The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives [3] 
  
Account: Guest

Posts by gumishu  

Joined: 6 Apr 2009 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - A
Last Post: 12 Aug 2025
Threads: Total: 15 / Live: 11 / Archived: 4
Posts: Total: 6354 / Live: 2738 / Archived: 3616
From: Poland, Opole vicinity
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 2749 / page 13 of 92
sort: Latest first   Oldest first   |
gumishu   
7 May 2024
Life / Poland and the neighboring Baltic States [5]

And does Poland trade much in the Baltic block in general?

I don't know about the volume of the trade - however many products made in Poland have descriptions in all languages of the Baltic states on the packaging if this is any indicator
gumishu   
7 May 2024
Life / Poland and the neighboring Baltic States [5]

interact much with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Lithuania is probably the most visited of all these and mostly Vilnius (Wilno in Polish) - one thing: proximity; secondly: Polish heritage - besides Vilnius, Lithuania is fields, forests, lakes and the Baltic - we have all of these in Poland

for Latvia and Estonia the main attraction for Poles would also probably be their respective capitals (the language barrier in the capitals is the least I would presume because more people speak English there - the national languages between the countries are very different - even Latvian and Lithuanian which are related are not quite mutually intelligible)

I don't personally know anyone who's been in these places, though - but I live a secluded life on the other end of Poland (though I have seen videos on youtube made by Polish travellers to Vilnius a couple of years back)
gumishu   
1 May 2024
Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [340]

In the 20th century the lowest temp of -18.8 degrees was recorded in Kildare

I guess then temperatures in the Wicklow mountains would have been much worse, Kildare is just next to the Wicklow mountains, isn't it (just nobody lives there in the mountains)
gumishu   
30 Apr 2024
Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [340]

While the lowest temp ever recorded in Ireland was - 19 C in the year 1881. Amasing!!

the temperature of -19 C was probably recorded somewhere in the mountais of Ireland like the Wicklows
gumishu   
30 Apr 2024
Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]

Tests at home aren't tests.

they are tests if the teacher takes time to check if the homework is done

also don't acquire a skill by simple looking (a lot of the time - I certainly didn't) - you need some training and this is what homework is for (unless parents are stupid enough to do their child's homework instead of the child)
gumishu   
29 Apr 2024
Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]

Those with more chaotic family lives

skills should be tested - within a 45 minute unit with 2-6 units per week how many kids can be tested in the class? - hence homework and in-class tests - having said that I can say that Polish kids could use a lot less history and geography lessons (especially history as tought here teaches the wrong lessons)
gumishu   
29 Apr 2024
Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]

What are your own views on the homework thing?

I am all for homework in the boundaries of sense and reason (so that kids don't spend 3 hours at home just doing homework or that that really difficult homework should be optional granting good marks to the pupils who do it (althouth there is a risk of interference of adults in the process of doing such homework))
gumishu   
29 Apr 2024
Life / Primary Education in Poland - Changes Made to Homework? [15]

It was just a vote-catching exercise with no real thought behind it.

how do you reconcile that with a positive outlook on the so called "democratic block" - or maybe you have changed your mind on their "competency" and "anti-populism" -

btw you were critical of the discontinuing of the Polish "gimanzja" (middle schools?) back then - do you think that move by PiS was populistic?
gumishu   
28 Apr 2024
Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

In Polish - za tych co nam orzą!

za tych co nam orzą is simply a deliberate alteration/corruption/mockery of the toast "za tych co na morzu" (it's obvious by the sound and look of the toast) ("za tych co na morzu roughly means "to those on the sea" or whatever preposition you use in that case in English)
gumishu   
13 Apr 2024
Life / danger of animals during hiking in poland [21]

upon a viper

vipers are usually less than 1m long (70 cm long specimens are considered big) and they are said to be 'lazy' ('lazy' doesn't mean it won't bite you if you step on it or within reach of it's fangs - it means they,unlike for example European grass snakes (which are not considered poisonous) often won't flee from you especially if they are basking in the sun)
gumishu   
13 Apr 2024
Life / danger of animals during hiking in poland [21]

is there any danger from animals during hiking in poland

there is a real chance that you happen upon a viper (a poisonous snake) - it typically looks like this:

żmija zygzakowata

(there are also more brownish and completely black varieties) - there are 3 other species of snakes in Poland that are not dangerous - in any case just careful with snakes

wild boars might be dangerous too if you have too close an encounter (those that live in the forest - there are wild boars living within the cities in Poland and they typically don't pose a threat)
gumishu   
28 Mar 2024
Life / Fresh water fishing in Poland [31]

That is a nice looking la

salmon is fished in the rivers near the sea in their season (salmon is seldom encountered in rivers further inland because main Polish rivers carry a lot of pollution)

in mountainous regions trout is quite common, in lakes and slow moving rivers you can find pikes, perch, bream and catfish. Some people like fishing for carp (they are thought to put up a lot of fight) but carp prefer shallow warm waters
gumishu   
16 Jan 2024
Work / Poland's National VISA and work permit [10]

I want to cancel my work permit please poland

this is not an official website of any Polish government institution - this is actually a private forum where private people share their views and sometimes help others with their queries
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / Polish PM Tusk- dictator or not? What Poles think? [455]

So why didn't they stop companies from advertising in TVP when it was under PiS rule? :)

because about half of the Polish population watched TVP? (especially the elderly) and they couldn't afford to lose out on the market - Republika will never have as much viewers as TVP previously had because of it's profile
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / How strongly are Poles sure that president Duda defend Poland's interests ? [265]

, the President had the right to extend pardon to Kaminski before the verdict in the case was due.

this is more or less what the law handbook I was talking about said (it says President can pardon anyone in any phase of the legal process (except the verdicts of The Trybunał Stanu) which is as much as the Polish constitution states)
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / Polish PM Tusk- dictator or not? What Poles think? [455]

TV Republika brought it upon itself:

this campaign is not a grass root campaing but it is orchestrated by political and financial elites - also the Polish TV and radio advertisment market is de facto shared by only a handful companies (domy medialne) who can stop companies from advertising when and where they see fit - before the campaing there were ads every 15-20 minutes on Republika
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / Polish PM Tusk- dictator or not? What Poles think? [455]

Firm means he also had to pay salaries to his assistants

how many people do you think worked on the project? also the article I linked clearly states that TVP not only paid Lis's company but also actually shared the cost of the production of the show (and that significantly)
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / Polish PM Tusk- dictator or not? What Poles think? [455]

And that's what matters in media pluralism - news

there is an ongoing big campaign of getting advertisers to shun TV Republika (I watch it and I can see the difference between now and two weeks before)
gumishu   
13 Jan 2024
News / How strongly are Poles sure that president Duda defend Poland's interests ? [265]

this was stated by the Supreme Court in May 2017 in Poland.

I don't know if it is the case in the Polish legal system - but for example in the US the famous "Wade vs Roe" famour ruling was not so long ago overturned by a new ruling by the Supreme Court as a transgression or usurping of the competences the US Supreme court doesn't have

also the Polish Supreme Court ruling goes against what is written is some of the law hand-books - also perhaps in a while and in a similar case we will see an overturn of the ruling you have mentioned on grounds of not being a logical interpretation of the law (which means an usurpation)