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

Write, please!
Poland's still your long range plan?
Have you noticed any changes in you since you moved back to Poland?

ha, ha, ha.......this video proves how some Polish people are creative:)

that was good

new one from Malenczuk

ooo. long time no see. I have a report from my vacation. Just need to polish it, yes, that's right:). Will post it next week.

It is soon going to be almost 2 years since I arrived

shopping in Poland

You can either shop in the supermarket or go to a veggie stall right around the corner from my place. I usually choose the latter, because, first of all I like small shops and being recognized by the clerk, secondly, the shopping has a personal touch and it is fun.

I get my buns from the bakery around the corner, I get my shoes fixed at the shoe cobbler, I get my meet at the butchers 5 minutes away from my place and the fresh flowers from older retired ladies, who are making some extra cash selling flowers and veggies in front of the grocery store. I used to get my honey supply from a guy who usually sells his stuff there too, but I have not seen hi this year. Everything within 5 minute walk. I love it.

In my father's town I get main supply from the small supermarket, veggies from the local town market, baked goods from the bakery, potatoes from my father's neighbour, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers and lately rassberries from my father's garden. Mushrooms from the forest and so on. So, as you can see, shopping is a serious business in Poland and one often is criticized when the lady next door finds out that I've served my father ready made pierogies from the supermarket:).

tbc



ha.....

Lovely post and true for me too.

Keep them coming!

thank you. Maybe you can share your Polish shopping experience? I am in a process of reviewing my Polish bus trip to Greece. Just need to do some polishing;).

bus to Greece??? sounds a bit of a nightmare- particularly when flights are so cheap. The reason I say this is that the drive through Poland will be killer.

My best friend and her family came here from Canada in May and we did this huge road trip. Rented a van and did a massive tour through Poland, Czech and up to Berlin. The max driving time was 4.5 hours and my legs were so swollen from being in one spot for so long- they looked like table legs.

Take the flight to Greece- then you can spend more time in the sun!! Or at least a train!

no, bus around Greece - I am not crazy;). I just noticed that I wrote "bus to Greece" . I would never do it. The last time I took the bus was at lest 10 years ago and I still regret it.


we all know that Pip;)


sounds funny, but it must have been uncomfortable.


gee, thanks, I did that:D

don't get snippy- you did write "bus to Greece!"

I did, but you came up with all kinds of advices which I didn't ask for, or did I? See.

Stop being patronizing.

ok right. making a note never to comment. more like relaying my experience as a person who has travelled throughout Poland and knows what the roads are like. this is based on the fact that your posts are always about szczecin and not travelling.

colour me bad.

patronizing


a discovery of the century for pip


that is not a massive road trip and said by a Canadian where the driving distances are not to be compared to Polish ones makes what you wrote even more funny. Is it because you are stuck in Warsaw most of the time? Now it is my time to assume and patronize. Feels good.


that just proves that you travel close to none in cars. So you are stuck in Warsaw most of the time. Get out more.


train to Greece, you sound insane my dear. Why don't you take a train to Greece?


cry me a river. Coloring you bad would be too nice, I think you are a bit stuck up, immature and silly at times. Grow up. Little Miss Canadian Perfect- I have met the type many times;).

Been to Majorka (not by train, nor bus), Slovenia (bus- work), Greece- flying this year so far and the year is not over. Since there are cheap flights why didn't you fly to Berlin with your Canadian friends but drugged them in the van through the Polish roads? Probably because those buggers have not been out of Canada (since most Canadians don't travel at all) and spent all their money to fly to Poland. Enough patronizing for you or I should go for more?

whatever- spin it anyway you like. Here is a fact for you. When I was 21 I took a year off and went back packing through Europe. Trains, buses and ferries the whole time. I have also been to northern Africa and South America as well as Scandinavia and coast to coast in Canada and have been in a few places in the states.

I travel loads in Poland. We live in Warsaw however we spend the summer week ends in Tricity because my husband is from there.

We also travel a lot within Poland- in fact I have seen a lot of the country.

My friends came from Vancouver. We drove in a rented 9 seater van throughout Poland, down to Czech, Austria and then up through Germany with four adults and 4 children. It is the best way to see what we wanted to see within our time limit. It had nothing to do with cheaping out on flights- it was a convenience factor.

stuck up. not at all. in fact this is why my business has done so well. I am approachable and treat everybody with respect.

Most Canadians don't leave Canada- this in fact is false, but whatever. maybe where you grew up this is true.

It seems as though you don't like other peoples opinions. you will grow up to be a great Polish mother in law- sounds like you are doing a bang up job at the moment. Poland absolutely needs more people like you. Good job.

and when exactly did Szczecin become the hub of Polish culture.

oh, Mother of God. You are really something. I must have touched a nerve.


It is the center of my universe at the moment:D

Something must be wrong with me. I actually enjoyed aphrodisiac's video in post 843.

touched a nerve- not really. But apparently you think that Canadians are without culture- yet you yourself don't exactly live in the hub of Polish culture so I am just making my opinion know.

what started this entire banter was you posting that you were taking a bus to Greece and I said it sounded like a nightmare.

I have lived in Poland long enough to know that it is quite common to take an autocar to southern Europe. Wycieczka Autocarem, no?

I have never implied that. I said that majority is not well travelled, that was not directed at you, because I don't know you.

As for Sz-n being a culture hub - well, it is not W-wa, but I am not complaining. That has a lot to do with money and Warsaw has way more, so I am not going to bite.

you simply misunderstood me. I was on the bus tour in Greece, but flew to Athens- I would never get on the bus all the way to Greece.

ok- so instead of saying that I misunderstood you- you called me a snob and condescending because I said that it would be a nightmare to do that drive. I am not above admitting I am wrong- but you didn't clarify your statement. you wrote "Polish bus trip to Greece" --so you wrote incorrectly and then when I wrote my opinion based on your words- you were not happy with that.

I also disagree with the majority not being well travelled. Travel in Canada is far more expensive than in other parts of the world- but people do travel. Most fly south but there are loads that also go to Europe. Maybe just where I come from and is it popular to go backpacking- I have loads of friends that did this.

The "C" in Canadian stands for cantankerous.

Now everybody just back the hell off, so Aphro will post her trip review!
I, for one, am looking forward to it!
Jeez, people! Go argue with your loved ones, or something.

Polish window cleaning
I know it is mundane, or perhaps even a murderous work to some ( I know it is for me and a complete waste of time) I know nobody mentions it, because the windows have to be cleaned, washed and so on. Do you ever wonder who does it? Not Pixies for sure. I am not sure what my relationship to widnow cleaning is, but I try to avoid that particular activity by doing the most useless things in order to avoid the window cleaning. I think I have been under the radar of the Polish Commity Of Window Cleaners for some time now. I look outside and I see ALL the windows clean and spotless. I need to got to work, but....... I cannot be bothered too much with it, so instead I decided to write this.

Polish traveling
I remember Flagless mentioning that his present motherland Tailand has been flooded with a number of arrogant Russian tourist. He must have never encountered Polish tourists, although some of them ( I have heard) travel to Thailand, but they pretend to be German in order not to be put together in one bag with the vodka drinking, gold chained around their neck, littering, loud mouthed Savic brothers. Poles think that they are better then Russians. If they only knew.

I spent a week on the Polish tour bus, after being told that it is/was/has been the most uncool way of travelling by all the people who were not going;). I have been told that I am lazy, that I don't know how to use the internet. I was told that I lack imagination and for such a wordly woman like me it is not suitable to mention that I went on an organized trip. Well, too bad, because I did. One week on the bus in Greece and another one in the Greek family run hotel, far away from everything.

An explanation to Pip. O flew to Athen and only THEN I got on the bus:D

Pan Stasiu was a very keen tour "walker" (the one who always is the closest to the guide and listens to everything he/she has to say). I was like Pan Stasiu on tours when my parents dragged me on annual vacations, but I was a child at the time and unusually curious. I also had a nasty habit of checking the outfits and faces of the church goers every Sunday at that age, but that experience proved invaluable to the development of my observation skills. It is also true that those people never, ever did anything to me. I am sure they didn't notice, since they were so pious. Recalling my nasty childhood habits I looked at Mr Stasiu and realized that he is at the age when the cycle of life is on the reverse. He also had to eat between the meals on the bus, like a little child. We did too, but he was the closest to the driver and got busted. The driver had a bad day, told the tour guy that Mr Stasiu is munching on something, Mr Stasiu said that he would finish whatever he was munching on. The tour guide started crying and we all forgot for a moment about the ancient sites. Drama is very present in Polish life and that is why Polish theatre and Polish actors are very good - or at least this is what they think. That also includes Polish actresses, but that is another story all together. On top of that we were in Greece, the ancient land of drama. I need to write a piece on Polish women drama, which I think I already did on this thread.

The longer I live the less I understand some people's behaviour, so the stress is great at times. I try to cope with that stress when encountering craziness with "dressing people" into some funny characters in my little world. On this trip there was a:

TV 24 (for those who are not familiar- it is a commercial Polish TV station)- a lonely woman who had matched outfits, a camera and the need to be liked by everybody. She even complimented me on my white dress (which was a fashion disaster, but cheap) and had pigeon ex·cre·ment spots. Those I aquired on my way to Acropolis. Those pigeons seem to find me anywhere I go. Often times when at the museum I would see her camera sticking in front of my face. Strangely I cannot recall the make. Heavy makes up and blond bleached hair.

Azur Lady- she was on that plane. Loud, drunk, puking, wanted to force the door of the plane before it was cleared by the stewardess. BTW- it was the OLT stewardess. I think she was about 17 years old. I prayed that the Azur Lady would not end up with us on that bus. Well she didn't, but others did to our amusement.

Professore
I think he was teaching something at Uni, his wife lost all the travel notes and would not shut up about it for two days. Not sure what her problem was since she was taking pictures left and right during the trip.

Cougar Mother and her son
We (and my travel companion) were actually pretty sure that they were lovers. It just fitted better into our twisted minds. Not to mention the fact that they behaved that way too.

The mother left for Poland in a see through frock, which she purchased abroad and I am sure that this is what she is still wearing today. She had crooked teeth, which she didn't break after the unfortunate fall on the beautiful marble floor in the hotel. In my opinion she lacks class, because if you are a Pole and you are coming back from vacation abroad, you need to be altered in some way. BTW - Oedipus did not travel with them. Please, if you don't know who he was, don't check it on Wiki. No use.

The fallen couple
They, unlike the Cougar lady in a white seet hrough dress with crooked teeth had the most class of all the people we have met at the airport on out way back. She had a proper cast on her arm and very proper scratches on her back and legs. Her Bo was not visibly altered, but he was the unskilled driver of the scooter as we later found out. Well, who buys two weeks in the same hotel - that must have aroused their hunger and curiosity to leave the lobby at one point and check the area. They mentioned that they were not aware of the mountains and slippery roads. They scored the highest in our books.

Mr Stasiu
Jet back dyed hair, high pants and shoe number 12 or so. Lots of energy but that was probably due to his snacking habits, which left the driver mad for days and the tour guide in tears. Socks, but no mustache. No surprises there.

The always hungry woman and her Spanish husband
She ate a lot and he had a Spanish feminine fan, probably picked up on another trip in Chinese One dollar store - Polish version. Very nice couple.

Greek lovers
We all heard about them and upon my arrival to the hotel forgot about them probably due to the amount of ouzo consumed quickly at the bar. That was my last strong drink on that trip, because my travel companion could not tolerate my drinking and it was too hot for me to hide, or make trips alone to the bar.

The Greek lovers followed us wherever we went- meals, pool, bar and the beach. Often times they would present their torsos dressed in a white shirt, not dressed at all while at the beach. It was difficult to communicate with them since their English was basic and I only realized that when I needed to use a note pad to draw a picture of an olive tree. We have not tasted the sweetness of Greek men much to their dissapointment. You all have met Southern.

Feta cheese
Some compare its whiteness to the ancient marble (a true passage in one of the guidebooks), but it is way softer and tastier then the mentioned rock.

A pile of old rocks
This is what the sock and sandal-wearing husband said to his wife upon visiting another ancient sites.

Mussaka Lady aka Cerberus
In my opinion she must have been related to Cerberus Dog, except for the fact that she was guarding food we were about to steal from the tables. We simply couldn't, could we? All the cucumbers, tomatoes brushed gently by the sunrays of the Greek sun were only to be eaten under the guardful watch of the Mussaka Lady.

The pregnant Flower Child and her IT geeky husband
It appears that IT geeks CAN carry bags after all. The child is probably blessed because most of the sites we have visited were indeed holy.

Donkeys
We have not seen any, but we have heard that they are around and I am hoping that they are friendly to the ever ready for sex Greek waiters when the last woman from the Western and Eastern world boarders her plane back home.

Quiet Eve
She got so traumatized on the last trip abroad that she hardly spoke to anybody.

Heroes:
Mountains, the Sea, the mist, the fresh air, the Athenian pigeons, the Mad Greek Driver, Mussaka, olives, and olive trees, the persistence of the Greek lovers, the owner of a little hotel in Delphi, the old woman greeting us with "Yasu" and a smile, the French tourist jumping off the boat out into the see screaming: Bomb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Losers:
None or those who have not been on the trip with me
.

That is all for now, because the remaining detail of my trip will only be known to me.
--------------------------------
The Danish Party in Szczecin

Apparently the Danish have invaded Szczecin at one point.

The Danish husband- the most behaved member of the party (well, the wifey was around).

The Danish bloke residing in Thailand - maybe it was Flagless, but he looked way older. He was definitely attracted to breasts and very young women. No wonder he is in Thailand, although I am sure it is also for the beauty of nature and inexpensive frit golore.

The Well Dressed, Drunk from the beginning, Danish Bloke, the nicest of all the Danish blokes, blond, with the drunk smile plastered on his face for hours. Often left the pub, although I suggested from the beginning that he should have taken the sofa. Nevertheless he was a brave soul and almost lasted to the end of the party helping himself with a drink and entertaining me with some pretty interesting conversations, which I cannot recall in details due to the large amount of mixed drinks I have consumed myself that night.

The pregnant lady
Who, when spotted by the Well Dressed, Drunk from the beginning, Danish bloke was asked what had happen to her stomach. In reply she gently smiled and went for a cigarette. One got to admire the coolness of some Polish women. Danish sex education went down the drain at that point or perhaps the Well Dressed had a moment of Danish sense of humour brought out of him in a moment of temporary clarity.

The men who danced with the pole
A concrete one. A safe choice for those who have a strong fear of rejection.

Loser: Me. I misplaced my reading glasses.

Winners: the Pole dancing with the concrete pole.

The next day I heard somebody saying that dancing is good for you. That was a singer from the Greek band when I was attending the session of multicultural concert. The Polish Greek band was wayyyy better then the ones we have encountered in Greece. I am not sure why some young Greek men don't want to participate in entertaing the tourist crowd. Only the rich, retired, wig wearing men would get the courage to step up and hold the buzuki, while striking the cords. My travel companion took millions of pics of men dancing in really short skirts, which matched the thicj white leggings and must have been a comfort in the 35 C temps.

That is all for now. I have not lied - all the characters are not imaginary - they all exist and I met them all. I cannot say that they enriched my life, because I would be dishonest, but they definitely made my life more interesting.

Now, back to reality and window cleaning. It has been almost two years since I arrived in Poland and I am beginning to fit in.


thick. yummy and cozy for some;) lol

love your observations!
my favourite is Mr Stasiu and his nibblings which drove the driver insane. What kind of professional driver is he to get upset over such a trivial thing. And the tour guide's tears! Hahaha! I could picture the scene ( I too have been on a few guided bus tours. I happen to like them)

I'm actually thinking of bringing my family on one throughout Poland.

thanks:D


I doubt he was A professional driver, but he was A character for sure. lol


One needs to be in the right state of mind ;)


sounds like a good idea to me:)

had you of said that in the very beginning then the entire banter between you and me would not have happened. But you didn't. You got defensive and starting insulting me.

Glad you had a good time.

There is a really cute movie called "my life in ruins" with Nia Vardalos about a bus tour in Greece.

the banter is over. Peace:D.


I have heard about it but have had not a chance to watch it yet. Thanks for remaining me.

Latest news: a Polish tour bus flipped over in France- 2 people are pronounced dead. Makes one think twice about taking Polish bus anywhere.

business changing hands at the speed of light.

The reality, at least in Szczecin is that many shops, stores and other small businesses are changing hands at the speed of light. There is this place around the corner which in the last 2 years was a Pizza place, a Food shop, was closed for a while, then reopened again. To be honest I am afraid to go in, since this place seems to be either a money laundering machine, or the owner has a really hight rent and nobody can survive.

I am puzzled.

coming in the future:

any topic suggestions, I am experiencing a dry spell:D

your last post is something I am very familiar with. I have my own shop so I have done a fair bit of research on the subject. Primarily, rents are too high. For example, in Warsaw, in a place called Miasteczko Wilanow- a 45m2 retail space can run from 3500 to 5000 pln per month. What in the world can support such high rents besides 24hr alcohol. Nothing. No small business can afford that.

Not only that- people don't seem to do business plans or research their market- they don't know what the hell they are doing- but they want to open a shop.

There are many places around me that seem to change shops every six months. There is one that was a flower shop, pizza place, toy shop, second hand clothing shop, back to flowers and the most recent is a bike shop. Every time I drive by this place it is different.

My husband is in commercial real estate and manages a few buildings in Warsaw. There was this lady who had a shop in a class A building- about 75m2. She had it fit out in all materials imported from Italy- extremely high end, not only that- she imported the tile layers from Italy to fit out the space. She dropped about 500,000 pln just on the fit out of a rented space- all to sell high end Italian clothes. Anyway, she couldn't pay her rent. Even from day one. My husband actually evicted this person (and got great pleasure from it because she was such a *****). I simply don't understand how somebody could have a business plan thinking they would make back all of that money.

It isn't just this type, it is also small shops. Poor locations, bad pricing- very bad service. What I have learned by running my shop in a year is that word of mouth is important. I have so many clients who have heard from somebody about my shop. What has happened is that I have now rented a space twice the size and I will be moving in Nov and expanding my business.

Figuring out what the market needs is key- not thinking that the customer should buy what you have.

anyway...rant over. This is something I am quite passionate about- there are so many shops and services in this country that are open one day and closed the next- all from poor planning.

Oh yes. It's great fun to watch what people open - then they make such basic mistakes such as not selling tram tickets.


Wedding dresses, perhaps?

What are you selling anyway, pip?

Very interesting! I can't even imagine going back to PL?!
I left PL 30 years ago and it was best decision I've ever made. Still, I see some people changed their mind.
Good luck!

well, I don't really want to put myself out there on an open board- but it has something to do with interior design. I can send you privately my site.

I have come across people, where I live, who don't come to terms with paying 5000zl for 100 M2 in the centre (lots of pedestrian traffic) and paying 2000zl for a 100 M2 out where there is no pedestrian traffic actually means that the 2000zl shop can actually be much more expensive than the 5000zl place because you can subtract the rent from your earnings.


I actually have many stories about this, the latest went something like this recently in a restaurant in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Me: "Hello, I'm in a hurry, could I have something quick like a soup?"

Waitress: "Mushroom soup?"

Me: "Yes, that would be fine, thinks."

Waitress: "We don't have any mushroom soup"...

I cracked up laughing and left.

Here in Poland too,
I find what I want to buy in a shop only to be told it is not for sale "for display only"...
I order a coffee (nescafe instant) in a fairly empty place with lots of staff across the road from a super market. Half an hour later a friend joins me and asks for a coffee only to be told that I drank the last one. Blaming me :)

I can't think of any more but there are many such examples, it appears that some people think the parameters of their job is not to restock or make the business money but just to do only what they have been instructed to do.

Ah, one more from Lithuania, I went to buy a glass shower curtain, they didn't have any in stock so I found one in a catalog, they said it would take two months to get.

So I went to their desk to pay and I was asked for my passport, I asked why they would need that? they said it was standard procedure. I told them I didn't have my passport and wasn't going to go home and get it. The sales guy, excused himself and went off for a meeting with his boss (no judgment calls allowed). after some time he was happy to tell me that because I am a foreigner, they would make an exception for me. Four months later my shower curtain came...


Are the sexes treated differently here than in Canada?