Life / Whats that thing when Polish people take a shot of vodka by locking arms and after saying first names? [20]


Ah come on now Terri. They just have to tell you that it's ok to drop the Pan/Pani.

USA, Canada / How difficult is it to get a visa in Poland for an US citizen? [11]

This from the woman who jumps on everyone for ignorance and racism while basically saying to the OP 'you're not white, are you?" So what iif he isn't. If the man is a US citizen then he's American, that's a fact. Doesn't matter what race or colour he is, where he was born or where his parents were born. He's a US citizen, so for the purposes of foreign travel, he's American.


Impossible to guess. It's ostensibly because the US hasn't yet honoured its promise to give visa free travel to a few accession states but to be honest it's probably security related and designed to stop terrorists coming into Europe on 'holidays', so the conditions could be quite stringent. But if you're an honest, regular US citizen you wouldn't have to worry. Sometimes in life you just have to grit your teeth and deal with bureaucracy.


Well yes, obviously you're not allowed to outstay your visa. If you want to go for longer than a standard holiday visa you would need a working visa which is another matter entirely.

Real Estate / Real Estate Help - Private Rental of Apartment in Poland / Obtaining Deeds [6]


As Terri says in the British Isles we get a huge pack of documents when we buy a property. These are the deeds and have all the details of previous owners, maps of boundaries, they're really fascinating if it's an old property as they are essentially the history not just of a house but even of the ownership of the land before the house was built on it.

However you don't get that in Poland. If those papers exist they are stored in some central office and all you get is the bit of paper, the extract from the Ksiega Wieczysta that says you are now the owner. When you boughtyour property the notary should have registered you as the new owner with the Sąd Rejonowy for the district and you should have that bit of paper somewhere.

Also as Terri says you will need a notary to make your sale legal and he will tell you what papers you need and may assist you in getting them, but, be aware that he acts for both parties simply to make the sale legal and does not provide any legal advice or assistance if the matter is as you say complex.

Real Estate / Real Estate Help - Private Rental of Apartment in Poland / Obtaining Deeds [6]

There's no equivalent of the deeds of a property in Poland. When you buy your property you register your ownership with the local authority. It can take up to six months to be processed. They then send you a document (a flimsy bit of paper) which confirms that you are the registered owner. - do you have that?? You need that document when you come to sell. You also need some document which you apply for only at the point that you're selling which confirms that the property is debt free/unencumbered. Whereabouts in the UK are you? Your nearest city/big urban centre is bound to have a Polish lawyer and they all speak English, they couldn't really function in the UK if they didn't! If they're not expert in property law they can probably pass you on to someone who is.

Law / Bring Ashes of Deceased Mother to Poland [6]

How lovely Grazia, and how thoughtful and courteous of you to come back and update us. I hope the laying to rest of your mother will be a beautiful occasion for your family. Remember it should be a happy day, bringing your mother 'home'. Hopefully you will have wonderful Polish summer weather for it, the sun will be shining on your mother on her special day.

Life / Swearing in front of children - is it normal in Polish society? [26]

But if you take the 'you can't come round here anymore' stance it has much wider implications and it can lead to a major marital dispute. Plus of course it's not just a question of them not visiting the OP but the OP not visiting them, so what about Christmas, birthdays etc. I can't see the Polish wife agreeing to that. If the grandparents don't swear then the little girl could be visited by them but she couldn't visit their house as there's no guarantee that a swearer might not show up during the course of the visit! I think trying to keep the child away from her Polish relations is not a practical, workable solution unless the OP is prepared for a family feud. Besides it's quite possible that wifey will go behind husband's back and let the child have contact with the relations anyway.......so really, if wifey doesn't agree that relations must make an effort to moderate their language then the OP is stuck with it.

Life / Swearing in front of children - is it normal in Polish society? [26]


Kurcze (not sure if that's the correct spelling). That one's not swearing Roz. It's quite acceptable for 'ladies' as is kurde. It's kind of like the equivalent of feck. But if a two year old picks up on k*rwa it's the equivalent of them going around the place saying f*ck which I don't think most parents would be too happy about. But as I say if she does pick it up, at that age, she'll stop saying it if she's told that it's not a nice word for children to use.

Life / Swearing in front of children - is it normal in Polish society? [26]

Yes but that time hasn't yet come. She is two years old and entitled to have her childhood respected. She's also at the age where children pick up language very quickly and it's only a matter of time before she'll start repeating these words herself.

@Da Driver. Of course that can be dealt with by simply telling her that it's not a nice word for a little girl and she mustn't say it. Kids will generally accept that. You'll find that by the time she's four she'll have the usual young child's disapproving attitude towards swearing and will take great pleasure informing on other children 'Daddy he/she said a bad word'. She may even correct her swearing relatives 'that's not a nice word. You shouldn't say that'. So don't despair!


Unfortunately Delph as you pointed out it's a cultural norm and I think even if they wanted to, they would find it very difficult to break the habit. K*rwa is used almost as a form of punctuation, occurring numerous times in a sentence and to eliminate it from their speech would require huge concentrated effort.

@Da Driver, as I say, they are most unlikely to stop. This is one of those situations where you and your wife need to be singing off the same hymn sheet. Unless she agrees with you that it's an issue, then you won't get anywhere. Unless your wife backs you up, your only course of action, if you don't want your little girl to hear such language is to keep her away from her mother's family - what a Pandora's Box that would be. I presume these are mostly younger male relatives of your wife? What about the grandparents? Polish women rarely swear, how about Grandad?? Probably your only option is to let it go, if you don't want this to escalate into a major family/marital row.

News / Poland -- Europe's only counterweight to Russia [271]

You mean the stance that lead to a St Patrick's Day flash mob being attacked in Irkutsk by a bunch of teenage yobs back in 2014 - they saw the kilts and assumed they were gay.

Love / Turkish girl is going to meet her Polish boyfriend's family - needs tips. [47]

Oh that's wonderful. Really pleased for you and thanks so much for taking the time to get back to us :) Keep us updated!

Love / I am a friendly wee bubbly soft hearted artistic scots lady come talk to me:) [23]


That's not the OP Ziemowit. That's somebody replying to her.



Bear in mind that most regular posters here are not Polish and the few Polish men here seem to be either married or spoken for, so be careful you don't end up wandering down that road again. As Rozumiemnic pointed out this is not a dating site, so telling posters about your big blue eyes etc is a bit pointless:)

UK, Ireland / Getting British Passport issue! Old name. I am Polish by birth and just received my British citizenship. [8]

@Roz, you're right as far as a married woman is concerned. And in theory anyone in the UK can just start using a new name, there is no legal requirement to change it by deed pole.

Love / I am a friendly wee bubbly soft hearted artistic scots lady come talk to me:) [23]


Your user name should be Flower Child or perhaps Flower Fairy! Any time I think of a good user name for forums they're always taken :(

Listen Fluffy firstly, don't focus on finding a Polish guy, does it really matter what nationality the guy is, you just want to meet someone nice. You say you're artistic so why don't you try to join in a few things where you'll meet other like-minded people? Can you sing, what about joining a choir ?? Singing is very therapeutic you know and singing in a group feels great. You could even do some volunteering, you'll meet a lot of nice people that way whose heart is in the right place, have a sense of social justice etc. Maybe there's some community group in your area that needs helpers to organise summer events or something of that kind. You won't necessarily meet a man but you may make some friends who will enrich your life and through those friends you'll meet other people and the elusive Mr Right might be among them!

Love / I am a friendly wee bubbly soft hearted artistic scots lady come talk to me:) [23]



The single ones, but not the married ones. I've never come across a group of married Polish women (and certainly not over the age of forty) who go for a night out together on a regular basis. I may well be wrong but I don't think it's a cultural norm in Poland whereas it most definitely is in the UK and Ireland and has been for many years.

When I used to travel every day on the Dublin to Wexford train I frequently encountered groups of women heading down to Wexford for their 'girls weekend' enjoying their picnic basket and their bottle of wine on the lunch time train. You would also notice that it's cross generational. On occasion there might be a group of up to twenty women including three generations of the same family sometimes! You will not see that in Poland. You'll see it at family gatherings when the women are in the kitchen making vats of pickled delights and getting a start on the fresh pasta at 3.00 in the morning but you won't see it on a train to Kraków on a Friday afternoon!

Love / I am a friendly wee bubbly soft hearted artistic scots lady come talk to me:) [23]


Yes, men definitely still do that in 'real' Warsaw as opposed to gated apartment developments. It's a male bonding thing. The interesting thing is that it's not just the young guys either, men of all ages gather in groups outdoors. Of course from a purely practical point of view,obviously it's much pleasanter in spring and summer to enjoy the evening air rather than be cooped up in a stuffy, overcrowded apartment.


Completely agree Ziemusz. I wonder also if the thing of men not liking the women to go out is a primeval instinct of worrying about leaving the home untended and vulnerable. The woman was traditionally the keeper of the home while the man might be away for days at a time.

Also have you noticed how men seem to get hungry much oftener than women. Women can go all day with nothing to eat but if men don't snack they can't concentrate and get irritable. I think that's part of the Stone Age man thing. Man needs to be motivated to hunt, hunger keeps him motivated, anger gives him the adrenalin and energy he needs to go out and hunt something when he may already be feeling physically weak from lack of food. Then women had to stay for days with perhaps very little to eat while they waited for the man to return.

Love / I am a friendly wee bubbly soft hearted artistic scots lady come talk to me:) [23]


Yes, and even if it were, may I say, as one woman to another, that it's not the best idea to introduce yourself by complaining at great length about your previous boyfriend.


That is a major cultural difference, not wanting to sound snobbish, but especially in working class Polish circles (and yes, class differences do exist in Poland). Once a woman is in a relationship and definitely once she is living with a guy, she doesn't go out socially in the evenings with her female friends nor does she have any male friends or go out in mixed company without her 'man'. Couples socialise with other couples. Girls go to each others' houses to hang out but they don't for example go for a drink, a meal, to the cinema. There is no such thing as the 'girls' night out' or a weekend away with the girls for shopping and a bit of craic. As for the pub, it doesn't really exist in Poland in the same form as it does in the Brtitish Isles. A Polish guy who's lived in the UK for a few years should be able to understand that going to the pub is a normal part of British culture for both sexes, but..........

Genealogy / Looking for info on Romani name Goman and Siejanka Goman from a gravesite in one of Poland's cemeteries [33]


Hi Kasia. Sorry, I can't really think of anything else much at present. Did you contact that genealogical society through their direct email rather than leave a message on a forum? Always try to email somebody directly as you're more likely to get a response, that's all I can say. You have two main problems. Firstly you're dealing with a country where, due to its history, record keeping is haphazard in the first place and poorly archived. Secondly it's often hard to get whatever information is available without a face to face visit. A pity that Dougpol didn't make it to Bytom. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

Do post again if you get any further updates. Also it might be a good idea to provide an English translation of the letter for the benefit of anyone else who reads this thread at some point. Many people on this forum don't speak Polish and the writing is quite difficult to read.

Love / Turkish girl is going to meet her Polish boyfriend's family - needs tips. [47]


Well marriage announcements yes, but he's only bringing the girl home for 'tea' as it were. However I agree that bringing a non-Catholic girl/boy home on a solemn religious occasion such as Easter would be a biggish deal for many Polish families (and goodness me what occasion is not invested with solemnity in Polska - they do 'solemn' and 'serious' very well, nearly as well as the Germans, but not as efficiently!).


By the way Lyzko I feel obligated to correct your spelling, not out of nastiness, but because I know you're interested in this kind of thing as a lover of languages and won't take offence. In the context you've used it the correct spelling is 'mite'. I'm sure you know that anyway and it was just a slip of the keyboard!

Love / Turkish girl is going to meet her Polish boyfriend's family - needs tips. [47]

Lyzko, are you saying that bringing a girlfriend home is a bigger deal in a Polish Catholic family than it is in a Turkish Muslim family? I would have thought it would be the other way round. Plenty of practising Catholics have one or two girl/boyfriends before they settle down. But I would imagine that the average Muslim (not an Islamic fundamentalist!) wouldn't bring a boy or girl home to meet parents unless they were considering marriage.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]


Where did you receive that impression?? Did I not state categorically precisely the opposite? Or were you speed reading again and seeing what you want to rather than what's written.


Well now I lived in London for six years, how could I not. And I've taught several of their children, in, guess where, yes that's right in Ireland! We have Muslims there , wow!

You really are a supremely silly and very ignorant woman.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]


Including myself and many other Irish people who could have been blown up just as easily as anyone.


Not my brothers or the brothers of any decent Irish person.


Yes but it exists.


That we the ordinary public know of. You are a mistress of stating your opinions as if they are irrefutable facts.


That's quite obvious.


Wherever there are Muslims there's the potential for Islamic fundamentalism to infiltrate and gain a foothold. And if you've read the Gulag Archipelago you'll know that in the same way that a handful of police could arrest an entire town in a night, a handful of terrorists is all it takes.


Of course Warsaw is not in any immediate danger. But in the long term InPolska, what do you think? Or do you not care because forty years from now it won't affect you. Islamic fundamentalists (not Muslims, yes I do know the difference) have a set of goals. The first is to attack those nations (of whom Poland is not one) whom they see as interfering in the Muslim world. The second is to return to Islamic rule those countries which were once under Muslim rule and have been Christianised, such as Spain. The third is to spread Islam around the world and to eliminate Christianity. We are heading towards another gates of Vienna 1815. In any case no sensible person would ever live in the fool's paradise of thinking that 'it'll never happen here'.

If I were an Islamic fundamentalist leader my goal at the moment would be to orchestrate an atrocity in every European country, no exceptions and strike at one major city, not necessarily the capital, in each. That's how we demonstrate our power, our omniscience, that's how we sow the seeds of fear and prepare the ground. It might take a few years, maybe a decade to achieve those attacks but it could be done and believe me it will be if that's what they want.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]


Completely stupid to think that it's immune.


There are Muslims in Poland. Not that I'm suggesting that any of them have terrorist links but it's not true to say that there's no Muslim community.

Life / Banking - Does Direct Debit (or similar payment scheme) exist in Poland? [2]

Yes they do exist but they're not reliable in my experience. I had direct debits for my gas and electricity, one functioned perfectly, the other didn't. I recently opened an internet account and was advised by the providers not to use their direct debit facility as 'it doesn't always work properly'!!

Be aware that neither the bank nor the service provider will necessarily tell you that there's a problem. The first you know about it is when you get a letter informing you that you haven't paid anything for six months! If you're going to use them, just keep an eye on your bank e-statements to make sure that the money is being debited when it should be, but don't assume that it will be credited to the account you're paying it to. I've had payments go missing and it's taken a couple of months to trace them. So also check with your service that the amount has been received. It's hardly worth all the hassle really. I mean direct debit is supposed to simplify matters......but 'to jest Polska'!

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]

InPolska, unattended packages are treated as a threat in countries in a state of high alert for terrorist attacks. Otherwise why close the station? Because yes, it probably is a bag left behind by someone, but it might be a bomb.

You see, however small and unimportant Ireland is, we were on alert for years for terrorist threats from the Loyalists in the North and it was taken very seriously indeed. I once saw a suitcase outside a shop in Grafton St in the city centre of Dublin. I did what everybody had been trained to do, without even thinking about it. I went into the shop, spoke to the assistant, no customer claimed the case, she called the Gardai, that's how it was and that's how it should be. The Dublin bombings of 1974 were car bombs but unattended bags were always treated as suspect.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]


It's true. Yesterday evening between four and five. Mr Atch was heading home from work with a few colleagues. They couldn't all get on to the bus, so some of them followed on in the next bus. When they arrived at the station the ones who had taken the first bus were waiting for them outside to say that the metro wasn't running as there was a suspect package. I said 'Wow, were the police there?' and he responded 'Oh yeah it was all cordoned off anyway'. I'm not sure which station it is, I'll ask him this evening.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]


Supsect package in the metro Warsaw yesterday. Subway closed and cordoned off so however unlikely that it was real it's obvious that the police are on alert.


That's a bit like saying that Hitler wouldn't be interested in x, y or z country but he was. Why?? Because he wanted to establish an empire. Islamic fundamentalists have an agenda and that agenda is to obliterate Christianity from the face of the Earth and establish an Islamic world. Every Christian country is a potential target and it's only a matter of time. Maybe not in our generation but in the next.


I know how you dislike me mentioning my homeland but neither has Ireland. However:

independent.ie/irish-news/politics/coalition-not-surprised-at-irish-flag-in-isil-video-34241695.html

newstalk.com/Defence-Forces-reportedly-provide-CIA-with-information-on-potential-Irish-Islamists


Just because you don't see uniformed police or army on the streets doesn't mean that there isn't increased security presence. Governments don't like to panic people but there could be numerous plain clothes officers around the place.

I know I said I wouldn't engage with you because you have the manners of a backstreet Parisian brothel keeper but saying that Poland is not at any risk is really tempting fate.

Life / Opinions about priests in Poland [10]


I don't think it ever existed in Poland did it?? The lack of a large middle class who are traditionally associated with doing such charitable works would preclude that. That's where the origins of social volunteering lie. Poland was far more feudal with the local gentry being the main givers of charity of whatever kind to their immediate community. That system of course existed in many other countries but in the British Isles and especially in the UK there was the founding of organisations of various kinds for the betterment of the poor especially in towns and urban areas. The list of such groups is endless and they were manned by ordinary people. The same tradition exists in America.


The main purpose of every priest is to serve God and do his work here on Earth, practising and promoting by example and not merely instruction, the three theological virtues by which we as Catholics should live, that is Faith, Hope and Charity.


I sincerely hope you don't think everyone who isn't Catholic is destined for Hell??

News / What kind of Poland do most Poles want? [101]


Has to start in school Delph, because they won't learn it at home. Then once it gets established in that generation hopefully they'll begin to pass it on. There were some kids in our local supermarket at Christmas collecting for a food parcel thing which was great to see. Much more of that is needed. Maybe the church could encourage it a bit more too. I don't know how active they are at trying to get people in their congregations directly involved. People also need to understand that it's not about giving money, it's giving of yourself in some way.

News / What kind of Poland do most Poles want? [101]


Yes, Crow but it's really only the Highland Scots who've held on to that sense of identity. The lowland Scots were the ones who came to the North of Ireland and they certainly had nothing in common with their Irish brethren. Ireland definitely despite being a Catholic country never lost touch with its pre-Christian roots, the old Celtic customs like Halloween and the belief in fairies for example. My grandmother, a very devout Catholic was very respectful of fairy lore even though it's against Catholicism.


Sadly I must agree. Polly gives a very fair summing up of the matter, except I disagree that Czechs are liked, I think there are mixed feelings towards them. I think it's a great pity that Poles aren't more interested in their Slavic roots.

Law / My late fathers Polish will made in 1987 [9]


But were the laws the same in Communist times? The will was made in 1987 so would the law of that time apply or would present day law apply?


Yes, but her problem would be proving that in court. It would be very difficult to do that convincingly.

Of course there is the possibility that the will was not genuine, but a forgery, easy to forge a signature.........plenty of corrupt lawyers back then who would take a bribe.