During my travel abroad it is common to meet the local customs which are often weird and sometimes preposterous, do you know that people in Greece do not throw used toilet paper to the toilet only to a special basket? This is a pretty brutal example but in almost every country you will find some weird examples. Today I will talk about some things which surprised me during my quite long stay in Poland.
Things related to holidays and faith
First of all, you have to know that more than 90% of polish are Catholic, this is the biggest percentage in the world. One of the most famous Poles was Karol Wojty?a who was a Pope between 1978 – 2005, people in Poland are really strongly attached to faith and they also have their own habits. One of them is breaking the wafer which is Christmas tradition. During the Christmas dinner, people in Poland before the meal begins people are breaking the wafer (and they are making wishes each other) as a Christian symbol of breaking bread. When I first meet this tradition I was really surprised, but I think about it a little bit longer I realized that is a really beautiful tradition. Another thing connected with the with the Catholicism is “Kolenda” which is a short visit of the priest in the faithful’s homes. Usually, this kind of visits takes place around Christmas season. I have to admire that is really weird for me, and I would be really surprised if one day the priest knocked on my door out of the blue.
Quality of the transport
Before visiting Poland I heard a lot about bad roads and low-quality public transport after I spend some time in this country I have to admire that all these rumors are fake. When I came to Poland I was greeted by the modern airport, airport transportation is also at high level. Personally, I choose Quicktransfer just to book everything in advance, of course, you can take a cab, bus or even Uber all of these things are available. If you are looking some kind of organized trip you can also use discovercracow.com, they provide the best quality trips in Poland. I also had an opportunity to travel through Poland by hired car. What can I say about polish roads? They are not so good as in Germany but you don’t need to hire or buy off-road car. Only trains are not good quality, at least the one I had the chance to drive but I saw a couple of new ones so it seems that polish railway is undergoing modernization.
Poles can appear distressed and sad
In my opinion, they rarely smile, but this is not a manifestation of their gloomy character or they are not friendly this is a result of the cultural conditioning and history. We should remember that Poland was Communist state and the older generations were forced their emotions from the authorities. Another reason why Poles are not smiling a lot is really weird for me and I can’t understand it. In central and Eastern Europe smiling to unknown people can be mistaken with laughing at someone. Smiling to unknown people can be also recognized as a manifestation of a flirt. The last reason why Poles do not smile too often is that it is perceived as a manifestation of falsehood. In UK or France, it is natural to ask How are you? or Ca va? Usually, the person who is asking the question is not truly interested what happens in your life it is just a gesture of kindness, in Poland is different. When someone Ask you “jak sie masz” (which means how are you) it means that she or he is really interested what happens in your life and they expect and they expect a sincere answer.
Polish food
Everyone knows, and almost everyone loves pierogi (dumplings) This is the most famous dish associated with Poland. Generally, I love polish dishes but some of them are weird for me but that doesn’t mean that they are not tasty! The first example of this kind of quirk is carp – fish traditionally eaten during the Christmas Eve. You have to know that these species are fed by larvae mollusks generally all beings from the bottom of the lake. Another thing which surprised me is fact that Poles eats a lot of soups and sometimes they are really weird. One of them is called “Czernina” and it is a mix of the chicken soup and blood of the duck, goose or chicken. Now I will tell you about one amazing thing, really simple thing – bread. When you will be in Poland you will be eating it all the time, polish bread is so good that you don’t have to add to your sandwiches cheese or ham to enjoy your lunch.
Polish women’s and men’s
When I arrived in Poland I started thinking about that “Is every polish woman is a professional model?” Women’s in Poland a are really beautiful and I’m not only talking about face or figure. Usually, they avoid using a lot of makeup, they also dress smart and fashionable at the same time. If I have to briefly describe polish woman I will say that they have amazing class and style. When we are talking about polish man’s we have to mention about their gallantries. In this country man’s know how to treat women, they always give up the place in the bus or open door before woman. This kind of behavior is recognized, especially in western Europe as a something weird even wrong.
