Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Right now sales of new flats in Warsaw seem to have almost vanished compared to even 5 years ago. People just aren't buying.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


God forbid. I do live right on the edge though and use either Volfra (1.60 per km) or NumberOne who are even cheaper. I don't trust either for airport runs unless I've got time to get another if they don't show or are late.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]

Sadly yes. The only direct flights are cheapies from Ryanair. The cheapest flag carrier is KLM with a change at Schipol though I'd usually rather slum it on Ryanair and get there quicker. They really are very cheap and people who moan about them should remember that.

As for the 29zl taxi, it would be a bit more from where I live though money's not really an issue. Modlin's actually almost as convenient for me though as airports go I prefer Okecie not least because I can have a drink in the VIP lounge before flying.

Life / How much are Marlboro Gold Kingsize 20 to buy in Krakow? [14]

Cheaper in the shop. I'm not even sure if they sell them on intra-EU flights any more. My local petrol station has them at about €3.50 - they should be a few cents less at Tesco.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]

For some of us getting to/from Heathrow where BA/LOT fly to is a pain rather than a quick journey from Manchester/Liverpool or even Stanstead.

I booked some Ryanair flights for this weekend (sadly I won't be using them since I now have to go to Dubai instead) Modlin- Manchester and Stanstead-Modlin and even with baggage plus a reserved seat at the front they were much cheaper than a flag carrier. I live quite near Metro Mlociny so a few zl on the bus (rather than the 50zl cab I usually use to Okecie) and 32 quid (first class) from Manchester Airport to Yorkshire. Only 70 quid (again first class) down to Stanstead and avoiding London.

If I'd gone with BA or LOT, given the fairly short notice for buying the tickets, plus travel to and from from Heathrow it would have cost a lot more.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]

Exactly. Anyone who doesn't like the way Ryanair, Wizzair, Flybe etc work can always go back to companies like BA, LOT etc and pay much more.

Language / Thank you note/letter to a professor in Polish [14]


I suppose it depends how deliberately old-fashioned you want to sound. Polish business usage isn't frozen in time, fortunately.

Classifieds / Wholesale shops from Poland online - sending goods worldwide? [6]

Shops selling what?

Language / Thank you note/letter to a professor in Polish [14]

I can think of a couple of people, both very educated, who use it often as the salutation in a formal letter.

Language / Thank you note/letter to a professor in Polish [14]

Or just start it "Witam" to be perfectly polite and avoid the Szanowna Pani.

Life / Directory for Wroclaw cell numbers? [18]

You'd be surprised how many more people over there are ex-directory than ever before. There was a phonebook here a few years ago, for landlines, but nobody wanted to be in it and the current data protection laws rule out a new edition.

Love / Affairs don't pay - Poles say [11]

That and their kids plus a joint mortgage.

Life / Directory for Wroclaw cell numbers? [18]

True though. There's a big cultural difference here - not just caused by a totalitarian few decades but much deeper. To do with a desire for privacy combined with a certain forwardness on the part of some of the population.

If people's cellphone numbers were publicly available in a single directory, there would certainly be nuisance calls from businesses as well as individuals. Be careful in Poland who you give your number out to and be careful with people's numbers which you're given.

Most businesses though will list a phone number in one of the online directories like Panorama Firm.

Life / Directory for Wroclaw cell numbers? [18]

No, there isn't.

UK, Ireland / Any Polish Females in Birmingham Uk, Need Urgent Help [16]

Exactly. The whole thing may well look even fishier to the immigration authorities than it does here.

Work / Two job offers in Poland, which one should I take? [12]


The public health system is overstretched and underfunded and if you take the job in Lodz then fall il, you'll find yourself out of pocket.

As far as the two cities compare, I prefer Lodz though many people prefer Poznan. Lodz is a cheaper city, Poznan is a more modern one.

The salary, by the way isn't great. You will find the money goes further in Lodz.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]


A very long way from Kuklinski since as far as I know Von S wasn't passing secrets to a CIA handler.

News / Is this the first clear and open signal that Poland makes preparations for war with Russia? [163]

That's quite a good article. What people sometimes forget about the current crisis is that the interim government (and the nationalists) have been told in very plain terms to do nothing, absolutely nothing, that could escalate the situation.

Whatever happens, it does look like a split (and possibly a 2 way population movement) will happen.

Real Estate / About to move to Warsaw. Any advice on where to live? [31]

I supposed I'm biased about that bit of town since I do like the area a lot. My doggie is sadly no more but the forests are still nice to walk in. Really, you don't notice the flyover to the bridge or the flats until you're very near them - there's talk of widening the road by the seminary which is sadly the right thing to do - hard to imagine anywhere in Western Europe allowing such big developments without widening the road. That only affects the bit southbound from there though and having the flats and the bridge has improved public transport, not that most Stare Mlociny residents have been on a bus since Abba was in the charts. A bypass following the river would be nice - the only real drawback to the area is the main road cutting the area in half.

As for Frascati, the OP would need very deep pockets indeed. That area just behind the Sobieski Hotel before you get to Narutowicza might be a good bet. It's only a few minutes in a bus or cab to his work, has plenty of available housing and a few bars/restaurants. It's also pretty near to the delights of centrum.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]


Who hopefully has a taste for Vodka and Herring by now. Plus that guy hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy and poor Chelsea Manning. And the Rosenbergs, Burgess, Maclean, Blunt, Prime etc (I won't include Vassall who was blackmailed or that American guy who did it for the money to pay off his bills).

All had a vision of what they wanted for their country and the world. which was incompatible with their profession. They aren't alone by any means, but most don't seek access to state secrets and then pass those secrets to another state.


I gather they found it very hard to get guards to work in them and many if not most we're forced to be there. Though Kuklinski wasn't a camp guard, nor was he exposed to any special unsavoury knowledge other than that which is concomitant with his role.

Real Estate / About to move to Warsaw. Any advice on where to live? [31]

I think I mentioned those rather tacky gated estates round Heroldow earlier. Not for me - a little too 'net curtains/three piece suite' though nevertheless some of the apartments round there are quite expensive.The rest is nice though - there are certainly no bad bits at all. Not sure what you mean about quaintness since it's been suburbia since the thirties and not especially village in the 2 decades I've been going there. For villagey there are still some bits beyond Wilanow which I'm sure you know.


Just the truth, whether you agree with it or not. Mentioning ul. Frascati is an odd choice; rather like saying The Mall or Kensington Palace Gardens is a safe place in London. Stary Mokotow is however safer than inner suburbs in most European capitals and in Praga, which I mentioned earlier in this thread, only a few bits are questionable and those are much improved. Warsaw is a very safe city generally and there are far fewer no-go areas (if any) than in London, Paris or Berlin.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]

And there we have it. There are two opposite opinions about him. One that he was right to betray his oath and pass on his countries secrets to the other side, and one that he was right because the other side was at that time dominated by the US.

Until I'd spent a bit of time talking with army officers (who universally condemned him) I took the latter view. But an officer's oath is to his country - not to some alternative vision he has of his country's politics. Which is why Kuklinski is so reviled by many, as is Donald Maclean and Kim Philby.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]

Nonsense, unfortunately. It was a camp where the regime interned their political enemies. What it was about is very well-documented.

As for the traitor Kuklinski, there's no issue about "even if". He became an army officer willingly and certainly didn't ''discover plans for an offensive war''. He was however privy to some of his country's defence secrets and passed them on - over a period of years - to his handlers.

Interesting that almost all of his fellow officers managed not to betray their country.

Real Estate / About to move to Warsaw. Any advice on where to live? [31]


Being one myself, I can tell you that Warsaw have very low crime rates for a capital city. It is a very safe place.


I'm an even more regular visitor to one of those places, since I live there. I can assure you there are no bad areas in Stare Mlociny. Are you sure you're talking about the right place?

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]


There's every such thing. He wasn't forced into becoming an army officer; nobody made him take his oath. it was his decision to serve his country, even though he eventually betrayed it by passing secrets to a foreign power. Others may have criticisms of this or that system however most don't pass military secrets to a 'handler'.


Despite the whole post that was taken from sounding rather disingenuous, to save the person you were replying from the trouble, I refer you to the search function here when the 1930's camps have been discussed in detail. The best known of them was the infamous Bereza Kartuszka.

But hey, someone in today's army might think that pre-war Poland with its military regime, race quotas and camps was better than the modern democracy. Perhaps you'd try to excuse them spying for a regime closer to their ideal.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]

Who knows what factors truly influenced his decision. He may or may not have justified his treason in whatever way he liked. It makes not one jot of difference, nor did it convince the thousands of other army officers who kept the military secrets to which they were entrusted.

You see, Inwroclaw, that's the thing about an oath. You keep it. That's the whole point of taking one. It is not a negotiable thing that you can secretly break just because you want to.The traitor Kuklinski seems to have believed that helping the capitalists on the other side was important to him for ideological reasons. Some other traitor may feel today that passing secrets to China is important. Another may feel today that the Germans were right and look for a regime with the same values to pass information to. All have betrayed the same solemn promise.

News / Poland shall dominate Europe. Ongoing process [30]

Or even less. There's plenty already - most of it flag-waving pseudopatriotism though.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]


The ones he was spying against his country for.

Real Estate / About to move to Warsaw. Any advice on where to live? [31]


That's the bit I mentioned round ul. Pandy. Nice enough apartments, but Nappy Valley - not much of a buzz. He'd do well to live closer to pl. Narutowicza or even right in centrum. Plenty going on and no moe than 15-20 mins to Blue City.


A bit more than a couple. Same with


there are far more than just a few good streets - in fact there aren't any bad bits. Some of the newish apartment blocks around ul. Heroldow are a bit 'Daily Mail' however in the upscale area between where the gated apartment blocks stop and UKSW, it's hard to imagine a nicer (and more affluent) part of town. Very safe too, because of the sheer number of the great and good who have security. Quite a few famous names on my street. Much too far for the OP though and not exactly seething with nightlife for a 30-something.


That's plain untrue.

Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]

So in effect, during the Cold War he was passing defence secrets to the other side. Not great.