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Posts by sobieski  

Joined: 1 Jun 2008 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 20 Jun 2015
Threads: Total: 106 / In This Archive: 78
Posts: Total: 2111 / In This Archive: 1623 		From: Poland, Warsaw
Speaks Polish?: Good
Interests: Polish culture and history, cooking

Displayed posts: 1701 / page 8 of 57
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sobieski   
4 Mar 2014
Travel / Best places to view Warsaw from above? [5]

What a "helpful" suggestion. But it reminded me that in the tourist season a balloon attached to a cable offers a grand view of Warsaw.

It used to go up near the National Stadium, don't know the location for this year.
sobieski   
3 Mar 2014
Travel / Best places to view Warsaw from above? [5]

I was thinking today...which "viewing platforms" you would take foreign guests to watch Warsaw from a bird's eye?
I can think of four...
1. PKIN - bloody expensive and to my opinion not worth it
2. Panorama Bar, Marriott....Plus: you can see PKIN from a distance. Minus: Ghastly place, new-rich to the extreme. Who wants to pay 20+ PLN for a beer? To impress?

3. BUW (Warsaw University Library): From the spectacular roof garden (now closed, still winter), especially the observation platform, there are some nice views of the city

4. The belfry of St. Ann's Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście. That is my favourite. You have lovely views of the Old Town, only a few stairs to conquer :)

But are there other places?
sobieski   
3 Mar 2014
Life / Jack Strong ( Film about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski ) [48]

We went to see "Jack Strong" this weekend. Remarkable movie, very well made about a genuine heroe.
A movie about real people. Gives you a splendid view of how the elite lived in Poland in PRL times...And how they were connected to the Soviets.

But col. Ryszard Kukliński still divides Polish society...
I have friends who refuse to go watch it - her husband considers him to be a traitor (as a considerable number of Poles do, surprisingly)

I consider him to be in the same mould of Klaus von Stauffenberg. They both made a career in the system, until they realized the system was not worth living for anymore. They both risked their lives and their family's live. Both of them are admired and despised even now.

Kukliński had the luck to be extracted just in time.

As I said, remarkable movie.
sobieski   
26 Feb 2014
Life / Which bank in Poland would be best for a student requiring basic facilities? [4]

What's also important is to check out which ATM you can use free of charge.
For some banks the choice is very limited, for some not. If you frequently withdraw money, provisions might add up end of the year.
For example I am with BGZ and can use all Euronet ATM free of charge.
sobieski   
25 Feb 2014
Life / Questions on unlocking a sim in Warsaw [10]

Harry, no idea. It is a Belgian IPhone. he got it in a package from his local Belgian provider. I will ask him. But I heard unlocking IPhones can be a hassle.
sobieski   
25 Feb 2014
Life / New To Warsaw. Where can i buy household items, bedding etc? [25]

My pleasure. BTW, the fish shop in the back of Hala Mirowska (i.e. the bit facing the stalls between the two halls) is one of the best in the city and they'll even cook the stuff for you. There aren't many better things in Warsaw to spend six zloty on than a bowl of their fish soup.

Harry, maybe I lack male orientation skills, but I was a few days ago at Hala Mirowska and cannot recall a fish shop there. You mean it's inside Hala Mirowska?

For the rest we buy our fresh produce in Wolumen, one metro stop from home. Quality-wise I think the same as Hala Mirowska. Only in Wolumen you buy straight from the producers - none of the produce is gentrified, which I have the feeling is often the case at Hala Mirowska. I cannot recall seeing muddy & grubby carrots there.

In Wolumen they sell their produce straight from the cracky wooden crates it was collected in. And the egg man we buy ours from....Every egg somehow looks different, and equally dirty.

I suppose it is this one?
nakarmionastarecka.pl/ryby-z-ustki-warszawska-centrala-rybna
sobieski   
25 Feb 2014
Law / Applying for Polish citizenship through marriage. [116]

Seems to me a lot of European countries keep the 5-year rule. Meaning living in the said country for over 5 years. Obviously if you are a EU citizen, you don't need any Polish passport at all.

There is no need to have a permanent residency permit; however, if applying on the basis of being married to a Polish citizen, one must have been living in Poland for at least two years on a temporary residency permit (or a permanent residency permit). From memory it's in Article 30, section one of the Polish Citizenship Act of 2009.

OK, if this is the case...For a non-EU person to get permission to live in Poland, even if married to a Polish citizen...It is not that obvious.

For example, we have friends...Their daughter is Polish, married to a Mexican. They married in Mexico six years ago, have lived there all the time. he would not easily get permission to live here - at least so I think.
sobieski   
25 Feb 2014
Life / New To Warsaw. Where can i buy household items, bedding etc? [25]

Carrefour sells pots & pans (and plates etc) by weight. (At least they did so last time I was there).
As for buying fresh produce....I wouldn't buy anything in the supermarkets, quality abysmal. We only shop at markets. I don't know if near Puławska there are some, but I guess there are. The best-known one in Warsaw is (I think) Hala Mirowska.

Here in Bielany it is Wolumen (that's where we shop). Metro Wawrzyszew.
Eggs you buy there are real eggs, not to speak of fruit & veg.
sobieski   
25 Feb 2014
Life / Questions on unlocking a sim in Warsaw [10]

An item with which I am not acquainted. My brother in Belgium got the newest IPhone, and his other one he wants to give me - me finally moving into smartphone land :). But it needs to have the simlock removed.

Here in Warsaw there are lots of places who remove simlock...But do they all offer the same service? Is the deblocking done on the spot while you wait? And how does that work in reality?

And finally, how much might it cost approx. ?
sobieski   
20 Feb 2014
Travel / How do I get from Chopin airport to Pole Mokowskie metro? [14]

But on both 175 and 188 you should look out for pickpockets - as Harry recently pointed out. They are supposedly very popular with this scum...Together with the trams on Aleje Jerozolimskie.
sobieski   
19 Feb 2014
Travel / How do I get from Chopin airport to Pole Mokowskie metro? [14]

Just don't forget to validate your ticket.
Alternative is the KM9 train, also to Służewiec. Other operator, same tickets are valid.

Best source for transport information: warszawa.jakdojade.pl (also has an interface in English)
sobieski   
16 Feb 2014
Travel / Best sports bar in Warsaw? [7]

I sometimes wonder who writes all these reviews in IYP or even worse, in the Warsaw Insider....I tend to avoid the places they recommend.
sobieski   
13 Feb 2014
Life / How many British citizen's live in Wroclaw? [9]

Not very many. Guess from experience: 50 to 100

Indeed not many. To compare: the number of Belgians registered with the embassy here in Warsaw is around 900-1000 (that includes also presumably partners from Belgians, who thus have dual nationality). But for sure there are more who do not bother to register with the embassy at all.

There was the old Foreign Office LOCATE service but there was no real need to use that if you live somewhere safe in Europe and in any case it was scrapped worldwide last year.

But don't you Brits need to have a permanent adress somewhere, in case you need a passport or so?
sobieski   
12 Feb 2014
Work / Is 6500PLN/month enough for 2 people from India to live on in Wroclaw? [40]

Exactly. Work permits are person-connected and give no right for family members to work.
Btw 6500 PLN should be enough to live decently.

You will struggle on that money for 2 people, you will have to live frugally and you probably won't get much enjoyment out of living just on the breadline.

I do not know where you live, but 6500 net is not bad at all. Most family incomes here are below that line
sobieski   
12 Feb 2014
Food / Where to buy British mature Cheddar Cheese and salted butter in Poland? [289]

Lidl sells since a few weeks Belgian cheese....three types, mild, creamy and intense... Thanks God, civilization has arrived in Młociny :)))
No cheddar anymore for me :)
Btw, speaking of Hala Mirowska, what I do miss there is the mlekomat, I used to buy milk there on a regular basis.
sobieski   
11 Feb 2014
Law / No residency permit or PESEL number - worried that I'm here illegally [15]

- I had my EU residents' card.

Jon, what do you understand under that one? Because, the more years I live in Poland, the more people I meet who have different ID docs....

Never heard of that EU residents' card...I have that salmon-pink flimsy piece of paper which tells you have a permanent right of residency - but itself is only valid for 10 years.

But which is not a karta pobytu, and from what I heard very few people have this.

In the past I had a karta pobytu, the plastic one.
And Harry way back mentioned something about having got something printed on a white A4 (I could be mistaken here) ?

And then my Canadian friend has something called "European Card" which looks like a karta pobytu but is still something else :)
sobieski   
11 Feb 2014
Law / No residency permit or PESEL number - worried that I'm here illegally [15]

and it is not obligatory

I am already here quite a long time, I have a PESEL. Frankly speaking my life here would have been much more difficult without having one.

there's pretty much nothing which must be sorted out.

I am little bit surprised by this. Living here on a passport only for example would be - I think - impossible.
Did you ever try to get for example a mobile phone or internet contract on the basis of not having any residence documents?
Or to import your car into Poland?
And how did you manage to get registered for voting?

Anyway, I always prefered to have my paperwork (Pesel, Nip, meldunek...) in order since day one I arrived here.
I admit it caused me many frustrations way back, but that's all behind me since some years.
sobieski   
9 Feb 2014
Travel / Want to know Hotel with Escort services in Poland [21]

Exactly.
I often wonder if they would try to do the same back home in the UK, USA....Do they come to Poland specifically for this purpose? If yes, disgusting because it shows how they think of Polish females. If not, sad as well.
sobieski   
4 Feb 2014
Travel / Best way to get from Metro Mlociny to Chopin Airport? [22]

It's not the easiest of connections between the metro station and the train station, there's absolutely nothing in the way of signs at all.

It is just a matter of getting out of the metro, go the direction of Warszawa Centralna, and directly descend to Warszawa Śródmieście.
sobieski   
3 Feb 2014
Travel / Best way to get from Metro Mlociny to Chopin Airport? [22]

It would be best for the OP to buy a 90-minute ticket, to be on the safe side. The price difference is not so big, and no problems with greedy ticket inspectors.

175 goes only 4 times per hour, so he could otherwise already loose 15 minutes just by waiting.

And be careful for your bags - 175 is supposedly popular with pickpockets - at least that's what I heard.