I’ve read recently that according to 3 major sources: the Internet, the public and the American scientists, Polish is one of the most difficult languages in the world. Last week I had a pleasure to meet Peter, who’s from the UK and he’s living in Poland for a couple of years now. He said that even though he’s been learning Polish for eight years, he thinks he’ll never be really fluent because Polish is actually an extremely difficult language. I know that many of you want to learn Polish so I’ve read a couple of articles on the Internet about Polish and I think that some of them are fake so I’ll try to deal with some myths.

I know that many of you, like myself, are economy students. That’s why I’ll do my best to tell you as much as I can about polish economy. I’d like to start my new series with introducing world famous companies that were established by Poles or people born in Poland, polish Jews or whatever you call them. Enjoy!

I live in Warsaw for almost 7 years and there are days when public transport can still surprise me. An unexpected accident or a break down is enough to make commuting a disaster. There are more than 1600 buses and 400 trams on the streets and that are being used by 3,1 million passengers every day.

The city has a fantastic public transport network but the plethora of choice can be a bit overwhelming for the first time visitor so I’m going to share with you my advice on how to get around Warsaw. If you want to know what ZTM,  SKM or a request stop are, why the bus doesn’t stop everywhere and why you should not push the open button - keep reading and you won’t get lost in this city jungle. Let’s get started!

If you want to catch up with Polish history, I have good news for you. You don’t need to take a full dull course – just find 8 minutes and enjoy a genius animation which shows all the essential facts. The brilliant short video telling Poland's history by the master Tomasz Bagiński was the hit of the EXPO 2010 Shanghai exhibition. It's worth mentioning that the film won the silver medal for the most creative presentation at the EXPO.

Have you ever wondered how many Poles there are in the world? Because we’re a 38 million nation, but adding up all the people of Polish origin around the world makes as a 60 million nation!  There are over 20 million people of Polish ancestry living outside Poland, making the Polish diaspora one of the largest and most dispersed in the world. 

Have you ever wondered what the most beautiful restaurant in the world looks like? Well, if you want to find it, you have to visit Wrocław. In February CAMPO Modern Grill based in there won international WIN Awards in London for the best restaurant interior design of the year, beating the restaurants form Great Britain, Australia and Hong Kong. 

Last Sunday, on March 11^th, was the first Sunday with large supermarkets and most other retailers closed for the first time since liberal shopping laws were introduced in Poland in 1990s after communism’s collapse. 

Polish Legends: The Dragon is a 14-minute live-action short film from the Polish Legends series which is a nicely crafted modernized version of the famous Wawel Dragon legend that terrorized Kraków centuries ago.

Lately, there’s a new trend in Warsaw and it looks like its gaining popularity among young people. Like many other big cities, where historic buildings downtown are turned into luxury hotels, shopping centers or bars and restaurants, Warsaw now has its own old spots that have been brought to life and quickly became the center of city life. Looks like first-rate bars and restaurants in classy old buildings is a winning formula as history being all authentic adds value and creates a feeling you can’t get in a brand new place.

I had a history professor at the University of Warsaw who just loves telling lame jokes. Every time we talked about British history, he used to say that in 1863 when we in Poland were fighting in a January Uprising waving little swords around, the first line of the tube was opened in London. So much when it comes to compering polish development with other countries. Let's have a look at the Warsaw metro right now.

 

Those of you who read world news probably heard the political situation in Poland is quite tense last years.  I’m not sure if this is the right place to discuss our government’s decisions but it goes without saying it’s getting worse and worse every day. But many say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as there’s one politician giving us (or at least some of us) hope for the better future.

For centuries Poland was considered to be one of the most Catholic countries in the world as the conservative polish society was faithful to traditional values. Adding up the Polish Pope John Paul II that reign in the Vatican for 27 years, we had a full picture of Pole-Catholic stereotype.  

Some time ago I wrote a post about students in Poland. As you probably already know, I’m a student of two universities: Warsaw School of Economics (SGH, where I study International Economics) and University of Warsaw (Law). It’s definitely SGH that I call MY university, even though I’m almost an alumni there. Despite all the flaws that SGH has, I’m really glad that that was the uni I picked and I’m happy that I could spend 5 years there that had such a huge impact on my life.

I know that a lot of you are planning to go on Erasmus in Poland so I decided I’ll make a couple of posts about polish universities to make your choice easier.

I just wanted to let you know that I created a fanpage on Facebook so that I could inform you about new posts! Like it to stay in touch HERE.

Love, 

Katarzyna. 

Those of you who know me are fully aware of the fact that I’m a foodie, I was simply made to enjoy food and that’s what basically on my mind 24/7. Most of the articles I read about the best things in Poland are all about polish culture, monuments, cities and so on but what I think is truly important here, it’s the food. So to encourage you to come or to recall nice memories, I’m starting the new category on the blog which is polish food, right away.

Last year when I was in Milano on my Erasmus, my favorite Italians fell in love with Ptasie Mleczko, the most recognized chocolate polish confectionery. I’m not surprised because it’s so good that once you try it, you suddenly become a huge fan.

 One of the most popular Poland’s cities among tourists is Cracow, associated mainly with old castle and polish kings. I hope that one day I’ll be able to provide you with a full guide to all the places there that are worth your time. But for now, I want to show you more modern site of this historic city starting with the state-of-the-art culture hub. 

The Małopolska Garden of Arts designed by Ingarden & Ewy Architects is a cross between two institutions: the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre and the Malopolska Region Library.

Polish producers of computer games have only 0,56% share in the global market. Let’s be honest, I’m not a gamer, I can barely name any of the popular names (I hope that The Sims counts). But in Poland, even such a layman as me knows exactly what The Wicher is.

Last year, on 3 October 2016, tens of thousands of women boycotted their jobs and classes and took part in a protest against the efforts by the nation’s conservative leaders to tighten Poland’s already restrictive abortion law. The initial protest was inspired by an all-strike more than 40 years ago by the women in Iceland, when 90% of them refused to go to work, cook, or look after their children for a day in October 1975. In Poland, women marched through the street of biggest cities wearing black as a sign of mourning for their reproductive rights. Pro-choice demonstrations were held in solidarity also in other European cities including Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Belfast London and Paris.

As you know I’m an international economy student so I would really like to know a  bit about the Polish economy. That’s why I planned a couple of posts concerning that subject. Poland is not very famous for its brands (maybe except a couple of vodka companies, which in truth are not so Polish at all) and that’s a shame because there’s a lot to be told in that matter. There’re many world-renowned polish companies, the only problem is that barely anyone knows that they have a polish origin. That’s why I want my blog to be not only about Polish culture, tradition, society and so on but also about Polish business. 

If you are about to go to the cinema, I suggest you chose the polish masterpiece that makes history.

Loving Vincent is the first fully painted film created by Dorota Kobiela (Polish painter) and her husband Hugh Welchman (the Oscar-winning British animator), produced by polish BreakThru Films and english Trademark Films.

It was Dorota who first came with the idea for the movie. As an art student, she was strong interest in Van Gogh. What’s more, she battled with depression all life and she was inspired by Vincent and his ability to pick himself up from similar problems. Originally, she wanted to paint the whole movie herself but after transforming it from a short into a full-featured film, it would take her more than 80 years to do so.