Law / Is my Pesel number on my old Polish passport? [4]

If one was born after 1999, 20 is added to the MM part. For example for a person born 14th January 2002 it will be 022114xxxxx. For born today - 133129xxxxx. Maybe in this situation it is not important, but might be useful if someone find it in the future.

News / POLAND to have its own automobile brand (back), the SYRENA! [36]

And it's probably connected with the Warsaw's coat of arms:



And the legend of Warsaw Mermaid: warsawtour.pl/en/warsaw-for-everyone/for-kids/warsaw-legends-3160.html

Syrena car used to be produced in Warsaw, by FSO company. Before Syrena, they had been producing a car called Warszawa.

News / POLAND to have its own automobile brand (back), the SYRENA! [36]

Generally a mermaid is a symbol of Warsaw, this creature has for example a few statues in the city.

Law / European Health Insurance Card - help with Poland's ZUS? [12]

To heve health insurance, you must work here or be registered as an unemployed.

USA, Canada / Are prices for Laptops, Cell Phones or Tablets in Poland cheaper than in the US? [18]

In new versions of Windows it's possible to change the language, but there is no point buying devices like a laptop in Poland if you can do it in the US - just because of the price. In terms of the mobile phone - or even a tablet - you should check the band frequencies on which the phone would work. In Poland GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz is used. And 900 MHz and 2100 MHz for UMTS. Ensure that the mobile bought in the US don't have a sim lock.

Real Estate / Recommend good residential areas in which to rent an apartment in Lodz? [24]

I agree, it's quite a nice and green neighbourhood - called Teofilów Mieszkaniowy, which means "Residential Teofilów", in the opposite to the industrial part located in the north to Aleksandrowska street called Teofilów Przemysłowy - "Industrial Teofilów". Connection with the city centre is good - with several bus and tram lines (although they are very crowded); it's quite close to a huge supermarket (Carrefour)...

You can see it on Google Street View: goo.gl/maps/5AGq3

Life / Learning Driving In Poland - rules? [55]

Poles do not drive so bad... Go to Turkey, when you will have seen how they drive, you will change your mind :)

Real Estate / Recommend good residential areas in which to rent an apartment in Lodz? [24]


Only in morning and afternoon hours, when people are going to school/university/work and back. Are they really crowded? It depends on how you define it - for Indian conditions they may not be busy at all :) For sure I didn't have such a situation in £ódź that the bus or tram was so crowded that I couldn't get in.

Since you are going to work somewhere in that area, you won't have a need to get to the city centre for 8 AM, so probably you won't even meet such a problem.

P.S. Does anyone have an idea why the forum changes Polish letter £ (L with a stroke) into the pound sign?

Travel / Travelling from Rzeszów to Szczecin [7]


Yes, you can, but ticket bought more than 15 days before has 15% discount. More than 7 days before too, but the discount will be lower.

From Rzeszów to Szczecin is the longest possible direct route between two big cities (capitals of województwo) in Poland :)

I would recommend one of those direct trains. If this won't be in the first days of winter school holidays in Poland (20th January, when the holidays begin for students from województwos: lubelskie /Lublin/, łódzkie /£ódź/, podkarpackie /Rzeszów/, pomorskie /Gdańsk/ and śląskie /Katowice/), there shouldn't be problems with seats, but I recommend to book tickets in advance to ensure that you won't have to stand.

P.S. You go from Rzeszów to Szczecin, so even in the first days of holidays there shouldn't be problems with seats. Then the trains in an opposite direction will be busy, people will want to go to southern Poland where there are mountains.

Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

Receiver (or at least CI module) must be from Polsat. Cards from TNK (SD, not HD) and old cards from Cyfra+ (from before it merged with n) will work in any receiver supporting encoding systems used by them (Conax for TNK, afair Nagra for Cyfra+). But from Polsat, n and nc+ (product of the Cyfra+ and n merger) will not.

Dish might be yours, you must only set it on Hot Bird 13" E.

Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

Consult a point selling Polsat services? Maybe they would send you the receiver abroad for some extra charge. But they would have to send you an agreement to sign it and this could be a bigger problem.

If you don't manage to find a point which would agree, the only option is that someone in Poland would do everything for you.

Language / Does this paragraph make sense? I am learning Polish [11]

Maybe not "literaturę", but "prozę" :) "Literatura" includes also poetry.

Life / Up-to-date prices for Driving Lessons in English in Warsaw? [5]

30 hours of theoretical lessons and 30 hours of practical lessons in a car. But the hours of theory are counted as 1 hour = 45 minutes. In practical part - 1 hour = 60 minutes.

The course includes "internal" test, which is obligatory and checks if you are prepared to the real test passed in an office called WORD (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego - Regional Road Traffic Centre). And after the last changes you must do the medical test before the course (you must have the results to enroll in) - usually it looks so that a doctor comes to the centre where you are going to have the course. Or they recommend a doctor at whom you can do it.

For the real exam you pay in WORD, after finishing the course.

I have no idea what can be prices of courses in English. Polish one costs about 1000-1200 PLN. The exam will cost 170 PLN + some money for the translator (only for a practical test, as far as I remember, the theoretical one has an English version and it would be difficult to have a translator in the examination room because of the need of silence).

News / Y Shaped high speed rail line Poland [78]


Not building, but preparing the investment - yes. But the current government is not going to built it before 2020, they said that they want to focus on the existing normal speed railways...

The Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa isn't a new line, it exists since the 70's. Now it is being modernised to prepare it to speeds of up to 250 km/h. 160 km/h is reached also by trains on Warsaw-Poznań line.

The underground £ódź Fabryczna station, which is being built now, will be prepared for the Y-shape hish-speed crossing it.

News / Y Shaped high speed rail line Poland [78]

A strange thing is that in Poland constructions connected with railway take much more time then the ones connected with roads. For example they are still renovating the line from £ódź to Warsaw since 2005. Building of a parallel section of the A2 motorway lasted 2 years, from 2010 to 2012... I'm afraid, what will happen, when they will be building a parallel section of the Y railway line :)

The railway in Poland has been neglected for years and now most of the infrastructure is in a bad condition. The government still prefers to focus on roads and motorways. However, it's now much better than before.

News / Y Shaped high speed rail line Poland [78]

Kraków has a half of a motorway ring, Warsaw has no motorways... But on the other hand only Warsaw has the underground. In case of diffrerent city facilities, Warsaw can do much more - not only with the money of the city, but also with some support from the country.

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

Actually it's not an official fine, like the one from police, but something called an "extra payment". From the side of the law, it looks as if you didn't pay for a service, and you have a debt in the transportation company (or in a special company which is only checking tickets and the transportation company has an agreement with them). They may sell your debt to a collection agency in the future. Will that agency look for you abroad? I have no idea.

Isn't there any discount if you pay the fine earlier? In £ódź there is such a thing and the discount is quite high.

Travel / Are there any films in English shown in Polish cinemas? [9]

In Poland you have choice, most of projections are in English with subtitles, but especially in multiplexes for example one per day might be dubbed. Check it always in timetable, subtitles will be marked as "napisy", dubbing just as dubbing.

Life / Polish equivalent of CLR? (Calcium Lime and Rust Remover) [10]


Kamień. "Kamienia" is a genitive form. So what you need is "preparat do usuwania kamienia" ("limescale removing agent"), but your problem is "kamień na słuchawce prysznicowej" ("limescale on the showerhead").

Life / Polish equivalent of CLR? (Calcium Lime and Rust Remover) [10]

They advertise it on TV that it's enough to put this Cillit on a sponge and wipe the shower head with this and it will be free of lime and rust :) But I wouldn't trust TV commercials.

On the net people recommend methods with vinegar, sometimes with addition of baking soda.

Life / Do you have middle names in Poland? [12]

I think it depends on that what names one actually uses. I have a middle (second given) name, but I don't use this - so if I met someone having the same first name and surname, for me he would have the same name as me.

Travel / Przemysl and/or Rzeszow and/or Sandomierz [14]

It's no point crossing the Ukrainian border if you are not going to visit Lwów (Lviv). Few hours? You may spend them waiting in a queue at the border crossing :) Especially if you go there by coach (or train - in case of trains the problem is that they must change wheels due to a different track gauge). There is a trick to omit this, but few hours is for sure too little to get to Lwów and visit it.

Life / No Toya box in my building in Lodz, so how can I get Internet? [11]

You must check if any channel from India is accessible via one of the satellites covering Europe. Then if you don't need Polish channels, just buy an FTA tuner and a private dish.

There might be some restrictions on installing a satellite dish on the building wall or on the roof (but, at least in theory, the administrator cannot prohibit to install it somewhere, they can only give restrictions). There may be also a common aerial installation for all the flats. In the last case the available satellites are usually Hot Bird and Astra.

Life / No Toya box in my building in Lodz, so how can I get Internet? [11]

If you can find some channels you are interested in on this list (as I can see there are some channels from India there):

lyngsat.com/Eutelsat-28A-and-Astra-1N-2A-2F.html

it is marked by yellow or blue background and don't have "UK" in the "beam" column - you will get them in Poland by sat. TV.

Buy a satellite tuner (if a channel is marked as MPEG4 or DVB-S2 it should be an HD tuner) and an 80 cm diameter dish. It has to be set to the 28.2 deg. E position, which is not typical for Poland.

Life / Help with Polish address - the correct way of putting that on an envelope? [29]

Postal codes in Poland were introduced just in the 70's. Believing Wikipedia, it was 1st January 1973. But probably initially they weren't obligatory, as it was something new.

In the address:


the house number is lacking. There would be problems with delivering it. I have no idea how the post office would behave, would they reject it or pass to the postman, who may just know this lady.

Writing the name of województwo (province, voivodeship) on the envelope is not obligatory. The recommended pattern in Poland is:



And 62-560 is a postal code of not only Skulska Wieś, but also all the area of the post office in Skulsk (which can be checked on the website of Poczta Polska - Polish national mail operator). So the correct addres would be:


In such cases the village name is written instead of the street name.

If the letter is sent to a village with a post office and without street names (with house numbers only), there is no second line as in the address above and the house number is written after the name of the village/town/city with the post office corresponding to the post code. What if it's a village without post office and with street names? I don't know what is a correct version, but I would address it like the official example in the picture above writing the village name just before "ul. Cicha 132" (in the same line), separated by a comma.

Language / study, studies and studying - 'nauka' and 'studia' [4]

Nauka and studia aren't interchangeable, the meanings are different.

Nauka or uczenie się is studying for a test, an exam.
Studia, studiowanie mean being a university student.
Nauka can mean also science and all the researches carried out by universities.

If you ask somebody Jak tam na studiach?, you not necessary mean studying, but rather just being a student - all the student life etc. (although it doesn't mean that this cannot include learning).

Jak tam z nauką? will be always about learning for e.g. exam.

Lenka is right that both high school (or even primary school) and university student can say ja się uczę and only university student can say ja studiuję, but it doesn't mean the same. If someone says ja studiuję he/she don't have to learn for an exam now, it only means that he/she is on a university.

Language / Is there a traditional expression used as a welcome? [18]


Bóg, not Bug. "Bug w domu" would be rather unpleasent situation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_River

Life / Best broadband provider needed by English speaker in Warsaw [6]

What do you mean by wireless? Do you want to have wi-fi in your flat or to be able to go out with a laptop and a modem and use internet wherever you are?

In the first case look for stationary connection (from Orange if you have stationary telephone or from your cable TV operator if you have cable TV), it will be much better because of no transfer limits and stability. Then either you get a wi-fi router from the ISP, or you may buy it by yourself. In the second case you need a mobile connection - from one of mobile phone operators (Play, Plus, T-Mobile, Orange). Which one would work best? The situation is different everywhere. E.g. in your flat Plus works best, but two blocks away you get signal from another transmitter, which is busy and the connection is of poor quality. You may check it using a mobile phone (connect it to computer as a modem) and a pre-paid starter.

Language / What is the difference between BYĆ W STANIE, UMIEĆ, and MÓC? [18]

Languages aren't a good example because we say just "Nie znam angielskiego", meaning literally "I don't know English" and translated as "I don't speak English". In Polish saying even "Nie mówię po angielsku", normal in other languages like English or German, sounds strange. In Polish for languages there is usually used "znam angielski, niemiecki, francuski, rosyjski, włoski, polski" or "nie znam angielskiego, niemieckiego, francuskiego, rosyjskiego, włoskiego, polskiego".

We usually also don't say "jeździć na koniu", but "jeździć konno".

"Nie mogę" is the most general. "Nie mogę pojechać samochodem" - "I cannot go by car". It's not important why. Maybe it's broken, maybe I am drunk, maybe I have no driving license, maybe there are some road works on the only route.

"Nie jestem w stanie" - suggests that I cannot do it because of my current condition or abilities, or even some external factors, but rather not permissions given by other people (although it's not very strict).

"Nie POTRAFIĘ dzisiaj dojeżdzać pociągem na zajęcia." is a very strange sentence. It would mean that somebody don't know how to use trains and have to get to classes for example from home many times during one day. "Potrafię" is for knowing how to do something. And "dojeżdżać" is something like "be doing something" in English.

"Nie mogę dzisiaj dojechać pociągiem na zajęcia" or even "Nie jestem w stanie dzisiaj dojechać pociągiem na zajęcia" - then it might be for example because railway workers are striking and trains don't go today. Or there is any other factor which stopped trains and caused that I must find another mean of transport or miss the classes.


And I forgot about one more case possible - there is no person who would give me a lift. In Polish there is no difference between "go", "ride" and "drive" (if talking generally about using a car for transportation, not just sitting behind a wheel and steering it), all three are translated as "jechać". Maybe except "go" as "walk", then it's "iść" instead.

Language / What is the difference between BYĆ W STANIE, UMIEĆ, and MÓC? [18]


You're right, but for example a lady in a ticket office servicing a foreigner and not speaking English, will ask a collegue for help saying rather "Nie znam angielskiego, pomóż mi" than "Nie mówię po angielsku, pomóż mi". Actually both options are correct, Polish is generally very flexible, but I think the first one is more common.

For me "Nie potrafię jeździć na koniu" and "nie potrafię jeździć konno" would mean exactly the same, and be practically interchangeable - if there is any difference, then not in meaning. I can't ride a horse, meaning I can't get on the saddle and steer it on my own (sitting on it, at least if the horse is walking and not running, really isn't a problem, you just have to sit and that's all). If I could do it, I would "umiał jeździć konno", tudzież "umiał jeździć na koniu". "Konno" just sounds better than "na koniu". "Na koniu" rather wouldn't be used in a formal language. And that's all.