the POLSKI blog

Or do you? It’s a commonn misconception that you need to pay to use the loo in Poland. Yes, maybe in some places, but not everywhere. In the past, most places, including restaurants and bars, would have toilet attendants who’d charge you a small set fee to enter the loo (and in some cases provide [...]

I’ve been asked several times recently whether it’s true that Poles in the UK are going back home for good. The simplest answer is: I don’t know. To start with, it’s never been clear how many Poles have actually settled in the UK since Poland joined the EU. I remember reporting on the influx of [...]

Poland has never embraced a music single in the way the Western world did. There have always been singles, but mainly as songs on the radio – those that were available in shops, if at all, were never popular. Therefore Poland has never had ‘proper’ charts based on record sales. With piracy in Poland in [...]

‘So what?’, I hear you say. After all, all Londoners share free evening papers all the time. Yes, but they are free. You wouldn’t share your Economist or Marie Claire with the same carelessness and ease, would you? Polish InterCity and EuroCity trains still often have compartments – with six seats in the first class [...]

I wrote about it some time ago here, so I won’t be repeating myself. The short answer is: they can be, but in general nowadays they are only slightly colder than their British equivalents. Anyway, all this is just a lame excuse to share this video with you. Enjoy. SEE MORE: → Kraków in winter

Yes, it would seem that – although we still celebrate birthdays – we seem to enjoy our name days a lot. Quite often people will throw a party on their name day and they’d expect flowers and even gifts from family, friends and/or colleagues. But what exactly is a name day? It’s a custom which [...]

So, is it true that the Polish Santa Claus visits twice? Yes. Lucky Poles, eh? Let me explain. 6th December is St. Nicolaus day (Mikołajki), and traditionally it’s been a day when people give their children small gifts. But only those who’d behaved themselves, obviously. Santa Claus for most people in Poland will more likely [...]

No, not flapping. Clapping. Is it true that – when you are on a plane full of Poles – people will start cheering and clapping their hands upon landing? Sadly, yes. Sorry, I still cannot comprehend why people treat landing like the biggest achievement of the human race. Get over it! Do you clap when you park [...]