Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


The OP thought Biedronka employees were courteous? Did she really visit Poland?

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


Me. Many times, including Wigilia and Easter Sunday. Those of you who live live here know how unique an experience it is. Ah, I love living in Danzig. :)

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


What an inane comment. I walked trough the Old Town with a friend of mine who has lived in Gdansk all her life. I showed her things she had never seen before and we only walked down Dluga and along the Motlawa. That took an hour. Obviously you never even peeked inside St Mary's, the biggest brick cathedral in Europe. During Solidarnosc 20,000 people met there, but I guess you have no interest in either Polish culture or history. BTW, I'm American, not Polish, so I'm not defensive, just amazed by your comments and your ignorance.

Love / WILDROVERS FIVE YEARS IN POLAND....come to an end...! [132]


Good to see that you have priorities. Seriously man, best of luck.

History / Warsaw Uprising - The Forgotten Soldiers [117]

If you haven't already done so, you should read Uprising '44, by Norman Davies. Its the definitive work on the topic we're "discussing".

Love / Met this gorgeous Polish lady [27]

Expect disaster and don't be surprised when it happens. Bail out now before it's too late.

Travel / Any PRACTICAL advice for a new visitor to Warsaw? [29]

Don't miss the Museum of the Uprising.

Travel / Tri-city travel (want to see Gdansk and Sopot) [10]

Visit Old Town in Gdansk, but don't drive your car. Take SKM. 4.50 zl and 40 minutes and you'll be at Gdansk Glowny (main train station). From there it's a five minute walk to the Old Town. Jarmark Dominikanksa (Dominican Fair) will still be going on so be prepared for lots of people and some free open air concerts. You might want to visit the Solidarity museum in Gdansk if you're interested in history. The Old Town in Gdansk has the most unique architecture of any Old Town in Poland due to its membership in the Hanseatic League.

Don't miss Cafe Absinthe. Lots of restaurants in trojmiasto. Get a copy of Gdansk in your Pocket (free). It's got maps and reviews of things to see, restaurants, and night life. PM me. Maybe we can meet when you get SKM. I live five minutes from the train station and I can show you a few things, maybe have a beer at Abs.

Weather should be good, but bring a hat, rain gear, and comfortable walking shoes. I live in shorts and sandals during the summer, occasionally changing to jeans and trainers if the evening is cool or I'm teaching at my school. Jeans are perfectly OK everywhere.

Hope this helps a little.

Language / How similar are Polish and Romanian languages? [75]

As has been posted before, Polish is Slavic while Romanian is Romantic.

My best friend is from Romania and we shared a flat last year until he moved to Bydgoszcz. His father, brother and sister in law visited a couple of years ago. I waled into the kitchen where they were having a discussion in Romanian. I studied Latin for two years, I speak French and some Italian, and within five minutes I could understand almost everything they said. That's just not possible with Polish unless you speak another Slavic language.

The two languages are completely different.

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]


This is a myth.


He explained that to my satisfaction. I have no heartburn with that term.


Did you read his explanation of why he anglicized the names? And did you bother to read the Appendices? Didn't you understand that he was writing about events which preceeded and followed the uprising? Or would you have preferred a Cliff notes version: Poles fought Germans in Warsaw. Lots of people died. Germans won?

Enough from me on this subject.

Travel / Holiday in Poland - do I need to learn Polish? [26]


You're proud of that? How long have you lived here?

Food / Traditional Polish meal for my Polish boyfriend in the US? [71]


Because it's not possible. Mind you, I like bigos (especially with a little white wine added to cut the sauerkraut taste, a la choucroute garnie), golambki (with a little spice or tobasco added to the filling to give it some flavor), and golonka with horse radish and Dijon mustard, but on the whole Polish food is pretty bland. I won't even go into smalec.

Food / Traditional Polish meal for my Polish boyfriend in the US? [71]

Eat enough of it and you'll be on your way sooner than later. :)

Food / Traditional Polish meal for my Polish boyfriend in the US? [71]


Yes, if you order it and pay for it. You know that smalec is lard?


I agree. Once every 40 years is often enough for me. :)

Life / Joanna (Asia) Name days? [9]

It wasn't today. My calendar lists Jerzego and Bart£omieja as having name days today. Oh well.

Life / My first impressions of Poland, long time ago [37]

pep-energy, excitement, wigor, werwa

Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]

Are you familiar with using time lines to illustrate verb tenses? They make things very clear and are easy to understand.

Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]


In this case, running isn't a gerund. It's an adjective. But "running with my dog" makes it a gerund.

History / Today is the 1st of September (WWII start in Poland) [138]

There's a ceremony every year at Westerplatte. It begins at 04.47 when the first shots were fired. I attended it two years ago.

Travel / Hospitality, Scenery, Food, Clean Streets: My POSITIVE experiences in Poland (!) [39]

Carp, which is just a misspelling of crap, and panga are disgusting. I won't eat them. I'll stick with salmon, cod, flounder, halibut, herring and trout.

Polish food is OK but it's usually pretty bland. My three favorite Polish dishes are bigos, golonka and golabki.

Work / CV/Resume style standards in Poland [17]


I agree. My students can't believe it when I tell them that. The first year I was in Poland only a few friends knew when my birthday was. Somebody mentioned that they could always look at my CV to find out. Not so. My resume is not a CV per se. No picture, no date of birth, no cover letter, etc. I got my job after a face to face interview. There were four other Americans teaching at my school that year, two full time and two part time. None had photos or dates of birth on their resumes. No problem.

Marital status? You've got to be kidding me. Unfortunately, what Bolle mentioned does happen here.

Oh, that obsession with the left ear is so right on! And don't smile.

Food / Is Polish food still more natural than in the West? [142]


Almost, but not quite nonexistent. There's a market about 50m from my flat. When I want a leg of lamb I order it and usually have in a few days. Otherwise it's only there on rare occasions.

And beef in Poland leaves a lot to be desired.

I like flaki.

Travel / Going to Tricity (Trojmiasto) soon. What to see, where to go - not so obvious but interesting places [14]

Oliaw Park is beautiful and the church there is stunning.The zoo is also in Oliwa. You can get to Oliwa by SKM. It's only a few stops from Sopot.

BarPrzystan on Wojske Polskiego (walk down Monte Cassino to the molo and turn right on the street that runs parralel to the beach, walk about a kilometer and it's on the left) has good fish at reasonable prices and it's right on the beach so you'll have a nice view of the Baltic.

For traditional Polish food, I like Harnas (ul.Moniuszki 9). Find it on a map (get one from the information center near the train station in Sopot) and go by car or taxi unless you don't mind a bit of a hike.

You might also try Josef K (ul.Koscluski 4/1b-entrance from ul. Dworcowa). Just a minute away from the train station, it's a cafe/pub. Funky.

I know Gdansk much better. Two low cost but excellent choices are Jadalnia Pod Zielonym Smokiem) (it means diner under the green dragon)) at ul. Szeroka 125 (entrance is around the corner on ul.Panska). Good food, cheap prices, and they have Zywe beer on tap. Mostly locals there.

A real hole in the wall is Pub Duszek (little ghost, on ul.Sw.Duha 119/121). If you're not put off by the scruffy atmosphere (you asked for holes in the wall-this place is one) and the tiny upstairs-there is a larger basement-you'll find very good food ay very low prices. The menu is on the wall and it varies from day to day, but it's always good. Only locals. You'll never see a tourist there.

There's also Swojski Smak (ul. Hewellusza 25/27 near Madison, the mall. Great food, low prices, and not really a hole in the wall at all.

All these places are in the Old Town. None will dissapoint.

In Sopot try Immersion (Monte Cassino 36/5. It's in a courtyard just off Monte Cassino, so you'll have to look for it. If you go there and meet Tom, the owner, and Mike, the barman -both Americans-tell them Scott recommended it. If you're lucky, maybe they'll let you stay.:)

It's going to rain while you're here., so be prepared for that. Can't really help you with shopping. It's not my thing, and I have no idea what you're looking for. If you can be more specific, I might be able to recommend a place in Gdansk, but I know nothing about shopping in Sopot.

Genealogy / Labia: IS THIS A COMMON GIRLS NAME...in Poland..? [19]


lama

Language / which 'if' (jeśli, gdyż or gdyby) use in conversation? [13]

Interesting, and that's what I love about Polish. Ask two people, get three different answers. :) Two of the English teachers at my school are Polish with CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English, which means that their English is almost as good as mine). Both of them said jeśli. Go figure!

Travel / Going to Tricity (Trojmiasto) soon. What to see, where to go - not so obvious but interesting places [14]

If you manage to do that, you'll be very, very busy! Have fun. As for shopping, are you looking for clothes or something else?

Travel / Going to Tricity (Trojmiasto) soon. What to see, where to go - not so obvious but interesting places [14]

Here's a website for you: inyourpocket.com/poland. Look for Gdansk. When you get here, get a free copy available at reception in most hotels, and you'll have a pocket guide to almost everything worth seeing and doing in trojmiasto, plus it has good maps. Have fun.

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]


I agree with that. However, driving is a privilege. They're not the same thing.

I think the OP is pi$$ing up a rope in his attempt to mobilizen PF members to write a letter, and I doubt that Poland will change its laws to accommodate him, but I wish him luck.

Years ago, my family had a large American LHD car in Japan, which I drove. Trying to pass (overtake) a large truck (lorry) on narrow roads was an often frightening experience. I wouldn't want to drive an RHD car in Europe, let alone Poland, yet I know it can be done safely. I just choose not to.

Food / Supermarket or small corner shop for grocery shopping in Poland? [23]


There are no trolleys in America. They're called shopping carts. And are you talking about shopping in the US, UK, or Poland?

Food / Supermarket or small corner shop for grocery shopping in Poland? [23]

I prefer local shops most of the time because they're much more personal and a lot friendlier. If they don't have exact change, they'll give me what they have on hand and I'll bring them a zl or two later. Sometimes it works the other way. And sometimes I don't have to say anything other than hello (in Polish, of course) and they smile and give me my regular purchase. That ain't gonna happen at BOMI.

In addition, I live 100m from Hala Targowa in Gdansk Old Town, so convenience is a factor. The meat and poultry shops I frequent will also order things for me if they don't have them, or don't have them in the quantity I want, as in a large leg of lamb or 16 chicken breasts for a dinner party I'm having on Saturday.

I know that people complain about customer service in Poland, but because I've been going to the same shops for years, that hasn't been my experience, at least with them.

And I get to improve my Polish by chatting with the small shop owners.