Language / Going to learn the Polish Genitive Case [28]

polish.slavic.pitt.edu

Not the Michael Swan of "Practical English Usage" fame - but Prof. Swan of Pittsburgh university has it nailed if you want to learn Polish for free from a grammar perspective............

I don't - I preferred the useful Hurra Po Polsku eclectic course and BW Mazur's excellent "Colloquial Polish. There must be lots of other threads on here.........

News / Closet homosexual politicians in Poland [83]


Where are all the legal writs then?

It was him who turned the water canon on the Gay Pride march in Warsaw wasn't it? I don't know if you are familiar with the term but it takes one to know one.

Nobody could give a rats' arse about Mr Kaczynski's sexuality - if he had left minorities alone and not victimised them - but I suppose he's in good company with Ted Heath. Oh wait - Ted Heath actually had economic policies, and was a politician.

Life / Going to Poland in a hijab - Polish people and Islam [154]

Thanks for the spelling correction.

So are you going to cancel your pointless catholic holiday on Friday - which is costing me 400 zlotys in lost contracts?

No - and following her faith is the ladies ' right too. Except, unlike your objectionable and pointless dated religious holidays, she is bothering nobody.

Angry as fook.

Life / Going to Poland in a hijab - Polish people and Islam [154]


RE: Slask.

I had an Australian friend - he was proud that he had integrated into Polish society.

He started staring at people.

When people stare at what I'm doing ( such as unloading my car, or just leisurely passing by) I become extremely rude.

Now why would that be?

If they bothered to say hello FFS then that would be just dandy.

It doesn't matter if people are muslim, wear a habib - or whatever. People ought to be given a mandate by the Straz for the nasty anti-social habit of staring :)

Law / Is it possible to get an MOT on a RHD car in Poland? [28]

You are correct Inwo - I would have thought the police can act if the UK RHD has no tax disc, ergo no legitimate MOT etc.

But at the moment they don't seem to want to get involved. At the moment.

I wouldn't want to be in a smash though with my family in tow where the insurance situation is dodgy, to put it mildly. It's OK for hoodlums and single lads who enjoy a laugh, but otherwise this is too much even for an anti-establishment being like myself.

Travel / Baggage size limit on Trains in Poland? [16]

It seems that my labrador is considered to be excess baggage. PR now have upped the price of carrying said canine to 7 zlotys.

Scum :(

Law / Is it possible to get an MOT on a RHD car in Poland? [28]

That doesn't make sense. So if the police stop you, I grant you they are not au fait with the law but what do your docs say, and how can you get Polish insurance on a car with British plates?

Please spill the beans :)

Law / Selling a car without putting it in your name - Multiple Umowas - what's the deal? [25]


Moi. Think about it - Poland has a populist government. A sizeable percentage of non-college graduates buy and sell or fix up cars for a living

The RHD market would heavily erode those businesses.

Law / Selling a car without putting it in your name - Multiple Umowas - what's the deal? [25]


Yawn - I bought a car from Germany and was driving it here for nearly three months on German plates and with ongoing monthly cover before I found the time to register it. And I didn't go to prison.

All this exaggerated respect for the "law" on this forum gets my goat. Most of us are too busy living to be overly concerned with regulation after regulation.......ad nauseum.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]


Thanks! I got blown out of Degustatornia with Tudor the lab - when he was a sweet looking pup, and now that he's 32 kilo in weight I reckon they might be even less keen...... the Gdynia pub is a stale smelling basement and not really what the doctor ordered - but the beers were cracking - I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and leave the mutt at home :(

I will be sure to try out the Gdansk hostelries - thanks for that, and will seek out Scottie and the rest :)

As for Warsaw, thanks for the pleasantries Harry in spite of my drunken lame insults :) Warsaw might as well be on the moon at the moment, but when I get round to it I will do the museums there and get my Scots tight wad out and buy you and t'others a round :) Ta.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Great stuff Harry - thanks for the info. When in Warsaw I will sure visit said places :) Do they allow dogs in the beer gardens/patios?

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Nothing on the Polish market beats Budweiser Budwar on price and quality IMO.

That is some assertion Harry that any Polish beer can beat English bottled ale, mass produced though it be. You are obviously fully versed as a beer lover with the chemistry of same, so I too would love a few names.

If they are expensive I wont bother though and just stick to Abbot et al, even at 10 zl a bottle.
The Olsztyn Kormoran brewery is trying but still add extracts:(

Attempts at IPA at 7 zl a bottle is decent but still oft leaves a hangover, a no-no sign of bad brewing.

Do these brewers used fresh hops? Using American pelletised hops is brewing, but not as we know it, Jim.

Life / Legalising Marijuana in Poland. Therapy available? [76]


Marvellous Jon - on behalf of all liberals on this board I thank you, and dog and myself will be taking the Berlin express really soon :)


Nah - not if the law is an ass.

Life / Legalising Marijuana in Poland. Therapy available? [76]

Another in favour of the Czech model.

Poland is far too conservative for this day and age, and the Poles seem to love regulations and laws so much (when the restriction doesn't apply to them) that I'm beginning to wonder if they didn't secretly enjoy communism :(

Hence, the establishment will never lift the draconian laws on cannabis use here, preferring to control rather than to let the population live - whilst of course hypocritically swallowing their drug of choice, coke et al.

Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

Thanks Sparks - I know you were trying to help and to put a positive slant on it. But there is no buyers' market, unless one is the unscrupulous moneyed type who chases after middle-aged sellers who are trying desperately to raise funds to have cancer treatment. (where is that rolling eyes smiley on this forum?)

Negotiation? Poles refuse to acknowledge what true worth is for the buyer. In 22 years of living in 'ole Polska I've found there are no bargains to be had.

The economics of the country dictate so - people love holding onto tat, and believing it to be worth something that it's not. The favourite line is "I'm not selling that car for the catalogue price of 10,000 - I just spent 5 000 on it, so it's worth at least 13,000."

Hehe :).

Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]


In one - I don't know what planet Sparks is on but Poles like to think it's a one way street - lovely hosts and generous to a fault with their time, but I only ever buy new. It seems InWroclaw that we are the only peeps who feel this way lol.

I remember trying to buy an Alpine car radio off the computer market in Sosnowiec. Mine had been stolen there a month previously :( It was an old model - 400 zl - pure gold. The guy wouldn't take 320, or 350, saying angrily that he had told me the price.

It was still sitting there 8 Saturdays later, at 450 ZL. What a prize idiot.

These "sprzedawczy" don't actually want to sell anything - they just want to sit there in the wet open air market wasting away their sad lives and being away from the trouble and strife for a Saturday morning, as she beats them regularly if they hang too long around the kitchen table. :)


Exactly so - mats, gear stick leather, wheel rims, seals, chassis, all easy to read the mileage when you've passed your 17th birthday.

Ridiculously inflated prices too - doesn't Sparks appreciate that a day trip to Germany with 4 or 5 real purchase targets will oft get a result - and if doesn't, well there are still the frauleins and the lakeside grills. :) Deutschland aber alles - or at least so when considering whether the 'Krauts or Poles are more real when you are buying a second hand motor.

One nation has a sense of humour, including joke prices for old wrecks, and the other has reasonable deals on servicable motors. :) I don't go there for a laugh.

I owned two German reg cars, and they were class :)

Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

Maluch - I bought my last car from Germany - a sports Astra - and it were a good 'un - at a very fair price.

What would people rather do - pay a true market price and buy a 5 year old car that's been on German autobahns, or one that's been raped on Polish potholes? No contest!

The catch of course was the 1000 zl "re-cycling fee" - aka protectionism of the Polish "second-hand car market" - you really couldn't make it up, but Tusk and his cronies do just that.

Wiser heads than me will know if this fee is still the case - it is of course against free movement of goods, but we know that is a misnomer when the government can see their way clear to tax the **** out of the little man.

And it's ridiculously easy to do -see other threads - there is a dedicated website somewhere showing the stages. As said, the government try to make it not worth your while, you must have German docs translated, and new plates, and an import fee - total about 600 zlotys - plus the cost of going there and finding the car - I wouldn't EVER buy from a Polish "dealer" unless he was my mechanic, with a long history of honesty.

Same in any country - you want honesty - trust your own judgement.

Life / Public Transport Woes in Poland [11]

Posts moved from another thread

But Harry - the fact remains - this transport thing is a definite problem in today's busy Poland as you know, and yet the thread was binned. By the Mod/owner - who doesn't appreciate that while this is not the epitome of Polish social issues, it is non-the-less a right royal pain in the butt.

He would rather we talk about whether Polish women have lager genitals than African women et al.

Weird, and annoying.

Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

Anybody buying a used car/bike in Poland needs their head examining.

Buy in a country with higher GDP where there is a true buyer's market because the seller simply wants to get rid of old gear.

I NEVER buy used in Poland as there are absololutely zero deals to be made. I've learnt something in 22 years - that Poles have an ridiculously inflated view of what old tot is worth :)

Travel / Cables on facades of krakow buildings [7]

The leaseholder is property rich. He should be made to pay. All this bull about inability to pay is unique to Poland and I used to use the same excuse (ie working for the state) when pulled over by the cops.

But this calls for legislation. Eyesores need cutting out. Miendo is right. When some people see ****, they do ****.

Travel / Cables on facades of krakow buildings [7]

Welcome to Poland. Aesthetics?

Silly cars and Hugo Boss - yes. Buildings no.

Blame legislation. Any normal society would force the leaseholder to tie the cabling to the building as you so rightly say. I despair.

Plus, Krakow is a kitsch Austro-Hungarian ******** anyway :)

Life / Driving Offences in Poland - How Fast can you go without being arrested? ;) [56]

Absolutely Nos - pedestrian crossings are a nightmare.

It's easy to spot the drivers here in Tri-City who have been to the UK ( a lot). They have adapted to the RIGHT way and follow the Highway Code.

The idiots in Warsaw ( our government) have failed time and again to legislate for the Highway Code and are causing confusion and unnecessary injury and deaths.

The legislation should be for:

1. Pedestrian foot on the road on the pedestrian crossing - drivers in BOTH directions must stop - when safe to do so ( accepted braking distances according to the conditions.

2. Cameras at every crossing record same.

3. Reduction in number of crossings in cities on certain roads - we don't need crossings every 50 metres "for war veterans" as is the case now. This leads to driver frustation and impatience.

4. A years' ban for any driver infringing Rule 1.


I often think that Darth. You are a nice geezer and I am awaiting the home response.

It's your home people. Darth and me are only your guests.

What do you say?

Are you going to do anything about it - or not?

This summer I am going to start by meeting the President of Gdynia and demanding action on his millionaire racers down the Boulevard. Before they kill anybody.

If he doesn't want to take action then there are other (legal) means open to the citizen.

Life / Driving Offences in Poland - How Fast can you go without being arrested? ;) [56]

Of course it is subjective Darth - we both know Poles who are more careful and technically better drivers than we are. It's not rocket science after all.

But getting Poles (the establishment) to admit they have a problem and to impose (sensible and logical) penalties like we have in the UK?

No - that would be an infringement of their new found liberties.

They prefer to kill 24 year olds who had their whole world before them. They have to drive their idiotic 4 wheel drives with impunity and flaunt it. The family in question recovered and bore no ill will to the morning drunk driver who killed their daughter.

In their shoes, I would have dragged him from the bail house and hung him from the nearest tree.

PS THat case is well documented - and I should amend it. I "believe they bore no ill will" - I never saw the mother again but the father was and is a very brave man, and has carried on I believe.

Somebody has to do something to get these criminals off our streets.

Quite simple - cameras on every street - 90 km on a city street. means prison and/or 1 year ban.

INSTEAD THEY IMPRISONED PEOPLE FOR CYCLING AND BEERING.

Lol ******* lol.

Scum.

Life / Driving Offences in Poland - How Fast can you go without being arrested? ;) [56]


Milky - I was once on a bus from Jastrebrie Zdroj to Katowice - a private service and the driver was driving like a madman, the bus swerving from side to side. I am always game for a laugh but that was outright dangerous, so I asked the driver if he could please slow down.

After a range of obscenities I called the Katowice police - who to be fair, did turn up and breathalyse him - but the story is of course that all the passengers on that bus thought I was obviously mental and/or on drugs because they were perfectly satisfied customers.

And Roger - I wasn't scoring points - apologies for that - but you are too liberal here IMO

In all my 30 years of living in England I had seen dead bodies in a smash just the once, akin to the Jim Morrison scenario. In Poland dead corpses are ten a penny - meaning I have personally in 22 years have come across a good ten incidents with spectactularly dismembered body parts - as well as three of my students being brown bread for just going about their business and getting wiped out, one notably a 24 year old who had been admitted for her Bar exams that very day and was happily walking along the pavement outside her middle class gated community.

It happens in Britain too, but the statistics are there for all to see. The Polish authorities clearly do not give a **** - the police do their best, but the legislation is too weak and these criminals deserve a ******* good hiding.

12 points - not 24 - and no exceptions, unlike this idiotic "retraining" cop-out. 4 points for a bust.

Bleeding simple.

In the meantime folks, treat a percentage of Poles behind the wheel as the potential maniacs that they are. And stand well clear.

Life / Driving Offences in Poland - How Fast can you go without being arrested? ;) [56]

I don't agree with Roger. And I reckon I have been here a tad longer than he. If there are in fact worse drivers in a western style democracy do please let me know.

I started carrying a golf club years ago to sort the delinquents out, if needs be.

Life / Many Problems with UPC Broadband in Poland - Anyone Else? [20]

Outages recently here in Tri-City too. Never liked them :) But probably better than the devil you don't.

They could put up a page explaining they are down but there's sweet FA customer service with them.

News / RIP Tadeusz Mazowiecki - Poland's first prime minister after the fall of communism [7]


Nope, it was never a question of a witch hunt, but Mazowiecki's holier than thou "forgiveness" of state sponsored criminality was a bit galling.

Work / Finding English teaching jobs in Poland [19]

Maybe he doesn't want to go to China Roger :))

LinkedIn/ own website/ self promotion.

Plenty of work out there. It's a question of how experienced the OP is, as you suggest.

Jon - what's GW? (Dougpol brain not functioning)

Work / Finding English teaching jobs in Poland [19]

Advertise on the net. It's really that simple. Plus, be prepared to travel or teach unsocial hours when you get offers.

But don't accept work for less than the going rate. You'll be shooting yourself in the foot.

e-korepetycje.net
nativespeaker.com.pl
Dave's esl cafe

Law / Seller won't answer, item hasn't arrived.. Could somebody help me sort out problems for allegro.pl? [6]

Don't buy from Allegro ever - unless it's to pay the courier on delivery.

There are a lot of thieving toe-rags out there in Allegro land..

End of.