Life / Polish and Czechs [190]

It can be that Czechs and Slovaks, especially those from villages near the border can see Polish as troops of stupid tourists just wantng to get drunk for a long taime alcohol was much cheaper behind southern border), feeling supreyor etc... Something like Dutch and German if yo know what I mean...

And of course not very nice history (we took Zaolzie in 1938 when Hitler partioned Czechoslovakia, then Polish army was present there in 1968 etc.)...

On the oposite it is quite different. Polish people generally like Czech. Of course they treat them more like "minor brothers" with funny language but there is no anger (maby becouse Czech last time invided us in 1348...).

My expirience is that on "neutral ground" (my and my friends expirience from Erasmus in different countries) Polish and Czech stay together and are closest from the cltural point of viev (no culture clash, silmilar life expirinces, opinions, food customs etc.)..

And the closesd multi-maional friends that were made diuring erasmus exchanes (resulting in vistis later on) were made between Polish and Czech students...

Lukasz K

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]

I don't want to argue but...

For me eastern Europe means the cultural ancestrors of Bizantine Empire with orthodox church, Greek (then changed) alphabet, Julian calendar etc..., and wide tracks...

For me regarding a caountry to be eastern European just becouse it was under Russian influence for 50 years is too simple conclusion....

I my opinion there is no straight line and even inside Poland when we consider for example Podlasie and Silesia there are big differences...

Lukasz

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

I think this problem comes when you try to translate these worlds so simply, just looking at pronounciation.

If you know the roots, look at the stem you can quite easily guess the meaning (especially when you have it in context). So of understanding spoken Czech (also becouse of different accent) is not easy for me, then reading (of course sth. like short notes, ingridients of food, newspapers, not literature)is possible, but of course slower.

Also if you are familiar with old Polish (for example Rej's or Kochanowski's poems) you have less problems, becouse in these times our languages were much colser.

The funny thing is with Czech names for months. They are mostly the same instead of kveten which means Polish maj (May), while in Polish kwiecień is April (I never know why becouse in Czech flowers should blossom earlier)... So if you are making an appointment with Czech better make it in English...

Lukasz

Travel / BUS FROM SZCZECIN TO FRANKFURT....HOW MUCH...? [18]

You are thalking about Frankfur/Main of course.
I recommend trains.
The best way will be to take train Frankfurt-Berlin and then Berln-Szczecin (there are many quite cheap but slow trains from Berlin to Szczecin).

Lukasz K

Life / School system in Poland? [59]

There are in fact bilingual classes in public schools that are learing some subjects in foregin language.
Most of the top rated scholls had this kind of classes recently.

Lukasz

Travel / Train routes and timetables in Poland - planning and info [19]

Hello,

I think it wouldn't be easy becouse the trains are cossing moutains only near Czech Rep. and then far to the east near Ukrainian border.

So the option is to change trains at Zlina or sth...
The estimated travel times from pkp.pl page are about 14 hours... And it is 200 km...

So I think that a much better oportunity will be to travel by train from Kraków to Muszyna (town at the Slovak border - 40 km from Bardejov) and then take an bus from Muszyna to Bardejov or even a taxi to Stara Lubovla from where you sholdn't have a problem with finding a train/bus to Bardejov...

The thing is that borders are still dividing the comunication systems here and sometimes it will be easier to fly to Bratislava if your destination is Bardejov even thought it is twice as far as Krakow.

Regards

£ukasz

History / What Was Happening in Poland around 1905? [73]

I wonder why nobody had mentioned the revolution of 1905 in Russia that spread around Polish territory as well. It is even sometimes called 4th uprising (after 1794, 1830, 1863) because in "Poland" together with social claims people were fighting for autonomy and freedom of using Polish in schools etc. It's been the first time since 1864 that Polish start shooting at Russian army.

And the repressions were severe - all 5 older brothers of my grand-grandfather who were involved in strikes were send to Siberia from where they haven't come back (I have one letter from one of them from 30's) and the same time the family (parents and sisters) of my grand-grandmother emigrated from northern Mazovia to US - they left her with uncles because she was too young to survive the trip and told that they'll come back for her which never happened (otherwise would be a Yankee today ;-))

Regards

Lukasz

Food / Problem to find "cream" in Poland [23]

Then you use "śmietanka" do kawy which is mostly sold in paper boxes just as milk but smaller...

Like these:



Pozdr

£ukasz

Travel / Poland Warsaw Airport to Train [26]

You can get a train or bus to Lublin...
I think it is easier with the train because you have direct 175 bus from the airport to the Warsaw Central Train Station (it will take just 15-20 min).

Most buses run now from Western Bust and Train Station - it is not far from Airport either but you would have to change buses or take a taxi. Some time ago most buses towards east were beginning at the Stadion Station which is situated inside the remains of a Stadion Market but it is going to be closed...

Regards

Lukasz

Travel / Poland Warsaw Airport to Train [26]

Lublin not Lubin...
Lublin is 10 hours by bike (180 km)...
By train it takes about 2 and a half hours and during the day there is a train every hour.

Regards

Lukasz

Life / RUSSIAN WOMAN IN POLAND....welcome...or not...? [33]

In my opinion if we compare two nations which influence was rather unpleasant for polish people in the last century: Russians and Germans there is a difference in the attitude of random Polish people towards those nationalities.

To be honest Germans in the worse position and they are disliked because probably Polish still remember that they've chosen Hitler in free elections and they supported him.

With Russians it is rather different - Polish feel rather sympathetic towards them because both nations were forced the same system and for all of the tragedies Polish blame rather the leaders not "normal" Russians which are seen as the victims of the communism.

I think this is quite a big difference between Poland and for example Baltic States where the bad are Russians itself. Even if you speak with a very anti communist old Polish lady she will speak about those "bad communists" not Russians.

Regards

Lukasz

Genealogy / Polish noble origins information [17]

Hi!
Going back to the time when your family become nobles will be very hard becouse it happened probably from XIII to XV century when more wealthy people which could equip themselves with a horse an a sword become knights and due to their role in defending country were given political an economical benefits. Later the the nobility became very closed group. King could give nobility to certain people but it was rather rare (a few thousands from XVI till XVIII century given mostly to foreigners)...

But being a noble in Poland then was something completely different than in other countries. It ment only having political benefits (right to vote in parliament elections and king's elections), personal freedom, and the right to own land (and some more) but nobility had nothing in common with wealth - you could walk barefoot and leave in a burrow but because your grand-grand-grandfather was a knight you was a noble with your coat of arms etc.. and had all those rights mentioned above.

In XVIII th century about 10% of whole society was nobility (which means 2 mln of people) of which 50 % owned only a small plot of land where they lived as farmers ploughing the land themselves with their only horse, next 40% owned only one or a few villages with peasants and also regarded themselves as farmers who had a luck that the free workers in form of slave-peasants could help them in the field. Only the last 10% could be regarded as wealthy people.

In the regions of Mazovia and Podlasie as much as 70% of inhabitants were poor nobles when the Poland was partitioned they've lost their political benefits and become from economical point of view undistinguishable from peasants. Only their names (ending with -ski, -cki etc.- look most popular Polish name endings!) and their family stories about their ancestors could give a clue about their origin. Many of those (also big part of my family - Załęscy) emigrated in XIX and early XX cenury to USA, Canada or Brazil...

But still today you will find those "poor nobles villages" (zaścianki) especially between £omża, Ostrów Mazowiecka and £apy. There are many willages with funny long names with dashes like Rutki-Janki, Rutki-Zalesie etc. and still in those willages most common name is Rutkowski (in Zawady Zawadzki, in Suche Sucecki etc.) and names after dashes are the names or nicknames of the sons who took this part of the village after it was partitioned between all brothers.

Regards

£ukasz

Genealogy / Manko, Federowicz, Baszczek, Zatwarnicka. Family history mystery. [36]

To give some clues:

There was no Poland after 1795 and before 1918 and no Polish borders before 1921 so the villages mentioned above which names sound Polish can be in Poland now, but back then they were in Austraia...

Poland was partitioned between Austria, Germany and Russia, so it was normal that people living under German or Russian government were speaking also German or Russian because it was the official language... Only in Austrian part (Galicia) Polish was also treated as official language because there was some sort of autonomy.

So living in Russia back then can mean living anywhere in today's central and eastern Poland (Warsaw was also in Russia).

Regards

Lukasz

Life / WHY ARE POLISH CALENDARS SKEWED? [42]

I would rather think that there is something wrong with American calendars because in Poland always Monday was the first day of the week.

Lets see the names of the Weekdays in Polish which are probably nearly a thousand years old:
Monday - poniedziałek from "po niedzieli" - "after Sunday'
Tuesday - wtorek from "wtóry" which meant "second"!
Wednesday - środa from "środek" - middle
Thursday - czwartek from "czwarty" - fourth!
Friday - piątek from "piąty" - fifth!
Saturday - sobota - it is now for me to guess the origin of that word, maby it is borrowed becouse it is somehow similar to Saturday or Samstag rather...

Sunday - niedziela - from "nie działać" - not to do sth...

Regards

Lukasz

Travel / Warsaw | Trekking routes, Nature [6]

I would advice you for example Kampinoski National Park just at the north-western borders of Warsaw.
You can easily reach it with city buses starting at Młociny subway station. I advice bus 708 towards Truskaw which is a nice village inside the National Park. From the bus stop there you can start a walk following different tracks (You cannot walk outside the marked tracks inside the National Park). The paths will lead you through forests (mainly pine and alder) and meadows. Nothing astonishing but quite a nice landscape especially when the weather is nice. Now you can use there cross-country skies.

Real trekking tracks when you can walk for a few days with tent etc. throught quite wild areas you will find in Poland only in the moutains especially Bieszczady or Beskid Niski...

Regards

Lukasz

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]

I had similar situation in the summer - I was driving with my mother's car and was stopped for speeding (my fault) - when the police officer was checing the car's papers it turned out that my mother had forgotten about annual registration technical inspection (it was about three month after deadline) and policeman took the registration paper. The registration paper was send to Urząd Miasta but to pick it up I needed to do the inspection, take the paper from the inspection stating that everything is OK and then I could withdraw the registration document. But it took about two weeks before the document arrived from police to Urząd Miasta (I've been stopped near Szczytno and they had to send it to Warszawa but it was still very long).

So I advice you, after you have removed the tint to take some paper station that everything is correct according to registration laws.

Regards

Lukasz

Study / University of Warsaw- registering for courses? [2]

You'll probably have to deel with USOS (internet registration system) which can be harsh, becouse the closing date for registrations for summer semester is probably these week, and to log in to usos you will need to have your student card...

So I have no idea how it is done...
Always the tutor can sign you in "manually" during first two weeks of courses so the best idea is to show up at the first lecture and ask the responsible person to sign you in.

What faculty will you attend?

Regards

Lukasz

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

You can find it for example here:



But of course it is not a "map of Poland", becouse there was no Poland at that time...

Regards

Lukasz

Travel / Best way with car from Szczecin to Bielsko-Biala? [6]

I would give you 2 opitons:
1- road nr 3 to Legnica, then A4 to Katowice, then S1
2 - va Germany to A18 then A4

But try google.maps...

Regards

Lukasz

Travel / Train Routes - from Poland to Slovakia [12]

There are two passes that i know trought the Carpathians where trains cross them. One is near Muszyna (rout Nowy Sącz - Poprad), second is further east near Komańcza (route Sanok - Koszyce). But you can make it easier by bus for example.

Regards

£ukasz

Study / Warsaw School of Economics (SGH)-how is it there [10]

Many of my friends finished that school and I may say that they've received good education. Of course they did it "normal" way. During one semester you won't probably learn much but for sure you will have fun...

Of course it is better to do a survey before which subjects to choose because for sure there are more and less interesting and worthy ones. I don't know what are the rules for you when it comes to choosing subjects...

As for polish university they have quite a lot of lectures in English so you would have an opportunity to find something for you.

Regards

£ukasz

Life / What are the poorest regions of Poland? [15]

It is very hard to say which part of the Poland are the poorest.
The general view biased on GDP on the level of woievodship show that eastern Poland is poorer than western .
But if you look more carefully and you have travelled around Poland it turns out that the poorest regions are the country regions of northern and western Poland (old collective farming areas).

I have never seen around Chełm or Białystok such miserable people as in villages near Gubin at the German border or near Koszalin and Bartoszyce in the north.

It is easy to spot if you use country roads - in those regions roads that are on the map which was printed 30 years ago are today often overgrown by forests because inhabitants just do not use them because they don't own cars while in Hajnówka or Suwałki nearly every villager owns VW Golf or sth. and the country roads are repaired even by private people because they use it...

If you look as unemployment map it looks similarly to what I told - the highest unemployment (about 30%) is in the western and northern countryside and in the parts of Mazowieckie woievodship that lay far from the capital.

Kind regards

£ukasz

Travel / Snow in Zakopane in Summer? [13]

There would be probably some snow up there, not very much but some for sure.

Regards

Lukasz

Travel / Bieszczady: Ustrzyki Górne to/from peak of Tarnica in a day? How intense? [7]

The trail is very easy. Probably you would manage to do it in 6 hours as written in guides.
It is just a path - nothing very steep.

However if you have higher boots it is advisable to wear them because especially while coming down it is easy to twist an ankle on slippy rocks or mud.

Kind regards

£ukasz

Law / Can I check land registers in the area of Bytow online? [6]

You can do some online:

You can check property number on maps here:

geoportal.gov.pl (you press "mapy" and then choose option "kataster").

And if you know the number of "księga wieczysta" you can check who owns a plot on-line there:

ekw.ms.gov.pl/pdcbdkw/pdcbdkw.html

Greetings

Lukasz

Travel / One night hour in Warsaw (with a car) - is there any "must see" places? [6]

Just drive around...
You may cath just a short glimpse of the city. Most of the sights in the old town ale lighted.

I really like driving around the city centre at night (its is the only time when you can drive not stand in the traffic jam) especially Jana Pawła, from Żoliborz to al. Jeroizolmskie, then Aleje then for example Marszałkowska and for sure Aleje Ujazdowskie. You can try parking a car near the Old Town (for example in Senatorska street) and just visit castle square.

To enter the town you need to drive off the road nr 8 on the second junction after passing the bridge and the follow to the south.

Regards

£ukasz

Genealogy / My Polish last name is Bober [7]

The name Bober is quite popular in Poland. There are about 9000 people with these name in Poland.

Bober is an old fasioned (or regonal?) way of saying bóbr (beaver) so the name can be Polish but it can be yiddish as well.

Regards

£ukasz

Food / Quince ("pigwa") in Krakow? [7]

No.

There are two different plants.

Pigwa is Cydonia oblonga - a tree (originating from East Mediterranean) rarely planted in Poland (not enough frost hardy). It resembles an apple tree and the fruits also look alike apples. They taste sour but fresh. I know in southern Poland it is more popular than where I live.

Pigwowiec is Chaenomeles - a shrub originating from East Asia. Very popular in Poland also as an ornamental plant (it blooms red in early spring). It has yellow fruits resembling fruits of pigwa in shape and taste (that is why it has a similar name). They are hard and sour. People used to use those fruits as a substitute of lemon when it was hard to get...

Regards

£ukasz

Life / Diaspora, what do you miss from Poland? [15]


Because of the air pollution...Those are the forests of Izerskie Moutains in the south-western part of Poland destroyed by the acid rains in the early 90's. The area had the worst air in whole Europe due to the brown-coal fuelled power plants located nearby in Poland (Bogatynia), Czech Rep. and Germany.

Right now the air is better but it takes a long time for the forest to recover especially at a high altitude (about 800-1000 m a.s.l.).


So it is not so true...

Regards

£ukasz

News / Why is Poland developing so slowly or in the wrong direction? Who is responsible ? [317]


Wow!

You probably never spoke with anybody who remembered pre-WWII Poland or even never red anything reliable about it...

Lukasz