Travel / Driving through Poland and across Europe [17]


The cops in Ukraine are not so bad.... but if they can make a few dollars out of you , they will... just smile lots, they are friendly enough...

Yes...it was a bit mad , just driving into Chernobyl... but there were no guards on the barrier , so we drove into the forest and went round them... we got caught coming back out , but they just told us not to be naughty again...

when i went there the place was totally deserted , but i did find some old lady that was living in a village nearby...she was the only person living there...

don,t worry about parking....its possible to find secure guarded car parks in both Poland and Ukraine...does not cost much , and is definatly safer than parking on the streets.....

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]


If you are also interested in more modern military history , you can visit Borno Sullinowo... It a Russian miliary camp , used for housing mobile nuclear missile forces...Its quite near me...

A lot of the stuff above ground has been destroyed , but there are miles of underground bunkers to explore...

Dont go alone tho , and take some rope and a pair of wellies there is some flooding in parts , and i did hear a German tourist fell down an unseen shaft under the water and drowned...

Travel / Driving through Poland and across Europe [17]

The biggest danger in Chernobyl is walking into an abandoned house to find you have cornered a wild boar...!

Guess how i know this....?

There is a whole thread on the forum devoted to travelling to Ukraine...but in short....the roads are not so good , the food , beer and people are great...The police do like to make a bit of money from stopping you for not so much reason...

I have been to Ukraine several times , and i have been to Chernobyl too... I went in the days when it was not allowed to go there , but it was a simple matter in a 4 x 4 to drive around the barriers and go there through the forest...

These days there are organised tours , but i don,t know how you go about booking one...

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]

To answer Harry first of all....

Had a bit of a problem with documents , in Poland that is , not in Russia , so rather than go to Russia with only a short time on my visa , and not have time to get married , we put the move on hold , and we will make new documents soon and try again... bit of a pain , but not a disaster...

The part of Poland i live in , is Zachodniopomorskie , actually between Drawsko Pomorskie , and Polczyn Zdroj.. I live in a national park , close to nice lakes and forests , i am sure i will miss it all very much when i find myself living in central Moscow...

The only one of those camps you mentioned that i have seen was Majdanek , i did not have time to look around it sadly , i just passed it on the way to Kiev in Ukraine...The huge stone sign by the roadside was very impresive...

In case anyone else does not know... Majdanek , Treblinka , Sobibor , and Belzec are all concentration or extermination camps....

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]

Yes , I am English , currently living in Poland...My Knowledge of Russian is minimal , and when i went to Belarus , Ukraine and Russia i could not speak a word of it....

I just smiled a lot at all the border guards and Police i met along the way , didn,t have any real problems really....

Its a good idea to learn how to say hello , please , and thank you , the basic stuff , and then just bluff your way through it...

The cyrilic alphabet is a bit of a nightmare till you get used to it , get yourself a basic phrase book and try to learn a bit of it... Hopefully your map and satnav will have the town names in Cyrillic also... In Russia they have more and more signs in English also , but i doubt you will see many in Belarus...

If you get yourself signed up to that Hospitality site you may well find yourself some nice Belarussian lady with some time on her hands that can help you and show you around... It will make everything a whole lot easier...

You are more likely to encounter English speakers in Belarus among younger people , and more so in the bigger towns than in the villages... Don,t worry , if you get really stuck somebody will help you out , they are quite friendly...

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]

Yes , finding a friendly farmer whose land you can camp on is definatly the best idea....

Don,t let the unhelpfull people at the Embassy put you off , once you get into Belarus , you will find that the people are friendly and very hospitable....

I am afraid i can,t be much help on camping sites , as i never used any , i camped in the forest , miles from anywhere , and didn,t have any trouble...

You should try and make contact with some local Belarussians on hospitalityclub.org. Its a free site where you can meet local people willing to help you , give you a free place to stay and even be a guide...

good luck...

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]

In Belarus you just need to book one night in a cheap hotel , and give that as the place you will stay...

Nobody is going to check you are there every night....

Be carefull where you park your motorhome tho... wild camping in Belarus is not allowed , and there are not so many decent camping places...

I had a 4 x 4 when i went there , so it was easy to drive deep in the forest where nobody would bother me...

Law / Motorcycle Polish drivers license? [37]

Buy a licence....?

I will sell you a photo copy of mine if you want... 200 zloty...

Travel / Travel by Motorcycle in Poland (cost, distance, risk?) [47]

BMW bikes are quite popular in Poland , and there are a few dealers about too....

In some areas you may not be able to get the parts off the shelf , but for sure somebody will get them the next day for you....

I wouldn,t worry too much about being stranded in Poland waiting for bits... You will be fine...

Work / 7000 PLN net per month in Krakow. How much i can save? [21]


And what if all the other countries did the same....?

You would have thousands of Poles returning to Poland...for jobs that are just not there....

Food / Food hygiene in Poland [60]

Been here seven years now.... not been poisened by anything yet....?

Happened several times in the UK....!

Life / Coloured Tires In Poland?! [6]

Never seen any....but then i live in the forest , near a small village...

News / Famous Pickup Artist in Poland now [75]

He has been there since he came on this forum...a long time ago...

Travel / Travel by Motorcycle in Poland (cost, distance, risk?) [47]

I am a member of a club that has chapters in Poznan and Wroclaw , and they have members in Warsawa...

Maybe i can get you some decent safe place to stay....?

Check out Gremium mc Poland...

the guys in Poznan and Wroclaw will know who you mean if you say you are a friend of English Jan...

Travel / Travel by Motorcycle in Poland (cost, distance, risk?) [47]


Hi there...sorry for the long delay in replying , been up to my neck in packing and sorting stuff ready for a move to Russia....

If you read all the previous posts about biking in Poland , you will get a pretty good idea what its all about... Don,t worry about looking for a biker friendly b&b , you will be welcome at any place that has room , they don,t have any no bikers signs in Poland , the fact that you turn up on a bike will make no difference to most Poles , and they will make you welcome...

I am afraid i have no idea about getting to the matches by bike , i don,t even know where the matches are being played , other than that some of them are in Kiev in Ukraine.... If you let us know which matches you are going to somebody can advise you on how to get there....

Safe parking...? I am afraid that Poland has thieves , just as any other country in the world , and if you leave your bike iparked in the wrong place , it can go missing.... Most decent sized towns have a guarded car park which you will pay a little money for , your bike will be quite safe there... It might be a good idea to get in contact with any motorcycle clubs near to where you are going , they will be happy to meet you , talk about bikes , advise you on the area , and as a bonus you will probably get a few beers thrown in , and probably a place to stay....

If there is anything else you need to know , send me a pm , and i will give you my email address....or just shout out here....somebody will answer....

News / Famous Pickup Artist in Poland now [75]

I agree....and i have not read it....

Life / Some Polish dogs have a very miserable life [46]

Organised hunts in Poland are very well supervised , and safety is a top priority.....

Sadly there are lots of lone hunters who are just a danger to anything that moves....

Life / Some Polish dogs have a very miserable life [46]

I went on a wild boar hunt a few years back.... just as a driver , as i had a 4 x 4...i am not into shooting animals for fun.....

anyways...the next day , i was not with them , one of the beaters , the guys who help drive the boar towards the hunters got shot by a Polish hunter who had been drinking...he later died...

I have seen beer cans below the ambona that was near my land...very scary...drink some beer then start firing a high powered rifle about the place....

one of my neighbours has had two dogs shot by hunters...both had collars on...both were on her land....

Life / Some Polish dogs have a very miserable life [46]

The problem is.... they shoot the dog...remove the collar...then drag it away from the houses....

they just like killing stuff....

Love / Does your Polish partner suffer from disposophobia [46]

Being a horder is not such a bad thing...

I live on a farm in the middle of a forest , and many a time i have been able to repair my cars and bikes with bits of stuff that most people in the towns would have thrown away...

Just last week i lost all the water from my Jeep when a hose burst.... A bit of Ursus tractor hose i found in my barn got cut to size and did the job just fine....Other wise i would have been driving miles to the nearest dealer for one....

Much of Poland is farm land , farmers do not throw anything away...so yes , Poles do hoard stuff..but as i say , its not such a bad thing...

Life / Motorcyle breakers in Poland? [10]

I don,t know of anyone that is in the bike breaking business around where i live , but there are plenty that advertise in the bike mags and papers...

Give me a couple of days and i will sort out sort out some Polish magazines for you...

Do you have somebody who can translate the Polish for you....?

Maybe there are some pretty Polish girls near you that can help.....?

Life / Motorcyle breakers in Poland? [10]

You might be onto a winner there....?

Most of the guys i know around here buy there bits from the internet on sites such as allegro , or otomoto.pl ... bikes over here are a bit more expensive than in the UK , and wages are less here , so i reckon there could be a market for repairable bikes in Poland...

As for scooters , most people over here seem to go for the Chinese scooters , which as i am sure you know are a load of rubbish.... Some cheap repairable Japanese , French or Italian scooters might sell well...?

You need somebody in Poland to suss out the market , recieve the bikes you send , and be trustworthy enough to send you the dosh....

I would love to help you , but i am just about to move out of Poland and head for Moscow... Now there is a place that could do with some cheap bikes , but getting em over the border could be a bit of a nightmare....?

Love / Well.. I got a Polish girl pregnant.. [88]

Any pictures....?

Love / Well.. I got a Polish girl pregnant.. [88]


How did you do it... ? what was it like...?

Real Estate / Apartment in Poland is not up to standard; right to terminate the rental agreement? [78]

Dont pay the rent...they will kick your ass out of there... problem sorted...

Love / Does your Polish partner suffer from disposophobia [46]


Of course.... but its a Polish forum..and we are talking about Poles...

We have such people in the UK too....mostly older people who learned their ways during the war...

Off-Topic / PF - The Omnibus Edition [1502]


You called....?

Anyone fancy a beer....?

Love / Does your Polish partner suffer from disposophobia [46]

I am thankfull the Poles who live in Poland do not have your attitude...

You should come back and live here , perhaps you may learn to be a pleasant and friendly as most of my friends here....

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

Yeah , i gave up my Landrovers in favour of a Rangie....did a trip from UK to Belarus and Russia , via Latvia and Lithuania , and all in an old diesal Series 3 Landy...hard work...!

I myself prefer driving at night , less traffic , and more scope for driving slowly to suss out where to make your turns etc without a load of peeps tooting at you to get a move on....

On several of my trips in the old days , we used credit cards , mostly it was ok , but we did have some dodgy garage clone our card and spend a bit of our dosh for us...Its not a problem i have nowadays , i threw away all my credit cards before moving to Poland... Carry some cash with you anyway , credit cards can get lost or refused at the most inconveniant moments...

I have never done the trip with kids , so can,t advise you there , but maybe they will enjoy it , when they get bored i guess they will just fall asleep...

You might want to have a look at one of the threads on Polish driving , looks very scary at first , but you soon get used to it...its a bit different from driving in the UK , but not as bad as some will try to tell you...

I wish you a safe trip... have a good time in Polska...

Love / Does your Polish partner suffer from disposophobia [46]


Do any other Polish people reading my post have a problem with what i said....?

Or is it just Mr Grubasa Pole in America that knows more about Poland than somebody who lives here....?