News / Smoking ban in Polish bars and restaurants (AT LAST!) [400]

Biggest problem when they banned smoking from bars in Sweden, was the wide range of disgusting odors that was exposed in a flash. Sweat, cooking odors, farts... Awfull.

Smoking ban fun fact:

They banned smoking because it was a danger to the health of people working in pubs and restaurants. After the ban I was out having a beer, but it was hard to get service because all the waiters/bartenders were outside... Smoking.

Life / Winter in Poland? [160]

There are three main areas which is important to keep warm to be comfortable at low temperatures:
Feet
Hands
Head

So get a pair of boots, gloves (preferbly leather), hat and a decent winterjacket/coat and you will be fine. When it comes to jeans, don't wear your typical cool summer jeans, they are a little too thin. Regular jeans will be fine.

Personally I only wear normal white socks, jeans, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, sneakers and gloves even down to -20 degrees. But then again, I've been living in this type of climate for 26 years... ;)

It might come as a chock when your nostrils and the liquid in the eyes starts to freeze (if it is cold enough), but you will quickly get used to it. Eventually low tempratures won't bother you so much.

News / Poland needs a left wing govt. [111]

I am not going to say what is right for Poland, but in order to have good social welfare, you first of all need wealth. And that does not come from lefties. All they can do is to take wealth that is already there and distribute, they cannot create it.

And the last thing economies that want to grow need is higher taxes to fund expensive welfare systems.

News / Poland needs a left wing govt. [111]

I don't know which countries you are referring to and more, what your definition of good social welfare is. What we can say is, that very few western countries are doing swell these days. Big welfare systems are a real pain for any economy, that's just how it is. They are very expensive. Greece can't/couldn't fund theirs. Neither can the brits. Ironically enough, they only truly work when times are good. When times are bad, it doesn't work for the simple reason that too many people depend on it.

Nobody should have to live on the street because they can't work (for whatever reason), that is my view on what welfare is about. But it can't go to excess, like it have in many western countries. And in order for them to exist, lot of people have to work and make money. You have to start in that end, and that is not left goverments strongest sides (my opinion).

News / Poland needs a left wing govt. [111]


Those are the globalists/western hating lefties/oikofobians. Pay no attention to them, only thing coming out of those discussions is a high blood pressure. ;-)

News / Poland needs a left wing govt. [111]


Same like every successful civilization in history, through trade and export. Why does oil-countries in the Middle-east have more "wealth" than the countries that don't? Why have all socialist countries with big walls to avoid contact with the outside world failed miserably? Why has China just recently started getting "rich"?

Trade and export. In order to get wealth you need to take in "money" from the outside.

Historically there have been another way of creating wealth, by conquer. Simply go and take someone else's value. Imperialism, just like the Romans. But again it is the same principle. You bring in new value to the state/empire.

History / Why did communism in Poland fail? [180]

Because it fails to provide with the even most basics of human needs. Food. The main reason is export. What would Germany, US or China be without export? Absolutely nothing. A bit of soil and that's it. Cuba exported sugar to the Soviet well above market price, a fake export if you will.

Can communism ever work? Maybe. If all other countries on the planet had the same system, and if there basicly was no thing like economy or money and everybody settled for basic needs, food and shelter. Pre-industrial era so to speak.

To invent new things, like cars, rockets, frozen foods, energy you need incentetives to do so. Under communism there's nothing like that. Personal gain is the biggest incentetive a human has, whether it be fortune or social status. A planned economy will not give new ideas, because it is of course against "planned". To make product "A" you need the subparts "B" and "C". What if your country don't have or can't make "B"? You must get it from someone else, import/export. Which again is why communism never worked. Because in order to trade you need value (which communism fails to create) and the only other option for it to work is what I said earlier, every country then needs to have the same system and there can be no such thing as an "economy".

Making communism work means sacrificing yourself for the greater good of the collective. Which only works if everybody believes in the same thing and want to achieve to same goal.

Off-Topic / Is it good idea to start learning German? [20]

In business and trade language skills have always been the key. Today even more so than yesterday. Sweden have always been good at acknowledging this and we start learning english in 3rd grade. In 7th grade there's a mandatory 3rd language (French, German or Spanish). Nowadays the two most popular language to study besides the four mentioned above is Chinese and Russian (among University students), simply because of future markets and business.

Learning language is always good. No matter which one.

*still fighting with polish*

Travel / Driving to Krakow - which route to take from the Tri-Cities? [10]

Thanks a lot all. Seems that it will be from Swinoujscie, but still can't decide how to go from there. Ferry-ticket can be bought now and route decided later. If this S3 is a good expressway I might go with that. Even though it is tempting to use the Autobahn. But longer route means more petrol. On the other hand a steady speed keeps the usage of petrol down a little. Hard choice.

News / King of Sweden starts three day trip to Poland [12]

Too bad for you that princess Madeleine didn't come with... ;-)

What do they mean with "political cooperation"? Haven't heard anything about this in the media.

Life / Observation of Polish drivers, by and English anthropologist. [94]

I was once (Well my girlfriend was, she was driving) overtaken by an elderly couple in their 80's driving around 100 on a 50-road. In a maluch, barely reaching over the steering wheel. Best polish roadmemory ever.

Most irritating on the roads are the tractors, what's wrong with them? Do they really have to take the damn thing to the local supermarket? Leave it on the field where it belongs...

Life / Observation of Polish drivers, by and English anthropologist. [94]

At least he had the common courtesy to stay out of the way! ;-)

Travel / Driving to Krakow - which route to take from the Tri-Cities? [10]

*en route*

Next stop Ystad.

News / €80 billion for Poland new EU budget [166]

That budget is highly likely to be voted down by Sweden, UK, Denmark and Holland. At least UK and Sweden is from what I have read angry about it. Sweden has for years fighting to stop the subsidies of agriculture, and now also threats to stop the budget since it doesn't stop big payouts for farmers. Unfortunatly political threats usually just stop at that, threatening.

Sweden, UK, Denmark is also angry because we are all proposed to pay even more in the new budget. Plus of course the UK would be severely damaged if the EU-taxation for financial transactions comes through, and of course for all EU-countries if the EU-VAT is also implemented. And in general, the swedish ministers (who has done a good job during the crisis, of which we have seen very little in Sweden) thinks that it is not right to up the EU-budget with 5% when people in europe is struggling to get a job and big cuts in public spending is being done in almost all countries. I fully agree with that. It's disgusting, but what to expect from incompetent old maoists like Barrosso?

Life / Polish stereotypes of other nationalities!? [472]

Hehe, the Swede was spot on unfortunatly... ;)

News / Citizen-led Initiative on Abortion Law in Poland [50]

It passed it looks like:

Like the old law wasn't extreme enough...There was a time not long ago when swedish women travelled to Poland to get an abortion.

My opinion is that abortion is something serious and should only be considered a last resort, not an alternative to condoms. A married couple with good income shouldn't get an abortion, for example.

But the choice and option to do so should be legal.

Language / Collection of learning resources for learning the Polish language [129]

Dana Bielec - Basic Polish
Dana Bielec - Intermediate Polish
Dana Bielec - Polish - An essential grammar

Search for those and have a look on them.

News / Sex is patriotic: Poland's birth rate rises [34]


I give you 50% correct on that one. Because they aren't talking about how to increase the birthrate now do they? ;-)
They skipped that part and went straight to massimmigration.

Travel / Avoid being ripped off by some exchange outlets in Krakow and elsewhere [44]

Don't understand people who become "tourists" when crossing a border. They wouldn't go to such places in their own country right? It's the same in their country as in any other other.

Love / Need language help - Asking permission from Polish parents in law [4]

Well... No thanks to this forum I today managed to get my permission/blessing from what now will be my father in law. My excellent polenglish and his excellent polgerman combined with a bottle of "Pan Tadeusz" sealed the deal. :-)

He knew exactly what was going on with my "During dlugo czas mam pytanie" (^^), I could see it in his eyes and his smile.

Maybe I will ask my girlfriend tomorrow if I find Ojcow or Pustynia Bledowska beautiful enough. Which I am sure I will.

History / Władysław łokietek? ... Ojców National Park [7]


Hahaha, what?!


It was closed unfortunatly. Or we were too late.


Maybe I will post there. :)

History / Władysław łokietek? ... Ojców National Park [7]


We were only one couple all on our own, but for sure we stood out from the crowd. All the amateurs was wearing hiking boots and other hiking clothes. I was wearing sneakers, jeans and shirt while climbing the mountain. ;-)


Yes it was closed, and the time must have been close to 16-17? Really don't know, we stop for some well deserved kielbasa on that restaurant by the river in that small village 10 minutes from main parking lot.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

Some seems to confuse the term "Multiculturalism". Immigration doesn't automaticly mean mutliculturalism.

Multiculturalism is an ideology, and a very very dangerous one (just like any ideology created by... the unmentionables). It says that all cultures are equally good, and all cultures have the right to live. A multicultural society means that each ethnic/cultural group have certain rights connected with just that culture/ethnicity. It can (and will) mean that for instance muslims will live under sharialaw in the UK, and the brits will live under UK-law. The UK-law (or at least most of it) wouldn't apply for the muslims, they would have their own rules and laws. That is multiculture, a set of pararell societys within the society. As we all know, europeans doesn't share the thought that all cultures are equally good. There are certain things we don't and can't tolerate. However with multiculturalism this is what will happen, and also is the whole thought behind multiculturalism. And as you can see from Merkel, Cameron and Sarkozy to name a few, they critise multiculturalism. The new thing they are talking about is assimilation, or cultural nationalism (ethnically diverse society with a common shared majority culture) which is what it means. Still nobody has mentioned that massimmigration from culturaly different people (in every single sense) might not be the best for Europe or it's people. The massimmigration will continue, but now they have throwned "Multiculturalism" overboard and want to assimilate instead. The situation will remain the same, although now with fancy new words and talk about how they are taking action against the situation. Because who with more than a single braincell can see how culturally distant people (and segregated by their own choice) would start to assimilate and throw their culture away because some politicians say so?

And to answer the thread, I think you get my opinion the multiculturalism doesn't work and that both that ideology and massimmigration as a phenomena is damaging europe beyond recognition.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

And exactly how far are you willing to go in forcing them? Because they won't do it by free will, then they would already have done it by now. Take away their social benefits? Then you might have a big violent mob on the streets. These groups are now very large in numbers and already have a lot of "No go-zones" all over Europe. Even police hesitate to go in to certain areas. And never without heavy backup.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

Brussels have a few. France have their "Zones Urbaines Sensibles", specially around Paris and Marseille. Sweden haven't got the particular "No go for whites zone" during daytime, but areas where police do not enter without backup and also don't stop criminal activity (such as illegal bars and gambling) since it is considered to dangerous to anger the groups who control the are. Denmark (Copenhagen) has "Norrebro", which is controlled by foreign criminals, although I wouldn't really call it a no go-zone. In Oslo there is "Gronland", who by the muslims there claims to be a no go zone for non-muslims. Homosexuals (for instance) cannot enter without being attacked.

I hear similar areas exist in Holland. But for sure, France and Brussels seems to be in the lead position as of now.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

Now you are splitting hairs in my opinion. Sure, central Bagdad is more of a no go-area. But we are talking right in the middle of Europe. And it is growing, it is fairly new. So in few years I predict more violence and more intolerance between cultural groups. The situation will get worse. I just call it as I see it.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]

Optimistic opportunists... ;-)