Love / Polish girls and contraceptives [68]

@Torq

Depends how you read what your link says. Poland sits alongside Kosovo as the worst performing country in this matter..

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]


Have heard this several times over during my life but cannot quite reconcile it with the fact that French people are among the least "liked" in Europe (although food, culture.. etc is widely admired). Can't have it all I guess!

News / Poland economy is a financially drained economy of suppliers? [33]

Ha, ha.. Condor was a loss making business (-14€ mios at operating level in 2017) subsidiary of bankrupt UK tour operator Thomas Cook and is being bought by a half bankrupt airline.. As the German environment Minister once said (admittedly talking about another topic), "it is not by putting two cripples together that you get an Olympic swimmer"!!

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]


A bit more complicated than that, Polish language, like all languages, reflects how the Polish mind works. And in my experience (living 6 years in Poland and having a Polish wife for the last 35 years), it works as an alliance of opposites. Rigorous when it comes to following/respecting procedures, yet impulsive and emotional, like most Slavs. When I was in Poland 10 years ago, I used to say to foreigners visiting Poland that the best way to get insight into Polish mentality was to stand at the corner of Marzalkowska and Grzybowska (close to where my offices were) and watch. Unlike in the UK or France, pedestrians would wait for the green man before crossing, thus epitomizing the respect of procedures side. On the other hand, you just had to watch how motorists behaved to see the Slavic side!

Life / How to really meet Polish people in Poland and actually socialize with people in their Late 20s/Early 30s? [34]

@kaprys

Not quite! UK citizens do not need the have an ID with them when in Britain; however they need to have either ID or passport with them when travelling in the EU.

And even when crossing EU borders by car, you need to carry some sort of identification with you (ID or passport). Most of the time, you will not be stopped and not need it, but if stopped, you need to be able to show it

Life / How to really meet Polish people in Poland and actually socialize with people in their Late 20s/Early 30s? [34]


you do still need a passport or ID, admittedly not for crossing borders but for airline security checks before boarding..

Polonia / Polish Zloty Can't Exchange in France!.. [26]

@Miloslaw
I lived in London between 1993 and 2001 and remember seeing forms in all sorts of languages at my local Social Security outlet when I went to get a NI number

Polonia / Polish Zloty Can't Exchange in France!.. [26]


In fact, it is because France is (with Poland) the country of bureaucracy.. There is a indeed a very generous benefits system but to be able to use it one must speak and understand French (no forms in Urdu etc available!) and fill in numerous forms and answer many questions (even when done on line).. A deterrent for many foreigners..

History / Recommended Poland's history books [191]

@Ziemowit

Indeed, the version I bought is the French translation.. and I agree it is very thick..I hope it will not end like another very thick Polish book which I bought years ago and stopped reading half way through (le Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse/Rekopis Znaleziony w Saragossie by J Potocki) !!

History / Recommended Poland's history books [191]

Merged:

Just bought "the Books of Jacob" by Olga Tokarczuk, the Litterature Nobel prize winner.

I haven't started it yet. Have you read it and if yes, what do you think of it?

Life / Opłatek, not presents, epitomises the true Polish Christmas spirit [85]


Not quite, it is probably the sole occasion in the year when members of families get together (at least in Europe where Thanks giving does not exist)

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

@Spike31

You're right about Germany and the Netherlands being the only beneficiaries of the euro.. but that is entirely other Europeans' (and especially Southern Europeans) fault. if you go back to pre euro era, you will find that the countries more in favour of adopting the euro were the likes of Italy, Greece or France and certainly not Germany. What is the reason for this? Simple: lack of basic understanding of how the economy works .. The analysis on their side was, as always, political and not economical in the sense that they viewed the upcoming euro as a proxy for the DM, as strong currency and said " can we have a bit of that, can Germany share a bit of that strength, surely our standard of living will then get closer to that of Germans" .. Worse of the lot was Mitterrand, the French president at that time, a total ignoramus as far as economy was concerned , who only agreed to German reunification when Kohl agreed to take on the euro as a replacement for the D mark (to which the Germans was opposed). 15 to 20 years later, what is the outcome? It is indeed the main exporting European countries which have benefited for the stability of the Euro (before the D mark used to appreciate regularly, making exports more expensive) whereas the other more "fickle" countries who used to devaluate on a regular basis to maintain competitiveness and release pressure out of the system cannot do so anymore..

News / "POLISH death camps" term used by "Parade Magazine" Anti-Polish Bigots [249]

@Bratwurst Boy

No I am afraid the rest is not legend, you can easily check on the web..

News / "POLISH death camps" term used by "Parade Magazine" Anti-Polish Bigots [249]

@Bratwurst Boy


I was recently for the first time ever in Uzbekistan, whose national hero is Tamerlan (Amir Timur). The night when a Russian anthropologist opened Tamerlan's tomb on 22/06/1941, he discovered the following script in the grave "when I will return to daylight, the world will shake". It is on that very night that Hitler launched Barbarossa operation against Russia.

in 1942, Stalin ordered for Tamerlan's body to be reburied according to islamic ritual in his Gur Emir tomb. Shortly after this completed came the USSR victory at Stalingrad, widely seen as the turning point of WW2!

Why did Stalin order the body to be buried again? No one knows for sure, but a potential explanation might be sheer admiration: Tamerlan managed to slaughter around 17 mios people, more than Stalin and more than 500 years earlier, so with more limited means!

Food / What Polish foods do foreigners generally not take to? [115]


Not only in America, it is called fromage de tête in France


What about haggis?? And anyway eating is about pleasure not need, at least for most people in developed countries


Love it! One of my favourite treats is speading marrow from the bone on a toast with a sprinkle of salt.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]

Pawain's post 163 hits the proverbial nail right on the head

UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [41]

@Ziemowit
Long live the Auld Alliance!

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


Indeed. Most non Brits are in a similar position, since those shops appeal mainly to Brits living abroad who crave their Mumy's food from their youth in the UK. Noone in their right mind would want British food (save for a few exceptions like cheese...) if they don't have the excuse of youth addiction!

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

I think we are talking about two different things here:

- industrial (processed) cheese which is the most ubiquitous type you find in most shops. Most of it is produced in the US (think cheese slices in burgers) , but Britain is also a strong contender, which is quite natural given both countries are (still) great proponents of industrialized/processed food (although things are changing)

- local artisan cheese. This is the norm in many continental European countries, but such cheese can also be found in Britain (farmers' markets) and in several US states, like Wisconsin or Vermont or others.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

easier than getting spelling right it seems!!

and I nearly forgot, the fact of the day: Wisconsin produces almost 60% of all cheese varieties existing on the planet

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

Why a "whipping boy" and not a "whipped boy" which would seem more relevant given the meaning?

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Yes, and as Donald says, US wine (and food and cars and anything you can think of) is the best there is anywhere in the world!

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Agree re Munster. Another one of the same type (barking but non biting dog..) is "stinking bishop", a British cheese from Gloucestershire if I remember correctly. Used to buy it regularly when my family and I lived in London in the nineties..

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


It is all in the almost!


Not true. Northern France has some very pungent cheese (maroilles, vieux lille, boulette d'avesnes..) but the best French cheese come from the regions south of the Loire river (eg Roquefort from south west, vacherin from the Alps, brillat savarin from Burgundy, St Félicien or St Marcellin from Dauphiné région...)

History / History of two Neighbors: Poland - Germany Interrelations [283]

@Crow
You are always such an entertainer Crow!

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [437]

These days, you should be more embarrassed about your other half, the American one...

News / Poland on course to end European winter/summer time [19]

@Atch
Atch, I agree with your assessment, ie the government is using this to try and send a message of "independence". My family and I used to live in Istanbul until last April, and that path is very similar to the one followed by Erdogan 2 years ago for the same reasons, when he also decided to end winter/summer time.

History / What do Poles think about Turks? [761]


Some do but many don't, they just care about their electorate

History / What do Poles think about Turks? [761]

Well, at least, we all know how Crow would react!

History / What do Poles think about Turks? [761]

Because Serbs were colonized by Turks.. Quite natural that slaves hate their masters!!