Study / Studying in university of Warsaw or Lodz and part-time for Computer Science (Programmers) - POLAND [6]

Warsaw University of Technology is the best one.

Then you have the Wrocław University of Technology and the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow.

Not sure about the quality of the study programmes in English, but it should be OK.

Łódź University of Technology also has good programmes in English with small groups.

From private schools, known is the Polish-Japanese School of Computer Techniques in Warsaw.

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.

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

On the websites of the operators there are the coverage maps.

On the website mapa.btsearch.pl there are locations of all the base stations (or, actually, the places for which the operators got permits to built base stations there - so there may be no base station in a place marked on this map).

But the biggest issue here is that there might be a base station very close to you, but it may be so overloaded that using mobile Internet in that place will be actually pain in the neck.

The best option is to get pre-paid sets of all the operators: Play, Plus, Orange and T-Mobile, and to try all of them out.

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".

News / Boeing or Airbus - which ones would be better for the Polish Airlines (LOT)? [35]

Yes, but what that has to do with civil aviation? This is the worst thread possible to write about such things.

About the deal described in the article - PiS was explicitly saying that they will resign from buying Airbus helicopters for the Polish army already in their election campaign. So it was obvious they will do it.

Why do they do it? Probably because they have more supporters in the cities where the Airbus competitors would produce their aircrafts (if I remember well - Lublin and Świdnik) than in Łódź, where Airbus helicopters were going to be manufactured.

Travel / Exchanging £5000 at a Kantor in Bydgoszcz [9]

Just call them on a phone in advance.

Language / Differences in Polish and English idioms [65]


Karaluchy pod poduchy!

Language / Differences in Polish and English idioms [65]

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.

Po polsku / Co sądzicie o prawie do wyborów w Polsce? Głosowanie za granicą. [18]

Powiem tak. Ja mieszkałem przez rok w Niemczech i mimo tego więcej wiedziałem na temat tego, co aktualnie działo się w Polsce i w moim mieście w Polsce, niż co się aktualnie działo w Niemczech i w mieście w Niemczech w którym mieszkałem.

A większość wyborców, nawet mieszkających w Polsce, w ogóle nie interesuje się bieżącą polityką - ani trochę. Skutek tego jest taki, że wygrywają populiści. Dobrze że nie ma u nas obowiązku udziału w wyborach, jak w Australii, bo wtedy byłoby z tym jeszcze gorzej. Tak mamy tę ok. 50-procentową frekwencję, i to w jakiś sposób ogranicza odsetek tych, którzy głosują nie wiedząc tak naprawdę, na kogo głosują.

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 / Warsaw to Cracow trains [7]

There are also some TLK trains, equally fast as the IC. They are older and they don't have the diner coach or compartment, but if price is important, they may be also a good choice.

You can just uncheck the EIP and EIC trains in the connection search.

Actually, looking at the timetable - there are actually three non-EIP and non-EIC trains on a day from Warsaw to Kraków using the fast CMK route on the whole length between Warsaw and Kraków (there are also some going first through Skierniewice and Koluszki, and entering it in the neighbourhood of Opoczno - they are slower). And all of them are TLK trains, so with older coaches and without a diner. There are some IC as well, but they use the CMK route only partially, and some of them are actually ED74 Bydgostia trains, which aren't really good train units for a longer route (they were designed for the route from Łódź to Warsaw, but they turned out to be too small - luckily, they are going to be sold to one of the local train operators now).

IC Orłowicz, IC Kolberg and IC Żeromski are on Flirt trains, but they go through Kielce, so they are slow. There is also the IC Wit Stwosz, but it uses Bydgostia trains.

Life / Which is the best mobile network in Poland? [29]

I am not sure about which network has actually cheapest international calls, but Play is usually a good choice.

If you go to Ukraine (I don't really get it from your post), using a Polish SIM in Ukraine is expensive, get a local one there.

In Germany (no idea if you return to England by car or by plane) - it will be comparable with using local German SIM cards. Using a Polish SIM in roaming in Germany can be even cheaper than using a local German SIM without roaming.

Because the new Polish SIM cards have to be registered, the best idea is to purchase one in a store of the operator, for example Play - you should find one in any shopping mall. Some newspaper kiosks and, in some cases, post offices can also do it, but it depends on the operator. So the best idea is to go to a shop of the operator and say you need a pre-paid SIM and you want to register it.

Travel / Warsaw to Cracow trains [7]

There are a few websites with connections search:

old.rozklad-pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en?
portalpasazera.pl/en/

Put Warszawa as "from", Kraków as "to" (may not work without Polish diacritics, so the best idea is to copy-paste) and it will find all the connections.

Also at the website of the train operator: intercity.pl/en/

If you want a pure timetable - here: portalpasazera.pl/en/Tablice- table B130.

The fastest trains are EIP.

Language / Grammar question about conditionals in Polish. [20]


Ok, then it's well to learn something new. Still good that I gave a link to this website. I was always convinced that it should be written separately in this case. Maybe the reason (practical reason why the rule is so) is that it makes a pair with "jakby". Jakby ..., toby ....

You can see that Polish often surprises even its native speakers.

And the rules how to use the comma properly... they are just complicated. And I have learnt English too much and I move to Polish something which is the only correct way of writing in English (but incorrect in Polish).

Travel / Help: Travelling from Gliwice to Zilina (Slovakia) [7]

You can get to Zwardoń, and catch a train to Zilina from there. The trains to Zwardoń go from Katowice.

Another option is through Cieszyn. You take a train to Cieszyn (from Katowice you must change in Czechowice-Dziedzice), walk about 2 km to the station in Cesky Tesin (the Czech part of Cieszyn) and catch there a direct train to Zilina. But the train to Cieszyn doesn't reach Cieszyn in the time to the end of September, there is a replacement bus service on the section between the last station before Cieszyn (Cieszyn Marklowice) and Cieszyn.

There are also trains between the station in the Polish and Czech part of Cieszyn, but their timetable doesn't make much sense when you want to get there from Katowice, it's better to walk.

There is also an option through Bohumin.

I will try to compare the prices. Assuming local trains in the Polish part. You can take an EIC from Katowice to Bohumin, and it will be faster, but also much more expensive.

1. Through Zwardoń.
Gliwice-Zwardoń with a train change in Katowice - Koleje Śląskie - 23 zł (= 5 euro)
Skalite-Zilina - ZSSK - 2,45 euro (train from Zwardoń)
+ maybe a surcharge for buying the ticket on the board, sth like 2 euro, but rather not
It seems that when you board the train in Zwardoń and ask the conductor for a ticket to Zilina, you will get a ticket from Skalite, the first station in Slovakia. So crossing the border is "unofficially" free of charge. You can buy an international ticket from Zwardoń to Zilina, but it doesn't make any sense, as it's much more expensive.

-> 7,5 euro together, around 6 hours

2. Through Bohumin.
Gliwice-Chałupki - Koleje Śląskie - 21 zł (= 5 euro)
Chałupki-Bohumin - Koleje Śląskie - 2 zł (= 0,5 euro) (trans-border ticket)
Bohumin-Zilina - CD - 138 CZK (= 5 euro)

But on weekends you can buy a ticket from the Silesia Weekend offer. It gives you 15% discount from Gliwice to Chałupki and allows unlimited travels in a big part of Czech Republic. With this ticket, on the train to Zilina you can get to Mosty u Jablunkova:



So when you change trains in Bohumin, it's enough to buy a ticket from Navsi to Zilina. The trains from Bohumin to Zilina don't stop in Mosty, so I am not sure if you could do it with a ticket from Mosty, but for sure you can do it with a ticket from Navsi, where the train stops, and it's still in the area covered by the Silesia Weekend ticket.

Then the ticket for the Slovak-Czech part will cost only 127 CZK (= 4,7 euro) + the Polish ticket will be cheaper.

If you buy a return ticket for the Polish part, the discount will be 20%, and the rules for Czech Republic are the same.

3 The same rules as through Bohumin and similar prices are through Cieszyn.

And, by the way, you can also buy a daily network ticket of Koleje Śląskie for 34 zł, which works in the same way as the Silesia Weekend ticket in terms of Czech Republic, but allows to travel on all the Koleje Śląskie trains for a single day, so you can use it as a return ticket if you return on the same day.

Of course, you can also use EIC trains, which are fast, but it will be more expensive.

Language / Grammar question about conditionals in Polish. [20]


No, "jeśli" feels much more distanced than "jak" :-)

Normally people talking to each other usually use "jak" instead of "jeśli". Or you can replace it with "kiedy" or "gdy" either. But it has an equivalent in English, where you can replace "if" with "when".


"to bym" is written separately, but apart from that, it's OK.
The "by" particle, being an equivalent of the English conditional "would", "could" etc., is written together only after a verb which is not in an impersonal form (so it's not an infinitive and not the form ending with "-ono"/"-to"). In all other cases it's written separately.

So you can write:
-> Gdybym miał czas, to pomógłbym ci.
but:
-> Gdybym miał czas, to bym ci pomógł.

Other examples (with impersonal verbs):
-> Gdyby państwo miało pieniądze, to wybudowałoby autostradę.
but:
-> Gdyby były pieniądze, to wybudowano by autostradę.

And it's enough in most cases. More detailed rules (in Polish) are here:
- when to write it together: sjp.pwn.pl/zasady/Pisownia-laczna-czastek-I-bym-I-I-bys-I-I-by-I-I-bysmy-I-I-byscie-I;629503.html
- when to write it separately: sjp.pwn.pl/zasady/Pisownia-rozdzielna-czastek-I-bym-I-I-bys-I-I-by-I-I-bysmy-I-I-byscie-I;629509.html


Yes!


Yes, here it's a kinda equivalent of the English "to". Normally it's used as "żeby", but it can be shorted to "by". So:

-> Chcę żebyś mi pomógł.
or:
-> Chcę byś mi pomógł.
The third option is "aby":
-> Chcę abyś mi pomógł.

Means, of course:
-> I want you to help me.

In this use - in normal talks with people "żeby" is used most often. "By" is used more in formal situations (sometimes in talks as well, but not so often), "aby" is rather reserved for literature and most formal cases.

By the way, it can be used in all the persons.
-> On chce żebym mu pomógł. -> He wants me to help him.
-> Chcę żebyś mi pomógł. -> I want you to help me.
-> Chcę żeby mi pomógł. -> I want him to help me.
-> On chce żebyśmy mu pomogli. -> He wants us to help him.
-> Chcę żebyście mi pomogli. -> I want you (all) to help me.
-> Chcę żeby mi pomogli. -> I want them (a group of men or men and women) to help me.
-> Chcę żeby mi pomogły. -> I want them (a group of women, animals or things) to help me.

By the way, such a combination is also possible:
-> Chciałbym żebyś mi pomógł. -> I would like you to help me.
Two uses of "by" in a single sentence :-) The "by" meaning "would" and the "by" (or, exactly, "żeby") meaning "to".

And it's crucial to remember that sometimes "by" can be located in different positions, and one time it will be written together with another word, another time separately. See:

-> Chciałbym cię zapytać, czy byś mi pomógł.
-> Chciałbym cię zapytać, czy pomógłbyś mi.
Both meaning:
-> I would like to ask you if you could help me.
(as far as I know, it's forbidden in English to put "will" in any form after "if", so I replaced it with "can")

Why do I have to write everything about the specific grammar topic when someone asks about Polish grammar on this forum? Should I teach foreigners Polish grammar, or what?

Travel / Need advice on trip to Poland [12]


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".

Po polsku / Co sądzicie o prawie do wyborów w Polsce? Głosowanie za granicą. [18]


Jeśli ktoś wyjechał za granicę tylko np. na rok, to jak najbardziej powinien mieć prawo głosu. I to, według mnie, głosu z listy tej gminy, w której w Polsce mieszka, a nie z listy warszawskiej.

Powinna być też taka możliwość przy wyborach samorządowych i referendach. W przypadku referendów lokalnych może to być ciężkie do zrealizowania od strony technicznej - ale też nie niemożliwe. Mogłoby się odbywać korespondencyjnie, ale nie poprzez ambasadę/konsulat, jak jest obecnie, lecz bezpośrednio poprzez odpowiedni urząd miasta.

Language / Grammar question about conditionals in Polish. [20]


Usually not, both you and the person you talk to usually know whether the help was needed in the past, or it is needed now :-)

Life / I am moving to Warsaw. (Could anyone tell me about life there?) [49]



Yes. It may still go above 20 deg. C, but not much. Maybe also below 10 deg. at mornings. But it will be rather getting colder and colder. It will be coldest in January and February (let's say between -10 and 10, sometimes it may go below -10, and it will rather not reach 10). From March it gets warmer and warmer.


x-kom.pl for a laptop, they have also normal shops in shopping malls.

For clothes, also check shopping malls.

Language / Grammar question about conditionals in Polish. [20]

1. Jeśli będę miał czas, to ci pomogę.
2. No way to translate it literally, you may say:
Może będę miał czas, jeśli tak, to ci pomogę.
(Maybe I will have time, then I will help you)
By the way, does this sentence in English really have such a meaning as you explain it? Are you a native English speaker? I am not, and I would understand it as: "I don't have time now, but if I had, I would help you" - and then it would be translated in exactly the same way as the sentence [3].

3. Gdybym miał czas, to bym ci pomógł.