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Post by pjotr on Nov 14, 2010 2:47:15 GMT 1
What is the differance between Warsaw, Prague and Budapest?
Or more in general the differance between Polish cities and towns
and other central- and East European cities and towns?
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Post by Bonobo on Nov 14, 2010 8:27:53 GMT 1
What is the differance between Warsaw, Prague and Budapest? Or more in general the differance between Polish cities and towns and other central- and East European cities and towns? Warsaw is a new city. And other cities don`t have the Palace of Culture and Science. |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 14, 2010 12:21:51 GMT 1
What is the differance between Warsaw, Prague and Budapest? Or more in general the differance between Polish cities and towns and other central- and East European cities and towns? Warsaw is a new city. And other cities don`t have the Palace of Culture and Science. That is right Bonobo. But let's extend this subject to all major big, Polish cities, Krakow too. What I wanted to say or find out what is the differance between the Polish culture, architecture, history, mentality of the people, fine art, interior design, public space, street (life), atmopshere, influence of religion (the relationship between religious and secular people included) and political and economical reality in Polish cities and for instance the Czech cities, Slowak cities and Hungarian cities. As a Western-European Dutch person I felt a resemblance between for instance Krakow, Prague and Budapest in atmosphere, culture and heritage. All three cities have the Catholic influence, were part of the Habsburg empire and have the turmoil and interesting cultural (literairy, poetic, theatrical and fine art) development of the Interbellum period (1919-1938/39), their war histories (1938, 1939-1944) and their Central-European geographic location. Krakow was the old Polish capital, and had a Polish history before the Habsburg empire (Austrian occupation), as a city of Polish Gothic culture and Renaissance and a very old university. Another interesting question maybe is what is the differance between the Polish cities who lied in differant influence zones of occupation. The Western Prussian-Polish cities and towns, the Eastern-Czarist Russian cities and towns (Warsaw) and the cities and towns of the Austrain-Hungarian influence sphere. Did that influence fade away or is the stamp of the Germans, Russians and Austrians stil present in the city landscape and mentality of the people? For instance I have experiance with Poznan. Form Warsaw relatives I heared that Poznan is seen as a very organised, gründlich city with a German influence in it's architecture, mentality of the people and even the accent? The city was Posen in the past, a Prussian city with Polish roots (due to occupation and Germanisation). What is the Austrian influence in Krakow? Do you see the simularities between the three Habsburg cities? Maybe I as a North-West-European see a Central-European atmosphere which the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians does not see. Because they (you, Bonobo) see it from their respective national point of view and perspective. I see the Central-European identity, from my cultural identity. If you change positions, the Polish, Czech and Hungarian viewer or visitor maybe sees the same thing when visiting Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Copenhagen. North-West-European harbour cities, simular cultures, Germanic languages and people with simular cultures and mentalities. Just to give an example? There is a larger differance between Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxemburg city for instance. (even though they were all three part of the larger Kingdom of the Netherlands or the Dutch republic in the past) Pieter |
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Post by tufta on Nov 14, 2010 18:01:31 GMT 1
What is the differance between Warsaw, Prague and Budapest? Or more in general the differance between Polish cities and towns and other central- and East European cities and towns? Prague and Budapest are comparable. Warsaw is different, although the right-bank portion of the city has basically the same feeling as large portions of Prague, Budapest or Vienna. On the left bank there are only small regions with the same feeling and architecture. The overwhelming feeling I have in Warsaw, which is of course extremely subjective and emotional is that the city is 'wide' , 'quick', plus has a very special mix of arrogance and warmness. Krakow, especially Krakow inside Planty is simply a pearl, which warm, cosy, sophisticated cultural atmosphere, provincialism in good meaning mixed with exteme cosmopolitanism, has no much in any other city or town I know. Poznan is the only city in Poland which the stiff-upper lip part of Warsovians really respect, all the other are seen as 'province'. However, it is not Poznaners who learned dilligence, cleaness from the Prussians - but the other way round. Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot. This is perhaps the future of Polish touristic pearles which should and will or even ovetake Warsaw and Krakow. They have all the attractions the attractive metropolis should have. |
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Post by Bonobo on Nov 14, 2010 20:47:38 GMT 1
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 0:22:32 GMT 1
Bonobo,
I love both Budapest and Prague. Budapest is nearly two cities with Pest and Buda. I have only once been to Budapest in 1995 and in that time only saw Pest. I loved the Hungarian atmosphere of this old Habsburg and Hungarian town with it's Hungarian, Gypsy, Jewish, Turkish and Austrian elements. I liked Budapest better than Vienna, because I did not like the Austrian people and the atmosphere there. (And that has nothing to do with the fact that my Polish grandmother was in Mauthausen). I liked the Austrian Alps better in Saalbach-Hinterglem. Budapest has a mix of European and oriental atmosphere and culture, which makes it so interesting (Istanbul seems very near). It is a oldfashionate romantic city with nice trams, boulevards, squares, parks, museums (an exellent ancient art and culture museum with a very special Egyptian Faronic collection. I love the art and architecture of ancient Egypt) and a very good Museum of modern art (opposite to the old museum). The art academy of Budapest was wonderful, and I like the traditional way of teaching and skills overthere. There are subtle, refined emotions and experiances in some places you visit in your life. Central-Europe has a very special place in my heart, soul, spirit, mind and memories. My senses were activated there. I breath history, layers of history there and the present merges with it in it continued growing into the near future. I was there with one of the central-European bustrips of my Arnhem Art academy there. (I was stil a student back then in my final -examination- year). The city was very bussy, very active, with renovations, new buildings, new adds, new energy, and in that a new layer of freedom, democracy, capitalism and EU structural funds was put over or next to the communist (evil Stalinistic Hungarian regimes architecture, structures and changes), Interbellum (Jugenstil, Art deco, Art Nouveau, Claccicist), 19th, 18th, 17th and earlier periods (Baroc, rocco, Gothic and Romanesque) and stiles. The Habsburgian grandeur of the Austrian-Hungarian double monarchy was stil present in old layers. The communist heritage of Coal and cheep communist Two-stroke engines was stil in the air and it's grey façade was stil put in grey layers over old and new builidings. That brought back memories of the Polish peoples republic (seventees and eightees) to me. We stayed in a cheep lovers hotel with a pink heart on the front of the building. Which gave it the atmosphere of a American road movie. In the same neighbourhood the kitchy neo-castles of the noueveau riche gave it a Queens (New York) city like atmosphere. I would not have missed it for the world. We had great fun there with our group and our new experiances in Budapest. I liked the Donau river and the Hungarian parlaiment building.
Pieter
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 1:11:01 GMT 1
Bonobo,
Prague, Prague is a very romantic and beautiful city. I like it because the Czech with their West-slav culture and Bohemian culture are very close to Poland and had a significant influence on Poland, the Polish Catholic faith and even Polish literature and language. The brother of my Dziadek, Jan Kotowicz studied in Prague. I love Prague in the night and early morning when the terrible huge swarming snake of Western tourists is gone. I deliberately lost my way at night and wondered at both sides of the the Vltava River. Returning to my hotel at 4 'o clock in the early morning. I loved the Franz Kafka Museum, the old Jewish quarter Josefov with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue and it's wonderful cosy international cosmopolitian Grand Café with international newspapers, old black and white photographs on the wall and nice coffee. Where I had a tense and exited feeling of both alienation and recognition in Budapest simultaniously, I felt at home in Prague, like it was Poznan or Warsaw, the places of my Polish family and their acquaintances. The Czech people are differant than the Hungarians and I can't explain why. It has the same subtle, refined, deeper inner layer of civilization, which is not explainable. It has the Central-European quintessense, an Aether of quality of a region which brought literature, poetry, fine art, classical music, opera and civilization to Europe in the Post-Habsburg time of the Interbellum (1918-1939). An area of Poland (Krakow, Warsaw and Lwów), Czechoslowakia (Prague), Austria (Vienna) and Germany (Berlin). To me a certain German language literature which was rooted in Prague and Vienna. Kafka, Rilke, Max Brod, Franz Werfel, Karl Kraus and Elias Canetti. Next to that you have the Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek (best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk). I like the Prague Baroque style of it's palaces, churches and gardens. And I like Prague's Old Town Square which is located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge, the Charles Bridge without tourists (so in the very early morning or late in the evening with the fairytale lights and atmosphere), the Malá Strana district, Vyšehrad castle on a hill over the Vltava River and part of the new parts of the town (subburbs if you walk long enough you reache(d) them). I had a longing to escape the terrible crawling snake of touristic masses in the old centre sometimes and as a result of that made long walks in various directions over large boulevards, squares, bussy traffic roads, small alley's, along the river banks. Miles and miles and miles. I was twice in Prague. Once with a bus of my art academy in 1994. We visited the Art academy of Prague and a Mozart concert in the Opera house.
Later in 1997 I visited Prague for the second time, when I came to Prague with a train from the Southern-Bohemian town of České Budějovice, in hwich area we had rented a typical wooden holiday house at a wonderful small lake in the woods near a small Czech village (I forgot the name of it). In Prague my girlfriend and I rented a room of private Czech citizens and we spend a wonderful weekend in the Czech capital. I remember Prague by night, Guinness beer in an Irish Pub, dinner in a Czech restaurant, prosititutes on streetcorners (some of them looked like drag queens or were transsexuals - it was really weird, but it add to the strange and funny atmosphere-). I can say one thing, Prague isn't boring. Prague is closer to Krakow than to Warsaw or Budapest in my opinion. It has the same authentic West-slav, Central-European (actually Pan-European with slav flavor) atmosphere as Krakow. Like Tufta described it so eloquently; "Krakow, especially Krakow inside Planty is simply a pearl, which warm, cosy, sophisticated cultural atmosphere, provincialism in good meaning mixed with extreme cosmopolitanism, has no match in any other city or town I know." I would like to say the same about Prague.
Herbsttag
Herr, es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groß.
Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren,
und auf den Fluren laß die Winde los.
Befiehl den letzten Früchten voll zu sein;
gib ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage
die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.
Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.
Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,
wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben
und wird in den Alleen hin und her
unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 1:56:47 GMT 1
Prague and Budapest are comparable. Warsaw is different, although the right-bank portion of the city has basically the same feeling as large portions of Prague, Budapest or Vienna. On the left bank there are only small regions with the same feeling and architecture. The overwhelming feeling I have in Warsaw, which is of course extremely subjective and emotional is that the city is ' wide' , ' quick', plus has a very special mix of arrogance and warmness. Tufta, It looks like the mentality of the Amsterdam people in the Netherlands!  ;D First you have Amsterdam, then for a long time nothing and then the rest of the Netherlands. All people outside Amsterdam are peasents. People of The Hague are village people, because The Hague never received propper city rights. With the Rotterdam people the Amsterdam people traditionally have a tradition of rivalry. Two ports, the two main cities, two international trade centres and etc. A football match between Ajax (Amsterdam) and Feijenoord (Rotterdam) feels like a civil war. Pieter |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 2:07:43 GMT 1
Poznan is the only city in Poland which the stiff-upper lip part of Warsovians really respect, all the other are seen as 'province'. However, it is not Poznaners who learned dilligence, cleaness from the Prussians - but the other way round. Tufta, I heard exactly this message from a very elegant old Varsovian lady. You are probably right about the dilligence and cleaness of the Poznaners? I always believe that where there are two or three populations the best elements of these groups merge into something new. The Polish majority put their quality in Poland, the German Burgher of the Polish cities and towns add their quality and the large jewish minority delivered it's workforce, intellect and economical achievements to the Polish nation. Like in the Netherlands, the Dutch economical wealth and prosparity is built and created by Dutch and Flemish Calvinist merchants, Sephardic businessmen and scientists and Ashkenazi workers and middle class, German Westfalian immigrants (who became Dutch speaking citizens - families - with German sounding names in time -like in Poland too-) and the French Huegenot people and Indo people, who are merging slowly into the Dutch population. (Indo people are considered Dutch by the majority of Dutch people). In the Polish culture and economy there are German, Czech, Dutch, Ukrainian, Italian, Georgian, Armenian, Vietnamese and jewish infleunces. Pieter |
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Post by tufta on Nov 15, 2010 9:27:21 GMT 1
I love Prague in the night and early morning when the terrible huge swarming snake of Western tourists is gone. [/i][/quote] Exactly. The early morning is the best hour to sightsee every city imo. |
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Post by tufta on Nov 15, 2010 9:35:51 GMT 1
Herbsttag
Herr, es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groß.
Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren,
und auf den Fluren laß die Winde los.
Befiehl den letzten Früchten voll zu sein;
gib ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage
die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.
Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.
Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,
wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben
und wird in den Alleen hin und her
unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.
Rainer Maria Rilke Panie: już czas. Tak długo lato trwało. Rzuć na zegary słoneczne twój cień i rozpuść wiatry na niwę dojrzałą. Każ się napełnić ostatnim owocom; niech je dwa jeszcze ciepłe dni opłyną, znaglij je do spełnienia i wypędź z mocą ostatnią słodycz w ciężkie wino. Kto teraz nie ma domu, nigdy mieć nie będzie. Kto teraz sam jest, długo pozostanie sam i będzie czuwał, czytał, długie listy będzie pisał i niespokojnie tu i tam błądził w alejach, gdy wiatr liście pędzi. A lofty summer! Lord, it's time to lay encroaching shadows on the sundials now and let in meadowlands the winds have sway. Command the fruits to fullness and consign another two more days of southern heat to bring them to perfection and secrete the last of sweetness into bodied wine. He who has no house will not rebuild, and he who is alone will long stay so, and wake to read, write endlessly, and go up and down through avenues now filled with leaves and restlessness, blown to and fro. |
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Post by tufta on Nov 15, 2010 9:53:36 GMT 1
In the Polish culture and economy there are German, Czech, Dutch, Ukrainian, Italian, Georgian, Armenian, Vietnamese and jewish infleunces. Pieter and Belarussian, and Russian, and Lithuanian and so on and on. Poland along the eastern borders 'feels' a little bit like the respective countries from the other side of the border. Which of course are also permeated with Polishness. There are villages, regions in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Czechia where Polish is more popular than the main language. And there are villages and regions in Poland where Belarusin is spoken, Lithuanian, a mixture of Ukrainian-Belarusin and Polish, and so on. Travelling through Poland West-East or East-West is a very special experience since one goes through several quasicultural borders without leaving a single state. But this is a normal situation in any large country (large even in European scale, beacuse in worldwide scale we are all small). This year I spent more time in Trier, the feeling, the inhabitants mentality are totally different to , for instance, Prenzlau... The Eastern parts of Poland and people there have very special of softness in them, absent in any other part of Poland. Except of course Wrocław and parts of Lower Silesia, where they were transfered. Krakowians have a special slowness in them, relaxed way, never hurry kind of thing, Poznaners are practical in an enormous and imginable way to the rest of the country. Modern Warsaw at first glance becoming a simple 'melting pot' of all these traits represented by the other cities, since it is now good to earn in Warsaw while to live and spend elsewhere. And we have lots of young ambitious people from all around Poland working here, leaving already here even, but still with one leg 'somewhere there'. It is really a fine and interesting time to live in Poland now |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 10:04:03 GMT 1
It is really a fine and interesting time to live in Poland now I am glad to hear this, thanks for the very interesting description of Poland!  |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 15, 2010 10:09:32 GMT 1
We have lots of young ambitious people from all around Poland working here, leaving already here even, but still with one leg ' somewhere there'. It is really a fine and interesting time to live in Poland now Tufta, That's good, but it would be healthy when they stayed there and became new Varsovians. Amsterdam too traditionally has an influx of people all over the country, and this import mixed with the Amsterdam population makes Amsterdam such a special place from a Dutch perspective with the flavors of 12 provinces. Often the import is the best selection of ambitious people from the 12 provinces. Add to that the 160 or so foreign nationalities who live and work in Amsterdam, Amsterdam is an interesting melting pot and international and national in the same time. I think the same will be the case in Warsaw, because it is the capital of Poland and attractive in it's growth and modernity. Pieter |
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Post by tufta on Nov 15, 2010 23:03:30 GMT 1
That's good, but it would be healthy when they stayed there and became new Varsovians. It happens too. For instance one candidate for President of Warsaw post in the local elections we have in Poland this Sunday is 'a new Varsovian'. I mean Wojciech Olejniczak. He lives in Warsaw -teen years. However he doesn't have a chance against the two main rivals Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and Czesław Bielecki, both born in Warsaw. |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 18, 2010 11:42:13 GMT 1
That's good, but it would be healthy when they stayed there and became new Varsovians. It happens too. For instance one candidate for President of Warsaw post in the local elections we have in Poland this Sunday is 'a new Varsovian'. I mean Wojciech Olejniczak. He lives in Warsaw -teen years. However he doesn't have a chance against the two main rivals Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and Czesław Bielecki, both born in Warsaw. is of the SLD and that party is a minority party. How large is the SLD in Warsaw? Warsaw must have a lot of workers too. Workers in most European countries were the base of the leftwing movement. (Social-democratic, socialist and communist parties) |
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Post by tufta on Nov 18, 2010 18:33:46 GMT 1
Pieter,
these are local elections, so theoretically it doesn't matter that much from which party a candidate is. On the other hand I don't have the feeling SLD is the workers party. I may be wrong of course. But SLD is a fully left party which means yes to same sex marriage and children adoption, no to religion in school, yes to in vitro, yes to abortion, probably also yes to free marihuana. My gut feeling tells me workers in Poland are a little more conservative.
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Post by pjotr on Nov 19, 2010 0:34:09 GMT 1
Pieter, these are local elections, so theoretically it doesn't matter that much from which party a candidate is. On the other hand I don't have the feeling SLD is the workers party. I may be wrong of course. But SLD is a fully left party which means yes to same sex marriage and children adoption, no to religion in school, yes to in vitro, yes to abortion, probably also yes to free marihuana. My gut feeling tells me workers in Poland are a little more conservative. Tufta, Then the SLD is more a leftwing party then the centre-left European Social-democratic and Communist parties in the present and past. SLD looks more like the Dutch (radical liberal) leftwing GreenLeft than the Dutch labour. European Labour and also Communist parties (in other European countries, because we have no communist party in parlaiment) often were leftwing on economical issues, and more conservative on cultural issues. In the sense that they stood for the 'National worker', and working class families. Gay marriage, feminism, abortion, euthenasia were things of the late 20th century. Many leftwing workers have nothing with these issues. They aren't particulary fond of feminism (equal rights of men and women) and Gay issues either. Traditional Christian and Muslim Labour voters are clearly against Gay marriage and feminism. Workers rights and class struggle were always more important than these liberal issues. Most communist regimes were homophobic, social conservative, " petit bourgeois" in their opinions, and clearly not Feminist. Dutch Labour was and is only liberal and has the same opinions as the SLD, because the majority of the Native Dutch population is liberal on the same issues the Polish SLD is liberal. In the Netherlands the SLD would be a party of the left-intelligentsia, artists, cultural academics, leftwing journalists, leftwing professors of universities, the typical leftwing entrepreneurs (I don't know if you have these kind of entrepreneurs in Poland? A merger of Capitalist entrepreneurship and leftwing cultural ideas. Pub owners who organise cultural and political debates, and have a role in the discussion about for instance city planning and local economy and politics), Gay rights activists, Feminists and environmentalists. People of certain professions are often leftwing in the Netherlands, like teachers, journalists, development aid workers, psychologists, some lawjers, professions in the culture sector and people who work in healthcare. Pieter |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 19, 2010 1:25:31 GMT 1
Saturday there will be mass protest in the Netherlands agains the cut backs of the present rightwing conservative government in the cultural sector. The Central government in the Hague will cut 20% of the budget of the cultural sector. A lot of cultural institutions, classical orchestra, theatre groups, dance companies, libraries, art centres, Museums, Public Television and Radio and other cultural institutions are supported by the Central government mainly and regional and local authorties.
Most structural funds for the cultural institutions come from the National government, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science from The Hague. Culture is not the highest priority of this government, and the PVV (Wilders party) hates the cultural sector, Public media and artists and journalists in general. The PVV and other rightists call culture, environmental issues and journalism "Leftist hobbies". Now the PVV has power and influence on the government and the influential and dominant right wings of the liberal-conservative VVD and Christian-democratic CDA government parties, the cultural sector is under Siege, with the cut backs and raise of the Value added tax (VAT) for cultural products like paintings, sculptures, photographs of art photographers and other cultural designes things from 6% to 19%. This makes it for many artists impossible to earn a living. They can't obtain art funds or state subsidies for art projects, and the commercial world will not promote, sponsor or finance them.
This government measures and cultural policy, which is supported by the centre-right and right (including the conservative Protestant christian parties) comes as an Earthquake to the culture sector.
That's why saturday in all important Dutch cities and towns there will be mass protests of the cultural world under the slogan: "The Netherlands screams for Culture!" In Arnhem the demonstration will be labeled
"Arnhem screams for culture!"
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Post by pjotr on Nov 19, 2010 1:45:43 GMT 1
In the Polish culture and economy there are German, Czech, Dutch, Ukrainian, Italian, Georgian, Armenian, Vietnamese and jewish infleunces. Pieter and Belarussian, and Russian, and Lithuanian and so on and on. Poland along the eastern borders 'feels' a little bit like the respective countries from the other side of the border. Which of course are also permeated with Polishness. There are villages, regions in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Czechia where Polish is more popular than the main language. And there are villages and regions in Poland where Belarusin is spoken, Lithuanian, a mixture of Ukrainian-Belarusin and Polish, and so on. Travelling through Poland West-East or East-West is a very special experience since one goes through several quasicultural borders without leaving a single state. But this is a normal situation in any large country (large even in European scale, beacuse in worldwide scale we are all small). This year I spent more time in Trier, the feeling, the inhabitants mentality are totally different to , for instance, Prenzlau... The Eastern parts of Poland and people there have very special of softness in them, absent in any other part of Poland. Except of course Wrocław and parts of Lower Silesia, where they were transfered. Krakowians have a special slowness in them, relaxed way, never hurry kind of thing, Poznaners are practical in an enormous and imginable way to the rest of the country. Modern Warsaw at first glance becoming a simple 'melting pot' of all these traits represented by the other cities, since it is now good to earn in Warsaw while to live and spend elsewhere. And we have lots of young ambitious people from all around Poland working here, leaving already here even, but still with one leg 'somewhere there'. It is really a fine and interesting time to live in Poland now Tufta, Poland is a very interesting with so much European and Eurasian influences. Are these Belarusin, Lithuanian, a mixture of Ukrainian-Belarusin and Polish elements of these Polish border regions also present in Warsaw? Does Warsaw attract central- and eastern Europeans like Berlin is attracting Western-Europeans, North-Americans, Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Israeli's and Russians? Warsaw is a crossroad in Europe, between Berlin and Moscow and between Rome and Helsinki. A transport, trade, tourism, diplomacy, cultural exchange route. Does Warsaw attracts people from the Visgrad countries too (not only prime-ministers, presidents, ministers of foreign affairs and groups of parlaimentarians), but also Hungarian, Czech, Slowak, Baltic and other visitors who are interested in Polish culture, Polish art, Polish cities, Polish history, Polish products and so the Polish market. Are there foreign European students studying on the Warsaw school of Economics, the Warsaw universities and the Warsaw Art academy? Tufta, do you hear Czech, Hungarian, Slowak on the Warsaw streets, in the Warsaw subway, or in Warsaw trams, busses, parks, Museums or pubs and restaurants. You have a family appartment in Prague. How often do you go there? Do you know Czech people there or people of the Polish diaspora in Prague? Are there many Poles living, studying and working in Prague? And how are the Polish-Czech relations today? Like the Polish-German relations or like the Polish-American relations? Surely better than the Polish-Russian relationship which is in a embryonic state. (from the New Polish democratic republic point of view). Pieter |
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Post by tufta on Nov 19, 2010 8:53:33 GMT 1
Pieter, Polish-Czech relations are very good, they are difficult to compare with German or American. We are Slavs, so the understanding between us is different, and we have common heritage of Soviet capativity, German aggression, which make certain matters obvious. However there are huge differences between us I don't own an appartment in Prague - see PM. There are a lot of foreign student in Polish universities in general. In the street of Warsaw the most often overheard languages is English followed by Vietnamese. Then goes the rest, but Czech or Slovak are rarely heard (they are small nations), more often Russian and Ukrainian, German and French. |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 19, 2010 9:48:40 GMT 1
Pieter, Polish-Czech relations are very good, they are difficult to compare with German or American. We are Slavs, so the understanding between us is different, and we have common heritage of Soviet capativity, German aggression, which make certain matters obvious. However there are huge differences between us I don't own an appartment in Prague - see PM. There are a lot of foreign student in Polish universities in general. In the street of Warsaw the most often overheard languages is English followed by Vietnamese. Then goes the rest, but Czech or Slovak are rarely heard (they are small nations), more often Russian and Ukrainian, German and French. Tufta, I get the picture. My last time in Warsaw was in August 2006, and I remember the foreigners there, but I can't judge from an experiance from one week when the last time before that was also only once in 1984 (and then I was 14). Pieter |
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Post by tufta on Nov 19, 2010 13:16:58 GMT 1
Pieter, as in every city there are regions where foreigners are in great abundance and there are regions when no foreigner ever dares to set a foot. For example for all-year-round Japanese language training go to or near Chopin musem in Tamka street English young unmarried men dressed like women patrol several streets in Old Town, Ujazdowski Parc is full of French speakers, and so on and on. |
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Post by pjotr on Nov 20, 2010 18:28:15 GMT 1
What do especially Poles do like about Prague and Budapest?
With whom get the Poles get along better? Wigt the Hungarians or Czechs?
(I take in consideration that Poland is a large country and Czechia and Hungary
smaller countries. Small countries with great cultures, cultures that are larger
than the seize of their populations and that counts)
Pieter
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Post by tufta on Nov 23, 2010 14:39:20 GMT 1
What do especially Poles do like about Prague and Budapest? With whom get the Poles get along better? Wigt the Hungarians or Czechs? (I take in consideration that Poland is a large country and Czechia and Hungary smaller countries. Small countries with great cultures, cultures that are larger than the seize of their populations and that counts) Pieter Yes, Poles are much larger nation, that is why there is no one scheme what they generally like or dislike. But if I were to answer anyway I'd say that Poles have very different attitudes, viewpoints. Add to that the very specific trait of individualism... and there you go, we have an answer. Poles like everything in Czech Republic and Hungary. and, as true Poles dislike everything in Czech Republic and Hungary ;D ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Mar 22, 2020 20:34:55 GMT 1
Warsaw in its most part was rebuilt after the total destruction of WW2, while Budapest and Prague weren`t destroyed. Therefore Warsaw looks more modern but often this modernism dull as it comes from communist times. Warsaw  Prague  Budapest  |
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;D