Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

As much or as little as you know about the United States, no doubt:-)

Black Market trickery's alive and well and can be seen here in the States among Poles, Albanians, Russians and assorted other former Satilite countries!

What you don't know could fill a book.

Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

@NoToForeigners, who's talking about commiting a crime?? The beauty of a bribe is that it is usually a kick-back of some sort for a favor trade, you know, the way things worked during Comminist times, you ought to know that:-)

I'm sure it's still done on a regular basis.

Off-Topic / What's your connection with Poland? Penpals. [595]

Szczecin unfortunately is the only Polish city I've visited!

I've heard Krakow is the most aesthetically pleasing, and what I've seen of Wrocław, the main market square (Główny Rynek) is full of delightful dining spots and shops:-)

Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

My advice is to do what the Poles themselves do: "łapówka" (little envelope) aka to pass a bribe etc.

Based upon personal dealings with Poland, both here and abroad, straightforward ways of business dealing simply don't work in formerly Black Market societies such as Poland, Albania, Ukraine or Russia!

I don't intend my answer to be facetious, but sadly, the unvarnished truth:-)

History / Poland and Britain started WW2 [356]

In and of itself, the premise of the present thread is incorrect. If what is meant is that foreign instigation into Hitler's saber rattling finally induced the Germans into war, there is for sure some degree of truth, but certainly not as expressed by our more "conservative" posters. Some would have us believe the old self-pity that it was the Jews aka outsiders, perhaps even the US and the Versailles Treaty which all together were responsible for the rise of Hitler, and that the Germans were victims:-)

The latter argument is bull, because the roots of WWII go back further even than the start of the 20th century!

Food / The name of a Polish pastry? Chrust? [60]

Chruściki are mass-produced by a US company "White Eagle" (which bright person came up with thatLOL) and available in many mainstream supermarkets up and down the Eastern seaboard:-)

Typically, they're flaky, crusty and coated with confectioner's sugar. Quite tasty indeed!

Off-Topic / What's your connection with Poland? Penpals. [595]

Tomasz,

I was in Szczecin my first (and regrettably ONLY) time in Poland, round about the mid-90's! Charming Old Town and castle, what I observed:-)

No one spoke English, but then I didn't expect it, as I was there on a day trip from Berlin, and so was interested in using Polish.

Oddly enough, people didn't seem to understand German either, at least, not willing to admit it! On the whole, I enjoyed myself and would return there, if I could.

How do you call Das Stettiner Haff? "Morze Szczecinska"??

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

Makes perfect sense.

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]

I agree.

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

The woman from whom I'd learned this expression was hovering round about seventy in change, furthermore was an Austrian-born transplant to Lwów before WWII. Her Polish may have either been colored by local dialect speech or is/was simply a little antiquated:-))

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

Or what about "Psia krew bydło!", if you're really *******-)

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]

Guns in themselves aren't "bad", any more than knives or box cutters. However, the question isn't whether or not Daniel would've been safer and alive WITH a gun for self defense, rather, wouldn't we all have been a lot safer if the bad guys too had not access to guns:-)

Guns don't kill people, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!!!

Law / Poland's invitation letter validity. [26]

Yes, you're doubtless correct! Well, what with the lack of standards in business nowadays, anything seems to go:-

All's fair in love, war, and businessLOL

Law / Poland's invitation letter validity. [26]

Agreed, DominicB!

Olga was translating from her native language(s) and therefore the text posted was confused:-) Thread title ought to have read "Letter of Validation For Stay in Poland"

Law / Poland's invitation letter validity. [26]

Improve your English, Olga, and then we can discuss matters seriously:-)

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

Crow would make the whole of Europe Slavic, once again, as ridiculous as making the whole world Celtic:-)

For every argument, there's an equally valid counter-claim!

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

The whole of Europe never was Slavic, Crow!! Can't you get it though your thick skull??! Oh, you're just being a provocateur, that's all it is, trying to get my goat:-)

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

Crow is making the whole of Europe Slavic. Sort of reminds me of that chap who tried to convince everyone that the Irish are the smartest and most successful of people who helped save Western CivilizationLOL The Jews believe THEY are G_d's Chosen People, Marcus Garvey once posited the theory that the black African (vs. African-American!!) was the TRUE salvation of mankind etc...

We all have our own agenda. Where does it end?

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

Celts cover a great deal of Central European territory, smurf lad! If the Silesians are of Celtic origin, then by this logic so are most Germans aka Rhinelanders and Bavarians:-)

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

Silesians are Slavs, much as the Kaszubs and the Sorbs, only their historical proximity to the German border has made for considerable cross-pollination of culture between the two groups, dialect words, for instance "bana" (derived of course from the German "Bahn") instead of standard Polish "pociąg" etc...

Work / After Masters in Management, Job Opportunities in Poland ? [34]

Again, skills are a given, but so is language, particularly nowadays withe PEGIDA rising!

Work / After Masters in Management, Job Opportunities in Poland ? [34]

If you don't know Polish and are looking to either work or study in Poland, these days, you'd better know at least fluent German if you want to so same in Germany:-) Otherwise, forget about it!!

Recent polls show the average "ethnic" German is turned off to almost any non-German-speaking foreigner looking for work in the former's country, unless they speak excellent German without a noticable accent.

This is at least what DER SPIEGEL reports!

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]

Thanks, dolno. I see times have since changed:-)

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]

I believe British Bobbies still don't carry handguns while on their normal beat, am I right about that?

@cms, be careful not to generalize about US society! While many out there ARE Homer Simpson types, plenty are cultured, cultivated, and well educated.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Then they have only themselves to blame for the current fiasco, Maf, haven't they?
Methinks you and I agree more than not:-)

Language / Family Polish Language Games [11]

Only a suggestion, BlackPerks, don't necessarily take my word for it:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

As far as the first statement, true as it undoubtedly is, the fact is it is when times are tough that a degree of empathy is most sorely needed, from ALL sectors of the society!! The government is attracted by the lure of cheap labor, just as in the US, France, Germany or any highly industrialized nation, so Austria's "importing" of low-wage foreigners is nothing new. The government though must call a halt to this policy and then, this might begin to stabilize matters, as would be the case right here at home.

Read any articles about what is going on in Germany with slogans like "Petry Heil!" (a take off on "Petri Heil!" aka "Good fishing today!) etc. and you'll see examples so numerous you'll have to literally beat them off with a stick:-))

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Was fear of the irrational hatred of Hitler and cohorts "unjustified"??! Once more, you're clearly playing the Devil's advocate, Maf, but it's enough already!

Put YOURSELF in the position of being a stranger in a foreign country being unfairly targeted for the alleged misdeeds of your fellow countrymen.
Today it's mostly Syrian migrants, yesterday it was the Jews en masse, tomorrow??

Language / Family Polish Language Games [11]

Scrabble in Polish would undoubtedly be the best, at least for an intermediate to advanced level. Hangman's too difficult, I've found, even for native Polish speakers, I was told:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

These however are not answers, Maf old man, they're quick fixes to long-term problems, to which certainly neither of us has the ideal solution!

I do know that Hofer's playbill is reminiscent of Joerg Haider who thought that Hitler had some excellent ideas.

The difficulty is when any extreme, left or right, is allowed to hold sway. To give a more homegrown example, it's as dumb to assert that a 100% inheritance tax will re-distribute wealth in this country as it is on the other end aka to end ANY government assistance, Medicure, Social Security forever and let the US populace fend for itself:-)

Don't you see; both are nuts. The leftist agenda though is perhaps a little harder to sell because it requires more humanity and fewer easy solutions.