News / How do Poles feel about the outcome of Germany's elections? [90]

It's already the case. One fourth of Polish exports go to Germany, making Germany Poland's biggest export market. Poland, though only Germany's tenth market, is still bigger than Russia, and growing fast.

Food / Mushroom picking (and eating:) in Poland [36]

Nice. Did you really find chanterelles at this time of year? It's a summer shroom - typically from the end of June to the end of July.

Chanterelles with scrambled eggs and prosciutto on a toast:

youtube.com/watch?v=OPq2lvxd8io

News / How do Poles feel about the outcome of Germany's elections? [90]

Merkel is the most popular foreign politician in Poland. 75% of Poles trust her. It doesn't hurt her image that she's of Polish descent and has distant relatives in Poland.

Life / Golden Wedding in Poland, the protocol for giving gift for a wedding? [58]

There is no need for a wedding gift if you are not present at the wedding. The purpose of a wedding gift (money) is to help cover the cost of the wedding. Since you weren't there, they didn't spend any money on you.

Language / The OPPOSITE of Polish diminutives [5]

Diminutives are plentiful in Polish, but the opposites - augmentatives - are rare. Some examples:

nos=nose
nosek, noseczek=little nose
nochal=big nose

barki=shoulders
bareczki=small shoulders
bary=big shoulders

garnek=pot
garnuszek=little pot
gar=big pot

wódka=vodka
wódeczka=endearment of vodka
wóda=pejoratively about vodka

Genealogy / Skorupodski / Golwick - Were my Polish ancestors Jewish? [9]


:
1. Vasili is a Russian name. It's unlikely that someone living south of Kraków would have a Russian first name as this area was a part of Austria-Hungary for over 120 years.

2. Currently, no-one in Poland uses the name Skorupodski. The name could be invented or misspelled. 3. Mary Skorupodski: First name is English. Why would anyone living near Kraków have an English first name? Polish equivalent of Mary is Maria, a typical Christian name. Jews would rarely use it.

So far the story doesn't make much sense to me.

It's difficult to judge one's religion by clothing they wear, unless one wears, say, an ultra-orthodox jewish garb. In Fiddler on the Roof, Jews wore typical clothing of the time plus undergarment called Tzitzit, the strings found at the side of Orthodox men.

If they were Jews living in Austria-Hungary they would most likely have a German second name. That's because Polish Jews did not use second names until the second half of the 19th century. They were forced by the Austrians to buy German-sounding names from the list provided to them by the imperial authorities and use them.

All in all, bearing in mind that the story looks fictional to me, they were unlikely to be Polish Jews.

UK, Ireland / wife wants to have baby in poland not ireland [52]

Mortality rate, neonatal (per 1,000 live births):

Iralend: 2
UK: 3
Poland: 4
US: 4

(Neonatal mortality rate is the number of neonatals dying before reaching 28 days of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year. Neonatal mortality rate is a better indicator of hospital care than infant mortality rate which counts deaths in the first year of life.)

Your newborn would be 2 times safer in an Irish hospital and home than in a Polish or US hospital and home. But because all these countries have very low neonatal mortality rates (Ireland: 0.2%; Poland: 0.4%) the chance of neonatal's death in Poland is only 0.2% higher than in Ireland. Statistically, it seems insignificant.

data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.NMRT

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


Common story in New York restaurants too. They hire an expensive chef, learn new dishes, new ideas, from him, and after a couple weeks they fire him. New hires are eager to share everything they know to impress the employer.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]

They hired you and for whatever reason decided to let you go. They blamed the state bureaucracy to make you feel better about them and yourself: it was not the company fault, not your fault, but the state fault. Most likely the company needed to use you (your skill) for a short period of time or they didn't find your work good enough or needed any longer. Blame the company.

Language / Polish war cries/battle sayings [21]

According to Wikipedia, during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth each noble clan had its own official battle cry. Often fighting as a single unit, szlachta clans used battle cries to forge attacks, stay unified and identify eachother during battle as members of individual noble clans were often not related and did not know each other personally. However, the army as a whole had its own unique battle cry, devised by the commander or the king, if present at the battle. During the battle of Grunwald king Jagiełło's battle cries were "Kraków" and "Wilno" - the capitals of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania.

Food / Using Polish cooking books in an English version? [16]


The book has only two customer reviews on Amazon.com, both negative:

amazon.com/Polish-Cooking-Traditional-Marzenna-Kasprzycka/dp/1928900615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377976709&sr=1- 1&keywords=kasprzycka

Unfortunately, the faults of this book apply to most Polish cookbooks. Try Anne Applebaum's new cookbook:

amazon.com/Polish-Country-House-Kitchen-Ultimate/dp/1452110557/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377976266&sr=1-4&keyword s=anne+applebaum

Excellent.

News / More cars in Poland than America? [29]


Same in Poland and everywhere else in Europe. So it doesn't affect the statistics by much.


Exactly. The cars used for commercial purposes aren't considered into the passeger car total in the U.S., Europe, Poland, and everywhere else. That's why in the category of passenger cars Poland is ahead of the U.S., but in the category of total car ownership (including commercial vehicles) the U.S. is ahead o Poland. Americans have more cars, but Poles have more passenger cars. Ownership of passenger cars in the U.S. is declining, while in Poland is growing.


It may not be unusual where you live. But it's something unheard of in New York City where 54% of housholds do not own a single car. In Manhattan 77%.


Sorry, but you must be joking. Have you ever been to Europe? Compared to EU American public transportation is dismal:

economist.com/node/18620944

New York City has relatively good public transportation - true. But subway sucks compared to most metros in Europe. It's old, noisy, expensive, breaks down constantly, and kills people (55 deaths last year).

News / More cars in Poland than America? [29]


No. Pick up trucks and SUV's can be either commercial or passenger vehicles depending on their use. If a sedan belongs to a business and is registered for commercial use, then it becomes a commercial car.

Definition of passenger cars by the World Bank:

"Passenger cars refer to road motor vehicles, other than two-wheelers, intended for the carriage of passengers and designed to seat no more than nine people (including the driver)."

You have less passenger cars per 1,000 people than Poles. Face it. But you could perhaps change this - if you convince the Amish to trade their horses and buggies for cars ;-)

News / More cars in Poland than America? [29]


Yes, because we like to stay rustic:

(put 'horse+carriage+poland' to google)

There are more mules in the U.S. than in Poland:

nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/mule_trips.htm

;-)

News / More cars in Poland than America? [29]

Poland has more passenger cars per 1,000 people than America:

Poland: 451 (2012)
US: 423 (2012)

Also, passenger car ownership in Poland is growing while in the US it has been declining for many years.

The World Bank data: data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.VEH.PCAR.P3

Americans have more cars per 1,000 people than Poles if commercial vehicles - such as trucks and taxicabs, registered to companies - are included.

In conclusion, Poland is a rising power, while the US is a decling power - with regard to passenger cars ;-))

Genealogy / Polish blood only makes up 1% of your "Polishness" [77]

There is no such thing as Polish blood or Polish genes.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

My favorite Polish beer used to be Tyskie. This year I tried Kasztelan unpasteurized. Very good:

Put Kasztelan beer in Google

Life / Why Polish people are fat ? [81]


This is up to date. UN's FAO and WHO quote the same data, from the same year (no fresher statistics are available, I guess). What reason do you have to question their methodology?

Life / Why Polish people are fat ? [81]

25% of Poles are obese. Same percentage as Germans, Irish and Slovaks. Brits are slightly more obese: 27%. 30% or more of Czechs and Americans are obese. Only 5-6% of Japanese and Chinese are fat.

cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2228rank.html?countryname=Poland&countrycode=pl&regionCode=eur&rank=56#pl

Life / The Polish work ethic - or the lack of it [23]

Average annual hours actually worked per worker (2012):

Poland: 1929
UK: 1654
France: 1479
Germany: 1397
Netherlands: 1381

Seems like Poles deserve more time off whenever they can get it.

stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ANHRS

Genealogy / POLISH NOBILITY NAMES IN -SKIi [82]

NOKIELSKI: likely toponimic origin from several villages or the city of Nakło nad Notecią (Nakło on the river Noteć). Nokielski is someone from Nakło. Nakło means a turn of the river in old Polish. 117 men in Poland are named Nokielski and 123 women are named Nokielska (female version of Nokielski).

As you can see most live in Silesian and Opole Voivodeships. Several villages in that area are called Nakło:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nak%C5%82o_(disambiguation)

This suggests that your name is most likely associated with one of those villages, and not with the city of Nakło nad Notecią.

Genealogy / Are Poles mixed with Mongols, Turks, and Tatars? [19]

Contrary to popular myths, recent genetic studies show that Poles as well as Russians have no significant Mongolian or Turkic admixture:

polishgenes.blogspot.com/2013/03/no-mongolian-admixture-in-poland.html

History / What does "the second Apocalypse" mean? WW2? [5]


=Poland under Martial Law


=USA and UK betrayed Poland after World War II

Life / Living Costs and life in Poznan? [70]


1. Poles eat the most fruits and vegetables in Europe, so there's planty to choose from for vegetarian dishes.

2. Food in Poland is the least expensive in EU (61% of the EU average, according to Eurostat).

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

5000 zl before taxes is OK to live comfortably in Krakow. Small apartments rent for less than 2000, see here:

dom.gratka.pl/mieszkania/krakow/wynajem

Nice city, good night life, etc.. I say, go for it.

History / What do Polish people think about Greeks ? [18]

Is it reasonable to ask what 38 million people think of 11 million people or what 11 million people think of 38 million people? No. But I can tell you what I think of Greek feta cheese. I like it.

Genealogy / Do you think all Slavs are white? [178]

Slavs are people speaking slavic languages. It's principally a linguistic characterization, not ethnic or racial.

Language / Polish/Ukrainian words similarities [209]


There are some estimates based on historical research in Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmelnytsky_Uprising#Casualties


You can't erase history and you can't falsify history for long. If you want national reconciliation, it has to be based on truth, not on myths. Katyń, about Soviet crimes, was an important film for both Poles and Russians. A recent Polish film Pokłosie, about Polish crimes agains Jews, was important for Poles and Jews. I'd love to see a good film, true to history, about Kmelnytsky uprising, Volhynian slaughter of Poles (and Ukrainians) or Akcja Wisła, about ethnic cleansing of Ukrainians by Poles.


Mostly private money. The Polish goverment does not produce any fictional movies, but it supports cinematography to a small degree.


I don't believe in friendship between nations and between states. States have interests, not friends, and nations are abstractions devoid of human emotions. But film about friendship between a specific Ukrainian and a specific Pole, why not, if interesting as a film.


I don't know, but I think I understand your way of thinking. You'd rather get rid of bad history (forget it) and concentrate on building good relations based only on what's going on in the present. I don't think it's possible because history is alive in the heads of Ukrainians and Poles. And you can't stop teaching history because without history there is no identity. Without identity (national identity) there is no state. So the state has to teach history to perpetuate itself. Without Ukrainian history there would bo no Ukrainians and consequently no Ukraine as their nation-state. Acknowledging bad history and dealing with it honestly does not have to be an obstacle. Look at Germans who have dealt with their nasty history frankly and openly and now have the strongest state in Europe. Compared to Germans, Poles still have a long way to go in honest dealing with their history. But a lot shorter than Ukrainians :-)

Language / Polish/Ukrainian words similarities [209]


I'm pessimistic. There are two ways to unite a nation. One is to have a strong political and intellectual elite which, despite differences among themselves, can unite behind a common national interest and influence the people behind that cause. You don't have that and it takes generations to produce such elite. The other is to have a dictator like Lukashenko or Putin impose their own vision of a state, crushing all opposition to it along the way. I don't think you'd like a dictator, and you haven't created a strong and united intelligentia on a state-building mission yet. So it seems Ukraine is permanently doomed to what it is now: a failed state up for grabs. Sorry to say.

Language / Polish/Ukrainian words similarities [209]

@ Vlad:

The film With Fire and Sward is based on a historical fiction novel by Sienkiewicz. The book was designed as a pro-Polish propaganda enertainment to keep Polish spirits up when Poland was not on the map of Europe. In the book Poles are always the good guys and everybody else the bad guys, including Ukrainians. What Hoffman did he removed some of that bias and also showed the Ukrainian perspective. Most historical narratives are biased and so you will always have Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Soviets, Jews looking differently at Kmelnytsky uprising. Check this out:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohdan_Khmelnytsky#Khmelnytsky_in_Ukrainian_history


That's not correct. Wiśniowiecki is portayed as a brute burning Ukrainian villages. On the other hand, the film does not portray Polish and Jewish suffering to such extent, as far as I remember. Polish and Jewish losses were huge.


Because some of them were. They murdered tens of thousands of Poles and Jews.