Under license from Fiat, Polish versions of this car brand were manufactured or assembled in Poland, called Polski Fiat. These cars were popular during Communist times due to their simplicity and relative affordability. Here’s a legacy one I found in town:
Polish restrooms are often marked with symbols to indicate the intended sex. It’s not intuitive, but I have a mnemonic device I use. A triangle indicates the men’s room, and a circle indicates the women’s room. I’ve considered capturing a photo, but I figure that photography around or in a restroom is frowned upon.
Whenever I pay by credit card in Poland, there’s almost always a prompt on the card reader inquiring as to whether I want to pay in Polish złoty or in US dollars. I have seen this offer to pay in US dollars occasionally in other countries, but never to this extent. Savvy travelers know that it’s best to pay in the local currency, particularly when your credit card does not charge a foreign transaction fee.
Here are five famous Polish people from history, not all of whom you may have thought were Polish (there’s no low man on this totem Pole):
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Frederic Chopin
- Marie Curie
- Pope John Paul II
- Lech Wałęsa
Borscht, oven-baked perogies (the waitress recommended these instead of boiled ones), and kvass — a true Polish meal!! I feel stuffed just thinking about it again. Each perogi had different fillings — all very good. I don’t recall having heard of kvass before, and I wasn’t expecting much, but I enjoyed it and would drink it again. It has just a little bit of alcohol (1.5% abv or so). From Wikipedia:
…kvass is made from a mash obtained from rye bread or rye flour and malt soaked in hot water, fermented for about 12 hours with the help of sugar and bread yeast or baker’s yeast at a room temperature.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass
From Rick Steves regarding Polack jokes:
About 10 million Americans have Polish ancestry, and most of them came stateside from the mid-19th to early 20th century. Because the sophisticated and educated tended to remain in Poland, these new arrivals were mostly poor farmers who were (at first) unschooled and didn’t speak English, placing them on a bottom rung of American society. It was during this time that the tradition of insulting “Polack jokes” emerged.
Rick Steves
Rick says that no one knows for sure where the jokes originated, but eventually they became so bad and prevalent that the Polish government petitioned the US State Department to put a stop to them. I recall hearing these jokes when I was a child, and I didn’t understand what a Polack was! Clearly, with the likes of Curie and Copernicus, Poles are not stupid. And it was the Polish who helped the British crack the German Enigma machine in World War II.
Another appreciated Pole is Tadeusz Kościuszko, who fought with the Americans against the British in the Revolutionary War, and then later against the Russians in Poland, including in the battle depicted in the panorama described in a recent post on this blog.
Today’s dad joke: When I was a teen, I could occasionally slam dunk a basketball. A few years ago I could still jump and touch the rim, though I’m not sure I can anymore. But I would definitely touch it with a ten-foot Pole.
Today’s travel quote:
With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.
Sandra Lake
Major Meander 
I’d like to try perogi and kvass, even though it’s alcohol content seems anemic.
I guess the point isn’t the alcohol – it’s like kombucha in a way. Liquid rye bread.
I have several friends of Polish descent and have enjoyed perogies from their family’s kitchens several times – yummy! I will have to ask them if they’ve ever had oven-baked ones.
“Savvy travelers know that it’s best to pay in the local currency, particularly when your credit card does not charge foreign transaction fee.” Great tip!