News / Footie hooligan punch-up thwarted in Poland [47]


You don't get the point. The references to the current events in the U.S. are in no way related to football hooliganism.
The references to the nets which apparently are shot across the pitch to catch pitch invading hooligans in German stadia, are related to the topic.

News / Footie hooligan punch-up thwarted in Poland [47]

Polonius3, do you want to discuss current events in the U.S.? If so, please use the off topic thread or find another forum.

If you want to discuss what happened in Knurow, please do not mix the topics in one answer. Hooliganism in Poland (or anywhere in Europe) can not just simply be described as "mindless violence". There is a lot more to it. A look at the group's infrastructures makes it quite clear that we don't just talk about uneducated thugs.

However, first of all, I would like it if you could answer my questions regarding the nets in German football stadia, that shoot out across the pitch when someone invades it. Can you please tell me at which German stadium you think you have seen such a net?

News / Footie hooligan punch-up thwarted in Poland [47]


You seem to know more than I do. Can you please advise in which stadium in Germany they have nets that shoot out when the pitch is invaded?

Anyway, I do agree that what happened on the weekend has to be looked at from both sides. On one hand, I agree that the police overreacted. The rubber bullets should be the last resort. On this occasion, the police did not even try anything else. According to the videos there were enough officers to keep the two sets of supporters apart. Looked more like a case of a trigger happy cop who thought he would get a away with it, seeing that there would be no media attention to his aggressive "crowd control". I guess it didn't quite work out as he would have imagined.

On the other hand, I can see and understand the argument "they should not have been on the pitch in the first place" .

Either way, if anyone thought that Polish football has returned to normality, at least in some Stadia, will find that the idea of violence free football games in Poland is now completely out of the window. Police will now have an even harder time to control the crowds at games.

Study / Studying in University of Lodz as an Indian student? What's the city like - is it safe here? [56]


Did that person intend to travel to Denmark via Germany from Poland? If so, either you are making something up or you have been told nonsense. Germany does not deport back directly to the country the person is from but back to the country the person entered Germany from. In this case, the person would have been handed over to the Polish police at the German / Polish border.

Work / Possibly changing jobs in Lodz - higher salary [19]


Do that. Have a few beer / vodka over Majowka (as is tradition in Poland) and think about it. But, if it is about money, speak to your manager at your current company first to see what they can offer you. If you have the right language and do a good job, they would be happy to offer you an increase which can be anything between 200 and 1400 zlotych. I know of a Polish native with fluent Spanish who just got 1400 PLN increase to make him stay because he was that good at what he was doing.

Don't listen to people like Dominic. It is usually people like him, who shout the loudest on internet forums, because in real life they have nothing to say in their "dead end jobs".

I am not sure which engagement you in at your current employer but if you want, drop me a note and we can take it offline.

Work / Possibly changing jobs in Lodz - higher salary [19]


You still don't know what BPO is, do you? You compare it to a call center without any real knowledge.

Your arguments and "facts" are nothing but laughable nonsense. The OP would have a lot of opportunities to "beef up his qualifications" in the company he is working for now. I know the company and they do offer external qualification programs such as ACCA or CIMA. But i guess, becoming a qualified accountant would be something his children would have to be embarrassed about, right?

Laughable, Dominic, simply laughable.

Work / Possibly changing jobs in Lodz - higher salary [19]


You would like to point out your opinion which more often than not is far from reality.


The OP has never said that he is working in a call center. He said BPO. The fact that you immediately think "call center" when being confronted with BPO, shows how little you actually know about the Polish job market. Yet, you are always the first one to give your advice which usually is nothing but nonsense.


At the moment, you are left with 2000 PLN on your bank account. These 2000 PLN are yours to spend however you like. You do not have any other financial commitments i.e. rent, bills, internet etc. etc.

With the new job, you get approx. 1700 PLN more net but you still have to pay rent, bills etc. After paying rent and all the bills, you will be again left with 2000 PLN but you have start all over in a new company.

I think I know which company you currently work for. I know the apartments they offer their employees are usually of good to high standard. This company also offers you training and development opportunities. Not only internal but also external trainings for example ACCA etc.

You may want to speak to your manager about the possibilities of development before you make your decision. I also know that this company, should you be doing a good job, would most likely make you a new offer (add a few hundred zlotych) if you indicate your intentions to move on.

Financially you would not be better off if you do decide to go for the new job. Perhaps even worse than you are now. I am not sure if it is worth to move for this offer.

Travel / The cheapest way to get from Lublin to Kiev - 2 days trip [7]


And a lot more interesting. Specially when the moment when they are changing the gauge.

Travel / The cheapest way to get from Lublin to Kiev - 2 days trip [7]

Cheapest way would be by Bus. Takes between 12 - 14 hours depending on how fast you get through the border. Price is about 160 PLN one way.

UK, Ireland / PLN to GBP - how to get the best possible rate for over 100K zloty? [21]

Do you have a link to the new regulation where it says that the same rule applies when travelling between two EU member states? The link and quote you posted points out the non-European Country rule


I am not aware of the change from 2012 so it would be quite interesting. It would also be a step back in our freedom of travel and movement of goods within the EU.

UK, Ireland / PLN to GBP - how to get the best possible rate for over 100K zloty? [21]


Jon, that only applies if the OP travels to the UK from outside the European Union. Same as if he was trying to leave the European Union, he would have to declare it.

Seeing that the OP will be the travelling from Poland to the UK (inner EU travel) the 10k EUR rule does not apply.

UK, Ireland / PLN to GBP - how to get the best possible rate for over 100K zloty? [21]

@ Terri, that would apply if he would travel to the UK from outside the European Union. The cash limit then would be 10k EUR.
I am not aware of any limits when travelling within the EU.

News / Germany provoke Poland using Silesian question. Poland's attitude ? [124]


Why would you say that? Germans have a close relationship with Silesians. And Poland does allow for that relationship to grow by allowing dual language city / town signs. We are on a good way.

News / Germany provoke Poland using Silesian question. Poland's attitude ? [124]


Just a pity that all your "brothers" turn their back on you.......

News / Germany provoke Poland using Silesian question. Poland's attitude ? [124]

Your point is that nobody can trust the Germans?
How do you feel about the fact that Germans are happy to admit about their country's wrong doing while your beloved Russians still deny the invasion of Poland in 1939. Is it part of your "brotherly love" to just ignore that historical fact? Do you want to discuss Katyn or do you start to shut up?

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


When i first came to Poland I worked as an English teacher in conversational classes for 66 zlotych an hour. I am German so English is my second language, yet i got paid for speaking English to a group of people. At the end of each class they thanked me for encouraging them to use their English. Teaching is not my background either nor do I hold any teaching qualifications.

Go for it and don't let negative people hold you back. I am not a big fan of people saying "go for it" when it comes to risking live savings and investing into a business. But when it comes to getting experience abroad for the sake of enjoying life and seeing something new, why not? Go for it. Let us know when you are in Poland. More than happy to meet with a Canadian for a piwo and talk some hockey. The guys from the US here in Lodz don't know much about it unfortunately.

Law / Obtaining PESEL, ID Card and Passport in Poland [39]


Yes, I know. In fact, I once had a German consulate refusing to issue a temporary passport to me because I kept losing my passport on every single groundhopping trip when i was younger. I did get it eventually but was told to look after of my documents more carefully.

My question was more related to the wording "Hrvatwithapolak" has used -


- because whether this is PESEL or passport related, it does not make sense. PESEL is for life so no temporary PESEL numbers and a passport always is issued only for a defined period of time.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


Those who return back home to continue teaching, should indeed think about the proper qualifications. But that's a bridge they have to cross when they come to it. First of all, they start off working as teachers abroad. Some may do it for one or two years and then return home or go somewhere else. Others go back home to continue teaching.

But first they should experience the life abroad and then make their decision. It does not help them if some disgruntled people just mock them. Let them do it, give them proper advise instead of scare them, help them to get some experience abroad and then they can make their own decisions.

A know it all like DominicB, who has nothing positive to say based on the fact that he ran some silly group in Wroclaw is neither helpful nor does it help people to find out what they really want to do.

Law / Obtaining PESEL, ID Card and Passport in Poland [39]


A temporary what? Temporary PESEL number? I thought that's a number that follows you for the rest of your life once issued.

A temporary passport? There is no such thing as a permanent passport. All passports have an expiry date........

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


But most of the "English teachers" in Poland do not go back to their country to continue to teaching career. Most likely they are young folks, looking for some adventure abroad, meet new people and perhaps even learn a new language. They don't return home and work as teachers.

I don't understand why it is so bad to be an English teacher abroad and why they are mocked so much. These guys should be respected for having the guts to just pack their bags and go somewhere else for a while. Anyone can settle down after Uni, get a mortgage and do the "right thing". Not many people have the guts to just simply live and do what they feel like for as long as they can.

In my opinion most people who mock them. Most people who advise foreigners to go somewhere else are simply jealous of the fact they do not have the guts to just pack their bags and do what they want.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


What do you base that assessment on? Do you have any experience as a hiring manager?

I for one have great respect for people who go abroad , work for little money and do not run as soon as they face some difficulties but instead stay and make it work. That makes them more attractive to any hiring manager than someone who goes abroad, earns an above average salary and possibly lives in a company apartment. Anyone can do that.

It takes character, guts and strength to take a job abroad that may not pay very well and make it work.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


That's the question. Why do anything? But most importantly who are you to answer it for other people? Believe it or not, there are people who would just like to live abroad for a while and get some experience.

I pity you, i really do. You should learn to live instead of being consumed with doing everything "right".

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

Brutally, yes! Realistic, no!

The advice that you give to people here, particularly when you say "go to another country because it will be hard for you in Poland" usually contradicts the experience I have made here in Poland. Once you told a Spaniard to go somewhere else or stay in his country because foreigners don't get hired as bartenders. When I told you about the Irish Bars and particularly the Irish Mbassy in Krakow which was managed by a Canadian girl, you had nothing to say.

When I told you about the SSC / BPO's looking for native speakers and are willing to pay good money (for Polish standards) despite of their qualifications, you responded with "I ran the largest English group in Wroclaw for eight years", yet you had no facts to support your stand apart from running some group.

The one thing you seem to have missed when you started studying at the age of 16 is that as long as you can not make a case, nobody is going to take you serious. So far, you have been unable to produce any evidence of what you claim here. You have no leg to stand on yet you keep telling people that what you say is fact.

When you say that "The main reason to go to Uni is to create a network of contacts" i start smiling because a network of contact is not going to get you anywhere unless you can build a case for yourself or your argument. Your contacts are not going to be of any use if you just keep repeating the same thing over and over again without the ability to convince the right people with facts and figures. What you produce here are posts about what you believe might be right, based on the fact that you ran some group for eight years.

To use your words.....

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


Do you life in the real world? I am asking because I am trying to figure out whether I can continue to talk to a normal person or adjust a little bit to meet your fantasies.

It seems to me that you have either been brought up in a privileged household, allowing you to study whatever you want because the Bank of Parents just kept increasing your overdraft facility or you come from an underprivileged family and you carry a massive chip on your shoulder.

Either way, you seem to be forgetting that it is perfectly fine to have an average economics degree without risking that your children need to be off sick on the day they discuss "My daddy is a ......." in school.

You need to get back to the real world because the last couple of threads in which you posted about qualifications make you look as if you are either angry with your own life or you have studied too much causing some kind of wiring fault.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]



Now I understand what you meant by "the main reason to go to University is to create a network of contacts". I kept wondering why you kept repeating it. Now I understand. When studying anything language related, I can certainly see your point.

That however makes me wonder why you keep talking about "solid" education in order to achieve something in life so your children can wear "real clothes" and your wife can eat "real food".

I must say that I find it quite cheeky to give other people advice on what they should and should not do while you carry two lousy language degrees in your pocket.

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


You should. Russia is a beautiful country and a lot of Russian don't actually support their president and his politics. Of course, not too many would say it it out loud in public. Russia has a lot more to offer than Putin, self-written history and raging wars with it's neighbours.

I for one would love to go back to see more of the country.

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


This is what you base your argument on? Jokes?



I do not know where in Warsaw you take the bus, but my own experience here in Poland is completely different. The opinion of Poles being welcoming towards Germans is shared by a lot of Germans who work in Poland or visit the country as tourists.

I for one never had any issues for being German and I do not keep it as a secret. Following your bus example, I too have one. At my first Widzew Lodz game I went to the bar in front of the stadium because i had 3 hours to wait until kick off. It was late August, extremely hot and the bar quickly filled with supporters looking for a cold pint. Not the crowd I would join for a beer when going out with my girlfriend but for a few beer before the game, to discuss football, the crowd was ideal. It didn't take them long to realize that I am a foreigner and when asked where I am from I did not make a secret out of the fact that I am German. Usually, the football crowd are the ones you would expect to react in a unpleasant manner when meeting Germans, it actually turned out to be a pleasant afternoon. Even when, what appeared to be, their more senior hooligans and ultras appeared there were absolutely no issues.

You may have witnessed something happening on a bus but you can also see drunk people on busses. That does not mean that all Poles are drunks.

Although I do wonder how these Poles on the bus would have known that the guys they supposedly insulted were German. Surely, we do not have our citizenship tattowed to our forehead. They could also been Austrian or Swiss.

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


You have clearly never been to Germany, otherwise you would not come up with such nonsense.

By the way "Das Lied der Deutschen" of which "Deutschland ueber alles" is part of the first verse was written in 1841. So you are referring to a few lines of texts which are over 170 years old.

Seeing that Germany has since moved from Kaiser, to the Weimarer Republik, to the Nazis, to being split into two countries to being re-united and becoming one of top strategic partners for a lot of countries in Europe (including Poland) and the world, I think your opinion might be a tiny bit outdated.

Not even Poles feel about Germany the way you do. What's pathetic is that you are trying to argue using stereotypes which have very little to do with reality.

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


"Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles" is the first verse of the "Lied der Deutschen" which later evolved to become the German anthem. The Nazis only used this very first verse where as now the only verse used is the third verse.


Yes, that is correct.


Thank you Anet. That's possibly one of best statements in this thread!

Travel / E36 from Germany to Poland - possibly the worst stretch of tarmac in the World? [7]


Thank for that! So does that mean that before 2007, the lanes leading towards Germany were non-existent? I used that motorway first in 2010 so i have no comparison to what it looked like before.