further away (near park Kościuszko) the Willa Aurum (looks lovely) is 213zl.

They all have private bathrooms/wifi etc and the cheapest one, the Economy Silesian, actually looks quite nice.

The Ibis Budget website says "from $23". I don't much like the rooms in those hotels (but they are clean and have everything) but do sometimes use them because I have an Accor loyalty card ;-)

The best deals are usually on booking or lastminute (good to check both) and I've also used hotel, though some people don't recommend it.

Food / Best Polish Potato Variety for Mashing [67]

Even Biedronka has them. Nicer baked than anything else. Certainly not mashed - it reminds me of early 70s UK school,dinners during the year there was a potato shortage.

News / Our (UK) Trash tabloid has this exclusive story on the Sobibór Nazi death camp in south-east Poland [35]



Based on her - they're quite open about that.. Her husband, the Daily Mail owner, Lord Rothermere, was actually called Vere Harmsworth. Famous for her flamboyant dress sense (Google some pictures) her high libido and for being a truly lovely person.

The Daily Mail doesn't have a great reputation. One editorial technique of theirs is to print articles that make very conservative people get angry. The reader comments below the articles are often foul. Worth mentioning that it sells a lot of copies and the website gets millions of hits a day.

This article, was just to shock. Graverobbing, an Eastern European guy who allegedly desecrated graves to build a cowshed, all that stuff designed to titilate/annoy in equal measure.

The historical aspects of the story, that Jewish graves in Poland have been disrespected does have the ring of truth. And sadly there are people who vandalise Jewish cemeteries in Poland and elsewhere. Out of sheer hatred and psychological inadequacy.

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]

Levi, this thread is not about your 'issues' with Muslims or clothing in Dammam, which is not in Poland.

News / Our (UK) Trash tabloid has this exclusive story on the Sobibór Nazi death camp in south-east Poland [35]

It's listed on the stock exchange and is controlled by the arch-conservative Lord Rothermere, a descendent of the founder (and son of the wonderful actress Beverly Brooks, better known as Bubbles Rothermere).

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

These were a lot cheaper than that, 150zl or something like that, maybe a bit less.

I used to stay in a decrepit old hotel for 100zl round the back of the station, but when I looked for it recently it had vanished. A shame really. It needed modernising but was an old style hotel with a cheap but good restaurant, a ballroom! and an old fashioned upstairs bar.

The cheapest nowadays is (also not far from ul. Francuska), the Zajazd Sportowy. There used to be another sports hotel upstairs from the tennis club, 50 or 60zl a room and clean/modern but a shared bathroom. Sadly they demolished it.

Travel / Hotels near to Ul Francuska 36 Building B Katowice? [14]

The Economy Silesian Hotel and the Quality Silesian Hotel are both a few minutes walk from ul. Francuska and both are very cheap.
I think they are both on booking.

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]


Exactly. I know black people who've had trouble, but they've mostly been young men with a Polish girlfriend out on a date in bars it's best not to visit in any case.

I've never heard of any tourist (or resident) having problems because of wearing a headscarf.

As I say, most Polish people are polite if sometimes a little reserved.

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]


Wanna bet?

I know Bialystok and the surrounding area rather well. And have visited it with people who are obviously from an ethnic/religious minority with no issues whatsoever.

You seem to be talking about "high class" or "higher circles" etc. I wonder if you think the OP when she and her family are visiting are going to be wandering around rough areas or mingling with football crowds?

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]


Yes. In real life the reality is different. People in Poland tend to be very well-mannered and polite.

Well, I don't tend to "hang around" but my circle of friends does include people at the very top of society but certainly not only. And no "LGBT community" whatever that means.

UK, Ireland / POLISH CITIZENS FOUND DEAD IN UK... [36]

Don't be silly Levi, that's an outright lie and off topic as usual.

UK, Ireland / POLISH CITIZENS FOUND DEAD IN UK... [36]

Yes. The worst one I read about was that poor young woman up in Scotland who was buried under a church floor (and may have been alive when she was put there). The guy who did it (called I think Tobin) is fairly high on the list of suspects for being 'Bible John' back in the 60s.

My interest isn't the grizzly crimes, but more about people's journey in life when they go to a different country. Fortunately the horror stories like this are balanced by many more much nicer ones, but of course they don't make such interesting headlines

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]

Most people are far politer than that, and the OP should be aware that post #3 was written by someone who is not in Poland.

Life / Are there any Muslim areas in Poland? [173]


That's an extremely good point. There used to be a (short-lived) little bar in Warsaw right behind the church on pl. Zbawiciela however it was low-key, didn't last long and in theory you'd have to walk a long way round.

However closer to the OP's question, alcohol is part of the culture of Poland - after all, some say it's where vodka originated - however there are not many suburban pubs or bars and it is easy to avoid.

Life / Are there any Muslim areas in Poland? [173]

Biedronka is a shop, not a bar.

There are some exceptions involving bars/restaurants in cities, however the rule still stands in most places.

Travel / Muslim tourist visiting Poland - safety concerns [51]

Yes, Poland is generally a safe country, especially in the places where tourists might like to visit, like Warsaw, Kraków, Wroclaw, Gdansk.

In these places you will probably see a few other people with headscarves though not many.

People in Poland (in shops etc) can sometimes seem cold to strangers however you should not take that personally - they are just the same with other Polish people.

As with any city/country, avoid poor parts of town, especially at night.

Have a great visit.

Study / For a student in Poland - how do they do internship? [26]


Exactly - so many of the younger and better ones are working elsewhere. Nevertheless, as far as internships are concerned, there is still an high number of doctors coming out of medical school (and a lot of doctors relative to the population as a whole) whatever Paulina and Ktos may think.

There are also quality issues - there are plenty of Polish doctors of questionable quality and plenty of patients having horrific experiences. I have seen both noticeably good and noticeably bad. In most places doctors are just doctors.

There are also plenty of qualified doctors working in other fields because of the money.



Five doctors doing the job of one, and most of those tests don't even need a doctor to do them. I've seen the same myself. So yes, there are too many, and lots coming out of medical school which puts pressure on the limited number of internships.