Mestiv Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 So... There is a whole board for those threads and I don't have much to do in my work right now. So why the hell not, post a thread. Most of this forum members are from North America, so maybe anyone wants to know anything about Poland? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delightful Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hi! What's your favourite and least favourite thing about Poland? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Least favorite: How much influence the Catholic Church has over politics and society :/ Most favorite: Compared to other European countries that I'd visited, our shops are open till really late Most big markets are opened at least till 21, many to 22. At least in bigger cities. Edited July 27, 2015 by Mestiv 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Give me an example of Polish food. I see Polish shops opening up in some areas of my city (I'm in England) but I've never considered Polish to be regarding as such a distinct cuisine to warrant so many specific shops. I presume you can speak fluent Polish as well as English. Do you read books in English or Polish, and what is your preference? And my favourite questions for multi-lingual people. What language do you dream in? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Polish food... Ok, here are some examples, I'll put spoilers to hide images. (No wonder there are Polish shops in England poping up, since there are so many immigrants). Pierogi They can be stuffed with many different things. From meat, cabbage and mushrooms to strawberries or blueberries. The latter aren't fried like those on the picture. Here in Poland you can sometimes find restaurants that specialize in pierogi with tens of recepies in the menu. Bigos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigos Made from cabbage and meat. Best served with fresh bread, or INSIDE a bread, just like on the image below Kiełbasa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielbasa Although sausages are known outside of Poland too, as you can see even English Wikipedia has a two articles, one for Sausages and one for Kiełbasa. We have so many kinds of kiełbasa that when visiting a good shop you would be shocked and feel lost Of course, there are many other examples, but those are the ones that I think are most well know as Polish dishes outside of Poland. Yes, I can speak fluent Polish, it's my native language Although I'm dyslectic, so I can make some mistakes while writing I tend to read in Polish, however, since I left middle school I couldn't wait for new parts of Harry Potter to be translated to Polish and asked my parents to buy me English versions. They were so happy to do so... When Harry Potter finished, I didn't have much incentive to read anything bigger in English, until I've read WoK and found out there WoR are out, but not yet translated. Since then I went on and read almost everything Brandon has published in English, since most of his books weren't available in Polish. Now however, there as a new release of Mistborn series with hardcover and much cooler cover art, so I guess I'll re-read them when I buy them I dream in Polish as far as I remember. Most of my thoughts, if they aren't meant to be spoken out, aren't in any language at all. Like many other dyslectics I think and dream with images and concepts ( http://www.davisdyslexia.com/big_picture.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_thinking#Dyslexia ) rather than words. Edited July 27, 2015 by Mestiv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Invictus Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Do you anything concerning Poland's pre-Christian pagan mythology? I'm honestly interested, as Norse AND Greek mythology're usually all people bother to learn about. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) Do you anything concerning Poland's pre-Christian pagan mythology? I suppose you wanted to ask if I knew anything, right? Well, I know a bit, but I think, if you're interested, I'll try to find some sources for you to read, so I won't mix anything up. Generally, like with most pre-Catholic religions, it was all about nature and ancestors spirits. Main and obvious source of knowlegde: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_mythology As a result of hundreds of years of mixing cultures and slow catholicization of old Poland, a HUGE amount of catholic holidays got "infected" with pagan traditions. You may be surprised, that the Easter Eggs come from old pre-catholic tradition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisanka_(Polish) Very few pagan traditions are even still practiced, although they aren't taken too seriously. One of such traditions is drowning of Marzanna. Marzanna is a 'spirit of death and winter' and a puppet of her was traditionally drowned in late winter to make spring come sooner. Currently it's practiced in kindergartens, as children have fun creating the puppet and then drowning it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzanna Another pagan ritual that recently got brought back to life and currently is celebrated with a lot of concerts and parties is Wianki also known as Kupała Night: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupala_Night If you want to have some look and feel at Slavic Pagan mythology, try out The Witcher 3 game, it's all set in a world filled with creatures and rituals taken right from Slavic folklore. Some interesting additional reads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dziady- summoning the spirits of the dead, this practice was still alive in some parts of Slavic territory long after Catholic church came https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Slavic_mythological_figures and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_beings_in_Slavic_folklore Apart from their gods, early Slavs had a lot of mythical creatures in their world. Some of them friendly, some of them not. A lot of them can be found in The Witcher game Edited July 28, 2015 by Mestiv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 I can understand this question in two ways: 1. Would I like to be born somewhere else? I don't know. If I was born in western or northern Europe I guess that would be fine. But it's hard to tell since I would not have comparison 2. Would I like to move somewhere now? Not really. I like my country with all its flaws. I might one day travel somewhere to work, to get some money, but I think I would eventually return to Poland after some time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mckeedee123 Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 I took a European History class recently, but it was only from 1300-onwards. I was always sort of curious as to what ancient Poland looked like. How did it end up as that squarish republic-thing? Also, what do you think of the situation in Ukraine right now? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I took a European History class recently, but it was only from 1300-onwards. I was always sort of curious as to what ancient Poland looked like. How did it end up as that squarish republic-thing? Ancient Poland... well, there wasn't such thing as Poland till 960 A.D. when first rulers/dukes were mentioned in written text. Our first king was Mieszko I, he and Poland as a result were baptised in 966. After that the history of Polish Kingdom had it's up's and downs. It got divided into many little states and later reunited by Władysław I the Elbow-high. That squarish republic-thingy you are talking about was Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a political and real union of Poland and Lithuania started by marriage of our queen Jadwiga Andegaweńska and Lithuanian ruler Władysław II Jagiełło. Jagiełło by this marriage agreed to be baptized and for whole Lithuania to be baptized. More about the Commonwealth can be found on wikipedia. This union was the key to the defeat of Teutonic Order that was causing troubles for both Poland and Lithuania. Thanks to this union the Commonwealth became one of the strongest countries of Europe, also known as Granary of Europe due to huge amounts of food exported to the west. If you are into history may I interest you in our famous Polish Hussars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_hussars(or in a more comical description: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/hussars.html ) Also, what do you think of the situation in Ukraine right now? I think that Russia is trying to invade Ukraine while telling everyone that they are not invading Ukraine :/ What they did with Crimea was an outright aggression. In Poland we are very concerned about what Russia is currently doing, because of our very bad experiences regarding Soviets and Russians. Until 1989 we were part of Soviet Union and it looks like Putin may try to regain some of the USSR terrains under the excuse of "protecting russian minorities" :/ Edited July 29, 2015 by Mestiv 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Invictus Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 How do you say, "Ancient Aliens is horrible science, but awesomesauce TV!" in Polish? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 How do you say, "Ancient Aliens is horrible science, but awesomesauce TV!" in Polish? Well that is a very informal English, so I'll go with very informal Polish: Ancient Aliens to badziewna nauka, ale zajefajna telewizja! or, to have a bit more grammatically correct sentence: Ancient Aliens to badziewny dokument, ale zajefajny program rozrywkowy! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Invictus Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 W00t! What is THE best tourist spot in Poland, in your opinion? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted July 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 Whoa, that's a hard question. It all depends on what type of tourist are you? 1. You are mostly interested in architecture, cities and museums. Go for Kraków or Wrocław. That have big old town areas, not destroyed by WW II, a very nice atmosphere and very good infrastructure for turists. Many restaurants, hotels, discos and each of them has an airport. If it's possible make sure to visit Wieliczka Salt Mine, it's on the Unesco world heritage list, it's AMAZING. 2. If you're more of a nature person there are three options. 2a. Mountains: City called Zakopane. It's THE place to go if you want to see Polish high mountains. It's located right next to Tatra National Park, and is a great place to stay. 2b. Lakes and forests: The whole region of Mazury (north-east of Poland). Mazury are a very popular place for people that enjoy sailing, kayaking, biking etc. The air is clean, water is not that cold and the whole region is well prepared for tourists. 2c. Sea. Well, Baltic Sea is neither worm nor clear, however Polish beaches are something that every Mediterranean country can envy us. With white, fine sand and a lot of space they are great for walking, sunbathing and for little kids to play in. You can full around and fall down a lot, and the sand will act like a cushion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 If you became Emperor of Poland tomorrow, what's the first law you would declare to your subjects? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Probably I would declare alcohol drinks and cigarettes illegal. Although that would end up with country-wide uprising and my quick death. Poles have too many problems with drinking, many drink because they are bored, many drink because it's the only way they know to relieve stress. Most of teenagers don't know how to have fun without drinking. And cigarettes are just a straight way to lung cancer and a burden for the medical care provided by the country. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mailliw73 Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 What's one common misconception about Poland or Poles that the rest of the world or Americans in general have? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted August 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 (edited) I'm not really sure, as I don't have that much experience with other nationalities. I think that currently, there are not that many and those that still exist are rather minor. However, If you are not sure about something you know about Poles, then feel free to ask, I won't be offended I know that in the '90s Poland was thought of as a country far less developed than it actually was. I remember hearing stories, that foreign visitors to Poland were sometimes surprised that we had TVs and fridges snd I don't blame them, after all it was just after 1989. The West didn't have that much info about what was going on on this side of the Berlin Wall. Edited August 8, 2015 by Mestiv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seonid Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Crap. I hate my phone sometimes. Somehow I ended up downvoting Mail's post. This is like the second time this week this has happened... Maybe I should just stop phone browsing. Anyways, to the actual purpose of this thread - polish history question for you: Did the Poles have any interaction with the Mongol invasion of Russia? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mailliw73 Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Crap. I hate my phone sometimes. Somehow I ended up downvoting Mail's post. This is like the second time this week this has happened... Maybe I should just stop phone browsing. Anyways, to the actual purpose of this thread - polish history question for you: Did the Poles have any interaction with the Mongol invasion of Russia? I wondered why I had a downvote randomly. It's all good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted August 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Did the Poles have any interaction with the Mongol invasion of Russia? Sorry, that this response took me so long. As far as I know we were not involved in this invasion. Polish armies fought with Tatars some times later, but I think it was a century or so later. There were regular fight on our eastern boarder, but nothing too serious. However, we had our part in other invasion on Russia :> Polish–Muscovite War - when we almost conquered Moscow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 I seems that AMAs are popular again, so I guess I can necro mine. Give me some questions 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draginon Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 Are you a North Pole or a South Pole? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestiv Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 4 minutes ago, Draginon said: Are you a North Pole or a South Pole? I'm a West Pole. Don't you know the earth is flat and has 4 poles? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draginon Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 19 minutes ago, Mestiv said: I'm a West Pole. Don't you know the earth is flat and has 4 poles? You're forgetting the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest Poles so there's 8 poles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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