Do Poles drink before noon?

Unlike the penurious Brits who prefer drinking on an empty stomach because that's a cheaper high, the traditonal Polish way has been to ply visitors wtih more delicacies than they can posiblły consume. There is no rela driunking in the Western since, it is mainly zakąszanie - following each nip up with a bite-down (morsel of food).That greatly increases one's staying power in terms of alcohol consumption. Anyway, apprently you have never experienced the gościnność, cordiality and bonhomie of a Polish-Polonian family reunion. It's not just a bunch of relatives dropping round -- it is a major family event planned for well in advance. It's not even because the CIocia z Ameryki may offer to buy your teenaged son a Jaguar or Porsche...

Did you know that hangover can be fought with klin/clean?

You really are an amusing one, not least because none of this actually appears to be based on reality :)

Your reference to crystal reminded me of my recent return to Poland where I met some cousins for the first time. They were very particular in their decanters. When I presented them with their bottles of scotch, they immediately transfered the liquid into bright shiny crystal decanters. They told me that that's how it should be done :)

Everyone's got their own reality. The above images have been drawn not only from personal experience, but also first-hand reports of relatives, friends and even strangers who visited Poland for the first time. Often this was the first family contact in 50-100 years. US-born Polonians were usually visitng Poland for the first time and looking up long-lost realtives they had never seen before.

Those were frequently highly nostalgic and emotional meet-ups--typcially the Polish relatives recalled the parents or grandparents of their PolAm visitors sending them relief parcels after the war. My family actually sent a horse to relativs in Bydgoszcz. (Not physically, because the animals came from a European-based supplier.) One could send most anything through Pekao (the predecessor fo Pewex) building materials, ready-to-live-in flats, cars, textiles, foods, etc and, of course, cash. That is a whole wealth of experience you have never been privy to and therefore cannot comprehend and appreciate.

When I go back home, my sister picks me up from the airport, but the next day life goes on. She and her husband to work, kids to school...Life as it is.

I can't speak for the habits of Poles in Poland but I was quite horrified to see my ex's friends drinking vodka/spirits at breakfast on a very regular basis. In the factory where I worked, there were occasionally problems with people being drunk or drinking at work, the guilty were sacked on the spot. Alcohol abuse is quite a problem in the Polish community in the UK.

You must lead a very prosaic and pedestrian life devoid of higehr values and the abiltiy to expereince deep nostalgic emotion. Everything is so dull and humdrum. You talk about someone getting collected at the airport and life goes on -- I was referring to what have often been long-.awaited, once-in-.a-lifetime pilgirmages to the ancestral homeland. Visting the old family homestead and seeing one's Polish urname on family graves can be a moving experience. Touching base with long-lost relatives many didn't know existed opens up an entirely new dimension. These are often expeditions planned and saved up for years, eagerly anticipated by both sides and subsequently talked about for years to come. Plenty of snapshots, camcordings, souvenirs, personal observations and memories round out the picture. If you think of ordinary back-and-forth commuting, you have truly missed the point. It wouldn't be the first time!

Do you have to be drunk to understand this?


You could say the same about not actually living here.

It probably was based on reality, but reality from several decades ago. Poland has moved on a heck of a lot in that time; Polonia, of course, have not.


Or perhaps just drunk to type it?

Sorry, the typo-creating software has kicked in again.
It should've read: ... No real drinking in the Western sense.

Yesh ash dush Britsh.

Do Brits in Poland drink before noon?

I suspect rarely, though if the kieliszki are being handed round it seems churlish to refuse.

You make it sound as the second coming of Christ. Someting like the Mayflower arriving in America.
I am going home twice / three times per year, and in between my family is coming over. It always is a nice time. But nobody treats this as a pilgrimage.

Nah, Sunday brunch at the Hilton kicks off at 12.30 sharp.

I remember the first time I saw my surname on a gravestone in Rybnik. It was of my paternal grandfather. It was a very moving experience one that I will never forget. All those things you alluded to were very true in my case when it all went down in 1978 - very deep, very real, deep-in-the -gut emotions.

Having a few beers in any decent major Rynek right bang smack in the middle of a sunny day is an absolute necessity IMO.

Not when you have something to do later that day but if it's your day off then I agree.

I dont't see what's the problem.If you don't have to work or drive then you can do what you want.Is it beter to drink after noon even if you go to work at 6p.m.? I rather avoid drinking before noon but not because of some "magic hour" but because my head aches when I drink so early.

But if you were reunited for the first time in 50 years (never knowing if you ever would -- venturing behind the iron cut'rtain was a spooky expeirence to many Polonians before communism collapsed) or were in Poland for the first and probaly last time -- that's a whole different ballgame than visitng every year. I tried to covney in words (and words are always poor substitutes for the real thing!) the overall ambience of what many Polonians experienced.

Yes Polonius, we understand, then you probably drink 24/7. But looking at ease of travel in last decade there is really no reason not to see your relatives a bit more often than once in 50 years. The bottom line is - most Poles don't drink before late afternoon/ evening.

Most Poles I know are still at work late afternoon, and quite a few later on as well. At least in my office they are. I do not think they are in for a drink at that time.

Oh God Yes!

Sobieski, i was thinking weekends, friends gatherings not weekday drinking.

Aha, here you have a point.
I still do not see why a Polonia visit should be treated as a Papal one?
The rich relatives coming back to the old Polska B and showering it with gifts? How patronizing is this. Buying a car for the poor cousin....

Polonius, in which Skansen are you living?

What a stupid hyperbolic comparison. Do you not see that it is perfectly understandable that when that Polonians travel thousands of miles to meet their relatives in Poland it is a great event for the family involved and yes they may take off work and drink before noon to celebrate it?


Buildng a strawman and then condemning Polonians is stupid practice that is all too common for the bitter Western-European expatriates who post here.

Sobieski, you just have to remember that Polonius is living in the Poland of several decades ago, and a Poland that barely existed even then. You live in Poland, you know the country as well as the rest of us here, let's just let Polonia live in their little dream world.

It happens the world over. When family members meet up after such a long time, the host tends to put on a bit of a spread and the drink flows until the early hours.

Neither Poland nor Polonian's have a monopoly on such activities.

Des Essientes
Well, I travel few thousands miles to meet with family in Poland, yet I respect their schedules and family meetings usually occur on weekends and evenings. With a high (for Europe) unemployment, people tend to take their jobs seriously and not take unplanned leave. Some actually plan leave at times when relatives come, but it's usually just regular family gathering with catching up on stories and stuff. Then I would say they may have a beer or or glass of wine in the afternoon. The point is - the question "do Poles drink before noon" to me is a question if this is done on regular basis. I would say - in the morning, no - not even on family gatherings. In the afternoon, occasionally - weekends and holidays if friends and family are around