Which services is Poland still waiting for?

Then I stand corrected, can't believe I missed it in Galeria Krakowska given the amount of time I spend there.

Then...install an air conditioning unit.


Your flat didn't have them because you'd be expected to buy them yourself. That's quite normal in Poland - people prefer to highly customise their flats themselves rather than letting the developer do it. They're so incredibly cheap and easy to install that a child could do it.

As for not seeing windows with them - where on earth were you hanging out? Tell you what - I'll be in Wroclaw soon - I'll take pictures of bug screens in/around the Rynek for you.


I can think of several in Poznan. Perhaps you simply didn't look in the right places?

uhhhmm....that.....was....the point?


not to repeat myself but......???......that's......correct.


yes....why yes of course. 4 years, was looking in the wrong direction the entire time.


better yet, visit 100 flats, at random, throughout the city, and see if they got 'em. get back to me on your results. you know.....because that would pertain to the point I was making.

I never needed the bug screens when I lived in the town but I could not do without them now I have moved near to the lakes. First thing I had fitted but it is surprising that none of my Polish neighbours seem to have them. They were not expensive, the company came and measured up, a week later they fitted them, somewhere around the region of 50 złoty per window.

Only problem is the patio doors, I have a Labrador who would walk right through a mesh net so I have a beaded fly-screen which seems to keep most of the mozzi's out, that and a can of "Raid".

Yeah whenever I see promo photos of new buildings of flats with ponds and trees all around I think "nice mosquito farm". I like Warsaw's concrete jungle as the bugs are not so prevalent. I have skipped on flats because they had trees a meter from the window etc. Not worth the hassle.

Are there any coin stars in Poland,or an equivalent of?

I had to google to find out what it is. :):):):)

The firm's original focus was the conversion of loose change into paper currency,

Oops, no coinstar point in Poland yet.

Sorry, there is one at the Hel Seal Aquarium. But it converses paper notes into loose change:):):):):)

Is it all right?

Thank you Pawian,Coinstar is convenient if you have a lot of loose change you've let pile up.They're located at Mall,supermarkets etc.

You pour the change, it counts it out,then dispenses a receipt.You take the receipt to the cashier and you are given cash.I forget how

much it charges.Is this something that would go over well in Poland?

Wow! So much effort to install so many points all over the world in order to converse loose change into paper? ?????

I don`t believe it!


Sorry, no. It will never catch on in Poland. I collect some change during the week but on Sunday we drop it onto the tray at an RCC service or donate to gypsy beggars in streets. I suppose many Poles do, too.

Come on, don`t you have enough paper money in the market in your countries? ????

Pawian,We do,I myself don't use this service very often.A lot of homeless make use of them,believe it or not :),at least in Boston

Oh, I see!

Very interesting.

Most of the big supermarkets have them here in the UK. Many family's and especially kids save their loose change and pocket money for several months, even years, and cash it in for notes before going on holiday etc. If you were to take the coins to a bank, then you would have to put each type of coins into different bags and is more hassle.

Wow! I am really impressed to see such a cultural difference between Poland and UK.

Vincent,though I don't use them much;I do think that they are quite convenient,especially if you're saving change for a purpose.

So why didn't you?

The fact that they don't come "as standard" is much to do with the climate not requiring them.


You certainly must have been if you didn't know about the existence of 10zl bug screens and drive through restaurants.

what great effort do you speak of? it's a machine the size of a washer machine, it gets set in the corner of the store, you dump your change in, take the receipt to customer service, and you get your cash. who's breaking a sweat with that?


you've lost me dude.


stop typing, start reading. I said they weren't standard in Polish apartments, which is a fact. I said nothing about whether they exist or not in Poland.

Dont those machines take a percentage for the trouble?

I just had breakfast at a place in Krakow that gave free refills for coffee. Good coffee at that.

Had a problem last week. Scratched my polish credit card so had to go to the bank to get a replacement. I had no photo ID which they asked for to issue a new one (tried to explain that all people in Poland don't carry id cards as Brits dont have them) the bank manager couldn't understand. And although i accessed my account on my android and showed him and even called citi bank on the phone and cleared security he still wouldn't give me the new card. Eventually, in order to get home i transferred money from my account to the managers account which he gave to me.

Poland at times it does my head in... they have no common sense!

They need common sense!!!!

Last time I was in Poland I tried to drive on the wrong side of the road. When stopped by a policeman, I said that in Britain we don't do right hand side, and we all drive on the left hand side..He wasn't impressed

Joke apart, as a foreigner, you are obliged by law to carry an ID at all time with you while in Poland.

I never do and i've never been stopped.

yes, i think around 6%.

Bargain... better to take it to the bank or use it in ticket machines. It's a win/win situation for the supermarkets because they earn 6% (less any costs/overheads) and they get change for the tills for free. (iom sure the banks charge for change)

if you bring it to the bank, you must have a full roll, you can't just drop loose change on them.

$10 in quarters, $5 in dimes, $2 in nickels, 50 cents in pennies, rolled by yourself. for guys with just a plastic cup sitting on their kitchen counter, it's a convenience and you don't care whether or not you receive $8.64 or $8.31.

Not in the UK. If it's legal tender then the banks or the post office are obliged to take it.

No such thing. The concept of legal tender only exists in relation to paying debts. They (as any retailer) have the right of refusal if it concerns the supply of a product or service.

And yes, the banks will tell you to get lost if you turn up with odd amounts.

try GG, to take your penny jar to the bank or post office, they will tell you to do one until it is bagged and counted (by you), I can assure you.

Legel Tender - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_tender - Coins and notes are usually defined as legal tender... of course you would only need tender to settle debts...legal of course!!! But then again you can also save 'legal tender' in banks etc in order to settle debts in the future.

After living and working in the UK for how long do you know this? I lived in the UK for over 40 years and never once had a problem with a bank or the post office accepting change. Of course they prefer it to be bagged and will happily give you bags to put the change into. I can't imangine a bank turning down any deposit these days.

That's a curious definition of legal tender. I'd be interested in a source for your claim that the Post Office and banks are obliged to take your coins.


Of course they'll supply bags, but they won't take handfuls of change.

(in Poland on the other hand, they seem quite happy to take handfuls of random coins)

Take your change, they'll supply the bags and take it of your hand. You don't even need full bags.