Life / I woke up in Poland's Hilton of Drunks after the Juvenalia party. Must I pay the 300zl fine? [49]

I would say to pay the fine. But the OP must have been in a hell of a state to end up there. I have been in some nick coming out of Nic Nowego at times and the old Piekny Pies. And I know lots of people who staggered out at 7am completely wrecked. Never was one of them picked up and stuck in the Hilton (Hilton must love having their name associated with prisons the world over...). I have heard that it's ok to be drunk and staggering a bit as long as you are not too boisterous. A lot also depends on the particular policeman and the kind of day he's had.

Travel / Favorite places/Cities for Poles to travel to in Poland or around the world. [9]

I would say it's a far sight better than Katowice. Plus Warsaw shouldn't really be in the running as it a recreation...

Off-Topic / Eurovision - Today I will be ashamed to be Polish [481]


No you didn't, Poland were 14th. I thought the winning song was rubbish, I personally most enjoyed Malta and Switzerland's entries.

Life / Polish home remedies for cold, stomach ache, migraine? [49]

If you're not a fan of the garlic taste, I remember reading that it you put cloves of garlic in your socks before you go to bed, your feet will absorb the garlic goodness.

Law / Is it possible to convert my Pakistani driving licence to a Polish one? [46]

To The OP

Various countries have differnet rules concerning driving. If you wish to have a Polish license then you will need to pass the test, if you had an EU driving License then you could possibly do a direct swap, however you have a non-EU license. Your best bet is to spend some time, with a Polish friend, on the main website for driving in Poland and that will give you the exact rules and procedures. Easier to go to the source than a website that will either give you bad information because of vaguely racist tendencies or wrong information from inexperience.

Travel / Where do Polish people fly to for beach vacations in the winter? [34]


So a barman earning 7PLN per hour living in a flat that costs 700PLN per month (before bills) can easily afford the flights, hotel costs and entertainment to have a good holiday in Tunisia. Plus Ryanair doesn't fly there so you'd probably be looking at travel agent commision as well. It doesn't really sound financially viable to me!

Travel / Where do Polish people fly to for beach vacations in the winter? [34]

I think you are vastly overestimating how much Polish people earn. I would suggest the vast amount of people don't go for "winter sun" holidays.

Food / Traditional Polish Foods [140]


Mmmmm, my father in law smokes all his own meat and whenever we go over the house is full of meat...talk about meat sweats!

Food / Traditional Polish Foods [140]


Yes, yes and yes! Love me some Bigos!


If you are in a place selling good traditional Polish food and the only beer they have is Zywiec, walk away. It's the Polish equivalent of Carling or Tennants. You should be able to find a lot of places that serve much better beer.


Kotlet Schabowy may not be the national dish of Poland, but it's something so many Polish people that live outside of Poland miss. It's simple, delicious and pleases everyone.

Can I also suggest polish pancakes (naleśniki) with savoury fillings, really really tasty! Also if you are lucky enough to have a market in the square when you are there. Grab some grilled meatstuffs!

Oh and Golonka...I could go on!

History / What Hitler really thought about Poles? Hitler's letter to Himmler 1944 [111]

I am not sure if this has been covered already, but Hitler was keen to kill academics in Poland, like the Soviets did. So whats the use of him saying hey are clever if he only intends to kill the people he's talking about?

Classifieds / Jute bags in Poland - lucrative business? [16]


These are really nice and I always use a canvas bag for my shopping but...

...near enough 30PLN for a shopping bag...I think not!

Food / The great British baked bean in Poland [26]


And that's why it's comfort food, cheap and cheerful and brings back memories of younger days. Maybe people ate baked beans because they had no money, but looking back you see the good memories of those times when you eat them.

I know that for me the best comfort food is Marshall's Macaroni Cheese in a box (Made with Real Cheddar...powder no less!) and packs of Batchelor's Pasta and Sauce. That's what I lived on when I was working 80 odd hours in hospitality. Yes, it was a fine dining restaurant and I would have some of the finest food ever at work from time to time, but I go home after 16 hours on my feet and all I want is something that will be ready in 5 minutes. I still love the stuff, as awful as it is for you.

Law / I'm interested in opening a small Mexican Restaurant in Poland - looking for information [21]

The market for restaurants in Kraków is pretty saturated and so it's hard to get into. There are a few Mexican restaurants, mostly selling tex-mex stuff. Gabriel who is Mexican and works at Taco Mexicano runs mexican nights and cooks proper authentic food and it goes down well for the people he invites. However I think a lot of people (not just Poles, but in the UK as well) are not that open to authentic Mexican food. I personally think it's wonderful but most would prefer fajitas, burritos and tacos.

News / Parliament in Poland clears way for nuclear plant [78]


I don't think we're gonna have to pay a lump sum...

And it's good that not as much coal would be burnt. Poland has 3 cities in the top 10 most polluted in Europe, that's not just cars you know. The air quality in Poland is not so much better than that of China.

Love / Do Polish men make good husbands? [106]


I would say that, if you are airing these questions to the internet, you should say no.

Real Estate / Best area in Krakow to live? [43]

I stay in Kurdwanów and I like it. New building, very warm, fast internet and then there's loads of trams and buses to get anywhere.

Food / Smalec - how to make it? [53]

It's also poosibly the best thing to line your stomach before a night on the old Polish beer! As to wether it's healthy or not, smalec is near enough 100% fat (as opposed to butter which is about 95) but then fat is good for you and it is a required part of your diet. It's better to have a reasonable amount of smalec in your diet that the rubbish margerine that is all over the supermarkets!

UK, Ireland / How has Polish immigration into the UK helped Poland? [48]

I think economically it did make a difference, I have a number of friend who went to work in the UK and came back to buy properties and used their improved language skills and cultural things they learned to land a better job in Poland than would have been available before. Having a number of people who buy property and are in higher paying jobs equates to higher disposable income. This in turn means they spend more money in Poland now than they would have if they had stayed.

It has made a big difference to the tourism industry as well. When I first arrived in Poland, the hospitality and tourism industry was not pleasant. People were unpleasant and a huge number of tourists would complain about the lack of customer service. Now it's completely different. I would say the "minimum wage waitresses" have come back, demanded higher wages (higher than 5PLN per hour isn't hard for a business owner) and earn better tips. This would be after realising that hospitality staff don't have to be part time students living at home and working for pocket money.

Politically I think people are right. With young graduates leaving, it means there are less educated young people getting involved in politics. This is leading to older politicians just going about their business without a care.

Just my two cents.

Life / Halloween vs All Saints' Day in Poland [48]

We have always celebrated Halloween in Scotland by going out guising (similar to trick or treating). The only difference seems to be that in Scotland you are expected to do something (sing a song, say a poem or tell a few jokes) before you get any sweets (or a lot of houses round my way gave out home baking which was awesome!). It was often a case when I was much younger to make costumes and that was often brought through to the more adult parties where there were prizes for the best costume. Now it would appear most people buy their costumes and we have taken the more american approach of just getting sweets for turning up at the door. I have seen a few pre-WW1 comic strips from Scotland where children went out guising so it's hardly a new thing.

I like the Polish All Saints Day and love wandering about the graveyards with my bag of candles and seeing it all lit up at night. I think it's a shame that Halloween is creeping in and people are being encouraged to dress up and go out and party on Halloween, meaning people will be out with hangovers for wandering the graveyards. However, you have to think of it from their point of view. You watch lots of TV, mostly from the US, where people are all having awesome Halloween parties and going out trick or treating. Then you compare that to walking around a graveyard in the cold for hours feeling solemn. I know which I would have preferred when I was younger! Now though, I prefer the tradition and solemnety that goes with All Saints day.

As for commercialism, you can't criticise Halloween for being commercial and not All Saints Day. Go to any shop in Poland in October and you will see candles and flowers and other tacky memorials on sale. Halloween costimes are just another facet to shops making a profit...which, at the end of the day, is what they are there for.

Law / Where to obtain license plate in Poland? How long it takes? [24]


Is that for foreign cars registered in Poland or a car with a foreign owner? If the latter that's a bit iffy sounding in my book, it sounds like a holdover from "hey Police, there's a foreigner that you can shake down". Is there a reason behind it other than that?

Law / Where to obtain license plate in Poland? How long it takes? [24]


I am with you. I can understand if you own a business and want to keep easy tabs on company cars...but just your name or something? What's the point?

Genealogy / I am looking for an African guy in Krakow, I dated [73]


Following on from this:
Was he working in Kraków?
Was he a student?
Is it likely he may have gone home?
If you are sure is still in Kraków, we can't find them without more info...name and shame girl!!!!!

Life / Are Poles suspicious of Facebook? [50]

Seriously, you have made up 3 (that you've told us about) profiles on Facebook. That is against the terms and conditions for a start. But really, if you are going to accept friend requests from random strangers you are either a)a fake profile yourself looking for "friends" b)someone who is wanting to boost their list or c)not caring at all about your privacy. I have a relatively open profile but I only accept people I know and I am careful about what I post!

Maybe your little experiment (OP) says that Polish people are using facebook properly, unlike you who is playing the system.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


This! I have actually had a pleasure of some really good meals out in Kraków recently. It seems a lot of younger chefs are willing to step out of their comfort zone and experiment with different techniques. I think the opening of the EU has done wonders for the quality of restaurants here. Obviously there is still a way to go, I hear about combinations not really working all that great. Also lots of chefs in better restaurants are trying to serve "posh" dishes using expensive, out of season ingredients.

There is a wealth of great ingredients in Poland, just because you don't have langoustines followed by dry aged steak on your menu doesn't mean it's a bad menu. Give me a good dish of pork or game from nearby. Give me traditional Polish flavours, but that doesn't mean I want sour cabbage and kotlet schabowy with potatoes (although, I am happy enough eating that too).

I am interested to see what happens in the next few years in Poland, there was a mini revolution in Scotland where eating out at a decent restaurant changed from Italian to traditional Scottish and it's really impressive what people can do with a bit of inspiration.

Food / The great British baked bean in Poland [26]


You definitely should, I discovered it back in the UK when I got hoops on special in the co-op and they were nothing like Heinz, cost almost nothing though so I was happy to play about with spices and seasoning until I got it good. You never know, you might get a blend that is even BETTER than Heinz!

Food / The great British baked bean in Poland [26]


This is a common problem with supermarket own brands. I am not a huge baked bean fan, but I do love me some Spaghetti Hoops. The key is in the seasoning, it's the same basic sauce, but different companies have slightly different seasoning profiles. What you want to do is heat it up on the hob, then adjust the seasoning to suit, tasting as you go. I generally find that salt and sugar are all I need to get a Heinz like flavour. Experimentation is your friend here.

Life / Getting pretty tired of the postal service here in Poland [58]


And there's your answer. I haven't had much problem with ordering things from Allegro and using regular post. But if you are sending items of any value between countries why would you not use registered post?

Australia / Buying Polish Groceries in Melbourne? [8]

Yup, quark it is, think of it like regular cottage cheese you get in the tubs but with no liquid. With that name in mind, a quick google search shows plenty of places but it looks like you would be most prosperous looking at Farmers Markets, Organic Food outlets and Health Food stores (I don't know any of the shops mentioned in a google search, but they have sort of organic/health food sounding names).

Hope that helps :)

Law / Will they really stick up the price of booze this summer in Poland? [5]


They can blame suppliers all they want, but everyone who's worked in the industry know that the more stock you buy the cheaper it gets, so I think it's going to be a few bars taking advantage of tourists.

If it is the suppliers then it's disgraceful taking advantage of local businesses so they make less of a profit from what should be a great opportunity.

Food / Polish kishka [76]


I don't want to sound like Delphi, but can you not just use sz in there?