Life / In need of good Polish jokes about Polish culture, people, etc [239]

Quite. Roz's summary, "sound unhinged" does fit very well - especially after that post about the Nazis.

Interesting how someone who has never been to Poland should describe others as having an anti-Polish agenda. Pure paranoia and very unhealthy too. And what's with the Jewish thing?

Life / In need of good Polish jokes about Polish culture, people, etc [239]

Obviously you're entitled to your opinion, however it just isn't true. Those joke have been around for a long time and Poles tell them about others too. I don't suppose you'd appreciate that, not having been to PL, however we do hear them often.

But hey, stick to your


however weird and creepy that sounds.

And no, there are no 'links' about telling jokes to murder victims - in fact the internet didn't exist in those days. I can pop to the Kolporter and mail you a current joke book though...

Life / In need of good Polish jokes about Polish culture, people, etc [239]

The origin of such jokes is far older. They exist in most European countries about various groups. Poles are not exempt from criticism since these same jokes exist in Poland about other groups of people.

Real Estate / Getin Noble Bank / Dombank - it is possible to cancel mortgage agreement in CHF? [41]

I agree. These were risky financial instruments on a par with derivative trading. If the OP is interested in taking part in a class action I wish him luck. Not so much on behalf of the buy-to-letters getting risky mortgages on real estate they want to make a profit on, but for those ordinary homeowners who were seduced by mortgage brokers wanting their commission and bank sales staff with targets.

The Financial Times called the Polish Swiss Franc Mortgage Fiasco an "act of collective insanity". It may be possible to force the banks to do something, especially if there's a political will to do so, however going through the courts in Poland always takes a long, long time. I do wish the OP well though.

Food / Where can I buy lamb in Poland? [89]

Carrefour at Arcadia have lamb now however the quality isn't great and the price is high. Ok once in a while.

Flying back from the UK with a suitcase full of meat for your freezer (it doesn't go off in that short time) is another possibility.

Life / Superstitions in Poland [60]

Some do some don't. The number of dishes varies and tends to be a family thing.

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]

Wulkan, what you say is interesting. It probably isn't American slang any more than words like "gotten" are slang. "Gotten" is used over there, was current in England During a period when people were emigrating to the U.S. and is not used now. This 'busha' thing (busia would be better really) probably comes from babusia. Not used so much now, but perhaps curret in parts of Poland at the time of mass emigration and still used as a family word by some Americans whose ancestors were Polish.

But yes, I've never, ever heard it used in Polish.

News / Surprising ranking of Polish supermarkets (Biedronka expensive?) Living expenses in Poland. [35]

It generally is cheaper. That article compares prices of a specific basket of shopping which most people simply do not buy.

Travel / Being Transgender and visiting Wroclaw [467]


Probably because people don't carry placards to tell you about their life history

Food / Polish bacon doesn't fry up? [70]

Bacon often is a smoked meat. You can get smoked or cured.

Travel / Being Transgender and visiting Wroclaw [467]


Her sister won't be the only transgender person out and about in Wrocław. There are more than you think in Poland and I don't foresee any problem.

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


Yes - coal smoke is very dirty; even if it's anthacite and with modified chimneys. What you say about lungs is true it's the same for me but a different coalfield. In my case South Yorkshire.

I remember when I was living in Poznań a few years ago there was something so familiar (right in the centre where I lived by the Stary Rynek) that took me right back to the past. I couldn't put my finger on it at first then suddenly it clicked. It was the smell of coal smoke in the air. A killer and takes years off people's lives. Poland's life expectancy in part reflects this. That and the preserved pork products.

UK, Ireland / Why Polish girls working in UK as escort more than other Eastern European girls [89]

"free willing independent women" who just dream of spending their lives having to have bad sex all day with a succession of random fat ugly losers and 'freely', 'willingly' and 'independently' hand over most of the grubby money they get for it to a pimp.

Food / Poland's best cheap beers? [72]


I can give the price as fish if you like, but eel is a bit slippery.

Travel / Why most taxis in Warsaw cheat foreigners to get more money? [38]

Most are ok and the bigger firms usually take care of their reputation. Using something like uber or one of their rivals (theirs an even cheaper one I use sometimes) is taking a risk. You could be getting in a strange car with anybody...

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [305]


Or fortunately. We're a very inclusive country and not ethnocentric. Your identity is what you make it.

Genealogy / Polish Gypsy Roots & Roma ancestors in their families [205]

Sounds right - similar rules apply to the various gypsy dialects around Poland and Germany. Remember that these ways of speaking, together with Angloromani, haven't until recently had much of a written form and do not have standardised spelling - they are also part of a linguistic continuum used by constantly moving groups.

Life / Gas / Benzyna prices in Poland [29]

The Saudis are more concerned about Iran and Iraq. The price per barrel is expected to pick up this year from its current low, though we'll be waiting a few months.

Genealogy / Polish Gypsy Roots & Roma ancestors in their families [205]


Of low repute, sometimes the child of a loose women (as in 'hoor's get/git'). Probably the origing of chav - in Leeds we've been saying


for years ;-)

News / Polish PM Tusk- dictator or not? What Poles think? [455]


Exactly. An irrelevance.


I doubt they care. Identity is more important than so-called 'origin'.

In any case, why shouldn't Tusk walk hand-in-hand with Kanzler Merkel - better that than enemies and they do have many shared goals.

Australia / Mail problem- Poland to Australia, delivery time frame [40]


Perhaps you're an exception to the rule if you're receiving money in envelopes sent to Poland from abroad and actually receiving it.


Royal Mail deliver things in the UK.. They aren't especially interested in stealing things sent from Poland.

I've been mostly lucky with only a few serious delays however a bank card sent to me was unfortunately stolen by Poczta Polska staff recently.

Life / Gas / Benzyna prices in Poland [29]


OPEC as a whole, though Saudi is the biggest player in OPEC. Part of the current overproduction is the Saudis wanting to weaken Iran and Iraq, both of whom are suffering since their national budgets (Iraq anyway) are calculated at $60 per barrel and we're now at $45.

Life / iPhone repairs in Poland [2]

This place on Kasprowicza advertises a lot on facebook: iphonewarszawa.pl

News / Praga - Warszawa (Warsaw district) - 26% of flats without toilets [5]

I'd take those percentages carefully - they certainly don't refer to everywhere East of the river - just certain council wards in the oldest parts of Praga.

History / Finding locations of old Photos - Lublin, Lodz, or Pabianice? [7]


Not much to photograph nowadays except maybe the castle and a couple of buildings in the town centre. There may have been more there pre-1945. A nice place though.

• 
  Zamek Pabianicki
  

History / Finding locations of old Photos - Lublin, Lodz, or Pabianice? [7]

The first picture is in Puławy. The structure was called the Brama Mostowa (Bridge Gate). Not too far from Lublin. Some good pictures (it doesn't now exist) on ryki-dawniej.com/z-okolicy-ryk/tabory

If you're interested, it was built during the First World War by the Austrians but didn't survive the second war. There were some plans to rebuild it, but nothing has come of them.

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  image.jpg
  

Life / Electricity in Poland: plug and voltage? [73]


You get those in the UK too sometimes especially in the hallways of flat conversions, though they're much rarer and I haven't seen a new one for a very long time. It's just a simple mechanical thing. Movement sensors seem to have replaced them.


The loose sockets are very common - probably due to the way they're fitted (though I once heard a Polish lady married to a Brit swear blind she'd never seen a wobbly socket in PL !). Generally the electrics in PL are OK - just a different system to the UK (the UK system of ring mains is unusual, partly due to lack of copper during post-war reconstruction). Perhaps I've been lucky. I used to get a tingle from the sink when the electric kettle was on (this in a fairly posh 1991 building), I've had wiring earthed to old lead pipes that had been replaced by plastic ones (I also had that in the UK, so not just a Poland-specific problem) and once, believe it or not, (again in the 1991 building) had several sockets which were blanks - they were fixed to the wall for decoration, but nothing, not even a hole, behind them!

History / Poland must get back Lwow, Wilno and Brest back [345]

Exactly. Reunification came at a great cost to Germany and it just isn't practical here - plus of course the residents of Lvov and Vilnius are mostly not Polish. There is no mass movement in PL to get back territories in the East.

History / Origins of Polish Slavs [139]

Yes - this is true for many places (certainly the UK too) and the names are often very ancient indeed; far older than recorded history.

Interestingly, the archaeological digs around Grodzisk Mazowiecki a few years ago showed that the prehistoric inhabitants of the site they excavated were Burgundians.

Food / Is brain-damaging vegan fad growing in Poland? [176]

Veggies do generally look younger and healthier. Plus meat in Poland tends not to be great quality so worth avoiding even if you aren't veggie.