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Posts by InWroclaw  

Joined: 10 Mar 2012 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 7 Mar 2015
Threads: Total: 89 / In This Archive: 80
Posts: Total: 1910 / In This Archive: 1693 		From: Wroclaw
Speaks Polish?: No

Displayed posts: 1773 / page 55 of 60
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InWroclaw   
12 Jun 2012
Food / Where can I get the spreader/rake for making crepes & pancakes in Poland? [15]

i didn't know that crepes need a stick to make them :)

Makes it a bit easier to spread the batter thinly, not essential to have but the professionals use them for a reason!

couple of bits of wood and some glue (maybe a screw), job done.

Well, I could do that, Leroy Merlin probably has some cheap wood. But was hoping to find one assembled and cheap, Even 10zl, although a lot compared to most wooden kitchen utensil products here would be acceptable just about. You can buy a spatuala and lots of wooden things in the shops for 2zl or 4zl, but none of them so far have this item at all. Only supplier so far is via Allegro.

I commend you on posting the most interesting topic. None other can compare!

Don't worry, Gazeta Polska, Radio Marya and PiS will get mentioned somewhere in this thread, won't be dull here for long!
InWroclaw   
12 Jun 2012
Food / Where can I get the spreader/rake for making crepes & pancakes in Poland? [15]

This is what I mean

pancake rake

Been to loads of supermarkets and shops in Wrocław - no joy.

If it's only available by mail order (as it is in the UK), a link would be great. Thank you.

edit
This but at a good (lower) price with no postage to pay which makes it expensive?
allegro.pl/patyczek-do-nalesnikow-nelesnikarka-gofrownica-i236566 4181.html
InWroclaw   
12 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

What will the reforms and deregulation mean for consumers? What will agents do/not do differently? Deregulation usually means a relaxing of rules, does this mean there will be more people setting up a business as an estate agent/real estate agentrealtor?
InWroclaw   
12 Jun 2012
Life / British Population in Trojmiasto [10]

How many Brits living in Poland??? anybody like to take a guess?

Sometimes it seems like there's only about 20, frankly.

Probably 5000 in reality.
InWroclaw   
12 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Was just checking the direct (not via agents) rentals on Gumtree and seemed to me the prices were down - more were sub 1500 than last week when I last checked. I was thinking perhaps this was a blip and I wouldn't post here but then I saw one reduced from 1600 to 1200 a month and that encouraged me to post this anecdote. I would post a link but I may go view it, sorry about that!
InWroclaw   
11 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

I don't know what they're asking, but there's a house and a flat on the side of Krzyki near what was the drama academy, and new church - I think they have both been for sale for 18 months. Whether the vendor has dropped the price or stubbornly refused as Harry suggests I couldn't tell you, but they're certainly not sold so far. Also quite a few with the for rent signs locally and in the Rynek, for some months. (Banners on balconies or windows is how I know.)
InWroclaw   
11 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Wrocław up 1.57%,

Doesn't seem that way here, not sure what category of property that applies to, although prices aren't tumbling fast they don't seem to be in the ascendancy at all. Not so far, anyway
InWroclaw   
11 Jun 2012
Food / Where to buy British mature Cheddar Cheese and salted butter in Poland? [289]

Good news for the mature cheddar cheese posse - Tesco in Bielany Wroclaw have plenty of the brand I like (C/ City) now in the aisle. Top shelf, right of the other speciality cheeses, on the end of the section of the chiller but not the end of the aisle of chillers. It is 200g for 8zl at the moment. They aso have mild, both pack types are similar, burgundy colour. If it's not there, try the deli counter where there are some prepacked foreign cheeses too.

Also there today: Tesco baked beans 2zl (1 tin left) and Tesco Fairtrade Finest black tea 11zl (about 4 packs left, hiding on the middle shelf in a silver box).

Also butter - Mlekovita 3zl on special offer.
InWroclaw   
11 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Click the button marked "Statystyki" (it's just below the second of the four pictures of properties).

Are those figures for March? Seems like it. Are they asking prices or selling prices? Do they take into account economic developments since, rule changes, credit crunch issues, etc?

Developer's agent I spoke to was talking of about 5 or 10% off, from that I would infer he meant 15%.
InWroclaw   
9 Jun 2012
Life / Best Polish production TV show [12]

This one en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Awiat_wed%C5%82ug_Kiepskich

Comedy, surreal and ridiculous at times, a well-known classic. Try to watch with subtitles so you can see the Polish words as they are spoken.
InWroclaw   
6 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's flat rental agents and the anger they brew in me.... [60]

Ah hell my English is so international from living all over I mix vocabulary all the time. I mean saying "bollocks" is just fun.

:0)

Taken a long time but the fees the agents charge in the UK is now getting negative Press coverage there.
InWroclaw   
6 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's flat rental agents and the anger they brew in me.... [60]

Just today a guy asked me for directions on the street and kept talking and talking...

I have that all the time, and I then feel really awkward when I say the Polish phrase you mentioned. Just today on the bus, a lady went into a lot of detail in her question, and when I just said the sorry part she immediately got that I was a foreigner and she guessed English but she didn't speak any. I think she just wanted to know if the next stop was the nearest for the post office, but I wasn't more than 50% sure that's what she said.

A surprising number of the younger ones speak English, a young neighbour who is a blue collar worker speaks better English than my bank staff and he's never lived in the UK. He knows obscure words almost instantly, it's amazing (to me).

Anyway, back to topic - I am going to ask around a lot more - Polish or no Polish - and see if I can get a decent landlord and fair rent. The agents are charging about 50% of a month's rent in some cases now, maybe it will drop further if they get more volume. If there are additional safeguards by renting through an agent, then I'd go for it, but if not then their fee is just a waste of money.

With acknowledgements to American English spelling btw!
Neighbour - neighbor
Through - thru
InWroclaw   
6 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's flat rental agents and the anger they brew in me.... [60]

You really just have to go out and talk to people to get the best options...strangers in a cafe...whatever.

I'll give it a try soon, but I don't speak Polish, I only know a few words, most of the time I understand max 2 words in a sentence and have to guess what they're saying. Can get hilarious results with the fuzzy logic method of communication... :o)
InWroclaw   
6 Jun 2012
Real Estate / Poland's flat rental agents and the anger they brew in me.... [60]

Good idea, thanks.

I think sometimes they are not anti-Brit etc, they are just not interested in what they see as the hassle of translating or, perhaps, not sure what the legal requirements are, such as whether I would insist on them registering me at the town/city hall, whether they need to check I have a resident's permit etc etc. They don't want to get involved in that area of things, probably, in some cases of ignoring or rejecting prospective tenants from the UK etc.
InWroclaw   
5 Jun 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

Bug screens
They are from around 6zl in Kaufland and Auchan. They are a net curtain which you affix to the window using a tape that they adhere to similarly to how velcro works. They can be taken down and washed but they are very cheap so you just buy another and cut it to size using the old one as a template. I am not sure they would keep mosquitoes out - they seem to come in anyway from somewhere, as do moths,

The mosquito problem in Wroclaw in my experience is awful. I was bitten last week in the park and I know this summer I will wake most mornings covered in bites. I don't like those chemical things that you plug in but even when I use them there is little improvement.

The mosquitoes are for me one of the worst things about Wroc.
InWroclaw   
3 Jun 2012
Law / Can I apply to live in Poland while actually in Poland ? [21]

Thanks.

Pleased to see I found the right place for the OP, and if it is where I think it is then it's not too far away from a very decent ice cream hut with some of the best ice cream (called Lody) in Wroclaw at about 50p for a cornet. So get your form done, then go for a stroll by the Odra with your other half and enjoy an ice cream which rivals some of the best we have in the UK.

Just out of interest, is it a legal alternative to the residence permit for someone in Poland from the EU to leave Poland every 3 months, for example going.over the border to Germany for the day, and then to come back in to Poland for another 3 months?

Years ago, people visiting the USA from the UK used to do something similar there, not sure if they went to Mexico or somewhere else, from what I remember hearing back then (80s or 90s).
InWroclaw   
3 Jun 2012
Law / Can I apply to live in Poland while actually in Poland ? [21]

dzieki :)

You're welcome.

Here it is on the map, 99% sure this is the place

maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=plac+powsta%C5%84c%C3%B3w+warszaw y+1+wroclaw&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x470fe9d6111420b5:0x12127ab953ac03f0,P lac+Powsta%C5%84c%C3%B3w+Warszawy+1,+Wroc%C5%82aw,+Poland&ei=EzrLT-qGB fOM4gS7uUQ&oi=geocode_result&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA
InWroclaw   
3 Jun 2012
Law / Can I apply to live in Poland while actually in Poland ? [21]

A lot of detailed information in English here on this pdf, page 56 for a list of Vovoidship offices:

amu.edu.pl/__data/assets/file/0006/24567/OIRP_Informator-English.pdf

Wrocław's is listed as

Dolnośląski Urząd Wojewódzki
we Wrocławiu
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1
50-951 Wrocław
tel. 071 340 66 55
071 340 65 87

Some of the info may be out of date as the pdf is not very recent.
Also found this link:

araw.pl/artykuly/33/Resident-and-Work-Permits-Citizen-Affairs-and-Migration
InWroclaw   
2 Jun 2012
Law / Can I apply to live in Poland while actually in Poland ? [21]

ukinpoland.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-poland/howtoobtainresidency

How to obtain residency
It is obligatory for all EU Citizens to obtain a Residency Registration Certificate confirming their stay in Poland (Zaświadczenie o Zarejestrowaniu Pobytu Obywateli Unii Europejskiej w Polsce).

The application for the certificate must be lodged in person to the appropriate Regional Voivod Office (Urząd Wojewódzki) after 3 months stay in Poland.
British Citizens will be asked to provide:

application form (Wniosek) completed in Polish (form available at Voivod Office)
photographic evidence of ID and nationality (e.g. passport- original to be presented, 4 photocopies to be submitted )
documents confirming the purpose of their stay in Poland.
All documents and their sworn translations into Polish should be presented in original. Please have the copies of all documents prepared for the Office reference.

Please note that all applications for Registration Certificate are considered individually depending on the applicant's circumstances in Poland. For further details you can contact Foreigners' Department of any Regional Voivod Office for advice. In Warsaw this is:

Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki
Oddział ds. Cudzoziemców
ul. Długa 5
1st Floor, room 42, 43
Warsaw
tel +48 22 695 67 52
mazowieckie.pl

For other Voivod Offices please follow:
www. name of the Voivod region.pl
umwd.dolnyslask.pl ---this is my edit for this forum ]

Non-EU spouses of EU Citizens have the right to apply for EU Family Member Card ( Karta Czlonka Rodziny Obywatela Unii Europejskiej).

Please note that all EU Citizens' Residency Cards already issued remain valid and there is no (no) need to exchange them for the new Residency Registration Certificate.

All EU Citizens after 5 years of residency in Poland may apply for permanent residency permit. All applications will be considered on individual merits. For details please contact the relevant Voivod Office.

InWroclaw   
2 Jun 2012
Law / Can I apply to live in Poland while actually in Poland ? [21]

I thought UK citizens sometimes need some sort of residents' permit, or a work permit was necessary? If a person from the UK stays more than 6 months in Poland, is there not a tax implication? Savings interest earned in the UK in UK banks - taxable only in the UK or in Poland? Earnings from UK income, eg if a UK landlord or with shares in UK companies, taxable in Poland if staying in Poland for more than 6 months? Poland's tax system is much less generous on the tax-free allowance - what is it just approx £600 tax free in Poland? In the UK it is £7,000 or more tax free (income tax) for a single person, if I recall.
InWroclaw   
2 Jun 2012
News / Don't go to Poland ... because you could end up coming back in a coffin [313]

(the polish way...deny and blame somebody else!)

Yes, there does seem to be a lot of that around in Poland, I have noticed the Poles I know here never put their hand up and admit a mistake. Not a good trait. I was hoping it was just limited to the cirlce I know of, but looks like it's rather more widespread.
InWroclaw   
1 Jun 2012
Work / Misrepresentation of employment- Poland [5]

You probably have already had a look at this site from the EU, if not then see if it has any guidance
ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=157&langId=en
InWroclaw   
31 May 2012
Life / Relocating to Wroclaw, any suggestions? [15]

I had a response from two by email - one ceased after I said I was a Briton, the other said something similar to "ad expired/flat let".

I can ask him about passing his details if you guys are interested in help.

Feel free to PM me the details, many thanks
InWroclaw   
30 May 2012
Language / What a krzyki! Is someone messin' with some automated translation services? [5]

Good point, Cinek. A place name is a place name, but with the auto-translation of all words this happens. But why the wrong word - in fact which is the opposite in meaning?

You do see the area called "screams" on graffiti in the area, in more than one place. Some locals use English for some reason.
InWroclaw   
30 May 2012
News / Don't go to Poland ... because you could end up coming back in a coffin [313]

Some satire on this: newsthump.com/2012/05/28/sol-campbell-warns-england-fans-at-euro-2012-they-risk-seeing-team-play/

"Former Tottenham and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has advised England football fans to 'stay away' from Euro 2012, for fear of witnessing humiliating displays of ineptitude on the pitch......"
InWroclaw   
30 May 2012
News / Anty-Polish v column is located in White House [88]

Monia,
don't be daft.

Let's not forget also that the USA has a very large number of Polish people (most of whom are not Jewish anyway). They do have the vote, you know!

culture.polishsite.us/articles/art41fr.htm
InWroclaw   
30 May 2012
Language / What a krzyki! Is someone messin' with some automated translation services? [5]

Not Screams - it's Whispers!
Is a mischievous or bored person altering translations from Polish to English, or is it a real estate agent keen to not scare off English-speaking buyers? On the latter, I am only half-joking - nothing much would surprise me. With some online translation services, users can input their own ideas on "better translations".

Take the Microsoft translation for this property for rent in an area of Wrocław known as Krzyki.

As you can see from the screen-capture I have attached, MS Live Search Translate changes the word Krzyki not to "screams" which is, as far as I know, usually the correct translation (although some dictionaries say it means "shouts"), but instead, to "whispers". A far nicer word for English-speakers perhaps, when thinking of buying or renting property in an area!

"Scream" - although positive to some in that it can mean having a ball, having a good time or laugh, is far less of a positive word in regards to real estate sales than the English word "whispers", - a word which suggests quiet and calm, peace and tranquility to a much greater degree than the other word.

If you walk around Krzyki you will see the usual graffiti that many parts of Wrocław has, and when last I checked in plain English there was still the now quite old scrawl "South Screams hooligans" on a garage wall by an apartment block.

Even if this translation error is somehow a quirky accident, I find it intriguing and amusing because it seems so unlikely to be accidental.

(The correct word in Polish for "whispers" is I think "szepcze". Google Translate has the word with its correct meaning, by the way.)


  • whisperscreams.jpg