I have noticed in the past couple of months an increase in the number of friend requests from my old friends and acquaintances in Poland. And indeed, official numbers suggest that after years of relying on Nasza Klasa, Poles are now flocking to Facebook.

A recent post on the Social Bakers website claims that in the past six months the number of Poles using Facebook has grown by 79%. In other words, over 2.4 million new users have created their profiles within the past six months. There are over 5.5 million Polish profiles on Facebook at the moment, which makes it the seventh biggest country in Europe on Facebook. (The UK is first, with almost 29 million Facebook profiles, closely followed by Turkey with 26m and France with almost 21m.)

I have also noticed many more Polish pages on Facebook and, surprisingly, Polish-language ads too. Although why they would display on my profile if my language is defined as English and location as UK, remains a mystery to me.

I guess more businesses and brands will take advantage of Facebook’s ability to target its advertising and the number of Polish ads will grow rapidly in the next several months.

Obviously now would be an ideal time to remind you that each post on this blog comes with a Facebook ‘Like’ button – if you like what you’ve read, ‘Like’ it and share with your Facebook friends

Also, if you haven’d done so yet, become a fan of the Polski Blog on Facebook and help us reach even more readers.

Thanks a lot

Image © FindYourSearch via Flickr, used under the Creative Commons licenceTweet

Dative Case (czemu? komu?)

The Dative case is used to express:

1. Senses of to and for a person, especially the indirect object (naming the recipient or beneficiary, or sometimes the person negatively affected by an action).

Kup mi coś. Buy me-Dat. something.

Zepsułem ci samochód. I’ve ruined your car for you-Dat.

2. After verbs of communication:

Powiedz mi coś. Tell me-Dat. something.

3. In construction with certain verbs like podobać się (be attractive to), pomagać (help), powodzić się (be successful for), smakować (taste), dziwić się (be surprised at), and others:

Twój kolega podoba mi się. Your colleague is attractive to me-Dat.

Dobrze mu się powodzi. He-Dat. is doing very well.

Muszę mu pomagać. I have to help him-Dat.

Dziwię się tobie. I’m surprised at you-Dat.

Zdaje ci się It seems that way to you.

4. As the subject of impersonal adverbs:

Jest mi zimno. I-Dat. am cold. (It’s cold to me-Dat.)

Nam jest łatwo. It’s easy for us-Dat.

5. After the prepositions dzięki (due to), ku (toward), przeciwko (against):

Wszystko, co wiem, to dzięki tobie. Everything I know is thanks to you-Dat.

Nie mam nic przeciwko temu. I don’t have anything against that-Dat.

Accusative Case (co? kogo?)

The Accusative case is used to express:

1. The complement after transitive verbs

Mam brata i siostrę I have a brother (Acc.) and sister (Acc.)

Chcę kupić ser, masło i cytrynę I want to buy cheese (Acc.), butter (Acc.), and a lemon (Acc.)

Chciałbym poznać twoich przyjaciół I’d like to meet your friends (Acc.pl.)

This use of the Accusative is called the direct-object use. In general, one chooses the Accusative after a verb unless there is a specific reason to use another case.

2. Various verb+preposition phrasal combinations take the Accusative case, for example czekać na (wait for), patrzyć na (look at), pytać o (ask about), martwić się o (worry about), dbać o (look after, care about):

Czekam na moją córkę. I’m waiting for my daughter-Acc.

Dbam o kondycję. I see to my fitness-Acc.

O co pytasz? What-Acc. are you asking about?

3. After the prepositions przez (across, through, by); za in the meaning (in/after a period of time) or in exchange for; after na in the meaning (for or to); and after w in the meaning ‘into’, and in various other expressions.

Pan Józef został zaangażowany przez pana Kowalczyka. Jozef was hired by Mr. Kowalczyk-Acc.

Będę gotowy za minutę. I’ll be ready in a minute.

Dziękuję za prezent. Thanks for the present-Acc.

Idziemy do Warszawy na konferencję. We’re going to Warsaw to a conference-Acc.

Wchodzimy w las. We’re entering the forest-Acc. (On a day of the week is expressed with w + A: w poniedziałek [on Monday].)

4. After the usually Instrumental prepositions nad, pod, przed, za in the sense of

“motion-to”:

Jedziemy nad morze. We are going to the sea.

Taksówka podjechała pod dom. The taxi drove up to the house.

5. In expressing duration of time.

Pracowałem tam jedną godzinę. I worked there one hour-Acc.

Instrumental Case (czym? kim?)

The Instrumental case is used to express:

1. Predicate nouns (nouns after linking verbs like być [be], zostać [become]):

Jestem farmakologiem. I am a pharmacologist-Inst.

Ona jest gwiazdą filmową. She is a movie star-Inst.

On został prezydentem. He became president-Inst.

2. Expressing by means of:

Jedziemy tam moim samochodem. We’re going there in my car-Inst.

Piszę nowym długopisem. I’m writing with a new ball-point-Inst.

Here also goes the “Instrumental of Path”:

Niech pan idzie tą ulicą do rogu. Go along this street-Inst. to the corner.

3. Accompaniment of an action by a body movement:

Ona machnęła ręką. She waved (with) her hand-Inst.

On zareagował uśmiechem. He reacted with a smile-Inst.

4. Abstract causes:

Byłem zaskoczony jego szczerością. I was surprised by his sincerity-Inst.

5. With respect to:

On może jest starszy wiekiem ale nie usposobieniem. He maybe is older with

respect to age-Inst. but not deportment-Inst.

6. Certain time periods:

zimą in the winter

nocą at night

wieczorem in the evening

7. After the static-location prepositions między (between), nad (over), pod (under), przed (before), z (with), za (behind):

Idę na koncert z moimi dobrymi przyjaciółmi. I’m going to a concert with my good friends-Inst.

8. After certain verbs, e.g. interesować się (be interested in), kierować (direct),

zajmować się (be busy with, take care of), władać (have power over, master):

Interesuję się muzyką klasyczną. I’m interested in classical music-Inst.

Matka zajmuje się domem i dziećmi. Mother takes care of the house-Inst. and

children-Inst.

Trzeba władać tym przypadkiem gramatycznym. One must master this grammatical case-Inst.

Tomorrow we will finish with Locative and Vocative cases.

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)

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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 you with some toilet paper too). The attendants would most likely be female pensioners, hence their nickname, “babcia klozetowa” (literally: “toilet grandma”). But they were there not just to charge you money. They kept the place clean, provided a sense of security and often became, inadvertently of course, a source of entertainment. They’d sit there with their tiny AM radios, crocheting or knitting, loudly gossipping away, keeping an eye on their customers and often telling them off if they broke any of their golden loo rules.

Obviously they are not – and have never been – a typical Polish phenomenon. And neither has been the custom of charging for the toilet. But somehow many people still think that unless you have some lose change in your pocket, your only option when you’re desperate for the loo in Poland is the nearest park.

Chargeable toilets and toilet attendants are probably still present in some places – mainly, I would suspect, railway stations and other busy public transport hubs. But over the past several years I have not encountered them in any of the shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants or bars I have visited in Poland.

But I’m glad they have been immortalised in popular Polish culture.

I’m also glad we got thir particular subject out of the way.

→  More Polish Facts and Myths

Image © Iwona Kellie, used under the Creative Commons licence
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I had this wonderful privilege to meet Pope John Paul II while I was on my vacation in Italy 13 years ago. He was a wonderful man, and although I only talked to him for few minutes, it was an amazing experience. I never thought meeting Him will be so touching.

Last week Vatican shared some news with the world.

Faithful attending the beatification of Pope John Paul in Rome will be able to pray before his coffin, which will be exhumed for the event.

The Vatican warned the faithful around the world not to fall prey to fraudsters, particularly on the Internet, who are selling tickets to the beatification ceremony on May 1^st. “For the beatification Mass of Pope John Paul II, as made clear from the outset, no tickets are required,” the Vatican said. It said people should also steer clear of tour operators promising to procure tickets as part of their packages.

Italian authorities and Church officials say perhaps more than a million people may attend the mass at which John Paul, who died in 2005, will be declared a blessed of the Church and move one step closer to sainthood.

The ceremony in St Peter’s Square, one of several over three days, will hark back to the funeral of the charismatic pope, which was one of the biggest media events of the new century.

John Paul’s wooden coffin will be exhumed from its current place in the crypts below St Peter’s Basilica.

After the beatification mass in the square it will be placed before the main altar inside the basilica. The closed coffin will remain there for viewing and veneration non-stop until everyone who wants to can see it, the Vatican said.

The night before the beatification ceremony, a prayer vigil will be held at Rome’s massive Circus Maximus, the oval shaped field which was a racing track in ancient times.

A mass of thanksgiving will be held in St Peter’s Square on May 2, the day after the beatification, and then his remains will be moved to their new resting place in a side chapel of St Peter’s Basilica.

To be beatified, a dead person must be declared by the Church to have prompted a miracle. The Church says a 49-year-old French nun was miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease months after John Paul’s death after she and fellow nuns prayed to him.

For John Paul to become a saint, the Church must declare that a second miracle occurred after the beatification ceremony.

Crowds at John Paul’s funeral on April 8, 2005 chanted “Santo subito!” (“Make him a saint right now!”).

During his 27-year pontificate, communism collapsed across Eastern Europe, starting in his native Poland. Tens of thousands of Poles are expected to come to Rome for the beatification.

Although these news are not directly from Poland, I thought I will share it with you.

And to make it a little more Polish here are few words for you:

Pope – Papież

Faithful – wierzący, wierni

Amazing experience – wspaniałe przeżycie

Touching – wzruszające

Coffin – trumna

To pray – modlić się

Beatification – beatyfikacja

Saint– Święty

Funeral – pogrzeb

Miracle – cud

Miraculously cured – cudem wyleczony

Chapel – świątynia

Pontificate – pontyfikat

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)

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Kocham Cię. I love you.

More language of love – here.

More “Polish your Polish” – here.

Kocham Cie image by Funky Tee, via Flickr, used under the CC licenceTweet

But hold on! Did we not learn the lessons of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? It seems not. Indeed, cruel fortune strikes and in no time at all T-Rex has gone on a human-munching spree. It’s now up to Jeff Goldblum in his slick shades to come and save the day…

OK, enough of Jurassic Park. And whilst it is true that amber can perfectly preserve all kinds of creatures, from mosquitoes to lizards, the value of amber is not confined to the extraction of dinosaur DNA.

Far from it. Here on the continent amber has been venerated since time immemorial. However, this was for its artistic rather than its magical or scientific qualities. The so-called ‘Gold from the Baltic’ was prized by kings and magnates for its versatility and beauty. Artists were showered with privileges if they were able to rustle up an amber sensation. Polish King Zygmunt Waza (1587-1682), had an especially soft spot for the stuff, and he enjoyed having a go at crafting the material after a long day spent annoying the Polish nobles. One of the wonders of Russia was Peter’s the Great ‘Amber Room’, an exquisitely crafted chamber fashioned entirely from different shades of amber. The ‘Amber Room’ disappeared into thin air during the Second World War, prompting a host of speculation from historians and who-dunnit theorists.

Yet before we get carried away on historical tangents, just what exactly is amber? Well, any authentic Gold from the Baltic should be of the grand old age of 40 million years old. Baltic amber is fossilized resin that was washed down ancient rivers from prehistoric forests in the whereabouts of today’s Scandinavia. There are major deposits out at sea off Russia’s Sambian Peninsula. Most of the stuff that gets washed up on beaches is erroneously sold as copal. Craftsmen call this material ‘young amber’ but the best stuff comes from further out to sea.

The crafting of amber has been big business in Poland since medieval times. The bustling Baltic port city of Gdansk played a key role in this. Gdansk had a reputation in Europe for its superb artisans’ products, and the city created some of the finest furniture and jewelry in Europe. Polish King Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk enhanced the rights of Gdansk’s amber craftsmen in 1477 by allowing them to form their own guild. Some of the treasures from the Renaissance and Baroque eras can still be found in the treasuries of the Royal Castle and Cathedral at Wawel, not least the venerable ‘hobbler’ goblet, which was designed by none other than King Zygmunt himself.

Travelers to Poland today will be relieved to hear that amber concoctions don’t necessarily cost the earth. And whilst dedicated collectors can fork out for a little galleon that’s crafted entirely from amber, you can also pick up individual pieces of jewelry for very reasonable prices. A fitting place to begin your search would be the Cloth Hall at the heart of the Main Market Square. This splendid building has housed merchants’ stalls for hundreds of years. If you’re looking for something more specific, or something that’s out of the ordinary, Tomasz Mikolajczyki’s ‘Boruni’ galleries are well worth a look. Amber jewelry is one of the standouts of Polish contemporary design, and a trip to Mr. Mikolajczyk’s galleries will demonstrate why.

You can buy Baltic Amber pretty much everywhere in Poland, but Gdansk and Krakow will definitely have the most wonderful and unique selection…My personal favorite is jewelry made out of raw amber.

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)

Luiza Hryniewicz is a 21-year-old Junior European swimming champ from Lodz, Poland.

Hryniewicz, who bagged a gold medal in the championships as a 15-year-old in 2005, said: “Swimming was fun, but modelling is better.

“The swimming helped shape my figure and that’s helped me get the photo shoots I always wanted.”

From today, most public spaces in Poland become smoke-free zones. Smoking is now banned in bars, clubs, restaurants, schools, hospitals, bus stops and many other public places.

Roughly a quarter of all Poles smoke regularly and probably won’t be happy with the ban, which also extends to work places. Although, according to poland.pl, over 31% of Poles support the ban.

A crafty fag in a non-smoking place can cost you 500PLN (which is just over £100 or $170), but the penalties are even more severe if you fail to inform your customers about the smoking ban. Places which fail to display information about the ban can pay up to 2000 PLN (around £430/ $700).

I guess it’ll take a while for people to get used to the ban and I honestly never thought it would happen in Poland.

The people behind the Polska bez dymu (Poland with no smoke) campaign must be really happy today.Tweet

Born in Silesia, he spent most of his life working and teaching in Katowice, the heart of the most industrialised region in Poland. Until early 1990s he remained largerly unknown, even in Poland. But his “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”, also known as the “Third Symphony”, composed in the late 70s and released in 1992 to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, made his name famous in Poland and abroad.

Here is how the New York Times described the symphony’s – and Gorecki’s – rise to fame in 1994:

As Communism in Poland crumbled during 1989, so Gorecki’s music spread. By 1990, Symphony No. 3 was being premiered with big orchestras from Brooklyn to Sydney, and several recordings were made. But not until the smooth voice of the soprano Dawn Upshaw, combined with the full sound of the London Sinfonietta under David Zinman on the Elektra Nonesuch label did all the fuss start.

Released in May 1992, the 52-minute recording moved the symphony from a respected piece in the modern repertory to a universally popular work. The recording held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s classical chart for 37 weeks and has sat in the top 25 for 93 weeks. It peaked at No. 6 on the British pop chart. Worldwide sales of the Nonesuch recording were over 600,000 by the end of the year. Orchestras rushed to perform the work as a way of keeping up with their audiences. Naturally, this renown didn’t escape the movie makers. The director Peter Weir chose the first movement of the symphony for the climactic scene in his movie “Fearless.”

Another great Polish composer is gone. But his music, inspired by the beauty and the soul of the Tatra Mountains remains:

I just got an email from a production company inviting me to watch a video series about Poland called “From Poland With Love”. Yes, it might be a promotional vehicle for a particular sponsor, but it’s also a great series featuring some fantastic and less-known aspects of modern Poland.

In the above episode we get introduced to a Polish hip-hop performer, a ‘country’ band (watch out for their definition of country) and a Warsaw-based sculptor, Pawel Althamer, who relies on his neighbours from a working-class district of the city to help him create his elaborate art.

The series consists of five episodes, in which a Swede, Ivar, goes beyond the capital to discover places in Poland you hardly hear about.

You get to meet Edward Szwajkiewicz, a Solidarity member who fought the Communists, but also a modern Goth from Silesia. There’s a lot of clubbing and vodka drinking in Krakow, of course, but Ivar and his Polish side-kick Julita also make sure you get more than a glimpse of the beautiful Polish mountains and meet Trebunie Tutki, a fusion reggae band from Zakopane.

You can watch the entire series here – each episode is 8-10 minutes long and packed with some great stuff.

I loved it. It resonates with the Polski Blog and in a way, I’d like to think the series was made specifically for it…