News / Polish hero pilot lands 767 without wheels. (Warsaw) [191]

Edit

From what I've seen on one of the videos, it took the first fire engine just about 30 seconds to reach the plane. And it came from the back of the aeroplane, by the way.

Edit 2:


This wasn't a gliding landing, in my humble opinion, since the engines were fully operational.

It was just a ***** to slow the aeroplane down ... ;).

Full kudos to everyone involved, be it the pilot, the co-pilot, the flight attendants, ATC, the emergency services, etc ... etc ... etc ... . It was obvious that they have been training for a possible emergency again and again and again. It showed.

It has nothing to do with nationalism, but all with professionalism.

Hurray to them.

BTW ... only real heroes don't consider themselves to be one.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]

Fuzzywickets ... if you claim that most of the Polish expats in France speak French (if I understand you correctly), how come I have never met them? Or Polish expats who live in the Netherlands or Flanders who speak Dutch ... ? Could it be that you might be misrepresenting the facts just a wee bit ... ? Do you know how many Polish expats in England aren't able to speak English? If you'd have to give each of 'em a pound, you'd be very poor indeed.

News / Polish hero pilot lands 767 without wheels. (Warsaw) [191]

Skysoulmate ... can I ask you for your (expert) opinion, please?

The new Dreamliner is mainly made out of other materials than aluminium. I'm sure you know that aluminium has a higher melting point than the other materials used in the Dreamliner.

As far as you know or can tell, do you think a wheels-up landing would be "as simple" in a Dreamliner as in an aeroplane made from aluminium? Could it be that because of the lower melting point of the materials, the outcome of a wheels-up landing could be different? Could there be an increased chance of the fuselage catching fire?

Just try your two pence worth. I am interested in your thoughts about this.

Law / Medical Malpractice in Poland - seeking accountability? [146]


Salary of a GP in the Netherlands - if you have your own practice, you earn approx. € 96K a year (currently PLN 421.775 a year, or PLN 35.148 a month). If you work as one of the GP's in a general medical practice, you earn between €4.755 and €6.155 a month (currently between PLN 20.891 and PLN 27.042 a month).

Surely Monia doesn't want to make us believe that GP's (or even specialists in a hospital) in Poland earn that much, does she? To be honest ... I wouldn't be surprised if the GP's over here make about 10% of that.

Source: in Dutch - [
youchooz.nl/beroepen/huisarts/50/salaris/5

Law / Medical Malpractice in Poland - seeking accountability? [146]


Because you started to make a biased comment, which wasn't based on facts AT ALL. Suppose you have a basal cell carcinoma on your eyelid, do you really think they will treat it with laser?? I shouldn't hope so ... they will use a cream. And what if you have several carcinomas all over your face? They will zap the living daylights out of you? Think, Monia ... please. Our dear Lord has given us a brain for a purpose. Use it. Topical treatments are a common form of treatment, all over the world.


No ... they don't. But the waiting lists over here are appalling, with people having to wait so long, for example, to see a cardiologist, that they die before seeing one.

Before bragging about how great the Polish system is, you might want to read this (/en/633/poland/health/?page=3 - where it says that "There is often a long waiting list to see consultant doctors, despite the fact that Poland has more consultants than GPs."). Fact of the matter is ... all public health care systems suck, more or less.


Please don't tell me that your contention is that the lower on this list you are, the better your health care system, or even the most efficient for that matter?! North Korea is even way further down the list, but that doesn't mean they are very efficient - well, if you think letting your patients die is efficient, then of course it is good to be way down the list.

Law / Medical Malpractice in Poland - seeking accountability? [146]


Only BATLS-UK (Battlefield Advanced Trauma Life Support), the military variant of ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support).

Law / Medical Malpractice in Poland - seeking accountability? [146]


Conveniently leaving out the truth, as usual. A common treatment for basal cell carcinoma -- the most common type of skin cancer worldwide -- is topical (applied to skin only) creams such as imiquimod, diclofenac, and fluorouracil (Efudex, Carac). They are used for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma when conventional methods are impractical, such as in the case of multiple lesions or difficult treatment sites on the face or scalp. It is also used to treat actinic keratosis (also called solar keratosis), which can lead to more serious invasive squamous cell carcinoma if left untreated.

Have a look here ... skincancercollege.com/Default.aspx?tabid=168

But hey ... why should you ever tell the truth anyway ... ? Maybe your "friend" should consider going on a refresher course - his/her knowledge seems to be a wee bit outdated.

Life / The Blame Game (Have you ever noticed that a Polish person is never wrong!?) [205]


There ... proof ... :)

• 
  not allowed
  

Travel / Tips and advice on CAR HIRE IN KRAKOW AREA [10]

Or try Express, a Polish rental company. Good prices, well-maintained cars (en.express).

UK, Ireland / Cigarettes in Poland (cost, brands). The situation in the UK? [57]

Marlboro PLN 118, Camel PLN 109.

There are cheaper brands as well.

Law / Foreigners Getting Married in Poland - a Guide to Formal Preparation [54]


Are you now ... ? Interesting ... ;). Might be a little problematic, mind.

With regard to the documents: call your embassy. They'll be sure to tell you.

Your girlfriend doesn't need a paper to show she isn't married.

Love / POLISH GIRLFRIEND WONT PAY HER WAY [127]

Not strange at all, bullfrog.

My wife and I have three accounts: one for me, one for her and a common account.

Our salaries are transferred to our private accounts. From there we transfer money for the bills, shopping, etc to our common account.

My wife earns 4 times less than me, so I chip in 3 quarters and she one quarter. Besides that we try and put something aside for a rainy day.

The rest of the money that is left can be spend relatively freely.

This way we also keep track of our spendings.

UK, Ireland / Cigarettes in Poland (cost, brands). The situation in the UK? [57]

PLN10,90 for a packet of Camel in PL. Marlboros are more expensive, 11-something.

£6,99 for a packet of Camel in the UK (bought it last Thursday).

News / Poland warns against deporting its workers: hypocrisy? [35]


I'm very sorry to hear that, Daisy. I do hope everything will turn out okay for you. These must be extremely stressful times for you.

Public services and the social welfare system ARE stretched and it makes me angry when I read about people who knowingly abuse it (for example benefit cheats who say they live apart, but are in fact living together with a partner) and in some cases, like with this Somali guy Abdisamad Sufi (it was in some of the Friday's UK papers), nothing can be done about it because of extremely liberal EU-rules.

Things need to change. These people should be send back, if it only was to avoid painting all people from a certain country with the same brush. Not all Somali's are like him, not all Poles, Rumanians, Bulgarians, etc are drunk in front of shopping centres and railway stations (allthough between Wednesday and Friday I've seen my fair share of them when I was in London - kvrwa and pierd0le where frequently heard words - I never hear "godverdomme" and "kut" when meeting Dutch people abroad for some reason). Criminals should be send back - no matter what.

If non-EU or EU-nationals lose their jobs, they should find something else within three or six months (even through a temporary job agency) or face expulsion. This automatically means that they will have to integrate into society (i.e. learn the language), because otherwise they won't find a job.

News / Poland warns against deporting its workers: hypocrisy? [35]

Okay ... as a Dutch (although living in Poland) here is my two pennies worth:

The Netherlands is a small country. At the moment 170.000 Polish people are in the Netherlands. On a population of 16 million. That's over 1% of the population; it would be like there are almost 400.000 Dutch in Poland ... given that Poland is generally known for its friendliness towards foreigners, I guess it would cause some concern over here as well.

Especially if -in some cases- over 40% of people in homeless shelters would be Dutch, as is the case with regard to Poles in the Netherlands. The plan is that people from the EU (not only Poles or Bulgarians or Rumanians) will be expelled if they are without a job for over three months. To be honest, I can't see anything wrong with that. They will still receive social welfare during that period.

Then, if people commit crimes, they will be considered as "persona non grata". Anything wrong with that? Don't think so. Then, when one is eligable for social security, one should agree to attend an integration course. That means learning about the country, a little bit of its history, who-is-who in state and local authorities and learning the language. Anything wrong with that if a person decides to spend his life in a country? Don't think so.

Lastly, people who want to work in the Netherlands are to be required to register with the local authority. I had to do the same thing when I moved to Wroclaw. And I only got a 3 month registration to begin with. Why is that Poles cry foul when they expect the same from foreigners wanting to settle in their country?!

The reason behind this registration-rule: people use local resources, so they should pay taxes (like the rest of "us"), and this way you prevent abusing these workers by stuffing them with 15 people in a one-family home (which now happens all too often). This way the state also has a better grip on rogue temporary job agencies which try to make an extra bob with these practices.

Again ... it's not about Poles. It's about everyone from the EU.

I'm sure to be getting a lot of flag and abuse, but again - I see nothing wrong with stricter rules. More liberal rules were tried, but unfortunately they failed. Too much abuse, too many people falling through the cracks and ending up in homeless shelters or drunk in front of railway stations, shopping centres and what have you.

One question: suppose I, as a foreigner in Wroclaw, would be drunk on Rynek all the time, going out stealing and exhibiting other unruly behaviour, being arrested by the police on a regular basis, and it would not only be me but quite a few "other EU-nationals" (like Brits, Germans, French, Spanish, etc) living over here. What would be the reaction of the people in Wroclaw? What would happen to me/us?

Work / I'm Algerian and I need information on finding work in Poland [8]



Sorry to be the party pooper here, but are you sure you want to add English to your list?

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]


I doubt it. Calvé, another brand by Unilever, used to have some factories in Delft. They were closed in 2008. Peanut butter went to Rotterdam (if I am not mistaken) and the rest of the sauces to Spain, the Czech Republic and Germany.


It's actually in the State of Brandenburg, near the Polish border.

Food / Mayonnaise and ketchup in Poland [47]

Hellman is owned by Unilever nowadays, hence the Dutch barcode

Travel / Attractions in Wrocław: a Must-See List [117]


I did ... last year at least. To the music of Jean Michel Jarre and, in the same rhythm, the stinging of musquitos on all unprotected and/or uncovered parts of your body. I can't remember having so many bites in one go all my life ... :S.

So ... very nice but go there with a shirt with long sleeves but still use some insect repellent on your skin, cause the damn things sting right through your clothing.


Be sure to let me know.


Ehh ... you can go to a bike shop here and get yourself one for a couple of zloty ... no need to drag one over the pond.

Travel / Attractions in Wrocław: a Must-See List [117]


You're correct, Wroclaw ... it's near Cmentarz Grabiszynski. Fallen soldiers from WWI and a dozen or so POW's from WWII.

Travel / Attractions in Wrocław: a Must-See List [117]


If you are looking for nothing fancy, try the Savoy Hotel or the Rezydent Hotel. From the Rezydent there is a direct tramline (#9) to the city centre. From the Savoy Hotel you can walk to Rynek in a couple of minutes.

I've slept a couple of times in Dwor Polski, but that's more upmarket. This hotel is right on Rynek, so not a lot of walking there.

I've also heard that the hostel Cinnamon is better than you might expect at first, but I dunno whether you'd want that. They have a 6 person room for 55 PLN per person ... but those are bunkbeds ... :D.

Tell us when you'll be in Wroclaw and we can go out for a beer.

Travel / Driving to Poland from England - any tips? [264]


Paying with Maestro in shops and petrol stations is free of charge.

If I take money from an ATM it is 2 euro. So I don't take off 20PLN, but 300 or 400. And I pay as much as possible with the debet card in shops ... as I said, free of charge.

I have a Dutch bank account at ING.

Life / Moving to Poland - Checklist / Things to Consider [33]

Warszawski ... A great thread.

Maybe we can add some information:

* stop subscriptions to (mobile) phone company, internet provider, cable television, etc ...
* ask for quotes from removal companies (if applicable)
* ask for quotes from storage companies (if applicable)
* what about car insurance in case you have a car, and want to take it to PL?
* write down meters of water, gas, electricity companies and inform them
* what about if you wanna take your dog and/or cat, hamster, rabbit, budgy, canary, and other pets to PL.

If some of you know the answer, please post it here.

(One of) my last post(s) from the Netherlands. Tomorrow morning at 04:00 we'll be driving to PL. Got the van packed, the rest of the stuff which I don't need immediately is in storage. The only thing I need to pack is the tele, a couple of sleeping bags and inflatable matrasses and my laptop.

A new fase in my life. I'm sure it'll work out just fine.

Travel / Driving to Poland from England - any tips? [264]


You can pay with your debet card (Maestro for example) or withdraw money at an ATM in a petrol station. No worries to get PLN's in England or wherever.

Polonia / SHIPPING HOUSE CONTENTS: from Poland to Moscow. Suggest a company? [17]

Wildrover ... I've asked for a quote from some removal companies in PL. As you know I am moving (some of) my stuff as we speak. They all wanted between PLN 5.000-6.000 for a distance of 1.920km. I have about 30m3 of stuff. They would have sent 3 guys in my case. Maybe you might want to calculate the volume of your stuff and rent a van.

For the first three months I will live in my wife's apartment, so I am only taking some of my things (clothes, and some other things that are a little old at my wife's place). I've just rented myself a van (Ford Transit). 6 days for 1.301,01PLN, without km-limit. The van is 9m3 so that's enough for a washing machine, cooker, 15 removal boxes, 2 bikes.

Just to give you some idea about costs. Maybe it is different in your case cause you'll be moving outside of the EU.

Good luck.

Love / Any particular Polish customs or traditions that I should know about in my relationship? [45]

Cheers Antek ... while I was reading back my comment, I was wondering whether I was right and had't forgotten about it ... :S:S.

Love / Any particular Polish customs or traditions that I should know about in my relationship? [45]


A question Bzi ... in the case of Magda, f.e. In May there are about three or four Magda-dates. And three in June as well if memory serves me correctly. I know a Magda who is born in October, yet has her name day coming Wednesday. How would that work in this case? I never got it ... :S

Love / Goal: Meet a nice Polish girl! [60]

With this you are saying that everyone who is not involved in these circles you mention, is a trollop. How nice of you. Talking about generalisations ... :S. Only people with a severely limited intelligence level use generalisations, cause otherwise the world is too difficult for them to understand.

Travel / Driving to Poland from England - any tips? [264]

Well, for my route there are only three countries involved, aren't there? F, D, and CZ. The bus goes through 4 (F, B, NL, D).

But I guess communication might be a little easier, although you don't have to talk much when filling up your car.

The route the bus takes, is about 75km more, so it's not that bad.

You can also take the Amiens, Namur, Liege, Cologne, Dortmund, Kassel, Leipzig, Dresden, Wroclaw route. F, B and D to travel through and not so much traffic as on the Hannover - Berlin route (1.650km as well).

Travel / Driving to Poland from England - any tips? [264]


From Calais to Ustron via Berlin? Are you sure? What kind of SatNav do you have? I just calculated it with my TomTom Live 1005 with the latest maps and it shows me the route:

- Amiens
- Reims
- Metz
- Worms
- Heilbronn
- Nurnberg
- Prague
- Brno

In total 1.652km in 14 hours 35 mins.

We are talking about Ustron near Bielsko-Biala, aren't we?


It depends on what the rental company gives me. Usually I have a Skoda Octavia 1.6TDI, Kia Cee'd 1.6 CRDI or Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDI.


My normal route (Geldermalsen - Wroclaw) is 951km. My fastest with only filling up the car and relieving myself (eating and drinking while driving) is 6 hrs 53 mins. That's an average of about 140km/h, which is pretty fast. In that case you use the floor of the car as cruise control. My fastest to Wwa was 9 hrs 52 mins, but that cost me PLN 500 just outside Lodz and another EUR 120 just before Berlin.

My slowest was 17 hours+: 6 hours from NL until the border with Poland, then 11 hours to Wojciechowice (nr. Kłodzko), including having to dig myself out of the snow 5km from "the finish", and my windscreen washer freezing up so having to drive virtually blind. It was on December 27th last year.