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


these are official GUS figures and they are hmm the lowest thing they can come up with I guess - the 'czynsz' for my bro's apartment increased 20 per cent since 2008 - ask people about bread and basic food prices - add the fuel prices (especially in the last two years)


my guess is we haven't even hit the bottom so far - it may even take a year or more before we touch the ground

Food / Krupnik recipe (soup, not wodka) [14]

an afterthought - krupnik can be actually good with some dried wild mushrooms (but not much of them) - the thing is they must be difficult to get in the UK

as for kasza jęczmienna it is also very good with a home made brown sauce or beef gulash (add dill pickles and some Polish sausage to the sauce and serve with gherkins - yummy : mojegotowanie.pl/przepisy/obiady/gulasz_z_kasza_jeczmienna

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]

delphi when was it the last time that you asked them about it??? I pretty much think they have a dual identity however bad it may sound

Food / Krupnik recipe (soup, not wodka) [14]

thanx Johnny - I was mostly living on rice in England because I didn't know you can buy 'normal' potatoes - oh but the latkes (placki ziemniaczane) weren't that bad made of those floury variety

Food / Krupnik recipe (soup, not wodka) [14]

the more simple it is the better actually - so no mushrooms, no cream, no garlic, even leek is optional and chicken stock for krupnik is a blasphemy - only pork (pork bones with some meat is what is used in Poland for the purpose) - the soup also does not need thickening with flour - onion cut in halves not finely chopped - parsley root not parsnip - no chilli - celery root does not need to be diced - don't use celery stalks but celery root (a half or even a quarter of a celery root is enough for a typical amount cooked - celery roots sold in Britain are way bigger than those in Poland so a half of a celery root maybe too much) - no thyme- this soup should be plain and simple - it's delicious enough in that form -

the quoted recipe lack an important ingredient - diced potatoes - there shouldn't be plenty of them as this soup is about grouts but they add to the taste (2 English potatoes should do (again bigger than Polish ones) - btw English potatoes are strange in that that they fall apart very easily when cooked - at least those that I bought - maybe there are different varieties)

edit: leek is not optional actually - leek should not be there simply

edit: my mom says pork ribs are very good for krupnik too

Food / Krupnik recipe (soup, not wodka) [14]

Hi pam, how's your hand?

it's kasza jęczmienna - barley grouts (?) - if you need to ask for it just write it down on a piece of paper - but you can always try to twist your toungue around the words too (and twist it back afterwards ;) )

haaa, kasza is not the same thing as Kasia (though they both may sound pretty much the same for English ears) -

History / Warsaw - under whose occupation in late 19th century? [16]

do you suggest Harry that because these guys were Polish they were immune to Soviet bullets? - how many troops the Soviet had in Poland Harry? and how many NKVD or KGB agents?

UK, Ireland / Where do Poles in London go to watch football games? [9]


this is exactly the attitude of most Poles (including myself)

UK, Ireland / Where do Poles in London go to watch football games? [9]

to their flats :)

Travel / Katowice airport near by Polish towns villages [5]

forget about the train route - far away from Pyrzowice - the main Katowice-Kraków road runs nearby a bit nearer - but to sink into one of the villages on the road won't be that simple (unless there are some direct busses from Pyrzowice that go to Kraków that could perhaps drop you in places like Sławków or Olkusz) - but what is actually the point of spending a day in such a place? - you have to ask about the busses or mini-busses to Kraków at the airport (or rather at its parking) - if there are no in reasonable waiting time look for buses to Dąbrowa Górnicza city centre (I am not familiar with the place but maybe there are city busses going to Dąbrowa if not consider taking a taxi though it's gonna be a lot more expensive) - when in Dąbrowa you have to look for the main bus station and catch a bus for Olkusz from there (there is less and less of public transport in Poland but this is a main route so maybe waiting is not gonna be long) - Sławków is a smallish place some 10 km outside Dąbrowa Górnicza on the way to Olkusz (and further Kraków) Olkusz is a proper town (both should have some place to sleep though - though) - but again what is the point of spending a day in Słaków's or Olkusz's pub? when you are clearly going to Kraków

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


what do you mean by that - that it was Crimean Tatars, Bavarians, Saamis, Magyars, Lithuanians or Cumans who were indigenous population in the majority of the Kingdom of Poland (the Korona) in say A.D. 1699

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


buy two or even three big chains and use the trees and electricity posts

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


if you can't see that Russians did and still do mess up with the investigation and that to some extent Polish authorities collaborate in that effort (willfully or not) and that the whole thing stinks you shouldn't really read anything that contradicts your views as it must it a traumatic experience for you

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


impossible from phonological point of view (the accent falls on the first syllable of 'babushka')

Work / Navy Guy seeks help looking for work in Poland! [19]

it can be enough - any Polish he could add to it (especially technical Polish) will be a great asset

Language / Polish and Slavic community - please help with choosing a brand name! [9]

one important thing is a brand name in Polish will appeal to Poles but probably not so much to Czechs, Slovaks - Czechs (and to some extent Slovaks) consider Polish products to be of rather inferior quality to their own - but on the other hand Czechs and Slovaks are quite responsive to the term Słowianka (Slovanka) - on yet another hand ;) Poles won't be attracted so much if the brand name is written in Czech or Slovak

Słowianeczka is a good name because it should appeal to both old and new emigration

and to be honest I have no idea what are the opinions of Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Russians on Polish products and if they can actually clearly recognize some merchandise as of Polish type by the brand name in Polish

Language / Polish and Slavic community - please help with choosing a brand name! [9]


it all depends on what kind of food you want to market I think - some veg or fruit preserves would be perfectly fine with Słowianeczka brand but I guess for example ham a lot less so (it's because Słowianeczka is a diminutive)

Work / Navy Guy seeks help looking for work in Poland! [19]


especially when people don't actually know how the cod looks like, don't actually know what is special about cod etc - I know because until recently I knew very little about cod

sorry for the off-topic

Work / Navy Guy seeks help looking for work in Poland! [19]

you could for example be looking for companies who start exploration of shale gas deposits in northern and eastern Poland - big players are involved - and as far as I know there is a lot of hydraulics involved in drilling rigs and also later during the exploitation

Work / Navy Guy seeks help looking for work in Poland! [19]


as a skilled and educated guy you should (I believe) find a job in a foreign owned company (especially British owned) in Poland after some serious searching even if it is only say a purchase specialist (in your field) - the better Polish you can deliver the better your chances are too - you don't have to know any Polish to start a career as an English teacher because a lot of language schools look exactly for native speekers (but sure they want you to have some sort of qualification to teach)

Life / Polish Lullaby (help) [4]

it;s probably a variant of this song

you can even presumably find it on youtube

UK, Ireland / Can i get insurance for a British car in Poland? [16]


you must be joking hythorn - it's the first time I ever heard anyone saying car insurance in the UK is cheaper than in Poland - first time insurers in the some parts of the UK (like Northern Ireland) pay through their nose for their insurance (1000 £ or more for a Vauxhall Vectra brrr that hurts)

Genealogy / Wozniak / Tometchak - Were my grandparents Jewish? [5]


very little

Love / Unmarried couples in Poland = pathology [310]


it won't in Poland as far as I know

Study / I am coming to study at the University in Wroclaw and have some questions about employment [9]


you first need to learn the basics of the language - the alphabet, phonetics and gradually the grammar - the course will provide most of the material you would need for that end - and to be able to actually study in Polish you will have to read a lot (to get around the higher and academic Polish) and talk a lot in Polish - lot's of work I'd imagine - not to get depressed by it I suggest you start looking for some sport or other activity that can 'clear' your mind when you make a break - going to the mountains and skiing are good choices in my view (Wrocław is not that far from mountains) and there are even a couple of ski-resorts in those

mountains

your up for a culture shock for a start so don't press yourself into anything at first - getting around things and places is a challenge enough at first

UK, Ireland / Can i get insurance for a British car in Poland? [16]

don't think so - as RHD cars are mostly not legally approved to be registered here - you want to use it in Poland be prepared to have to travel to the UK every year to renew your MOT and insurance

Life / Funeral arrangements for a foreigner in Poland [28]


I checked crematoria prices and they are much cheaper than I believed - its mostly less than 700 PLN for the cremation - but as for aranging things I'm not really sure how you should do it mostly because I have no idea how your ashes could(or should) be dealt with in a legal manner - anyway go and see a lawyer - paying him/her upfront so that he/she could arrange things after your departure is the most logical way (if it is at all possible)

Genealogy / Rębielice Szlacheckie [10]

froglegs12

change the title of the thread as the place is called Rębielice Szlacheckie (use copy/paste feature) - Rębielice Królewskie is just next to it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C4%99bielice_Kr%C3%B3lewskie

having said that I don't live in the area and neither do I have any ties to the place

Love / Unmarried couples in Poland = pathology [310]


thanks to generous giveouts by the state (and perhaps also thanks to the growing population of New Swedes of muslim background)

USA, Canada / Getting a VISA to USA by a Polish person nowadays [339]

when you apply for an American visa in Poland you are supposed to have an interview with the consulate official who will decide whether to give you a visa - and many people are refused visa in Poland (if there is suspicion enough on the part of the official that you are going to overstay your visa and work illegally) - there are fees included in the application process - as a permanent resident of Italy I don't really know how and where you should apply (go to an American consulate where you live and ask them) - in your case a tourist visa would be granted easily if you reached the interview stage I guess because you are supposed to return to Italy to continue your study and you live in Italy which has a much higher income per capita than Poland