If you are enjoying my reactions to all things Poland, make sure you go and watch out trips to Poland on our vlog channel and subscribe! We have vlogs from Gdansk, Kraków and Wrocław. th-cam.com/play/PLw4JaWCFm7FeHG7Ad5PtaZzoYd1Vq5EXW.html
Poles, like Germans, like sauerkraut not because of its taste but rather because of the need to get used to it, as it has always been a cheap source of vitamin C during the cold winter months. Yes, Wałęsa is a former agent recruited by the communist services. There is not the slightest doubt about this at present. This is documented in the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance. In the initial period, the EU was a real engine and catalyst for the progress and modernization of post-Soviet Poland. It was to be a confederation of sovereign nation states, the main principle of which was the free movement of goods and people without Brussels' interference in the internal politics of member states. For some time, however, the Brussels authorities (appointed, not elected) have adopted a sharp course in creating a federal state in which the member states are systematically deprived of their sovereignty. We Poles already went through this when we were under Soviet occupation. This is where the problem begins. We don't want to go through this again. It's better to be a hungry wolf in the wild than a fat dog strapped to a kennel. Rob, even though we have different worldviews on some issues, I really like your videos. Your intelligence and mental acuity, as well as your objectivity and drive to expand your knowledge, are impressive. Congratulations, I wish you good luck, perseverance and satisfaction with the fruits of your work. Regards, Pole from Sydney.
Moreover, people deliberately prepare spaces (like some support) for their (quite big!) nests on rooftops and telegraph poles and street lamps... They are also commonly treated as a sign of good luck and fortune for the village/building hosting them.
Rob correcting all the misspeled names of polish Cities was so hilarious to me, good to know your polish gets better and better! Thanks for brightinening my day!
@@RobReacts1 And thats why so many people loves your channel man! I now you probably have things to react to, might be tired of poland kinda, but there is that not well known polish folk punk band called Hańba! They sing about poland in the time between world wars and even use instruments to match the theme, they even have an album about what if Poland was saved by Allies and won ww2 haha, im sure u can find text online so if u ever consider listening to them, reacting maybe if its possible without copyright strikes, i would love to hear your reaction to them. But im not forcing anything on you! Do what you want man!
"What is with you Poles and sauerkraut" Or potatoes, grains and pickled things? Good question, easy answer. We grow the food and preserve it to last a harsh winter. Thats basically tje backstory xD
About Storks: In Polish traditions Storks brings Happines when they nest near your house. Before Storks were natural deterennt for mouse rats insects snakes lizards etc. They are nesting in poland because nobody hunts them and they have plenty food on fields. Storks are second after White eagle most Polish bird because are in Polish colour all white with red nose :P
You are correct, we say "na zdrowie" which means "to the health". In the video it's mispronounced. Btw It's awesome to hear when you correct the mispellings in the video. Good job Rob!
@@RobReacts1 interesting facts about "na zdrowie" are as follows: 1. it is the title of one of Jan Kochanowski's poems (one of the most influential Slavic poets prior to the 19th century). The clou is that health is the most important thing, and therefore the best toast. 2. Russians make a very similar toast, it sounds more like "na zdarowie", but the relationship is still visible.
I guess that storks find Poland a nice country to live during summer due to the fact there are numerous tall trees and various poles, where they prepare their nests, especially in rural areas. And people do not destroy their nests so that storks often come back to the same place, because their old nests are still there.
Yeah, it is traditionally considered a sign of good luck if the storks choose your roof or chimney to build their nest on. I have never heard of anyone harming or expelling storks in Poland, in fact people put old cartwheels or special platforms on telephone poles or disused chimneys to make it easier for them to settle. That is probably why for hundreds of years they felt safe here and they keep coming back.
I've lived in Warsaw for over 30 years. *Nobody* calls it the "Phoenix City" 😅. The closest actually used term, and a part of Warsaw's coat of arms, is "Semper invicta" (pol. "Zawsze niezwyciężona", eng. "Always undefeated").
Yes, Wigilia is an extremely special time on many levels. Naturally for the religious reasons, but.. It's pretty much an absolute must in all households, even within atheist setting. The other element of Wigilia is family. All close family sits at the table that night. YOU JUST CAN"T BE ABSENT. Somehow, sometimes each person has their usual place. Reflective emotions can take charge especially when from one year to another that chair is empty due to someone's passing. This topic can be a huge one just on its own. Deep, very deep tradition.
What's more polish emigrants usually come back home from abroad for this special day to visit their parents and spend this evening together. It is a must to be at your parents house (or sometimes at your grandparents - depending on where the family reunion happens) , very often it turns out that you have to have 2 wigilias in one evening - 1 at your parents a 2 at your husbands parents! There is a tradition of sharing a wafer (symbolic bread you get in church during communion) with your folks while wishing them health and happiness.
Official heraldic roots of polish flags are in the coat of arm - white eagle on a red shield. Unofficially those colors stands for: - white - honor purity - red - blood shed through the history - blue - all the allies we can rely on
As far as vomedy goes, still recommending Abelard Giza's stand up special, Proteus Vulgaris, the other ones might have gotten subtitles in the meantime too, but I know that one definitely has them.
13:38 Cider isn't popular in Poland because it usually has 5% of alcohol and is taxed not the same as beer which has similar alcohol content but as wine because cider is made of fruits. So it is less profitable.
It became more popular around time when Russia imposed embargo on Polish apples. So people start to buy more cider to help farmers (I doubt if it really helped).
Na (for) zdrowie (health) Often used also as a "bless you" when someone sneeze. There are some people when someone sneezes multiple times it's (1)"na zdrowie", (2)"na szczęście" (luck), (3)"na miłość" (love) XD
There are 2 types of bigos: pure sour one, and much more mellow one. More sour one is typically made for Christmas fasting and contains no meat (at least in my family). The "proper" mellow one being made with a mix of sour cabbage and raw cabbage, with a lot of spices, different cuts of meat, fat (from cooking other traditional meats for Christmas), and cooked throughout a few days. We use to say that bigos gets better with each reheating, but in reality it still has its limits before it goes bad (despite it having a very long "shelf life").
I think this 'lector' is automate text to voice generator. I laugh when hear this try to manage polish grammar, especially numbers. :D 2 - dwa, dwoje, drugi, dwójka... so many possibilities. ;)
Rob - if you want to taste sweet pierogi, You need to back to Poland in summer then you got chance to taste pierogi with blueberries or with strawberry or with cherry. Most common - you can buy them in each shop - are pierogi with white cheese - we eat them with cream and sugar. In supermarkets, you can buy also with white cheese and raisins or blueberries
20:50- The first official a bird that representative Poland is White Eagle with golden crone on his head . The black and white stork is the second unofficial symbol of Poland.
You mean golden crown? Golden crone means "złota baba/zołza" Stork is also the symbol of fertility, and the "bringer of children". And to kill a stork is a very evil thing. In folklore for killing it you will be cursed with ill luck and infertility.
Hi Rob! Probably the best sweet pierogi are those with forest blueberries (pierogi z jagodami). You can try to find them in one of the Polish grocery stores in Scotland. Pierogi z jagodami are most delicious with good quality double cream. Greetings from Scottish Borders!
with all due rescpect NO ;D the best sweeet pierogis are with cherries (wiśnie)(not sweet cherries (czereśnie)!), and the best kind of cherries for this are 'szklanki', it is a perfect mix of sour and sweet, especially with cream and sugar, but you can eat them raw (i mean boiled ofc, but w/o anything added, also they are as good hot and cold) 🤤 there is a problem tho - they are extremely rare to find, and most people don't even know about this mix. probably a regional thing 🤷
Greetings from Poland, Rob 🙂👋 Great video as always. And speaking of polish comedies i suggest Chlopaki nie placza (Boys don't Cry) and two parts of "Kiler" for example
18:34 A few days ago I had the opportunity to watch these dogs in action (Dolina Olczyska = Olczyska Valley in the Tatra Mountains). They intervened (by themselves) when a couple of sheep moved from a meadow into the forest. Extremely intelligent dogs.
Również dobrze się sprawdzają jako psy stróżujące, dziadkowie na wsi mieli takiego to wszyscy sąsiedzi z daleka omijali posesję bo misiek nie lubił obcych 😆😆😆
More than 40 million people speak Polish given that the population of Poland is nearly 40 million and then there are the millions of Poles and their descendants speaking Polish around the world.
It is estimated that there are about 50 million people in the world who claim Polish origin and speak Polish, including 38 (not46!!!) million in Poland. The rest live mainly in the USA, Germany, UK, France, Argentina and Brazil, as well as in Lithuania, western and central Ukraine, as well as in Russia and Kazakhstan (descendants of Poles deported to hard labour after the anti-Russian uprisings in the 19th century and after the USSR's attack on Poland in 1939). Large groups of Poles also live in Ireland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
The wigilia tradition was explained quite badly. Wigilia alone is whenwe have our christmas fiest. Its onthe 24th. (For one of the best christmas tradition explained in english i reccomend "Love my Poland" on youtube - American man living in Poland since i believe the 90s) The empty chair is usually left, mpre commonly, to eventual lost wanderer or person in need, and/or to remember family members and friends who are no longer alive
Omg, I can't with the fact that in English-speaking countries people think that "kiełbasa" is some particular type of sausage when it litarelly means just "sausage" and is the broadest term you can get for that type of food xD So there's white sausage, juniper sausage, hunter's sausage, Żywiec sausage, Kraków sausage, Polish raw sausage and some hundreds of others, just like there's Italian sausage or turkey sausage. I'm slowly getting used to this "pierogis" madness, but "kiełbasa sausage" is just too much for me 😂
12:40 We are not Eastern Europeans (well sort of🤣)! Poland is in the middle (center) of Europe and some people can take it as an offense. In fact, first geographical midpoint of Europe is in Poland. We are not in the cultural circle of Eastern Europe, but in ONZ classification, we decide to belong to Eastern European countries group.
@@maciekszymanski8340yes it's also bigos. Check what bigosić meant in old Polish maybe you'll learn why you're wrong. Bigos out of young cabbage is also bigos
@@maciekszymanski8340 dude learn maybe why Bigos is called Bigos ok? And maybe research a little how it was made in the past before supermarkets were a thing ok? Bigos got it's name from a Word bigosić which meant "to cut" and people added everything that was edible and nearly expiring to bigos when cooking it. If you didnt have sauerkraut you did bigos without it and it was still called Bigos you ignorant fool.
Your polish pronunciation is very good for a non-polish speaker, the only thing i might add which i think you will find useful is if you're not sure where the accent lands it's most likely on the penultimate syllable, as it is the case for almost every city.
Divination was done on the eve of St Andrew's Day, the evening before the feast. At this time, the maidens would usually tell each other who would be the first to get married. To do this, one shoe of each maiden was placed in the furthest corner of the house and the last shoe was moved forward and so on until one of the shoes crossed the threshold. This was supposed to symbolise the leaving of the house of the parents of the already married girl. Another fortune-teller on the evening of St Andrew's Eve was the pouring of wax. The wax was melted in a pot and then poured into a bowl of water through the ear of a key. Once the wax had set, the shape of the shadow on the wall could be used to tell, by candlelight, what was in store for that person in the coming days. Christmas Eve itself (in the former Eastern Borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth it is also called Wilia), and in general any evening before a holiday, is called "wigilia". When it comes to bigos. In Old Polish, the word "bigosować" meant "to chop". So bigos is not just sauerkraut with meat, sausage and smoked plums (yes, in Poland fruits are smoked ;) ) but all dishes that are chopped and stewed. As for games. It's not just "The Witcher" or "Cyberpunk". It's also "Dying light" or "Frostpunk". Finally, a question. Have you watched "Geography now: Poland"? I also recommend the song "Eat pierogi" by Me and the Band.
In the (not so distant) past sauerkraut was a great (the only?) way to preserve food in summer or autumn in preparation for winter scarcity. The way food is preserved (and, I believe, greatly respected) in Poland says a lot both about Polish climate and, probably, Polish history. But, yeah, it is a bit of an acquired taste...
"Andrzejki" (st. Andrew's date) is the last moment for a party before advent. In Christian tradition (having a huge impact on PL culture) you shouldn't party when preparing for Christmas. And we like parties so we use whatever excuse to do that :)
Also its one time in a year when bit deeper folklore and doing "witchy" things is fun and games and not "bad peagan sins" 😅 Andrzejki is the culturaly closest thing we have to halloween when it comes to tje vibe
this custom was withdrawn by the Catholic Church and there is no restriction for Catholics on having party or eating meat during this time. This is Greek and Orthodox Churches tradition. "Andrzejki" are not of Christian origin (as vast majority of the Catholic holidays actually), however it is a popular opinion that it comes from St Andrew the Apostle. Custom accepted by the church is said to be around 500 years old, the customs however, contrary to Catholic dogma where 'magic' and 'fortune telling' is forbidden, are being traced back to the Ancient Greece. Hope it helps.
8:40 Most Poles look at it and don't understand it either... Jokes aside - Polish parliament is quite simple actually Sejm is lower chamber, Senat is higher chamber. Most bills start in Sejm, then comes to Senat, and finally are signed by President. Senat and President can veto bill and return it to Sejm or send to Constitutional Tribunal to check if it's correct with constitution.
you should see very polish comedy "Sami swoi" it is about Poles expulsed from their homes in the East of Poland after WW2 and settled in Western part of nowadays Poland
St. Andrew's Day is not only a holiday for young ladies, but St. Andrew's Day is also Andrzej's name day. in Poland we celebrate name days. "Andrzej from the Greek means man, (człowiek, mężczyzna”)" [another source also translates it as: "brave, (dzielny, mężny)"]. So it's also a holiday for all men.
The thing about bigos is that the more times you heat it, the better it becomes. Traditionally, large quantities of this dish are prepared for Christmas. So big that even a dinner for a large family cannot eat it. So there's a lot of bigos left for later. It used to be that, in my family, bigos prepared for Christmas was eaten until New Year's Eve, every day. And, in fact, it tasted best shortly before New Year's Eve. Bigos in restaurants is, unfortunately, "young" bigos. The one heated repeatedly is much better.
3:53 - Polish people eat "paczki" (EN. packages 🤣) That's something that even I didn't know about Poland! Świetne! Polacy w Tłusty Czwartek jedzą paczki!😛🤤📦📦📦📦📦📦
Rob, you don't have to like bigos. I don't like goat cheese. Everyone is eating, but I can't bring myself to eat. If you are ever in Poland in the summer, maybe you will be able to try plum dumplings ( polish: ,,knedle ze śliwkami). I also recommend: ,,pyzy" and ,,kopytka". Be sure to include fried onion and bacon👍😊
information about bullet proof vests is vrong, Szczepanek only made it less costly and be able to mass produce, inventor was actualy a polish priest that i forgot name of, but he is on the picture wearing it
We have Polish apple cider. It's called "cydr". Most popular is probaly "Cydr Lubelski ( apple cider from the city of Lublin). It also has a variant with added honey " cydr lubelski miodowy". During pandemic when Russia was blocking imports of Polish apple young Polish people started drinking more Polish cider than usual in a form of an anti-Russian political protest. A region famous for growing fruits, also apples is a city of Sandomierz and areas around it.
damn when you mentioned sweet pierogi I fealized that i haven't tried any in a while, damn i would give a lot to eat pierogi with blueberries and sweet cream
"na zdrowie" means to health/for health/on health probably because first medicines were mostly alcohol based, but it is like "cheers". fun fact: whenever somebody sneezes we also say "na zdrowie" - you know just to wish that person to stay or become healthy
Andrzejki, St. Andrews Day. Ok, this is a tricky one. As far as I know: The Andrzejki night comes from a Pegan tradition, before Christianity arrived in the year of 966. Poland's demographic structure is by far mostly Catholic, so by no means, any fortunetelling activity would be accepted. However, somehow, some of the old rituals survived. This one did probably because of the fun, social element, and it's treated with a huge grain of salt. As far as the name Andrzejki (from Andrzej, read ANDjEi, Andrew) comes from a pure coincidence of the timing alignment of the particular "ritual" and the day of celebrating St. Andrew's name.
St. Andrew's Day (Andrzejki) is very good opportunity to go to party before Adwent (in tradition period without any parties like the Great Fast). Nowadays Adwent is not observed so much but the tradition stayed. ;) In Silesia you have St. Barbara's Day few days after.
19:42 Rob you need to try bigos made with "new" cabbage. Like "new" potatoes I am talking about the seasons here. It's completely different and it is actually sweet not sour, my grandma always made it for me :)
10:10 Google subtitles show "Nostrovia" -(it can't any better, I do not blame Google) FYI, the phraze is "Na zdrowie". LIsten, it's simple as hell : "Na" is eng "for", "zdrowie" is eng "health" So "For health" .Maybe a kind reassurance that strong alcohol won't demage your health, I don't know😀 A sample of similar strange collocation: Just think of "welcome" which is: (it happened) "well" that you (have) "come". Welcome. The same in Spanish " bien-venido", French "bien-venu", German "will-kommen"
Not going to be original, I absolutely love how you correct the pronunciation. After a few lessons in Polish you can relate now how our ears bleed when a typical English speaker tries to pronounce our words, can't you?
"Na zdrowie" means literally "to your health". It's quite hard to explain why we say that, but I guess it's like just wishing you that this drink will go for the best to you, like wishing somebody all the best, best of luck, good health, be good! I think that most of slavic countries say that. For example Czech say "na zdravi" which means exactly the same, Russians: ваше здоровье (wasze zdorowyje), Slovaks: na zdravie... etc. maybe it relates to drinking liquors back in the days to rise the blood pressure or help to warm you up during the winter (obviously we used to have very strong winters) so it had these health supporting abillities.
You may find sweet pierogi in frozen section in Polish shops :) The most popular are ones with strawberries and wild blueberries (aka the real blueberries that do not taste like paper haha)
I think you should really make a video about great Polish dubbings, especially those made for Disney movies. Poland is known to have many talented voice actors and singers, who make a fantastic job voicing animated characters. Plus, Poland has its own unique way of translating documents and movies - voice-over translations (in Polish called 'lektor filmowy'). Almost every feature film, documentary and tv serie that comes from other countries has sort of a narrator, who reads the Polish translation out loud instead of just showing subtitles. It's a great way of watching movies because you don't have to pay attention to the screen all the time. You can make yourself some coffee or tea or walk to the other room next door while still hearing what's going on on the screen.
@@szorstkismuky3887 You're right. I meant that in Poland 'lektor' has become a special profession, which is considered almost like an art. It's a profession in which Poland has achieved perfection. We have dozens of professional voice-over narrators who are often recognized by people just by hearing them speak a couple words.
Lol, Rob, you reacted to pronunciation of Zakopane or Wawel exactly like I did to yours of Polish cities, before you learned how to read in Polish. Now you are in my place, and so quick. High five! About coast and mountains - is it really this special? How about France or Italy where from higher mountains is closer to the warmer sea? Finally about "paczki". No one in Poland would associate this word with donuts. It means packages. This little ogonek (ą) counts much. Pączki and paczki are as far away from each other as Putin from a peacemaker.
If you ever visit Warszawa (again) and want to try the best bread in the city, there's a little bakery in the praga północ part of the town. You have to be there early in the morning to actually make it before the bread is sold out, but it's worth it!
I really admire that you got better pronunciation and knowledge that person(s) who made video with those 44 facts. Really some facts were a bit random and omg, some images and words were just hurting XD And actually a lot of things you are suprised about are things that are here for some reason, I guess. For example storks: I guess they got a lot of food here, on fields, people are placing often wheels a top of some places to let them build their nests (idk if it's only our thing or it's more global) and they are kida well treated here becouse they are kinda like part of our history ( there is for example this well know picture called "Bociany" by Józef Chełmoński). And about our "Cheers"... omg this lector was terrible! Yes it is "na zdrowie", and it means "for health" but it's saying that could be also translated like "for good fortune" (we also use it when someone sneezes ;)
Andrzejki or St. Andrews day is big because it is the last day you can party before Advent (well it is one of the reasons) the other reasons go back to some pagan customs that coincided with the timing of St. Andrews which is on the last day of November (the 30th not 29th as he said.) Furthermore, he mispronounced many Polish words including "na zdrowie" and "Wigilia".
Dude, sweet dumplings is a seasonal must-eat. Completely different experience, switching salt and pepper into sugar and cream. They're mainly filled with berry fruits (strawberry, raspberry or blueberry) or cottage cheese during winter time. Shame you couldn't try in it's place of origin. I will check possibilites of shipping fresh products to UK, just for your happiness :D
If you are enjoying my reactions to all things Poland, make sure you go and watch out trips to Poland on our vlog channel and subscribe! We have vlogs from Gdansk, Kraków and Wrocław.
th-cam.com/play/PLw4JaWCFm7FeHG7Ad5PtaZzoYd1Vq5EXW.html
Poles, like Germans, like sauerkraut not because of its taste but rather because of the need to get used to it, as it has always been a cheap source of vitamin C during the cold winter months.
Yes, Wałęsa is a former agent recruited by the communist services. There is not the slightest doubt about this at present. This is documented in the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance.
In the initial period, the EU was a real engine and catalyst for the progress and modernization of post-Soviet Poland. It was to be a confederation of sovereign nation states, the main principle of which was the free movement of goods and people without Brussels' interference in the internal politics of member states. For some time, however, the Brussels authorities (appointed, not elected) have adopted a sharp course in creating a federal state in which the member states are systematically deprived of their sovereignty. We Poles already went through this when we were under Soviet occupation. This is where the problem begins. We don't want to go through this again. It's better to be a hungry wolf in the wild than a fat dog strapped to a kennel.
Rob, even though we have different worldviews on some issues, I really like your videos. Your intelligence and mental acuity, as well as your objectivity and drive to expand your knowledge, are impressive. Congratulations, I wish you good luck, perseverance and satisfaction with the fruits of your work. Regards, Pole from Sydney.
"Zakopain"... "ZAKOPANE!!!"
That was such a Polish moment you deserve honorary citizenship!
I did this a lot according to other comments haha
WROCŁAW!!! Not Roclav :D
Yep its pain to hear zako pain....
and it was said with poznań's old town in the background nice
In Poland the storks are treated like basically holy cows. Nobody hurts them and people usually let them nest in peace.
Moreover, people deliberately prepare spaces (like some support) for their (quite big!) nests on rooftops and telegraph poles and street lamps... They are also commonly treated as a sign of good luck and fortune for the village/building hosting them.
to prawda...
Wetlands in Poland explain storks. In the West wetlands were eliminated long time ago through melioration.
the way they just gave up with "pączki" and said "paczki" made me laugh a bit too much. nothing tastes better than a parcel in the morning
Pączki should be pronounced something like “pawtshki” or even “pohtshki”…
@@toshibajoeyEnough about pączki already, people! You're making me hungry!
haha
Maria Curie-Skłodowska.
Pon-chkee
Rob correcting all the misspeled names of polish Cities was so hilarious to me, good to know your polish gets better and better! Thanks for brightinening my day!
haha thanks. I aim to entertain :D
@@RobReacts1 And thats why so many people loves your channel man! I now you probably have things to react to, might be tired of poland kinda, but there is that not well known polish folk punk band called Hańba! They sing about poland in the time between world wars and even use instruments to match the theme, they even have an album about what if Poland was saved by Allies and won ww2 haha, im sure u can find text online so if u ever consider listening to them, reacting maybe if its possible without copyright strikes, i would love to hear your reaction to them. But im not forcing anything on you! Do what you want man!
@@aurorafox1283 "Rób co chcesz"
"What is with you Poles and sauerkraut"
Or potatoes, grains and pickled things?
Good question, easy answer.
We grow the food and preserve it to last a harsh winter. Thats basically tje backstory xD
About Storks: In Polish traditions Storks brings Happines when they nest near your house. Before Storks were natural deterennt for mouse rats insects snakes lizards etc. They are nesting in poland because nobody hunts them and they have plenty food on fields. Storks are second after White eagle most Polish bird because are in Polish colour all white with red nose :P
You are correct, we say "na zdrowie" which means "to the health". In the video it's mispronounced. Btw It's awesome to hear when you correct the mispellings in the video. Good job Rob!
The favourite thing about this video is me correcting mispronunciations haha
@@RobReacts1 interesting facts about "na zdrowie" are as follows: 1. it is the title of one of Jan Kochanowski's poems (one of the most influential Slavic poets prior to the 19th century). The clou is that health is the most important thing, and therefore the best toast. 2. Russians make a very similar toast, it sounds more like "na zdarowie", but the relationship is still visible.
In addition we also say "na zdrowie" when someone sneezes
17:08 Pierogi with Blueberries are my favorite. Add some sour cream and you can eat even 20.
I guess that storks find Poland a nice country to live during summer due to the fact there are numerous tall trees and various poles, where they prepare their nests, especially in rural areas. And people do not destroy their nests so that storks often come back to the same place, because their old nests are still there.
Yeah, it is traditionally considered a sign of good luck if the storks choose your roof or chimney to build their nest on. I have never heard of anyone harming or expelling storks in Poland, in fact people put old cartwheels or special platforms on telephone poles or disused chimneys to make it easier for them to settle. That is probably why for hundreds of years they felt safe here and they keep coming back.
Yeah, you could even say this is a country of trees and Poles 🤣
I've lived in Warsaw for over 30 years. *Nobody* calls it the "Phoenix City" 😅. The closest actually used term, and a part of Warsaw's coat of arms, is "Semper invicta" (pol. "Zawsze niezwyciężona", eng. "Always undefeated").
It is, however, often described as "a city that rose from ashes like the phoenix", i.e. compared with phoenix. Nothing like "Miasto-feniks ", though.
Yes, Wigilia is an extremely special time on many levels. Naturally for the religious reasons, but.. It's pretty much an absolute must in all households, even within atheist setting. The other element of Wigilia is family. All close family sits at the table that night. YOU JUST CAN"T BE ABSENT. Somehow, sometimes each person has their usual place. Reflective emotions can take charge especially when from one year to another that chair is empty due to someone's passing. This topic can be a huge one just on its own. Deep, very deep tradition.
What's more polish emigrants usually come back home from abroad for this special day to visit their parents and spend this evening together. It is a must to be at your parents house (or sometimes at your grandparents - depending on where the family reunion happens) , very often it turns out that you have to have 2 wigilias in one evening - 1 at your parents a 2 at your husbands parents! There is a tradition of sharing a wafer (symbolic bread you get in church during communion) with your folks while wishing them health and happiness.
Omg the way you said Wroclaw is shocking amazing - polish 100%
If you want to try sweet pierogi - you should try it in the summer. With fresh strawberries or blueberries. Made with frozen fruits are not as good.
Official heraldic roots of polish flags are in the coat of arm - white eagle on a red shield.
Unofficially those colors stands for:
- white - honor purity
- red - blood shed through the history
- blue - all the allies we can rely on
Blue?
@@somsiadtomasz nie ma niebieskiego i o to chodzi w tym komentarzu
There is no blue in our flag.
@@motyl452exactly
Some people really missed the joke here 😂
As far as vomedy goes, still recommending Abelard Giza's stand up special, Proteus Vulgaris, the other ones might have gotten subtitles in the meantime too, but I know that one definitely has them.
Correctly, Maria Skłodowska - Curie, Double winner of the Nobel Prize in 1903 and 1911
13:38 Cider isn't popular in Poland because it usually has 5% of alcohol and is taxed not the same as beer which has similar alcohol content but as wine because cider is made of fruits. So it is less profitable.
However, your cider is very tasty!
It became more popular around time when Russia imposed embargo on Polish apples. So people start to buy more cider to help farmers (I doubt if it really helped).
Na (for) zdrowie (health) Often used also as a "bless you" when someone sneeze. There are some people when someone sneezes multiple times it's (1)"na zdrowie", (2)"na szczęście" (luck), (3)"na miłość" (love) XD
×2 "na picie" (for drinking) ×3 "na współżycie" (for lewd time)
"Osioł kichał, będzie deszcz. A jak to była oślica to idzie nawałnica."
17:25 This also proves that we have something to the number three. But imo it comes from the bible where three was also a very meaningful number.
more than 3 then it's "zamknij się" (shut up).
@@AmartharDrakestone Such 3 as us 2 there is not even 1
There are 2 types of bigos: pure sour one, and much more mellow one. More sour one is typically made for Christmas fasting and contains no meat (at least in my family). The "proper" mellow one being made with a mix of sour cabbage and raw cabbage, with a lot of spices, different cuts of meat, fat (from cooking other traditional meats for Christmas), and cooked throughout a few days. We use to say that bigos gets better with each reheating, but in reality it still has its limits before it goes bad (despite it having a very long "shelf life").
I think this 'lector' is automate text to voice generator. I laugh when hear this try to manage polish grammar, especially numbers. :D 2 - dwa, dwoje, drugi, dwójka... so many possibilities. ;)
Rob - if you want to taste sweet pierogi, You need to back to Poland in summer then you got chance to taste pierogi with blueberries or with strawberry or with cherry. Most common - you can buy them in each shop - are pierogi with white cheese - we eat them with cream and sugar. In supermarkets, you can buy also with white cheese and raisins or blueberries
20:50- The first official a bird that representative Poland is White Eagle with golden crone on his head .
The black and white stork is the second unofficial symbol of Poland.
You mean golden crown? Golden crone means "złota baba/zołza"
Stork is also the symbol of fertility, and the "bringer of children".
And to kill a stork is a very evil thing. In folklore for killing it you will be cursed with ill luck and infertility.
Hi Rob! Probably the best sweet pierogi are those with forest blueberries (pierogi z jagodami). You can try to find them in one of the Polish grocery stores in Scotland. Pierogi z jagodami are most delicious with good quality double cream. Greetings from Scottish Borders!
z truskawkami też są pyszne
with all due rescpect NO ;D the best sweeet pierogis are with cherries (wiśnie)(not sweet cherries (czereśnie)!), and the best kind of cherries for this are 'szklanki', it is a perfect mix of sour and sweet, especially with cream and sugar, but you can eat them raw (i mean boiled ofc, but w/o anything added, also they are as good hot and cold) 🤤 there is a problem tho - they are extremely rare to find, and most people don't even know about this mix. probably a regional thing 🤷
I also love pierogi with plums, called węgierki, the type you find in September/October
@@magdalenazukowska571And with soft prunes (z miękką śliwką suszoną).🥟😋 Those are delicious with some sweet cream and a bit of sugar and cardamom.
A mnie jest wszystko jedno jakie pierogi jem wszystkie są pyszne jak jestem na Białorusi to też tam jem pielemieni i wareniki ich odmiany pierogów 😋😋😆
You have to try the blueberry pierogi, it's the best with sour cream and sugar
I like how you correct that narrator when he says something wrong in polish :D
17:45 😂😂😂 Love it haha. You reacted just like real Pole.
Greetings from Poland, Rob 🙂👋 Great video as always. And speaking of polish comedies i suggest Chlopaki nie placza (Boys don't Cry) and two parts of "Kiler" for example
Vabank 1&2
18:34 A few days ago I had the opportunity to watch these dogs in action (Dolina Olczyska = Olczyska Valley in the Tatra Mountains). They intervened (by themselves) when a couple of sheep moved from a meadow into the forest. Extremely intelligent dogs.
Również dobrze się sprawdzają jako psy stróżujące, dziadkowie na wsi mieli takiego to wszyscy sąsiedzi z daleka omijali posesję bo misiek nie lubił obcych 😆😆😆
Twoja wymowa jest naprawdę dobra i twarda jak u Polaków. 👍❤
More than 40 million people speak Polish given that the population of Poland is nearly 40 million and then there are the millions of Poles and their descendants speaking Polish around the world.
about 60 million
60 millon people abroad, 46 million citizens live in Poland
It is estimated that there are about 50 million people in the world who claim Polish origin and speak Polish, including 38 (not46!!!) million in Poland. The rest live mainly in the USA, Germany, UK, France, Argentina and Brazil, as well as in Lithuania, western and central Ukraine, as well as in Russia and Kazakhstan (descendants of Poles deported to hard labour after the anti-Russian uprisings in the 19th century and after the USSR's attack on Poland in 1939). Large groups of Poles also live in Ireland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
@@jakseluz Not all members of Polonia speak Polish. But I would say it is easily above 50 milion at least.
The wigilia tradition was explained quite badly.
Wigilia alone is whenwe have our christmas fiest. Its onthe 24th. (For one of the best christmas tradition explained in english i reccomend "Love my Poland" on youtube - American man living in Poland since i believe the 90s)
The empty chair is usually left, mpre commonly, to eventual lost wanderer or person in need, and/or to remember family members and friends who are no longer alive
0:46 It was a nice touch. Thank you, Rob.
Omg, I can't with the fact that in English-speaking countries people think that "kiełbasa" is some particular type of sausage when it litarelly means just "sausage" and is the broadest term you can get for that type of food xD So there's white sausage, juniper sausage, hunter's sausage, Żywiec sausage, Kraków sausage, Polish raw sausage and some hundreds of others, just like there's Italian sausage or turkey sausage. I'm slowly getting used to this "pierogis" madness, but "kiełbasa sausage" is just too much for me 😂
12:40 We are not Eastern Europeans (well sort of🤣)! Poland is in the middle (center) of Europe and some people can take it as an offense. In fact, first geographical midpoint of Europe is in Poland. We are not in the cultural circle of Eastern Europe, but in ONZ classification, we decide to belong to Eastern European countries group.
18:38 Polish name is Polski owczarek podhalański.
They are quite big. They can be as big as Bernardine, but a bit more territorial then them.
19:23 I love the face so much! XD especially when my mouth are watering at the same time XD
"Spiż" and "Piwnica Świdnicka" are literally less than 100 m from each other...
Marie Curie - Skłodowska
Rob, you're a half Polish now 😂 I love when you're correcting pronounciation ❤
Maria Sklodowska-Curie.
Not all bigos is made with sauerkraut. U can make it just with boiled cabbage
But it won't be bigos, but cabbage with meat.
@@maciekszymanski8340yes it's also bigos.
Check what bigosić meant in old Polish maybe you'll learn why you're wrong.
Bigos out of young cabbage is also bigos
@@purpleguy5274 You can call anything bigos in your peasant cottage. In my house that would be blasphemy.
@@maciekszymanski8340 dude learn maybe why Bigos is called Bigos ok? And maybe research a little how it was made in the past before supermarkets were a thing ok?
Bigos got it's name from a Word bigosić which meant "to cut" and people added everything that was edible and nearly expiring to bigos when cooking it.
If you didnt have sauerkraut you did bigos without it and it was still called Bigos you ignorant fool.
Your polish pronunciation is very good for a non-polish speaker, the only thing i might add which i think you will find useful is if you're not sure where the accent lands it's most likely on the penultimate syllable, as it is the case for almost every city.
Almost? I dont know any exceptions.
@rafalkaminski6389 now that I think about it you're right. don't know why I said almost.
10:00 '"na zdrowie" is an equivalent of English "cheers" but means "for health".
Divination was done on the eve of St Andrew's Day, the evening before the feast. At this time, the maidens would usually tell each other who would be the first to get married. To do this, one shoe of each maiden was placed in the furthest corner of the house and the last shoe was moved forward and so on until one of the shoes crossed the threshold. This was supposed to symbolise the leaving of the house of the parents of the already married girl. Another fortune-teller on the evening of St Andrew's Eve was the pouring of wax. The wax was melted in a pot and then poured into a bowl of water through the ear of a key. Once the wax had set, the shape of the shadow on the wall could be used to tell, by candlelight, what was in store for that person in the coming days. Christmas Eve itself (in the former Eastern Borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth it is also called Wilia), and in general any evening before a holiday, is called "wigilia".
When it comes to bigos. In Old Polish, the word "bigosować" meant "to chop". So bigos is not just sauerkraut with meat, sausage and smoked plums (yes, in Poland fruits are smoked ;) ) but all dishes that are chopped and stewed.
As for games. It's not just "The Witcher" or "Cyberpunk". It's also "Dying light" or "Frostpunk".
Finally, a question. Have you watched "Geography now: Poland"?
I also recommend the song "Eat pierogi" by Me and the Band.
The first polish video I reacted to was Geography now :D
Uwielbiam Twoje filmiki. Są dla mnie relaksem po ciężkim dniu pracy w stresie. Nagrywaj dalej ;-) Pozdrawiam serdecznie i dziękuję za fajny kontent ;)
16:30 - Polish bread ( and most of baked goods ) and polish soups , are one of the best in the world , that's true .
Big thing about bigos is that it largely depend on how it is made. And there are sweater variants to be clear.
In the (not so distant) past sauerkraut was a great (the only?) way to preserve food in summer or autumn in preparation for winter scarcity. The way food is preserved (and, I believe, greatly respected) in Poland says a lot both about Polish climate and, probably, Polish history. But, yeah, it is a bit of an acquired taste...
"Andrzejki" (st. Andrew's date) is the last moment for a party before advent. In Christian tradition (having a huge impact on PL culture) you shouldn't party when preparing for Christmas. And we like parties so we use whatever excuse to do that :)
Also its one time in a year when bit deeper folklore and doing "witchy" things is fun and games and not "bad peagan sins" 😅
Andrzejki is the culturaly closest thing we have to halloween when it comes to tje vibe
this custom was withdrawn by the Catholic Church and there is no restriction for Catholics on having party or eating meat during this time. This is Greek and Orthodox Churches tradition. "Andrzejki" are not of Christian origin (as vast majority of the Catholic holidays actually), however it is a popular opinion that it comes from St Andrew the Apostle. Custom accepted by the church is said to be around 500 years old, the customs however, contrary to Catholic dogma where 'magic' and 'fortune telling' is forbidden, are being traced back to the Ancient Greece. Hope it helps.
It has been called andrzejki because in Poland we value Name Day even more than birthdays for many People. And that day is Andrzej's day
@@MrBardol you should really learn more about your own religion before trying to teach others 😁
I dont know anything about number 3 as a older Pole. First hear
8:40 Most Poles look at it and don't understand it either...
Jokes aside - Polish parliament is quite simple actually Sejm is lower chamber, Senat is higher chamber. Most bills start in Sejm, then comes to Senat, and finally are signed by President. Senat and President can veto bill and return it to Sejm or send to Constitutional Tribunal to check if it's correct with constitution.
you should see very polish comedy "Sami swoi" it is about Poles expulsed from their homes in the East of Poland after WW2 and settled in Western part of nowadays Poland
St. Andrew's Day is not only a holiday for young ladies, but St. Andrew's Day is also Andrzej's name day. in Poland we celebrate name days. "Andrzej from the Greek means man, (człowiek, mężczyzna”)" [another source also translates it as: "brave, (dzielny, mężny)"]. So it's also a holiday for all men.
biorąc pod uwagę ewidentnie pogańską tradycję wątpię żeby chodziło o św. Andrzeja :)
@@adamgladzik To jest kolejna okazja żeby się nachlać, dlatego Polacy obchodzą również imieniny.
You pronounce polish words almost perfectly!👍
Small improvement: WarszAwa, not WArszawa - correct stress is on second syllable.🙂
last but one
The thing about bigos is that the more times you heat it, the better it becomes. Traditionally, large quantities of this dish are prepared for Christmas. So big that even a dinner for a large family cannot eat it. So there's a lot of bigos left for later. It used to be that, in my family, bigos prepared for Christmas was eaten until New Year's Eve, every day. And, in fact, it tasted best shortly before New Year's Eve. Bigos in restaurants is, unfortunately, "young" bigos. The one heated repeatedly is much better.
3:53 - Polish people eat "paczki" (EN. packages 🤣) That's something that even I didn't know about Poland!
Świetne! Polacy w Tłusty Czwartek jedzą paczki!😛🤤📦📦📦📦📦📦
Małe, okrągłe paczuszki wypełnione nadzieniem😅
To dla wyrównania ja poproszę pączkomat.
@@MikrySoft Super pomysł! Sam bym taki chciał. 😋
Rob, you don't have to like bigos. I don't like goat cheese. Everyone is eating, but I can't bring myself to eat. If you are ever in Poland in the summer, maybe you will be able to try plum dumplings ( polish: ,,knedle ze śliwkami). I also recommend: ,,pyzy" and ,,kopytka". Be sure to include fried onion and bacon👍😊
You are spot on, we all have different tastebuds! We will be back in Poland very soon... sweet pierogi will be a must
You need to go to Warsaw Uprising Museum- amazing place
There is a huge mistake in this video, there arent 40M ppl who speaks polish its way more even up to 80M but speaking fluently is propably like 60+M
information about bullet proof vests is vrong, Szczepanek only made it less costly and be able to mass produce, inventor was actualy a polish priest that i forgot name of, but he is on the picture wearing it
5:36 that were Georgian khinkali. Also tasty stuff 😋
I love how you instantly realise when someone pronounce polish words incorrectly. 👍👏👏👏
Well it just doesn't sound right now I have an ear for it
In almost every village you can find storks and people really like them :)
Having a stork's nest on your roof means luck, so people even prepare big wheels for them for a start.
We have Polish apple cider. It's called "cydr". Most popular is probaly "Cydr Lubelski ( apple cider from the city of Lublin). It also has a variant with added honey " cydr lubelski miodowy". During pandemic when Russia was blocking imports of Polish apple young Polish people started drinking more Polish cider than usual in a form of an anti-Russian political protest. A region famous for growing fruits, also apples is a city of Sandomierz and areas around it.
Rob, did you know that in Swiebodzin there used to be the oldest Tesco in Europe? It's been build 3 years before Christ 😂
Haha🤣😂🤣😂
🤣🤣🤣
damn when you mentioned sweet pierogi I fealized that i haven't tried any in a while, damn i would give a lot to eat pierogi with blueberries and sweet cream
Hahahaha, that reaction on Wrocław pronunciation 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 regards from Wrocław, m8 🙋🍻
"na zdrowie" means to health/for health/on health probably because first medicines were mostly alcohol based, but it is like "cheers". fun fact: whenever somebody sneezes we also say "na zdrowie" - you know just to wish that person to stay or become healthy
Hi Rob, please make a epizodem about Łukasiewicz, pretty interesting guy, BTW after his discovery, he was visited by Rockeffeler ;)
Andrzejki, St. Andrews Day. Ok, this is a tricky one. As far as I know: The Andrzejki night comes from a Pegan tradition, before Christianity arrived in the year of 966. Poland's demographic structure is by far mostly Catholic, so by no means, any fortunetelling activity would be accepted. However, somehow, some of the old rituals survived. This one did probably because of the fun, social element, and it's treated with a huge grain of salt. As far as the name Andrzejki (from Andrzej, read ANDjEi, Andrew) comes from a pure coincidence of the timing alignment of the particular "ritual" and the day of celebrating St. Andrew's name.
St. Andrew's Day (Andrzejki) is very good opportunity to go to party before Adwent (in tradition period without any parties like the Great Fast). Nowadays Adwent is not observed so much but the tradition stayed. ;) In Silesia you have St. Barbara's Day few days after.
19:42 Rob you need to try bigos made with "new" cabbage. Like "new" potatoes I am talking about the seasons here. It's completely different and it is actually sweet not sour, my grandma always made it for me :)
"Paczki" means "packages" or "parcels" ; "Pączki" means "donuts" - "ą" is important for pronounce.
I got it right didnt I? Like, I know how to say it... its pronounced like Pon-chki
@@RobReacts1yes
10:10 Google subtitles show "Nostrovia" -(it can't any better, I do not blame Google)
FYI, the phraze is "Na zdrowie". LIsten, it's simple as hell : "Na" is eng "for", "zdrowie" is eng "health"
So "For health" .Maybe a kind reassurance that strong alcohol won't demage your health, I don't know😀
A sample of similar strange collocation:
Just think of "welcome" which is: (it happened) "well" that you (have) "come". Welcome.
The same in Spanish " bien-venido", French "bien-venu", German "will-kommen"
Not going to be original, I absolutely love how you correct the pronunciation.
After a few lessons in Polish you can relate now how our ears bleed when a typical English speaker tries to pronounce our words, can't you?
Copernicus wasn't the first person who proposed heliocentric view, they had known it in antiquity and University in Toruń isn't rly that prestigious.
"Na zdrowie" means literally "to your health". It's quite hard to explain why we say that, but I guess it's like just wishing you that this drink will go for the best to you, like wishing somebody all the best, best of luck, good health, be good! I think that most of slavic countries say that. For example Czech say "na zdravi" which means exactly the same, Russians: ваше здоровье (wasze zdorowyje), Slovaks: na zdravie... etc. maybe it relates to drinking liquors back in the days to rise the blood pressure or help to warm you up during the winter (obviously we used to have very strong winters) so it had these health supporting abillities.
5:41 I live almost 40 years in Poland and see this first time...
How could you not love sauerkraut in bigos! (to be honest, originally, this was a meat stew, saurkraut was added later to lower the cost).
When was the shopping center in Świebodzin built? 3 BC. 🙂
20:55 Storks are so common in Poland mostly because there is many pastures which are grazed by cattle. That is almost no existent in Western Europe.
You may find sweet pierogi in frozen section in Polish shops :)
The most popular are ones with strawberries and wild blueberries (aka the real blueberries that do not taste like paper haha)
ah yes, I have seen them... maybe a taste testing at home
Frozen? - No!! Home-made with strawberries - maybe. Home-made with blueberries - the best in this world.😁
Pierogi with cottage cheese are sweet, Pierogi with fruits are... what they are.
In my village we have only 3 storks nests per 50 houses.
Thank you for correcting him with the zakopane!!
I think you should really make a video about great Polish dubbings, especially those made for Disney movies. Poland is known to have many talented voice actors and singers, who make a fantastic job voicing animated characters. Plus, Poland has its own unique way of translating documents and movies - voice-over translations (in Polish called 'lektor filmowy'). Almost every feature film, documentary and tv serie that comes from other countries has sort of a narrator, who reads the Polish translation out loud instead of just showing subtitles. It's a great way of watching movies because you don't have to pay attention to the screen all the time. You can make yourself some coffee or tea or walk to the other room next door while still hearing what's going on on the screen.
Other countries also do this. Latvian, Lithuanian, Azeri, Georgian and Ukrainian televisions also often incorporate the voice-over translations
No! That (lektor) is the reason you can pay attention to the screen, and not to the subtitles 😅
@@szorstkismuky3887 You're right. I meant that in Poland 'lektor' has become a special profession, which is considered almost like an art. It's a profession in which Poland has achieved perfection. We have dozens of professional voice-over narrators who are often recognized by people just by hearing them speak a couple words.
Lol, Rob, you reacted to pronunciation of Zakopane or Wawel exactly like I did to yours of Polish cities, before you learned how to read in Polish. Now you are in my place, and so quick. High five!
About coast and mountains - is it really this special? How about France or Italy where from higher mountains is closer to the warmer sea?
Finally about "paczki". No one in Poland would associate this word with donuts. It means packages. This little ogonek (ą) counts much. Pączki and paczki are as far away from each other as Putin from a peacemaker.
Not so far - what if you have a package full of donuts? Paczka pączków or pączki w paczce.😁
If you ever visit Warszawa (again) and want to try the best bread in the city, there's a little bakery in the praga północ part of the town. You have to be there early in the morning to actually make it before the bread is sold out, but it's worth it!
Wrong. There are around 55 million Polish speakers across the world.
17:41 hahahaha love that
To be precise, the shade of red in Polish flag is Cynober, RGB 227, 66, 52.
19:52 what is with you loving sauerkraut he says while his fellow Brits eat beans from toast xD
Visit Łódź, we have real 3D stickers imitating potholes, imitating those that are stuck on roads in Canada.
I really admire that you got better pronunciation and knowledge that person(s) who made video with those 44 facts. Really some facts were a bit random and omg, some images and words were just hurting XD And actually a lot of things you are suprised about are things that are here for some reason, I guess. For example storks: I guess they got a lot of food here, on fields, people are placing often wheels a top of some places to let them build their nests (idk if it's only our thing or it's more global) and they are kida well treated here becouse they are kinda like part of our history ( there is for example this well know picture called "Bociany" by Józef Chełmoński). And about our "Cheers"... omg this lector was terrible! Yes it is "na zdrowie", and it means "for health" but it's saying that could be also translated like "for good fortune" (we also use it when someone sneezes ;)
Not Bladeau Dessert - it is "Pustynia Błędowska".
We really love our storks n Poland. It was considered a good luck if storks chose to nest on top of your house or barn.
Andrzejki or St. Andrews day is big because it is the last day you can party before Advent (well it is one of the reasons) the other reasons go back to some pagan customs that coincided with the timing of St. Andrews which is on the last day of November (the 30th not 29th as he said.) Furthermore, he mispronounced many Polish words including "na zdrowie" and "Wigilia".
And second ❤🍻 for pierogi, You recognized, that this is not pierogi. Greetings from Poland Rob and Charlie, waiting for next videos :)
Dude, sweet dumplings is a seasonal must-eat. Completely different experience, switching salt and pepper into sugar and cream. They're mainly filled with berry fruits (strawberry, raspberry or blueberry) or cottage cheese during winter time. Shame you couldn't try in it's place of origin. I will check possibilites of shipping fresh products to UK, just for your happiness :D