Love / Age difference in relationship with a guy or girl from Poland? [28]

if you are truly mature, you don't sweat the small stuff ;-)

Love / Should I ask a slightly older Polish Woman out on a date? [5]

just ask her out as a friend and see what happens next - I don't think the age difference would matter to her as such :-)

Love / I am a male UK Citizen, a Polish female wants to pay me £1000 & £2000 (later) for marriage ???? [25]

You could pretend to play along, take copious notes, and then write a psychological novel on the dangers and insecurities of contemporary European life, but I would not recommend marrying the lady ;-)

History / Is Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Tepes seen as a hero in Poland? [25]

No, he is viewed as a sort of morbid curiosity, if anyone thinks of him at all, I guess. Some people might be more knowledgeable about the historical background, others will have a more cartoonish vision of the whole story, but almost nobody will have any really strong feelings about him one way or another.

UK, Ireland / "Polska. Spring into" billboards - more of the taxpayers' money has been wasted [5]


"Hasło kampanii stworzył Wally Olins, światowej sławy brytyjski specjalista od brandingu, który zajmował się m.in. promocją Hiszpanii, Portugalii i Nowego Jorku."


msz.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/wiadomosci/polska__spring_into__kampania_wizerunkowa_przyciaga_uwage_polakow_i_obcokrajowcow

I dunno who Wally Olins is, but he is supposed to be some sort of branding bigwig. I wish I had his job.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Olins

I should have said "was". It seems he died of shame after creating this monstrosity... He literally died a month ago.

Love / How to propose to Polish women? [17]


What a load of tosh. Unless maybe your experience is limited to some lower-middle-class backwater and/or to the very newly rich ;-)

AFAIK proposal and marriage arrangements vary widely from couple to couple and depend on their personalities, circumstances, family background, you name it...

Language / Why are Happy Easter & Merry Christmas the same in Polish [26]

Lany Poniedziałek has, deep down, more in common with Holi than with the Christian traditions of Easter :-)

"Holi is celebrated at the approach of vernal equinox,[5] on the Phalguna Purnima (Full Moon). The festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar, and typically comes in March, sometimes February in the Gregorian Calendar. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair ruptured relationships."

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


If you live in Warsaw, go to Bemowo / Boernerowo and enter Kampinos from there, it's worth it. No rubbish, as it's looked after like a park, basically, but as you go farther in gets more and more "foresty" ;-)

I haven't been there for several years, but both my father and my best friend live in Bemowo and they often go on day trips to Kampinos, and I have not heard any complaints from them.

Puszcza Kampinoska

You also have Las Kabacki on the other side of the city, but I have had no experience with that one.


I'm very eager to try the North, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity at some point.

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


To be fair, it's not that easy to get to see "much" of the countryside in the UK (or at least southern and eastern England, where I did my excursions). There are signs all over the place warning you to keep away from private property, hedges, fences, gates... I know some of the paths are public, but if you are not from the area it is easy to get lost and wander off and get into trouble. The worst thing is that forests are also often fenced off in parts. I remember trying to go to Epping Forest the first time - I took the bus to a place called Epping (I think, or it could have been Theydon Bois?) because from looking at the map, it seemed a good place to start a long, winding walk back in the direction of East London. Imagine my disappointment when it turned out there was literally NO access from there to the forest. You could see the forest all around, but there were fences everywhere - many of them high, industrial looking ones. After going back to London and doing quite a lot of research on the net, I found out it was best to take the tube to Loughton (I think), and walk to the forest from there. But once I found access, I really ranged far and wide, and often - without ever getting to see actual wildlife, even of the lesser sort, like rabbits; there might have been some grey squirrels about, but definitely not in the numbers you get to see in London parks.

On the other hand, where I live now (on the coast) there is considerably more wildlife, but there are no forests, it's a marine environment, so not really comparable.


The thing is, in Poland, even if a foreign visitor goes out for a single day trip in the forest, they will inevitably come across anthills, animal droppings, mounds and burrows, lots of birds, lots of insects, animal tracks, smaller animals like frogs, lizards, and squirrels, and if they keep quiet and have a bit of luck, they might even get to see a roe deer or other larger animal. And that mostly holds true even for half-domesticated stretches of forest like Puszcza Kampinoska.

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


That's not part of "central Poland" on my map ;-) I'd probably say the flattest and least appealing countryside is encompassed by Radom - Kalisz - Płock - Ostrołęka - Siedlce - Radom. It's not actually the centre, more of a central - eastern thing, with Warsaw bang in the middle, sadly. I'm not commenting on the cities themselves, some are nice (Kalisz, Płock), others not so much (Radom, Ostrołęka, Siedlce).

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


I would be glad to see any, or even signs of any. I have spent many a pleasant spring and summer day in the depths of Epping forest, but even the birds were few and far between. No animal spoor to be seen, no droppings of any kind, no burrows, I don't think I even saw an anthill. Maybe I was just unlucky. Admittedly, there was a LOT of mosquitoes ;-)


I agree, those quite fascinate me. Another thing is Roman roads. I love how they still pop up here and there in the countryside after all those centuries, and still have names :-)


That's probably part of it. I agree that central Poland is pretty much as flat and interesting as a pancake, but all the edges are really worth visiting :-)

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


English forest:



Polish forest:



I know it's basically a question of different ecosystems and what you're used to, but I find English forests kinda bland and pretty much devoid of wildlife. The pollarded beeches looks freaky as heck, which is a bonus, on the other hand, there is almost no undergrowth in beech forests, which makes for a sterile looking environment, OK for the first couple of walks, but boring if you keep coming back. I haven't had the opportunity to see any other type of forest in England. I doubt there are any truly "wild" or primeval forest environments left, as AFAIK trees have been pollarded and harvested for wood since at least the early Middle Ages all over Britain.

Language / Why are Happy Easter & Merry Christmas the same in Polish [26]

Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia
Radosnych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy / Wielkanocnych

(note the difference between wesołych (merry) and radosnych (joyful)

or simply

Wesołych Świąt :-)

"as many Poles believe in
Easter as the celebration of Christ's resurrection..."

Well, Easter IS the celebration of Christ's resurrection, actually ;-)

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267817/UK-named-binge-drink-capital-Europe.html

Some English / British people are obviously making up for lost time...

Although historically, they already have some experience in this area:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_Craze

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


Well I'm glad to see there's at least one thing we can agree on! :-)

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]

I wholeheartedly agree, nevertheless, "pub culture" has little in common with binge-drinking till you drop or young "ladies" in almost non-existent dresses and towering high heels, cackling raucously as they totter home from the pub, drunk as lords (or should we say ladies?), many of them completely oblivious to their surroundings... Mind you, I love pubs in general, and I totally love nipping down to the local, and all that sort of thing. It's just that certain people tend to go just a bit overboard with their "enjoyment".

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


Well, I don't know about Newcastle, but I know a thing or two about London and I don't think the young ladies hold back too much. Also AFAIK, before going, out, it is pretty much de rigeur to drink a bit at home, to get in the right spirits (pun intended).


I never said they were. On the other hand, as far as silly wardrobe choices are concerned, it's definitely less dangerous to put on too much in April than a tad too little in December.

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


One of the poor ladies who died of exposure. She had no coat on and no shoes apparently, the friend she was supposed to be staying with was out, for some reason she didn't call anyone, and pretty much froze to death without showing much initiative or motivation to stay alive. I would have been banging on strangers' doors at that point. I don't think she even realised what was happening to her, poor thing.


Alcohol and drugs make you feel warm. They also considerably cloud your judgement. In Poland, the only people you hear of dying of exposure in the winter are the homeless and alcoholics, basically. Not nice middle-class girls who did not think to put on a coat.


The only thing that can happen to them is that they might get a bit sweaty. It's always easier to take something off if you're uncomfortable than to magic an overcoat out of thin air when you're freezing to death.

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


One had a "coat" on (they didn't specify what type, it could have been a flimsy old thing for all we know), but he was still coming home from the pub. I bet he hadn't been drinking lemonade all night. The problem is, if you've had a few, and you fall over in the snow, even a "big coat" won't help you for long. You need to keep moving.


If you're not used to this kind of weather, doesn't it make even MORE sense to bundle up? If it's snowing and below zero, why wouldn't you add an extra layer or two before venturing out?

It's like explaining that some people died in the summer because it was unexpectedly very hot and they never thought to take their sweaters off or sit in the shade.

UK, Ireland / Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK? [150]


Not wearing a coat, having a few drinks and randomly wandering around in the snow... well, it's not really the fault of the weather if you get hypothermia under these conditions. It's sad that people have largely forgotten how to dress when it's cold. I'm truly sorry for the people who died, but what makes it even more tragic is that their deaths were so preventable.

Language / Speaking with wrong Polish case endings? [94]


Like this:

teksty.org/kaliber-44,garbaty-aniol,tekst-piosenki

one of my favorite songs ever :-)

Language / How to say 'more' in various contexts [9]

"więcej" is used for "more" in any context - both for size and for quantity. Chcę więcej migdałów, więcej wody, więcej ciasta, zarabiam więcej pieniędzy.

It becomes interesting with the optimism questions. If I literally want MORE optimism from you - chcę, żebyś miał więcej optymizmu.

BUT if you want the other person to be MORE OPTIMISTIC, you would say - chcę, żebyś był BARDZIEJ optymistyczny.

And here's the rub - "bardziej" is used to compare adjectives, with "najbardziej" being the superlative form.

So, you would say: Francuzi są bardziej eleganccy, lód jest bardziej śliski, jestem bardziej chory.

Of course, you also need to remember that not all adjectives are compared this way:

mały - mniejszy - najmniejszy

długi - dłuższy - najdłuższy

but

interesujący - bardziej interesujący - najbardziej interesujący

krzepki - bardziej krzepki - najbardziej krzepki

Love / English girl. Do Polish men afraid to show their feelings or they are just not comfortable in UK? [84]

My advice is simple - run for the hills. It is not a Polish thing, or a culture thing, it's him. For whatever reason, his libido is tiny. If he isn't interested in changing that, no one else will be able to help him. I think his ex knew what she was doing when she left him. If it's affecting your self esteem, it's almost too late for you to save yourself, but you still can. If you really love him, and you think he does love you but is just weird, I would give it one last try by moving out (or moving him out if it's your place) and seeing him only occasionally, basically starting to date him from scratch. And no sex unless he initiates it. It probably won't change anything, sadly, but hope is the last to die... If he sees you as really, really hard to get, it might jump start his testosterone production and change the whole scenario. Now, you're the one showing weakness, you're striving for his attention, you're doing all the work, but if you stopped doing that? It just might work. If you think it really is worth the effort.

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]


I have my doubts about that ;-)

I think you have a rather simplistic approach to languages and probably often fall into traps of your own making. The examples you have given of Polish - Ukrainian similarities do not really prove anything much except that some of the most typical Slavic words and phrases are shared. In order to convince me, you would have to quote a longer text in Ukrainian and prove to me that its meaning is immediately obvious to a Polish speaker.

You would also have to the same for Czech to prove that you can "understand it almost perfectly".

"Keramika (řecky "pro hrnèířství") je anorganický nekovový materiál nebo uhlíkový materiál, vyrobený za vysokých teplot. První keramika se objevuje v mladém paleolitu, konkrétně gravettienu, resp. pavlovienu. Šlo o hliněné sošky (např. věstonická venuše, která je světoznámá právě tím, že je vypálená z hlíny a nikoli, jako všechny ostatní, vyrytá z mamutoviny èi kamene), které představovaly první izolované pokusy o její výrobu a brzy vymizely. Jediným a nejstarším místem výskytu mladopaleolitické keramiky na světě jsou lokality pod Pavlovskými vrchy (Dolní Věstonice, Pavlov) na Moravě. [1] (V 8. století př. n. l. se objevují první výrobky užité keramiky - tedy nikoli už jen sošky pravěkých umělců.[2])

V dnešní době se názvem keramika dále oznaèují i některé hi-tech materiály, používané například v armádě jako souèásti pancéřování. Obvykle se jedná o slinuté karbidy kovů (wolframu, titanu, chromu, molybdenu, tantalu, niobu a jiných), oxid hlinitý (Al2O3), různé nitridy a boridy. Mají pochopitelně i své civilní využití, karbidy kovů se používají například na různých vrtácích nebo pilách a jiných nástrojích jako takzvané hroty nebo vložky z tvrdokovu - nejběžnějším příkladem je vrták do betonu s hrotem z "vidia"."

This is a short Wiki text in Czech. How much do you ACTUALLY understand without googling anything?

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_X-B

as always, Google is your friend

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Didn't the other sister leave any clues either? Truly mysterious. And, I must admit, intriguing.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]


Because surnames tend to spread outside their original ethnic group. E.g., when Jews were first forced to take on "regular" surnames around the end of the 18th century, many would simply choose, or be assigned, a more or less typical existing surname out of those used by the general population; and Królik, while not a wildly common surname, isn't especially rare either. Or a Polish Gentile might have married a Jewish girl, who went on to have sons and the surname spread in the Jewish community that way. Or both situations might have taken place independently. Lots of surnames are shared by both Polish Gentiles and Jews. It's the given names that point to the ethnic or religious affiliation (though not always).

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]


It does not mean "King". That would be "Król" - a completely different word. Sometimes, informally/ sarcastically, the word "królik" is used to denote a petty chieftain or insignificant ruler, as it sounds like the diminutive of "król" (in English it would be something like "kinglet"), but there is no actual connection between the two words.


Some sort of betrayal or other family tragedy. It could even be a rift over attitudes to the Communist government in Poland post WW2. Many families were broken down the middle then, depending on whether they accepted this huge political shift or not. Remember that under Stalinism, especially in the early years, members of the Home Army were classified as terrorists, hunted down and imprisoned / executed. A hypothetical situation in which one part of your family was pro-Communist and the other remained in the opposition would cause a huge, irreparable rift within several years. When exactly did this rift actually happen? During the war or right after it? I assume your part of the family emigrated after the war?

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]


Not Bunny. It's Rabbit.

Law / Bank papers translated from English to Polish by a sworn translator? [6]

Sworn translators are listed on the website of the Polish Ministry of Justice:

bip.ms.gov.pl/pl/rejestry-i-ewidencje/tlumacze-przysiegli/lista-tlumaczy-przysieglych/search.html