Real Estate / Prices of apartment in central Krakow [6]

Kraków is expensive, there is no doubt about that. But also, staying in the centre of any European (or World) city is going to be very expensive. In Kraków they have an excellent public transport system with a number of lines running through the night. There is really no reason to be staying right in the centre. Look instead for areas along major public transport routes. Will save you a bomb going forward.

Law / Internet provider in Poland - signing a contract with my foreign passport [9]

Completely agree with this, I've never been asked for ID when signing up for TV or internet. They do always ask for a PESEL (or NIP I suppose are they are pretty interchangeable on these things). Without this I think you would either be out of luck, or would be in for a nightmare of paperwork.

Just a slightly out of the box suggestion, if you have no PESEL, but a relatively good relationship with your landlord, might be worth having him get the internet in place and add that cost to the rent.

Law / Do banks in Poland accept bank drafts issued by a foreign bank, in Polish Zloty? [8]

I have recently been using Poland transfer. Never had a problem with them and the commission there has been as low as I've seen. I've not transferred huge amounts of money so not sure if those fees go up when you are moving large amounts.

Life / Why are the lines in supermarkets the slowest and the longest in Europe? Usually only very few employees work [18]


I think it's unfair to lump them all in the same. My local Biedronka in Kurdwanów was always quick on the bell when the queues mounted up and they got a new one open in no time. I won't blame the staff for some of the Babcias moving at the speed of light to get in front of you in the queue only to lose all concept of speed once there.

Food / Polish Drink Vs Irish People [20]


Really? I thought it was very strange that they got people who obviously don't drink much to do the tasting. The fact that one person thought Zywiec was an ale and everyone's reactions to Zubrowka (which is not that strong, and is quite sweet when it comes to vodka) made it seem like this was the first time they were trying alcohol, never mind Polish drinks...

Food / Where to find a good bottle of wine in Poland? [18]

If you are in Kraków you will find there is a specialist wine shop on Dietla just next to the crossroads at Starowislna. Also a couple in Kazimierz. These are very expensive though so be prepared to pay through the nose.

I always found Lidl had a good selection as did my local Biedronka (I had 2 next to me, one had a great selection, the other not so much). In the latter I have found NZ Sauvingon for 17.99 at times. It is hit or miss as it depends the stock that's in at the moment, their prosecco is pretty good too. Also check out the Portugese Vinho Verde as that's dry with a nice effervescence and is often in stock. Lidl is a safer bet as their wine selection is more consistent, however I always find they are better for red than white, so keep that in mind.

Other than that, I echo the comments of others, make sure you are looking for "Wytrawne" and check the description on the bottle as you will often find Polwytrawne wines sitting in the Wytrawne section.

Life / Amazon stops super saver delivery on orders to Poland [40]


Did anything ever happen with this?

Law / Zamaldowanie (registration of residence) not unless the owner come with me to the urząd (registry office) [7]

In all the times I have done it I just needed to have the rental contract and for the dates on that to match up with the dates on my Zameldowanie form. Maybe you were just unlucky to run into someone particularly difficult. If you are not comfortable arguing in Polish (not saying you can't speak Polish, but mine is pretty good but I am not confident enough in my skills to argue) then maybe bring a friend with you that can argue the point with them, perhaps also print off the details from the url so you can show that to them.

News / Poland has a Michelin star restaurant! [7]

Seems there are now two restaurants with stars in Warsaw, which does put Poland bottom of the list country wise in the latest volume of the Major Cities of Europe Michelin Guide. There are some honourable mentions in Warsaw and Kraków but only two stars. Thoughts on why this might be? I'm a big fan of Polish food, but eating out in Poland can be very hit or miss and I think that doesn't do Poland any favours. A lot of restaurants in Kraków serving Polish food seem to lack imagination and stick rigidly to the tourist "Karczma" market and then the foreign restaurants are the ones trying to be imaginative but often lacking the funding and staff behind it.

Food / Eating Kielbasa - how do you cook yours? [119]


Well known source of all Kielbasa...

Life / Checking 3G/4G coverage in Poland [3]


I had never thought of that, it's a really good, if time-consuming, idea! Personally I started on Orange but they didn't seem great value when I moved to a smartphone so changed to Play based on what the majority of my mates used.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

Can I just say, this is a really useful thread for anyone renting in Poland. Too many people just pay what they are told and don't shop around. I stayed in a flat once for 750PLN rent, but Czynsz was 800PLN. It was in a very old Kamienica and the heating/hot water was through a combi boiler (can't remember what they call them in Poland) so no heating or hot water included. I just put it down to the way things were.

Then I moved to another place, rent was 1000PLN and czynsz was 950PLN, but this covered hot water, heating, and you could see the people cleaning and repairing the building regularly. While it was more expensive, it meant a LOT less on other bills, and so in the bigger (and better) flat, we ended up paying either the same or less per month than the studio we were in before.

Don't get me wrong, it's tough being a renter in Poland, but it's important to shop around. It's in no way unique to Poland, here in Scotland I remember going to flat viewings where we were basically sat with other people begging for a flat and they had us at their advantage. Luckily I managed to find something through friends, and I would advise people stick a post on facebook if they are looking and have friends in the city.

Life / Millennials even worse than baby-boomers? [60]

Just to go a bit back on topic, I think the baby boomer generation had a certain "self entitlement" was because things were easier for them. It was perfectly normal to get a job for life, buy property, and raise a family in a comfortable situation.

The difference with millenials is that their "self entitlement" is falsely drawn from reality TV and the form of "instant celebrity and success". The reality for most millenials is that jobs for life are non-existant and any work is hard to come by and the property market is priced out of the budget of most young peoples' salaries.

Basically one group had a realistic sense of entitlement, the other just sees Kim K and others and think "that's what my life should be like".

USA, Canada / Differences in How Polish People Raise a Child and How Americans Raise a Child [149]


In the Scottish system you can leave school after your standard grades at 16. However we would complete secondary school at 17 for most pupils. I was 17 when I started university after completing my schooling.

I always thought it was the most bizarre thing that you could get married at 16 (in Scotland you don't need parent's permission, hence Gretna Green) and start a family, but you couldn't get credit for a house or have a drink at the ceremony. Or of course you can go and fight for your country at 16 but can't vote for the government of the country you are serving for another 2 years. In Scotland we now allow 16 year olds to vote, but not in the UK in general.

USA, Canada / Poles in America: How do you pronounce your Polish surname? [128]


I would say more like Hof as in David Hasslehoff.

USA, Canada / Poles in America: How do you pronounce your Polish surname? [128]


That seems pretty contrived. I will be honest, you would want to replace the ff with a v so more like "hov" to rhyme with Hasslehoff. In no way does it rhyme with Loaf...if you have to apply an accent, your pronunciation guide is bad...

Food / Understanding Polish Cream, Syrup and Bacon [11]


While I agree with the majority of your post about just adjusting the shopping list, I found changing from a UK based recipe site for inspiration to a Polish one made a big difference for that. That being said, I think it's my British upbringing, but I prefer squash to syrup. Syrup is fine for hot drinks, but it never seems to dissolve properly in cold water and I find it often tastes of nothing more than sugar (obviously I am referring to the shop bought varieties). I also think there is a more eclectic selection of squashes.

Law / I was fined for not having a tram ticket in Poland. How does this affect me? [68]

@WhirlwindTobias

Agreed, it's not that expensive (89PLN for a month for all lines in Krakow) and so I don't understand why people living there try their luck and don't just get the pass. It's also peace of mind, I know I don't need to panic if the ticket validators are not working or I don't have change for a ticket.

As for tourists, there is plenty of information from official and non-official channels surrounding how to get around with public transport and it says almost everywhere that you need to validate your ticket as soon as you get on. Using your example, the inspectors will not come through in KRK if there is a queue at the machine or someone visibly buying, and keeping in mind the sometimes very little amount of time between stops for inspectors to work. If the person is sitting on their phone and not visibly buying or validating a ticket, that's their fault.

Food / Kefir drink in Poland [79]

I always thought Kisiel was that stuff which was kind of like Jelly (Jello for friends across the pond) but with a texture more akin to Angel Delight? Is there something else with the same name?

Travel / How available is internet/wifi in Poland? [24]

Where will you be staying during this time, is there not internet available there? It would be unusual to have a short term rental or hostel with no internet. If not then I agree with jgrabner, get a pre-paid card. Just make sure and register it.

Food / Kefir drink in Poland [79]


Me too, really good on porridge!

There was one next to my flat in Kraków but not sure if it's still there. It had notices confirming it was unpasteurised and it came from a farm on a monastery. I think the economics of it depend the area. The mlekomat there was filled daily and if you went in the evening it was often empty, but if it wasn't selling out every day, it would be hard to justify the cost of keeping the milk in such careful conditions from the cow to the machine.

Life / Top 10 Poland fashion brands [25]

This seems to have been hacked by foreign producers which isn't really within the thread title, but there is a good Oswiecim brand by the name of Intruz which is popular with the hip-hop/skater crowd.

Food / What Scottish Whisky do they sell in Poland? [24]


I don't know if it's a good idea to tell a Scotsman how to drink whisky. And if you go to Scotland you will find that most people do drink whisky. Why sip it when there's plenty more to drink?!?


Wouldn't wash my feet with the stuff. We had it as malt of the month in my pub because our buyer was swooned by discounts and free stuff, had to extend to 3 months because it's terrible.

If anyone is looking for a good single malt to take abroad, Scapa is a personal favourite and it's hard to get outside of Scotland (in fact, it was impossible to get here for a good few years!). For something in a decent budget and good for palates that are not used to single malts I would say Auchentoshan American Oak is a great starter malt (at the distillery they call it a good breakfast whisky...)

Travel / Trip to Poland this summer - how much spending money to bring??? [12]


Have you looked into Air BnB? If you want a hotel then it wouldn't be for you, but I would find myself a bit stir crazy in a hotel room for a whole month. With the Air BnB, you would probably spend a lot less than $1500 and it would be like having your own wee flat, they normally offer discounts for longer stays too.

Food / Making American cheeses (Polish and EU ones are terrible!) [100]


Not sure you can judge European cheese by what's available in Poland. Unfortunately the selection of cheese in Poland is very poor compared to Europe as a whole, you go into a major supermarket in Poland and the cheese quality will pale in comparison to what's available in a small corner shop in France for example. Back when I first moved to Poland, you couldn't even get cheddar, there were just lots of differently named plastic like cheeses that I am sure were identical. Think yourself lucky that the range has improved.

That being said, grilled Oscypki are amazing!

Food / Making American cheeses (Polish and EU ones are terrible!) [100]

Well Joker, I would take you back to Mafektis' post (for some reason I can't quote). Good American cheese (like good American beer a good few years back) doesn't get exported. All you get is the mass market dross. That being said, the OP made the claim that cheese in Europe is not as good as the US, based on experiences in Poland, where the cheese selection is poor...at best!

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


I also like it and am of a similar opinion. That being said, black pudding/kaszanka are very particular to where it was made and by whom. A lot of shop bought kaszanka can be quite bland, but you can get some really good stuff off the beaten track. Same can be said of black pudding, some in the shop will turn to powder (like an overcooked hard boiled egg yolk) in your mouth and leave a poor taste, but proper (Stornoway!!) stuff is second to none!

Law / Poland's visit visa refused; "intention to leave the country is not determined". [35]

Hiya

You can see it from the consulate POV, you work online so can work anywhere but your wife is tied to work in Poland. To them it makes it unlikely that you would leave. Do you have property in Pakistan that you could leverage to show that is your home, or are you renting (apologies, not sure about the property market in Pakistan with regards to people renting and buying)?

Law / Poland's visit visa refused; "intention to leave the country is not determined". [35]


At no point did I say you, or your wife, should change your work. I was just saying that, as you work online, it's hard for an immigration official to see any tie to Pakistan with that.

I am not against you in any way, but more playing "devil's advocate", you need to view this whole situation, not from you or your wife's point of view, but rather that of the very bureaucratic Polish Immigration service. As such, it would be worth putting down a heavy investment somewhere in Pakistan that would prove you have to return.

The fact that you were in the UK and didn't overstay your visa is proof of nothing to the bureaucrats, it could actually work against you. It's not uncommon for non-EU people to visit EU countries and stick by their visa in the hope it will lead to them getting longer ones.

Again, not against you, just think you need to view this from more than one viewpoint.

Language / American pancakes are not Poland's naleśniki! [45]


Funny you mention that, thin English pancakes in Scotland are called crumpets and pancakes up here are small (about the diameter of an apple) and slightly thicker with a leavening agent (could it be from Scotland that American pancakes came about?). I would also say there is a difference between crepes and English pancakes, as crepes are spread around to ensure thinness, whereas pancakes are left to settle themselves. I would say the Polish nalesniki is more akin to the French crepe, but as, for many years, there was no other type of pancake, I think that's why nalesniki has been used as a catch all term for foreign pancake like things.

Regarding fish and chips, a lot of places in Poland describe fish (from fish and chips) as "ryba w cieście naleśnikowym" so as in fish wrapped in pancake, I suppose to describe the batter.