Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why.

It has finally snowed in Szczecin, so Fuzzy must be happy.

I will report later how the first day of snow was dealt with:)

aphrodisiac wrote:


tickled pink.

Just got back from my morning run, today went like most days. Not one runner in sight.

BTW, does poland like snow on their roads and sidewalks? I mean.....they must prefer it over clean safe roads.

I don't know:). I will let you know tonight how much they like it in Szczecin.

The roads are getting cleaned here, you should blame the lazy attitude of the Lwowians in Wroclaw ;)

I thought pavements in Poland (like in most of Europe) are the responsibility of the person who has the property that fronts it, though?

you are in Poznan and Poznan is known for being organized.

szczecin is fairly clean, but I visited my father this weekend and on Sunday I was the only one who cleaned the snow in front of the building and it was snowing all day on and off.

The trains are delayed as well, so travelling is becoming a pain.

Polish name day

It is celebrated with style and lots of food. I spend all weekend preparing it for my father. We have guests on Sunday and he is expecting more today.

My friend had her name day on Saturday and she said that people were coming to her work all day long with the wishes, flowers and whatnot.

The only downfall is that the person has to offer food, drink and hospitality for the guests and people who are not invited come to visit and it is widely accepted.

Overall, a nice celebration and another excuse to socialize.

aphro wrote:


last week was simply a disaster for people using trains. IC can kiss my a$$. my wife and I had a horrible travel experience thursday/friday going from Wroclaw to Warsaw back to Wroclaw.

the scene at the warsaw train station was so ugly people were literally taking photos of the crowds of people standing on the platforms waiting for trains. just a horrid scene.

i leave poland in 1 month and i can only hope that last week was my last experience on polish trains. certainly something i will not miss about this place.

on to weather, it was -18 in Wroclaw saturday night. good times.

sounds like it was. I have no experience a similar disaster due to the fairly small amount of snow in my area, but I can see how things can be out of control if that happens.


If you going back to the US, you will experience snow too. I heard that the hwy in Buffalo was closed for 24 hours and people got stuck on it, so winter can ruin your good time any where, however I have a feeling that you will be more forgiving in the US due to local patriotism:)


I bot too cold for me.

close to zero in Szczecin.

aphro wrote:


Uhhhmmmm....I guess if I was going to live in Buffalo.

Where I'm headed, there is no winter. Literally.

aphro wrote:


i know where you're going with this (and i see it's half tongue and cheek) but for what it's worth, it's simply not the case.

if I had decided to live in a state in the USA with 4 seasons, like where I grew up, you simply experience a different winter, even if it's colder and with more snow. it's just a completely different infrastructure out there and you always have a car to take you everywhere without hassle. case and point, when i lived in new jersey, i would go an entire winter (and winters in NJ are just as cold as in Wroclaw, with much more snow) without wearing a jacket all but maybe a handful of times. you simply don't need a jacket, regardless how cold it is, when your car is parked 10 meters from your home, the place you're driving to has a parking lot right next to the door you'll be walking into and in general I don't like to drive with my jacket on so it simply wasn't even worth putting a jacket on if you're going to take it right back off again.

it's hard to explain the subtle.....or not subtle differences between here and there but honestly, it would have nothing to do with patriotism, rather, it would have to do with not having to deal with winter elements nearly as much, even though outside it's the same low temperatures and just as much, if not more snow.

tak czy siak, i decided to move to a nice warm city because i simply could not see spending half my life dealing with cold crappy weather and everything that goes along with it. it makes me cringe every time i see a young mother pushing a stroller with an infant inside over a sidewalk covered in snow and slop in -10 degree weather, one hand pushing the stroller, the other holding a bag of groceries.

the winter in szczecin is not easing up any time soon. It is only DECEMBER and I have already had enough.

I hear that the rest of Europe is no better either;(.

yeh its pretty cold alright, im lighting the wood burning stove first thing every morning. I had a burst pipe on the top floor (third floor) of my house two days ago just woke up to a weird noise and thought it must be the snow melting outside and went back to sleep. When i next woke up the noise was worse and then it dawned on me the snow couldnt be melting as the temperature froze over night. Then i noticed the dripping, i was up and out like a bloody shot and the minute i opened my front door (still in my house) i could hear pouring water coming from the floor above.

Was pretty bad.

Canada sucks. You would've enjoyed the US a lot more.

You got out just in time!!
The Great Lakes Region have been taking an Arctic beating and without any signs of relief:(
Have fun in Poland, sure ur warmer!

Great Lakes Region?
Where is that?

I live between two of them 5 minutes from one of them and 30 minutes from the other. We have had 1cm of snow this year so far. Temps are higher than in Szczecin. And no, there will be no -30C for 3 months in the area. Never has. There won't be even 3 days that cold, "winshield" or not.

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if you think that I have neglected you, my dear and devoted readers, then you are wrong.

I was simply busy with the winter here and other more important things.
Beauty salons in Poland
I have moved here 3 months ago and to be honest had not had the time to have some quality time eg. having my nails done and so on.

As you probably know, Polish women like to have their nails and eyebrows done on regular basis and generally like to look after themselves.

I coloured my hair, but it turned out too dark. Next was the eyebrows. I decided to get henna. Booked an appointment with the girl next door - not a fancy place at all, but I guess I was trying to save some money there.

The salon had a brown interior, with some paint peeling in some places. the x-mas decoration was hang on the wall without any planning, so it didn't look vey festive. I guess the area I live in is not really down town and posh, so the salons are a pure reflection of a somewhat neglected part of society. Szczecin used to be a city with a good economy, but once the shipyards were closed down some time ago, the area, or at least some part of the city look that that had seen better days.

Anyways, I went to have my nails and the eyebrows done yesterday morning. The nails turned out OK, but the eyebrows are a different story. They were suppose to be dark brown, but they are coal black and it looks like my new stern look is already helping me in my teaching. My students are calmer and more cooperative and I believe that it has something to do with my dark eyebrows;).

I was told that it will take a week for them to go back to their more natural colour. So I have to wait a week, or just get used to my "new" Polish look.

So to sum this up fashion wise.
1. boots are not my thing and I gave them up a long time ago
2. dark hair is an overstatement, but it got me some attention - negative or not is not the issue
3. dark eyebrows is the mistake of the woman who actually didn't know what she was doing.

But, there is a bright side to the my fashion experimentation in Poland. You, my dear readers always get the first hand report on how it really feels to live in Poland.

Until next time. I have to visit the famous Polish Post office in order to mail my x-mas cards.
the weather
It seems that Szczecin is having some problems with coping with the amount of snow it is getting at the moment. I hear that there are long delays in public transport from my students and their parents, but most of the time they make it to classes. Most drivers are still learning how to drive in the winter since Szczecin is not a city very familiar with snow. The city mayor gave a couple of days off to people who park downtown - so they don't have to pay, which was a nice thing to do considering the situation.

Overall, Iam coping well.

When I came here first I kept seeing big signs with "Tipsy" on them, that's false advertising :)
I also think 'manicure' is misleading, girliecure would be more appropriate.


Does it not snow there every winter?


When the first major snow feel in Krakow, the snow ploughs couldn't get through the traffic and had to have police escorts, so the mayor made all public transport free, to encourage people not to drive.

ha, ha.....I can see that;)


yes, I am thinking of giving up teaching and starting my own beauty salon;)


not as much as in the rest of the country if my memory doesn't fail me, but I am sure Darius and Fuzzy will correct me on this one;)


that is not a bad idea at all and I can see that the Krakow mayor is a smart man.

It is the typical polish look which is described as cheap in the West.Polki full of power.

I thought it was colder up there and therefore snowed more, the Baltic can hardly keep a temperate climate, isn't it too small?

where're Darius and Fuzzy when you need them :)


I don't think anybody has thought of that before in Poland ;)

Another one, while I am at it, is the sign for 'Buty', you'd think you could go in and make a buty call, well you can't.

So I have been told. :p


One of the main differences between Ireland and Poland, is Polish people complain, this forces mayors to react.

SeanMB wrote:


FUZZY was frozen solid laying in a bank of snow.

dammit, -14 yesterday. first time I ever wore long johns while running.

no it was not cheap. I paid a fair amount of money.

They're supposed to plow in the middle of the night when the traffic is down.

yes, they are, but they are NOT. It is unfortunate that they don't use common sense. Anyways, the situation is better at the moment, but if I had to drive long distances to work, I would be really mad. I am lucky enough to have my place of work within the 20 minute walking distance, but even then I don't feel like walking and I wake a public transport. I just feel sorry for older people who have to get their shopping done in a weather like that.

In former communist countries you need to be tough.No comforts there.

I was under the impression you you have found a lot of comfort in Poland;).

Anyways, I have a huge headache and I cannot sleep. Therefore I decided to write down my x-mas Eve meal plan:

1. Borsch- this time it has to be a vegetarian one since the tradition calls for it:
Beets, some dried mushroom, good veggie stock, lemon juice and viola.
2. sour kraut and pea soup:
Peas, sour kraut (both have to be cooked separately), some fried onions and sour cream
3. mushroom soup: dried mushrooms, veggie stock, garlic, spices, fried onions, a dash of sour cream
4. herrings in sour cream and mustard sauce
5. salt baked fish - no carp in jelly for me!!!!! Place plenty of salt in the baking dish, place the fish, cover with salt and bake for 30 minutes - easy

7. garlic (that is right - there has to be raw garlic on the table according to my family tradition)
8. kutia:
cooked wheat, raisins, honey, poppy seed, nuts - mix it all and serve it chilled
9. maybe pierogies with sour kraut and mushroom - I will see
10. have no idea yet
11. hmmmmm....
12. can somebody help me here?

deserts: mentioned kutia, ginger bread cookies with molasses (Canadian influence), poppy seed cake, honey cake, cheesecake.

aphrodisiac
racuchy
pierogi with apples (fried) grated winter (sour) apples sprinkle with sugar. You have to SEAL them perfectly (it's hard because of juice from apples) then fry them instead of cooking.

1. herring with onion sweated in oil and vinegar
2. our traditional vegetable salad - cubed eggs, cooked potatoes, carrots, apples, peas, onion, I'm sure I'm forgetting something... then mayo, little mustard, salt, pepper

3. devilled eggs (lots of parsley)
4. carp "po grecku" (cold, loads of cooked carrots)
5. carp in gellatin (tons of lemons on the side)
6. barszcz z uszkami
7. mushroom and cabbage pierogi
8. cold carrots and apples salad (both grated, with sugar and lemon)
9. makowiec
10. szarlotka
11. Rhubarb kompote
12. breads, dates, nuts

How about kluski z makiem?

My grandma used to say that you have to have poppy seed on Christmas Eve so that you don't have money problems next year.

Racuchy for a Christmas Eve dinner?!
Never heard about it. Sounds almost like a blasphemy :)

What area of Poland are your folks from?

Everybody loves a good devilled egg.

Not true.
:-P