Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]

And long may it continue. Yum, yum! They sell bottles of pre-mulled wine in M&S and Tesco now. But it's much nicer to prepare your own with cloves and oranges etc. Smells just gorgeous.

Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]


Just off the top of my head, is it possible that wine was a bit too expensive for the average Joe, so that's why it was mostly ale and mead that got 'mulled'. Perhaps the upper classes enjoyed mulled wine.

Did a quick google and found a very interesting link:
oakden.co.uk/potus-ypocras-hippocrass-medieval-mulled-wine/

An early English recipe for mulled wine. Looks do-able even nowadays. Spikenard root might be a bit hard to come by and 'guinea grains' but I'm sure a bit more googling would uncover a few acceptable substitutes! When the evenings get colder I'll by trying it anyway.

Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]

How nice that someone is feeling Christmassy. Far too much misery and malice on this forum. Out with the misery say I and on with the fairy lights!

Travel / I'm so bored in Poland! [129]

We're getting far too jolly British Bird. We'll be sent to the off-topic section shortly to think over our sins. Can't have irrelevant 'enjoying yourself' on Polish Forums.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

You see one of the problems with terms like Westernised is that they mean different things to different people And what's the West anyway?? It's more a political and economic entity than anything to do with culture. The British Isles are nothing like Sweden or Norway but they're very much the West. Poland can enjoy all the benefits of being Westernised while still retaining her very special identity as a meeting of eastern (meaning Slavic) and western cultures. That's her great strength if she can only convert it to her advantage.


Well I certainly don't! But I would like to see a better standard of living for people in general, larger living spaces instead of families with three children squashed into 40m square, decent pensions for the elderly, better health care and health education etc. But it takes time to achieve that and Poland has made great progress in 25 years. I'd also like to see proper food labelling so people can determine how much salt they're eating.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

Yes, it's scary. The amount of salt in the average Polish diet is xxxxx times the recommended levels, so much processed meat, cheese and of course bread which many people don't realise has such a high salt content. Also a lot of working people eat convenience versions of things like pulpety, bigos etc and they're simply loaded with salt. We know plenty of younger Polish people who have no idea that salt is associated with high blood pressure or that you should limit your intake. They're not being taught that in secondary school and there is no public awareness of it generally. People are conscious of fat content but not salt. Still, I suppose it was like that in the 'West' twenty or thirty years ago, so in time Poland will cop on.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

Poland needs a government who will invest some money in a public health education program. I think that's the first step. Then the government needs to put the lean of food producers to reduce the fat and salt content and then they need to introduce food labelling. Poland is very strange because on the one hand people are obsessed with the most bizarre aspects of their health (what's this business of your wątroba, I mean honestly the amount of medication advertised for the liver??) and they are complete hypochondriacs yet at the same time they are very ignorant of the real health risks they face and that's the fault of the government.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


Yes that's a fair point. But you can make very tasty, nutritious dishes with quite ordinary ingredients. They don't have to be expensive.


Of course! Silly me. Thanks! Mind you, I remember an ad years ago on Polish tv where a woman is offered cake and says 'only a small slice, my liver etc' so I had the impression that they associate liver with digestive problems. There was a word used in vintage days in England 'liverish' used to describe someone a bit under the weather.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


Yes, husband and I were in the supermarket and looked at the salt content in Vegeta and he was speechless, it was horrendous. Then he picked up a bottle of Maggi which Poles ladle into their soup by the bucket load, he looked at the sodium level and simply said 'death in a bottle'. Bear in mind that he's Polish and grew up on this stuff. He didn't believe me about salt being bad for you, dismissed it as nonsense until I got a little book about blood pressure in Boots. I think it's produced by the British Medical Association. He has great respect for all those 'official' British bodies so when he read it there, he believed it and is now, in typical Polish fashion, borderline obsessed with his salt intake!

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


They wear too many clothes outdoors, hats, scarves, gloves etc when they're really not necessary. Come to Ireland, shiver your way through the chill and damp of an Irish summer and you'll learn to treat hats and scarves with the contempt they deserve! Often when the temp is around 10 degrees you'll see them in arctic style hoods and fur trimmed acoutrements. Also many buildings are too warm with temps of 25 degrees, people don't open the windows. They seal themselves in and then wonder why they get colds all the time. And they don't get enough exercise. Tram or bus carries them door to door, elevators instead of stairs etc.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

It's a great pity about the taste for salty food as it's an issue when eating at a restaurant or friend's house. I don't use salt at all in cooking but I don't object to having a meal now and again that's had salt added. However the amount used can make a meal so unappetising, all you can taste is the salt.

Yes, InPolska I'm in Warsaw right now. We arrived on 2 October to temps of around 20 degrees and were looked at strangely because we were wearing t-shirts and sandals. I've now graduated to a light weight velvet coat and a silk scarf but I'm still hatless and gloveless.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

Next time you get the headache, have just a small piece of chocolate, if you still have the headache, have a second piece etc. That would be a start at cutting down.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


No InPolska, that has to be Dublin and Ireland as a whole. Abysmal public transport, Warsaw is superb compared to it.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

Oh InPolska you poor innocent darling.....may God be good to you, metro my dear? No, the nearest we ever got to that was a free newspaper handed out on the streets called the Metro Herald! We have a commuter train called the Dart that only runs along the coastline from north to south but takes you to the city centre somehow or other. We also have a tram which again operates a very limited route and an appalling bus service. It's truly mirth provoking watching tourists earnestly studying the timetables to see when the next bus is due - basically it's due whenever it happens to turn up. It's quite common to wait half an hour for a bus. Twenty minutes is average.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

Well InPolska, I don't think there's any engineering issues, but I suppose money is always a problem although Ireland seems to be able to find money whenever she really needs it. We're just pretty terrible at long-term planning and that sort of thing. And then there's always the unexpected things that arise because Ireland is such a truly strange little country.

Back in the 1990s when we were building our first motorways there was a major hoo-ha and construction was brought to a halt because of a 'fairy tree' which would have to be chopped down. In Irish folklore a tree reputed to be connected to the fairies cannot be disturbed in any way or terrible consequences and death will follow. There are still many people in rural Ireland who strongly believe in the fairy lore and have great respect for it. I would certainly never do anything to upset the fairies myself. Some professor or other from one of the universities was alerted about the existence of the tree, hot-footed it down to the construction site and convinced them to down tools. There was great public debate and a genuine concern that the area could become an accident blackspot. Anyway the long and the short of it was that at considerable expense, the motorway was re-routed!

Found a link to the story!
irelandinpicture.net/2010/04/fairy-tree-that-delayed-motorway-ennis.html

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]

The only person who's interested in it is the Minister for Transport and after doing the figures he announced that it would take no less than one hundred years to pay for it.


Oh yes, still the same. We'll never get rid of our beloved 'boreens'. But yes, the etiquette is that one of you reverses back to the nearest 'pull in'.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


InPolska do you mean all three added together makes 17km. Gocławek certainly isn't 17km from the city centre.

Travel / I discovered Poland - a nice country [62]


Ah yes that accounts for it. You're about the same distance from the centre as Gocławek so the two added together gives you the 17km. When I was teaching English in Warsaw years ago I turned down a job offer because it meant travelling to clients around Warsaw. Although the rate of pay was double what I charged for private lessons, I worked out that when you added in the travelling time, I would only earn the same hourly rate as I did teaching in the comfort and convenience of my own home.

Law / 27 months of marriage with Polish wife but still UK home office not satisifed with our wedding [11]


But not Irish, special exception there.



But not just to Poles. Anyway Poland requires EU citizens to register within three months of arriving in Poland despite the right of freedom of movement within the EU and it's a similar length of time for permanent residency isn't it? Incidentally the habitual residence thing exists in Ireland too regarding claiming benefits and has caused problems for Irish citizens returning to Ireland after years working overseas. It's at the discretion of the deciding officer who handles the claim and some took it a bit too literally so we had the situation of let's say an Irish guy in his twenties, returning, living at home with his parents and siblings but wasn't 'habitually resident' because he hadn't lived in Ireland for the previous two years.

Life / Poor hygiene of people in public places in Poland [46]

@Wulkan. Ah thinks we got us a big ole troll here boy! She may be from 'down South' but she sure ain't no lady. A real Southern lady would be too well brought up and have too much class to express herself in those terms. Such preposterous nonsense - there are whiffy people the world over and in fact plenty of jokes have been made about the fragrance of the elderly on British tv over the years. Plenty of the whiffy ones are young as well. Wonder if our great lady has ever taught in a boys's school. Well I have and when the old gonads drop, let me tell you the perfume from the armpits is almighty.

By the way, the real troll giveaway in her post is the 'my daddy' reference. Some big old beardy bollocks as we'd say in Ireland doing his Scarlet O'Hara impression. I'm just waiting for Rhett Butler to step out of the shadows.

Life / Poor hygiene of people in public places in Poland [46]


Okey doke, in the absence of Delph, I'm happy to volunteer for that task. Remember you asked for this:


We don't 'do vacation'.


Present tense instead of past. Possible typo.


Incorrect use of the word 'superstitious'. Also incorrect spelling but we'll let that go.


We don't adapt manners. We adopt them.


Well as you've demonstrated, you are in that group of people. What is the offer exactly? I'm not clear on that.

By the way I very generously left out some of the common American usages which would be considered incorrect grammar such as 'acting defensive' instead of acting 'defensively'.

Life / Poor hygiene of people in public places in Poland [46]


Well said Johnny. In the words of Smokey Robinson 'I Second That Emotion'.

Food / Best Polish Potato Variety for Mashing [67]

Thanks Jon. I knew one of the Brits would come to the rescue on this one! Polonius, Polonius, wherefore art thou Polonius?? I know what you mean about dry Polish mash, my husband is quite happy to eat potatoes simply mashed with a fork, nothing added but was converted to the joys of British Isles mash with added butter etc. However when we visit his grandmother who is a great cook she serves very creamy mash. Maybe it's the variety of potato she uses. I like both waxy and floury spuds myself but I prefer the floury type for roasting and mashing. I knew a lady who'd lived in America for years and she added an egg as well as the butter and milk and then whisked the spuds with an electric whisk to make them super creamy. A bit too much like the 'invalid' cookery of bygone days - you know suitable for a TB patient or one who suffers with digestive troubles - for my tastes!

Food / Best Polish Potato Variety for Mashing [67]

Now that name sounds familiar. I"m sure that when I lived in Warsaw years ago I used to get a floury variety because I remember that they roasted quite nicely. Perhaps that was the one.

Food / Best Polish Potato Variety for Mashing [67]

Yes, now that's it. We have those lovely red skinned potatoes in Ireland (amongst others of course).

Law / Can I take training in Polish company without work permit? [7]

That's an interesting question Mika. I'm afraid I don't know the answer but I'm interested to know, did the company suggest this to you or is it your own idea? The only problem I can see is for the company, regarding tax issues. If the tax authorities got wind of it, they might not believe that you're working for free and suspect the company of paying you 'under the table' so to speak. That would mean trouble for the company. Perhaps the employer could get round it by giving you an official unpaid internship for that period. That's quite legal and above board but I think you'd need to sign some kind of paperwork to confirm that it's an internship, not an actual job. Then when you get your permit, they could offer you a contract of salaried employment. Someone here more informed than I am might have a better suggestion.

Law / Can I take training in Polish company without work permit? [7]

I think Mika that the country you're from has some bearing on it. Why don't you check out with your own authorities what your situation would be? Is there a website or something for your government that might clarify for you?

Law / Can I take training in Polish company without work permit? [7]


'Citizens of Belarus, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the Republic of Armenia may take up employment without the necessity of obtaining a work permit for a period not exceeding 6 months within 12 subsequent months. '

So home country can have a bearing. Worth checking out anyway. Good luck.

Food / Best Polish Potato Variety for Mashing [67]

InPolska thank you very much.


You are a fussy little eater aren't you, so very French! I'd eat it anyway. When I was a child, my mother was a wonderful cook and made truly mouth-watering cakes. However she bought biccies in the shop like everyone else and had a weakness for trying the latest products. Of course it was hit and miss. Sometimes they were awful. The day after opening the packet and discovering they were not up to snuff, she'd get a very determined look on her face and utter the fatal words 'Come on, we'd better get rid of those biscuits' which meant making a pot of tea and munching manfully until the vile biccies were no more. No waste in our house!