Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

First of all, I don't hate anything, and certainly not entire countries. Some things I dislike about Poland are:

1) the combination of victim complex and overly romantic conception of history (Christ among nations). Makes rational discussions about history almost impossible. Although the younger generation is already much different.

2) the ruination of the "recovered territories". Mostly thanks to the Commies. Thank god the younger people, teens and twens, get interested in their home now. Often too late.

3) the lack of rules in the public sphere. Big and small adverts everywhere, tasteless buildings full of turrets and battlements, no settlement plans and so on. Sometimes Poland looks like a big mess.

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]

Look at the criteria of these lists:

widespread availability of goods and services
low personal risk
effective infrastructure
education
hygiene
health care
culture
environment
recreation
political-economic stability
international connectivity
climate/sunshine
quality of architecture
tolerance
environmental issues and access to nature
urban design
business conditions
pro-active policy developments

It's actually quite obvious why no Polish city is on the list (yet).

Travel / Mosques in Krakow? [131]


Maybe because Poland isn't the Christian equivalent of Saudi-Arabia?

Travel / Mosques in Krakow? [131]


With synagogues?

Travel / Mosques in Krakow? [131]


Words of wisdom. Poland is a Western country, shaped by humanism and the enlightenment. Church and state are separated, and individual freedom is guaranteed. A place for muslims to practice their faith is their right.

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]

Warsaw was destroyed in WW2 and rebuilt by the Commies... the city is definitely no beauty. Public transport is pretty bad, compared to other cities. The quality of residential property is low(?) to average. Cleanliness? Ever been to Zurich or Geneva? I also miss the advantages of more multicultural cities, like the bigger choice of restaurants and food. Culture is average, since many museum collections were destroyed in the war, and the number of theatres, operas, philharmonic orchestras and so on is only average compared to some other cities. And Warsaw can't score with beautiful surroundings either, unlike cities like Geneva or Vancouver.

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]


Lets compare Vienna, a European capital of roughly the same size and ranked high on these lists, with Warsaw.

Cityscape
Vienna: big historic centre surrounded by huge 19th century quarters in good shape, public sphere clean and not polluted by adverts
Warsaw:

Living quarters
Vienna: mostly average to upscale flats in posh apartment buildings from the 19th century
Warsaw:

Public transport
Vienna: extensive tram network (mostly modern low-floor trams) + big subway network + buses
Warsaw:

Surroundings
Vienna: vineyards, vineyard villages, mountains, forests, close to the alps, to Bratislava (Slovakia), Brno (Czechia), Budapest (Hungary)
Warsaw:

Culture
Vienna: 3 operas, more than 100 theatres, 9(?) symphony orchestras, ca. 100 museums
Warsaw:

Goods, services, etc.
Vienna: lots of traditional, high-class shops and services (KuK), restaurants and goods from every part of the world
Warsaw:

Life / People living in Warsaw are rootless peasants! [41]

Always strange how these two maps match:

Life / People living in Warsaw are rootless peasants! [41]

And peasants. 2/3 of them came from villages. There are interesting stories about Polish settlers who weren't accustomed to urban life and kept cows, goats, chickens and pigs in their appartments.

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]


These lists don't care if a city was destroyed or not. Frankfurt was completely destroyed too, but is #7 on the Mercer list.

Genealogy / How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish? [127]

pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Kaplan

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Yes, sure:
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_early_modern_universities_in_Europe&action=history

Last edited 18 days before I posted the link here. LOL!

History / Polish historical myths - to break or not to break them? [257]


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_of_Europe

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


Better think of Eastern Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania as reparations for WW2.

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


What Stoss made was a late Gothic altar. In Italy however Gothic wasn't en vogue anymore at that time. So Pawian is right. If not Vit Stwosz, the German, Poles would never have acquired *such an altar*.

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


Warsaw was mostly rebuilt with bricks from former Stettin and Breslau. Both cities were partly destroyed for it. Moreover Poland received the property of 9 mio Germans.

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


Exactly. How can you compensate someone for it? And how can you compensate a nation for lost national treasures? Poland received Silesian, Pomeranian or Prussian treasures instead (the university and museums of Warsaw are full of Silesian treasures for instance), but Poles will never feel the same emotional bond. On the contrary, it just creates new tensions... probably Stalins intention anyway.

But: saying Silesia, Pomerania and Prussia are a small compensation is a joke. Houses, land, infrastructure, natural resources, cultural assets... Silesia alone houses 1/4 of all listed objects in Poland. Lech Kaczyński once wanted to determine the exact amount, but quickly forgot the idea again.

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

Historically and culturally: Central Europe. Feeling when you cross the border: Eastern Europe.

Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [329]


++++

And people who think pizza + ketchup are a good idea shouldn't talk about the best pizza in the world, lol.

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

I'm not Bratwurst. I'm not even German. But contrary to most Americans here I actually know Poland. Compare the twin cities of Goerlitz/Zgorzelec or Cieszyn/Těšín and you know what I mean.

Goerlitz: skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1326561

vs.

Zgorzelec: skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1426038

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]

Poles owe nothing to Germans, that's for sure. Better ask how Poland was influenced by Germany. How about:
- German town law
The medieval settlement structure in Poland was imported from Germany. Even today many municipal structures are based on it.
- Sachsenspiegel
This legal code was used in many parts of medieval Poland
- modern book printing
Obviously most printers who introduced book printing to Poland were Germans
- Brick Gothic
From Luebeck via the Hanseatic League to Poland

Life / My impressions on Poland I: The People, Politics, The Countryside and Infrastructure [39]


In Europe it's common to learn a few sentences of the local language. Makes people smile and incredibly helpful. Going to a foreign country and expecting the people to speak English is simply arrogant.


Ever been to Wałbrzych?

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


And this:

this:

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]

Or the Estonians and Latvians...

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]

The Teutonic Order didn't have the mandate to annihilate Lithunia but to convert pagans to Christians. What wiped out old Prussians saved Latvians and Estonians. It's therefore pure speculation to speak of "complete and utter destruction".

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]


Blablabla. The Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order converted old Prussians, Latvians and Estonians by force. Latvians and Estonians still exist. These are facts, and your rant can't change that.

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]

Based on history... lol. Ever heard of the Livonian Crusade? Terra Mariana? The reason for the establishment of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword?

Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [329]


And this is a pizza from Napoli:

Pizza is a simple dish made from fresh, good ingredients. Fresh tomatoes and herbs, good olive oil, buffalo mozzarella, baken in a brick oven.

UK, Ireland / 50 babies a day born to Polish mothers in UK [81]


Of course not. They will stay in the UK, and the next generation will be fully integrated and hardly Polish anymore. Poles assimilate very fast... just ask the Germans.

News / Should Poland leave the EU institution? [147]

Currently the EU is divided into three blocks. The founding members, the Mediterranean and the former Commie countries. The founding members, which interestingly are the successor states of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, share the same view on matters such as integration, economy, fiscal policy and so on. The Mediterranean countries are for more integration too, but their economic and fiscal traditions are different. The former Commie countries, especially Poland and the former countries of Austria-Hungary, share the economic and fiscal policies of the founding members, but aren't ready for more integration.