Australia / Mail problem- Poland to Australia, delivery time frame [40]

It's normal with international mail. If you want to get something delivered fast, use courier service, not the mail. I sent once a registered letter from Poland to Germany, and it was travelling really for a few weeks before it reached the target. From Poland to Germany - through a single border within the EU! And, looking at the tracking service, the longest waiting was in Germany at the Frankfurt Main airport.

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]

Well, maybe the proportions of ingredients are different, or the baking time, but the product seems to be the same, just of different size.

Especially talking about the circular cookies, not those fingery ones. If they are reasonably fresh, they are still soft. It's different if you keep them in a cupboard for a month after buying them.

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]


It's obvious you won't get raw dough, so you know you get a piece of cake.

Law / Is it possible to convert my Pakistani driving licence to a Polish one? [46]


You are wrong. There are procedures to exchange the driving license from almost everywhere in the world, but in some cases it is necessary to pass the theoretical part of the Polish driving license exam (so that it is confirmed you know our road signs and all the regulations) - it is so especially in case of the countries with the American-style road signs.

EU doesn't matter here. What, partially, matters, is the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic - but there are some countries which didn't sign it, and the exchange of the license without passing the theoretical exam is possible.

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]


In German there is also die Rollade, but it refers to a specific type of window curtains rather than to food. To those rolled similarly as the "rolada" food :-)


But isn't it all the same? :-) Just the size is different.

If you are talking about the "biszkopty" biscuits, there are also two versions of them, one, as you have told, in the shape of fingers:

[biszkopty_1.jpg]

the other one in the shape of discs:

Those finger-like ones are more crusty.

But in Poland nobody would think of a sponge (like bath sponge or dish washing sponge) talking about this kind of product.

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]


Well, die Torte in German is exactly the same as tort in Polish, and this pastry typically contains also layers being typical spongy cake made of flour (in Polish called "biszkopt", no idea about the English name).


But there is many different variations of cakes, pies and other pastries, each of them having its own name in Polish. Even though the general word is "ciasto" or, sometimes, "ciastko".


In Polish you have "placek" or "naleśnik", which are, basically, a little bit different things. Placek will contain some extra stuff, like potatoes, cheese, apples, raisins directly in the dough and it's small, with the diameter of around 10 cm. Naleśnik has the size of a big plate, the filling (cheese, jam, nutella) is put onto it after it is fried and then its rolled or folded.

It's more weird in German, where they often use a French word for a pancake (although, from I know, they have also their own word - Pfannkuchen).

But be, again, careful, as "placek" can also mean a cake.

I have also heard people using "placek" as a slang word for pizza.

And, I have forgotten, one meaning which is really far from tasty... "krowi placek" means, literally, cow's sh...t.

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]

The fruits are also quite easy to distinguish. Look at the point where the fruit is connected with its "tail", on which it hangs on the tree. You will see the difference. For the sour cherry it's softer and more juicy.

The sweet cherries seem to be more likely to have worms in them.

For me it's weird that there is a single word for both of them in English and German :-)

There is a proverb: "Bez pracy nie ma kołaczy" - "There is no kołaczes without work".


Masa, ciasto - both are words used for that, and both of them have also other meanings.

From my side, a weird thing in English is that it has no word for "tort". In English it's called just "cake" - completely neglecting that it's a very special kind of cake.

Also, I don't think that English has a word for "babka" (a circular cake with a hole in the middle), and I am not sure about "rolada" (although it may refer to meat stuff as well, Tatra-style smoked cheese is also called so by manufacturers when it's not a real oscypek, as it's made of cow instead of sheep milk and it's not made in Tatras).


Is it the first time when you learn a foreign language and you discover that a word in this language has more than one meaning, for each of which there are separate words in your language? :-)

It gets more funny when there are different words for the same things used in different regions of the country, but we have already had a discussion about "angielka" in this topic - which is probably the most known example of that in Polish (there is not many such cases in Polish, it's really uniform as compared with other languages, people practically don't speak dialects any more).

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]

All this what Google Images shows when I type in "pastry", I would rather call "ciastko" in Polish than "ciasto".

In "ciasto francuskie", "ciasto" means "dough".

"Ciasto" in the meaning of a ready food is rather a spongy thing with not much cream. When something has equally much cream as this proper spongy thing that used to be dough before baking it, it's called "ciastko".

"Ciastko" is also a cookie, but it's a different cup of tea (in Polish: inna para kaloszy - another pair of wellington boots).

The border between "ciasto" and "ciastko" (in the non-cookie meaning) is very blurred. But, for example, wuzetka:

is usually considered to be a "ciastko" rather than "ciasto".

But karpatka: is called to be a "ciasto", although it consists of almost only cream...

Language / The "end piece" of a loaf of bread in Polish [80]


"under Cracow" is "pod Krakowem"
"from under Cracow" is "spod Krakowa", it seems you meant this form
"to under Cracow" is "pod Kraków" (the form "pod ...-a" would be correct in case of nouns for animate objects, let's say "pod kota" - "to under the cat")

There is no "pod Krakowa".

Language / Differences in Polish and English idioms [69]


Karaluchy pod poduchy!

Language / Differences in Polish and English idioms [69]

Wishing "colorful dreams" makes sense. Colorful means here interesting and nice.

Law / Is it possible to convert my Pakistani driving licence to a Polish one? [46]

It may be so that passing the written part is enough when you already have a foreign driving license.

And most people fail the practical test, not the "written" part (actually solved on a computer).

News / A better Polish solution: aiding refugees in their home region [29]

Well, democracy is not a good political system.

News / A better Polish solution: aiding refugees in their home region [29]


Any aid will not change much in their lifes so long as the war there is going on. The war must be stopped.


Maybe because it's a civil war and they don't support any of the sides, they just want it to end. Just an idea.

Travel / Need advice on trip to Poland [21]


Bought earlier is in the most cases cheaper for long-distance trains. For local trains it makes no difference.

On local trains (at least those of the Przewozy Regionalne company) you can get a 30% discount for all except one from a group of from 2 to 4. So, in your case, for 5 persons you can get 3 discounted tickets. The offer is called "Ty i raz - dwa - trzy":

przewozyregionalne.pl/ty-i-raz-dwa-trzy

To use a similar offer for long-distance trains, you need at least one child not older than 16, so for them it will not work in your case. But for local trains yes.


Currently there is no passenger trains to Łomża. They are going to be reintroduced after the renovation of the tracks, which is going to be done until 2023. The nearest train stations to Kolno with passenger traffic are: Pisz, Ostrołęka and Śniadowo.

But Łomża seems to be the only town with which Kolno has a connection better than just a single bus in a whole day.

See the timetables:
pks.lomza.pl/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=32
faster.net.pl/linia/lomza-kolno
Be careful with that many of those buses operate only on working days or on school days (those "on school days only" will not work during school holidays) - read the annotations.

Check for bus connections at e-podroznik.pl

There is many bus lines that can take you from Warsaw to Łomża, you can also google the phrase "autobus warszawa łomża" albo "bus warszawa łomża".

Life / Health insurance in Poland - your suggestions please [35]

1. Ask the university if you really need to buy a touristic insurance for this period, because it looks a little bit weird
2. Google offers of such insurance which are available in your country, but first of all, google what kind of insurance you actually need for your visa!

(if you haven't got any answer yet, this means, people who have had such a problem before don't look at this forum often)

3. Compare the prices offered by different companies
4. Choose the cheapest offer (unless you have reasons to choose a more expensive one)

Sorry, but these are things you can find in the Internet by yourself. Whatever you buy, deal with, whatever problem you have to solve, this is the basic procedure. This is how the life works.

Life / Health insurance in Poland - your suggestions please [35]

I would ask the university. It might be so that you need to buy a commercial health insurance (as if you were travelling to Poland as a tourist) for the time until you get your visa, come to Poland and do everything in NFZ.

But I don't know, I would ask the university.

Life / Health insurance in Poland - your suggestions please [35]

It's the website of the NFZ department in Lublin, not in Cracow, but the rules are the same in the whole country:
nfz-lublin.pl/voluntary_health_insurance

So it seems you need come to Poland first to get the health insurance from NFZ.

Some information is also available here:
nfz-lodz.pl/dlapacjentow/leczenie-za-granica/98-leczenie-w-ue/279-health-care-in-poland

Law / Not having a car insurance for a little while in Poland [13]


No, this is just a stupid rule to allow the insurance companies make more money.

But yes, it is so, there must be a continuity and you can get a big fine from the Insurance Guaranty Fund (UFG) otherwise. Unless the car is a bus or an old-timer (I am not sure about trucks), they can be de-registered temporarily.

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

No, this similarity shows that both of them are Slavic languages.

Better look at the similarities between Serbian and Croatian. People from those both countries will tell you that they are totally separate languages :)

Life / Will Poland ever be multicultural like Sweden, Germany or France? [201]

Poland used to be one of the most multicultural countries in Europe. Before the World War 2.

Life / Ekogroszek/wood pellets or gas for heating in Poland? [9]

I have read about conversion of stoves from coal to pellets, and it seems it's possible, but it's not a good idea. A boiler designed to burn coal in it will not work good with pellets. It will never be so efficient as a boiler designed specifically for pellets.

They can equally well ban burning any solid fuels, but I think it's a really long way for them to do it, because it's just too many houses in Poland heated using coal. It will take years for all of them to convert to other fuels. Many houses in city centers still don't have connection neither to the gas network, nor to the city central heating network (district heating, it seems they call it so in English), and the apartments are heated with individual old-fashioned ceramic coal stoves. In those houses either totally new plumbing will have to be installed. Or they will have to be converted to electric heating, which is expensive to use (it's the most expensive system from all the possibilities), but this will, anyway, often demand electric wiring exchange, because the old wiring is often not capable of carrying the power necessary if you want to use the electricity for heating. And there is still many people just too poor to afford anything other than coal heating.

Travel / Why most taxis in Warsaw cheat foreigners to get more money? [38]

Have you written down the license plates, color and make of the car, and informed the police? From what I know, the taxis have to have a meter and a price list in a visible place.

Life / Ekogroszek/wood pellets or gas for heating in Poland? [9]

"Ekogroszek" (it must have an English name, I don't believe it's so Poland-specific) is cheapest but annoying and dirty. Every few days you have to fill the tank with coal. Using your hands and a bucket or a spade. Which produces a lot of dirt and dust. If you decide for this type of heating, choose a boiler with a more advanced control unit unless you want to spend hours in your boiler room adjusting all the settings once the outside temperatures or quality of the coal changes.

Two advantages of "ekogroszek" coal heating is that it's the cheapest system (only the traditional heating systems based on a coal boiler are cheaper) and probably the most popular one in Poland, so it's easy to get help.

Wood pellets are the least popular option from all of them, and it's something between "ekogroszek" coal and gas. It's still a solid fuel, so it needs some manual work to use it, but it's much "cleaner" than coal. And, if I am not mistaken, the burning process can be controlled much better. Might be an interesting option, but it might be not so easy to get support when you have some problems, because it's just not that popular.

Gas may be a really good option if your house has (or can have) a connection to the gas network. It's clean, you don't have to do any work with it (no coal tank to refill - just take care about regular check-ups made by a specialist), you don't need a separate room for a coal storage, and the boiler room is clean, so you can use it also for other purposes. I would say it may cost 1,5 of that what "ekogroszek" heating costs. But everything depends on the current coal and gas prices, so it's difficult to compare it.

Check also other options, such as:
- trying to use your current old-fashioned boiler in a more efficient way (there are actually two possible ways of burning in such a boiler) - it's described here in Polish:

czysteogrzewanie.pl/jak-palic-w-piecu/jak-palic-czysto-weglem/
maybe you will find some English materials about that as well, the thing is to fill the boiler with coal first and then to light it up at the top instead of lighting it up at the bottom and then covering it with coal; it turns out to be much more efficient (you cannot refill the stove, but once you light it up, a full load of coal should be enough for a day, and you light it up again on the next day), however, it has some nuances that have to be taken into account

- solar heating system
- heat pump

For the two last ones you can get some funding from the state.

By the way, it seems that those "ekogroszek" boilers are called stokers in English, or, at least, in the USA:
city-data.com/forum/house/489442-heating-coal-me-beginners-guide.html

Life / The best online shopping portal in Poland? [41]

What kind of shop do you need? What do you need to buy?

The best option is to find the cheapest one using the comparison services:
ceneo.pl
skapiec.pl

Check not only the options that look cheapest - some shop do some cheating so that they appear cheaper than they really are.

Life / Why Polish Diminutives/Nicknames are so popular? [14]

1. It's just a name, it has no special meaning.
2. I don't get what a nickname can "ralneh" be. Franek? Which is a diminutive for Franciszek, and that is a Polish equivalent of English Francis.

Law / Getting a Polish drivers license / Poland's residence permit (how long it might take to get?) [28]

For B the medical check-up is really basic. The doctor checks if you can see correctly (if you need glasses, you will be obliged to drive always with them) and makes some basic tests, like blood pressure (I am not even sure about that, I don't remember - but the vision is for sure checked).

For the C category, it seems, the medical examination is more detailed, and apart from the medical one, you will also have to do a psychological one.

The medical examination costs 200 zł, the psychological examination 150 zł, and it seems these are official fixed prices.

Law / Registering Foreign Car In Poland [24]

It's a lot of paperwork to register a foreign car in Poland.

Try to translate this instruction:
auta-z-niemiec.com/oferta/rejestracja-auta-z-niemiec.html
- it's for importing cars from Germany, but in case of other EU countries, the procedure shouldn't be different.

And ask if you don't understand something, or if you have some questions.

Some parts of that look really absurd, for example that they sometimes direct cars imported from Germany, still having a valid inspection, to a Polish inspection, even though the German inspection is very detailed, and in Poland you can sometimes even get a confirmation of inspection going to the inspection station without the car...

Real Estate / Termination of fixed term lease in Poland [28]

It seems it's possible only in the cases mentioned in the agreement.

In case of a rental agreement without a fixed term, it's different, but when it's fixed, there is no other way. If it was stated in the contract that you are allowed to terminate it due to "important reasons", without mentioning them specifically (or with mentioning them but only as examples), then it would work. When it is not so - it doesn't. Sorry, it's what the Internet says.

You just have to talk to the owner, explain your situation and kindly ask if he agrees to terminate the contract. Maybe offer him help with looking for a new person to rent this apartment.

Language / Dziadzia / Babcia - help me with spelling/pronunciation [81]

"busia" must be something regional because I haven't met nor heard that until I appeared on this forum, living in Poland since I was born.

Even as a child, I have always used just "babcia" and "dziadek". "Dziadziuś", "babunia", also "dziadzia", "dziadzio" for a grandpa - I have heard that, but never "busia". I assume it can be a kind of abbreviation from "babunia", or rather "babusia", but I have never heard that in practice.