UK, Ireland / When are the Polish going to stop extorting money from UK businesses [13]

I don't recall having to return to shop anything I bought in Poland, besides one pair of elegant winter boots that I bought at CCC quite a few years ago. It was a Polish brand - Lasocki and they weren't cheap for me, so I decided to return them and they repaired them without any questions or problems whatsoever.

My mother, who is pathologically stingy, keeps buying very cheap shoes at those "Chinese" shops and she says they fall apart pretty quickly and my father has to glue them up. I don't know if this cheap, Chinese stuff has any warranty though.

Also, if you're buying something in Poland from an internet shop, you can return it within some period of time (usually two weeks) without giving any reason.

Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]


Strange, because foreigners are often pleasantly surprised by Poland and find it interesting, from what I've noticed.


This is a cultural difference - it's a bit as if a Japanese complained that noone bows in the US. Nobody is as "smiley" as Americans. Poles smile if they have a reason to do so.


You must look very weird then, if that's true ;D, because Poles normally don't stare at other white people.

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

@pawian, you've just confirmed PiwuskiFan's observation that Polish women like strong men ;D

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@pawian, yes! It's the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa which contains the famous Black Madonna icon :) It was founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary at the invitation of Władysław, Duke of Opole. The monastery has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years.

That LEGO model is part of a big, awesome exhibition called "Historyland" which depicts Poland's important historic buildings and Polish historical events from the times of Biskupin to the Solidarity times during the communism.

The most epic part of that exhibition is the Battle of Grunwald with thousands of knights :)))

This exhibition is placed in Poznań in Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie. It was an idea of three friends who are fans of history and LEGO bricks :) They even set up a LEGO store just to be able to import to Poland the bricks they needed to built all those models (over 1 million bricks). They've built the models in their garages with the help of historians. There's a store there too, so you can buy LEGO sets :)

historyland.pl/en/

I think this is a great idea and a fun way to teach kids about Polish history :)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Not of a village or a town, but, yes, I guess you could say it's a model, because it's an imitation of a real building in Poland :)

Which building?❓


Yes! This building has been built entirely from LEGO bricks :)


✨I'm the only, real, original Paulina! lol✨

Btw, I've googled "Custard Apple" and it looks inside like cherimoya. Does it taste similar?

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

And what this is?:

• 
  2022riddle2.jpg
  

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@Cargo pants, no idea... I imagine it's something exotic?

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


That's cool - I like fasolka szparagowa :))


Hmm, it looks again like artichoke to me...

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]

So do I understand this right - tons of dead fish are being utilised and it didn't cross anyone's mind to send any of those dead fish to that State Research Institute in Puławy, so they could check what actually killed those fish?? Is anyone testing those fish at all??

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]


Was that contamination in the vicinity of the Gliwicki Canal in February and March actually investigated?

The dead fish were seen already on the 26th of July in Lipki. The water analysis from the end of July has shown with 80% probability that it was mesitylene.

What was done about this at that time and since that time?

I also wonder if the samples of flesh of the dead fish were tested too or just the water?


What??? Are they serious?? 🤦

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]


How?


Did you notice that I asked a question?


So?
From what I understood those first leaks of contamination 5 months ago were smaller. Those from two weeks ago were already bigger.

Gumishu, did you even read the article?

As for Sanepid - how do you know they would know instantly, especially if the water is filtered for Wrocław? Are they checking that water on regular basis for no reason or does someone has to call them and say that there's something wrong or give a sample of water for testing?

Btw, I have family in Wrocław. My cousin said that 5 tons of dead fish were taken out of some canal in Wrocław...

Also, Germans say that there's mercury in the Oder and our government claims that there isn't. Who did the testing on the Polish side? Sanepid?

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]

@gumishu, read the article I linked to - that's where I found this info.

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]

@gumishu lol

It's too big to cover it up now. Read this: polishforums.com/news/oder-ecological-catastrophe-87451/#msg1867803

News / Ruling PiS party tried to cover up eco disaster in Odra River [88]

WTF... 🤬

Whatever is in that river killed tons of fish, beavers and even a catfish the size of an adult human:



It's the greatest ecological catastrophe in Poland in the last 30 years. If it turns out that, as Germans say, the river got contaminated with mercury, it's going to be the greatest contamination in Poland since the Chernobyl disaster.

What's worse, the authorities were getting the first info about the contamination 5 months ago and did nothing! 5 months!!! Two weeks ago the authorities were being informed about this intensly and still did nothing! Poles weren't informed about what's happening... and neither was Germany! They only started doing something because the media started informing about this!

portal.abczdrowie.pl/za-katastrofe-ekologiczna-w-odrze-odpowiedzialna-rtec-eksperci-grzmia

And this water is flowing into the Baltic Sea... :(

Who's responsible for this contamination and this total f*ck up??

🤬🤬🤬

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@pawian, artichoke?


It was difficult! I've never heard of it before :) Interesting - I've read that it's one of the oldest vegetables.


What does it taste like?

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@pawian, I think I know what this is...

Is it okra?

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I got teary-eyed when I read them too...



Is it some type of pumpkin?

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]


Milo, yes, karp po żydowsku has become traditional Polish food. Polish Christmas Eve dishes are the essence of Polish culinary tradition. And karp po żydowsku is one of those dishes:

picantecooking.com/pl/recipes/boze-narodzenie/karp-po-zydowsku/

A quote from this page:

"Karpia po żydowsku można zaliczyć do jednego z najbardziej popularnych dań świątecznych w Polsce, które jest przyrządzane przez polskich katolików."

My translation:

"Karp po żydowsku can be counted among one of the most popular Christmas dishes in Poland that are being prepared by Polish Catholics."

culture.pl/en/work/polish-food-101-carp

"During the 19th century, the carps were baked in white sauce, or fishballs were made with carp meat, or it was served "the Jewish way", as well as served in gray gravy (which is also a classic nowadays). There was really a multitude of recipes."

Yes, this dish has Jewish roots. It's both Jewish and Polish, because Jews have lived for so long in Poland that this dish has become part of Polish cuisine also.

As for your remarks concerning pawian's pics and that pawian's traditions "are not the ones you were brought up with"...

First of all, there are at least two different recipes that are known as "karp po żydowsku" in Poland. And different families may prepare them in slightly different ways.

All of those photos are "karp po żydowsku" taken from Polish sites with recipes:













Secondly, Polish culinary traditions vary in different regions of Poland. They may even vary among different families in a given region. I also wasn't brought up with all the traditions and food that are considered traditional Polish dishes, because some of them are characteristic for certain regions in Poland or are more popular in there or simply because my family wasn't making this particular dish. For example, kutia is considered to be a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dish, but I've never even tried it, because it's more popular in the East of Poland.

I'd never say, however, that it isn't "traditional Polish food" just because it isn't being eaten in my family. Or that Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie), for example, aren't "traditional Polish food" just because they don't come from my region. 🙄

Have you been brought up eating kutia at Christmas Eve supper, Milo?:

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

Beautiful words... 😢

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]


Miloslaw, you're seriously being weird about this. It isn't a lie. Karp po żydowsku has become part of Polish cuisine, just like chałka:

pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karp_po_%C5%BCydowsku


I wouldn't say so... I can see that you don't have much knowledge about Poland... That's why it's strange that you're so quick to lecture pawian.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

Stefan Starzyński and Julian Kulski - mayors of Warsaw in the interwar period :)

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]



I hope this is "cultured" enough for you guys :) - a recipe for karp po żydowsku in French (Carpe à la Juive) in a French magazine:

marieclaire.fr/cuisine/karp-po-zydawsky-carpe-a-la-juive,1204590.asp

And info for Alien and other wine lovers :) - Carpe à la Juive goes best with Savennières wine from the Loire Valley ;)

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]

@Kashub1410, you don't have to like all the Christmas Eve dishes ;) I don't like all of them either. And people have different tastes. For example, I love herrings in oil with onion, but I wouldn't touch herrings in vinegar - I hate them. My cousin from Wrocław eats only those in vinegar and so my grandma prepares also those in vinegar only for her.


As I wrote, those I buy have barely any such taste at all (and I don't mind it when they have a bit of that taste - this taste makes it a bit different from other fish and I like it). And I think the one from Śladków Mały didn't have such taste at all.


Well, a fried carp was a traditional Christmas Eve dish in my family when I was a kid, so for me it's exactly my idea of Christmas :)))


As far as I remember, from what I've read in one article, carp should be put in a container with clean, fresh water before being sold and fed there for a while in order for it's body to be rid of that muddy taste. I'm guessing this is why people were keeping carp in bath tubs filled with clean water before Christmas in the past.

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]

You can also go fishing for carp (and other fish) yourself in Śladków Mały, btw :):

powedkuj.pl/zlote-stawy-sladkow-maly/

Food / Polish Christmas Eve Dinner recipes [84]


I love fried carp. I've been having it on every Christmas Eve supper in recent years. It has a very tender, delicate, tasty meat and wonderful crispy skin when fried. Yum! :d I only get Royal Carp though. When bred properly it has barely any of that silty taste.

I can recommend fresh, local carp served in Wilczyniec Inn (Zajazd "Wilczyniec") in Śladków Mały in świętokrzyskie region (in case anyone would drive that way) - very good with no silty taste whatsoever, as far as I can remember :):

echodnia.eu/swietokrzyskie/mistrzowie-smaku-2022-zajazd-wilczyniec-w-sladkowie-malym-najlepsza-restauracja-w-powiecie-kieleckim/ar/c17-16548885

When they brought it to one shop in Kielce (that carp from Śladków Mały) even my brother ate it, even though he didn't like carp in the past :)


Milo, you were brought up abroad, not in Poland. Pawian's traditions are the same as of many other Poles who were brought up in Poland. You clearly don't know what you're talking about.

Gefilte fish (karp po żydowsku) is a traditional Polish Christmas Eve fish.


Are you turning into another johnny_reb, Joker?

Btw, my family doesn't keep carp in the bath tub anymore. Nowadays we simply buy already dead ones at fishmongers. We did keep carp in the bath tub before Christmas Eve when I was a kid. For kids it was fun - we could touch the fish and we would feed it with bread crumbs lol

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@pawian, yes, song thrush is "drozd śpiewak" (Turdus philomelos) :)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Song thrush?


The blue eggs look the coolest :))

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Because the student made a mistake?


Leek?


Unfortunately, the egg rescue operation was more complicated than that... lol ;) My mother found that egg on the balcony in her flower pot. She doesn't like pidgeons, because they sometimes poop on the balcony and she has to clean it. She took the egg away, so the pidgeons wouldn't sh1t all over the place. My mother would probably throw the egg away, so I asked her to give it to me. I've decided to take care of it for a few days until my parents could go to my grandma in the countryside for the weekend (in order to put the egg under a sitting hen). I put the egg in that box, wrapped it around with a towel and I was turning it from one side to the other everyday (apparently that's necessary). Then my parents took it to my grandma in the countryside and my grandma took it to one guy in her village who has pidgeons and he put it under a sitting pidgeon mama :)

Btw, the egg was so small, delicate and pretty :) Smooth and shiny like alabaster :))

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

@pawian, hmm, still don't know what this is, but it looks fluffy :D So, if this is a veg, then there's a part that grows underground? What's the colour of this veg?


Yes, exactly! :))

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


This is a very sad painting - it was painted by Jacek Malczewski in 1892 and is titled "Wigilia na Syberii ("Christmas Eve in Siberia"). It depicts Polish men who were sent to Siberia by tsarist Russia, sitting at a table at the Christmas Eve supper with empty plates, away from their families.

"Even the semblance of a call for Polish freedom was ruthlessly repressed by Russia. Freedom fighters were sentenced to death or long-term imprisonment, together with torture and deportation to Siberia, to the farthest corners of the Russian empire. Exiles worked in inhuman conditions, and frequently died of exhaustion."


I don't know - is it Polish/European or something exotic?

What is it and where people in Poland tend to find it?:

• 
  2022riddle1.jpg