The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by Atch  

Joined: 1 Apr 2015 / Female ♀
Warnings: 1 - O
Last Post: 11 Jul 2025
Threads: Total: 22 / Live: 10 / Archived: 12
Posts: Total: 4295 / Live: 2407 / Archived: 1888

Displayed posts: 2417 / page 31 of 81
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Atch   
1 May 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

@Kashub, don't forget that today is Mary's day and May is Mary's month. Did you have May processions in your childhood? We did and then later when I was teaching in Irish primary schools. I taught many children this hymn :)

youtube.com/watch?v=DLLaNrtToHk
Atch   
1 May 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

people are unable to swallow their pride

One of the reasons I gave up going to mass when I was a teenager was because I could not in good conscience repeat the words of the Apostles' Creed. I don't believe that there is only one true church. One God, many paths to Him. The Catholic one is not the right path for everybody. It's God that matters, not the Church. Having said that, I still consider myself to be a Catholic even though I haven't been to Mass or Confession in donkeys' years.
Atch   
1 May 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

while Protestants prefer

The term Protestant is far too wide and an over-simplification. Anglicans for example are almost exactly the same as Catholics even down to having orders of monks and nuns. Then look at Quakers and how their quiet reflection and emphasis on charity and philanthropy is so different to the fire and brimstone of some evangelical groups or the dourness of Presbyterianism.
Atch   
1 May 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

the bible is studied verbally in a group together

Have you ever actually been to mass?? We don't study the Bible at mass. There are readings from the Bible and everybody sits there and listens to them and reflects privately. That's different. Then the priest gives a sermon usually based on the Gospel. Again, that is not Bible study. Did you go to a Catholic school? I did. We studied the Bible for the last two years of secondary school, read various parts of it, discussed them etc. but study of the Bible is generally minimal for Catholics.
Atch   
28 Apr 2023
Genealogy / Help Translating 1880s Marriage Bann (Chicago - Polish) [24]

quite similar to what was written in the marriage banns - Włościbórz.

It seems unlikely to me. The place named in the marriage banns starts with a very clearly written capital 'R'. I wonder if a map from the period might help? Perhaps the place no longer exists as a separate village but did back in the 1860s?
Atch   
28 Apr 2023
Travel / Krakow in July [6]

There are not many Polish users on this forum or even people who live in Poland! And I don't think there's anybody in your age group. I'd suggest you look at a site like Trip Advisor. The site Culture Trip is also really good for ideas. Hope you have a lovely trip :)

theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/krakow/

theculturetrip.com/europe/poland/gdansk/

tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g274772-Activities-Krakow_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html
Atch   
26 Apr 2023
Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [86]

Światowid Liliput available bei "Biedronka"

The Światowid range of cheeses is one of Biedronka's own label products ie it's produced for them, some in Poland and some elsewhere. They have an Irish cheddar, produced for them in Ireland, a red one and a mild yellow one. I used to get the red one and it was nice but they've stopped stocking it in my local Biedronka. First the red one disappeared and now they have none at all. Poles en masse tend to prefer the bland cheeses. I wouldn't consider cheddar a strong cheese but a real cheddar is too strong for average Polish tastes.
Atch   
26 Apr 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

personally I have no capacity for religious faith.

In the words of St Therese of Lisieux :

"For a long time I had been asking myself why souls did not all receive the same amount of grace. Jesus deigned to instruct me about this mystery. Before my eyes He placed the book of nature and I understood that all the flowers created by Him are beautiful . . .that, if all the little flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime garb. This is true of the world of souls, the Lord's living garden."

So you see, you have your place in the garden too :))
Atch   
25 Apr 2023
Life / Do young Polish people believe in their religion and God? [150]

participating in the church is ..................... necessary for salvation

That's not actually true. You don't have to be a practising Catholic to go to Heaven :)

Also, I would say there's a lot more diversity to Catholicism than the definition you've suggested. It really does vary from country to country according to their culture.
Atch   
25 Apr 2023
UK, Ireland / How to renew Polish passport while in the UK? [4]

she's tried ringing and ringing the embassy

It's not the embassy she want's. It's the Consulate. They're the ones who deal with passport renewal. She has to book an appointment and physically go to the office in London. She can book the appointment here:

secure.e-konsulat.gov.pl/placowki/105
Atch   
19 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Curious Books of PF [50]

Poetry makes me literally sick

Ah my heart is weary all alone
And it sends a lonely cry
To the land that sings beyond my dreams
And the lonely Sundays pass me by
Agus och, och Éire 'lig is ó
Éire londubh is ó
Ah the quiet land of Erin

Btw you don't need to read a book if you want to lose weight. I can tell you how to do that in only four words - eat less, move more.
Atch   
19 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Curious Books of PF [50]

I don't recall one paragraph in any book worth repeating.

And that would be because you've never read any book worth reading.

The last one I read was by Dr. Phil.

I rest my case.
Atch   
19 Apr 2023
Food / Marjoram - Majeranek - Maryjanka [3]

pronouncing ą like ó/u, wonder if that has anything to do with it.

Not sure about that. The sound of ą is not similar to a, it's pronounced more like 'om'. But I'm not Polish, I just speak it as a foreign language and not very well! My pronunciation is not bad but my grammar is naprawdę tragedia!
Atch   
18 Apr 2023
Study / Jagiellonian University - Share your thoughts [6]

I also want to actually learn things and develop business connections, not just get a diploma.

Polish universities don't have good links with industry - and the quality of their English language programs are not great. Yes, it really is just about making money for them.

I might want to work in Germany, or get a PhD in Germany,

Get a PhD with what goal in mind? Either you're an entrepreneur or an academic. The two rarely go together.

I think you're also making a bit of an error in thinking of Poland as eastern European and not 'too badly westernized'. it's very much westernized at this stage. Poland is a member of the EU and the younger generations in the large towns and cities are outward looking.

What do you think about Krakow?

If you don't mind being poisoned by the toxic air quality in winter, it might be ok.
Atch   
18 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Curious Books of PF [50]

Couldn't upload the cover of the Russian one - let's try again ...


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Atch   
18 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Curious Books of PF [50]

Let's have something a bit more cheerful, shall we? I don't know if it's rare but it's nice. A book of Russian fairy tales with English and Russian text. Then something that is quite rare, an Irish translation of Snow White.


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Atch   
14 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Best posters [886]

What is happening to our kids?

Send them to Ireland. We still teach cursive. Pencils only until you're seven. Then fountain pens until you're twelve. After that you can use a biro.

mash.ie/cursive-handwriting-display.html
Atch   
14 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Best posters [886]

Ah, would you ever bog off you old misery guts.
Atch   
14 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Best posters [886]

I just ate dinner and can't bring myself to analyse your handwriting

I'm sorry to hear that I induce either nausea or indigestion :)

I like your l very much.

Do you mean the capital 'L'? That's how we learned to write in Ireland in primary school. I've changed a few things over the years and my handwriting would never pass muster with the nuns now :) for example my 'f' loops backwards. The bottom loop should be on the right, but I've retained the rudiments. My writing is almost identical to my mother's and my grandfather's and my great grandfather's because we had the same teaching system for generations. I have examples of their handwriting somewhere. I could upload it so you can see what I mean.

Your writing looks very delikatne, you have a light touch when you write, very ladylike and the exclamations are a very individual touch. I would say that in real life you appear outwardly to be a conventional person but you have an unconventional streak and only a few close friends really know you well :)

@Bobko, the first thing I thought when I saw your writing was 'spiky'. An almost aggressive hand. Probably quite a decisive and energetic person who likes to get things done and expects the same from people around him.
Atch   
14 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Best posters [886]

Here's my contribution :)


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Atch   
13 Apr 2023
Off-Topic / Best posters [886]

I think we should have a 'best handwriting' thread. We all submit a sample of our handwriting and then we find fault with each other - how's that for an idea? And we could analyse each other's personality disorders at the same time. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Atch (an Irish woman, hates me, hates Russia

I don't hate you at all nor Russia. I don't really feel that emotion, hatred. But I do reserve a special place in my heart for Ulster Unionists. That's the nearest I come to hatred but it's more of an incandescent rage, than hate.
Atch   
13 Apr 2023
Genealogy / What am I? (Percentage) [17]

she is a Polish speaking person from Warsaw

So she says. It's a bit of a weird question for a Polish person to ask but she might be very young, early teens maybe and being teased by school mates or something about not being really Polish because she has a German grandparent. Hope not. My advice, if that's the case, is tell them to bog off.
Atch   
13 Apr 2023
Life / What to do if the neighbors is too loud? [40]

The UK's older houses

That's true, but basements are more common. Basements were considered the best location for the kitchen for many years. Then with the changing ideas about health, light and fresh air around the turn of the 19th/20th century, the kitchens were located at the back on the ground floor. Many of those houses, particularly in towns, had cellars.
Atch   
12 Apr 2023
Life / What to do if the neighbors is too loud? [40]

I'm not very much into cutting grass and weeding flower beds.

You don't need to. You can have an English cottage garden where you plant the flowers very densely. The denser the planting, the fewer weeds. You can eliminate weeding almost completely - and don't have a formal lawn. Go for a wild flower mix or something and have a mini meadow.

Maybe in commie blocks.

In kamienicas too actually. The sound insulation in pre-war buildings is often very poor. And a lot of modern ones too! Judging from what friends tell me there is a lot of noise in newly built apartment blocks. I think you've been rather lucky.
Atch   
11 Apr 2023
Genealogy / Help Translating 1880s Marriage Bann (Chicago - Polish) [24]

"Ruski Bór

Interesting suggestion but there's no 'k' that I can see.

It looks very like what could be the rz in Racibórz.

Feniks you're quite the detective. I think you're right! This is fun, isn't it? I hope the OP comes back to enjoy the fruits of our combined labours :)
Atch   
11 Apr 2023
Genealogy / Help Translating 1880s Marriage Bann (Chicago - Polish) [24]

Racibórz?

Don't think so. What's that long tale after the second letter? It looks more like R - g or R - f. Don't see how you're getting Rac from it. I'm not sure that's a 'z' on the end either. Looks more like 'n'.

Dudzik

One of the big problems with this handwriting is that the scribe seems to alternate between two forms of the letter 'z'. The old fashioned 'z' has a squiggly tail on it and you can see it quite clearly in some words but on others it appears to be an ordinary 'z'.

Szulc for me.

Yes, I agree. A Polish spelling for Schulz possibly?