BAR, KAWIARNIA, RESTAURACJA or where you can have something to eat in Poland?

It is hard to believe that these three words: restauracja, bar and kawiarnia, raise so many questions in Polish classes. Naturally, everyone knows those are the names of eating establishments so the questions don’t usually refer to their meaning but the cultural context. They often happen to have somewhat different functions in Poland and abroad.

KAWIARNIA AND RESTAURACJA IN POLISH
Today we’re going to talk about the eating establishments you pass in the streets of Polish cities every day. We have already discussed the less common ones (oberża, karczma, zajazd) here. What are restauracja and kawiarnia then? The former is the least controversial and, the same as in other countries, restauracja (restarant) is a place where the food is served by a waiter or waitress. We go there if we want to eat (zjeść) a large meal (usually consisting of a starter, entree and main course) followed by coffee or tea, which Poles often drink while eating some dessert.
Coffee, tea and dessert can also be ordered in kawiarnie (cafes) which more and more often do not employ waiters and drinks and desserts are ordered and paid for at the counter. If such an establishment serves also sandwiches, quiches, salads or any other food typically served for luch, it is called a bistro. In large Polish cities there are plenty of establishments that are a combination of kawiarnia and bistro.

IS MILK DRUNK IN POLISH BARS?
What is the real meaning of the noun bar in the Polish language? Bar in Polish is a place where you can drink some alcohol but (unlike bars in Spain, for instance) where you don’t eat anything. The other meaning of the word, which is the source of  misunderstandings, is an estanblishment that was especially popular in the interwar Poland and PRL (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, i.e. Polish People’s Republic) and where these days as well you can have some simple and inexpensive Polish dishes. There’s no waiter service in a bar like that and the interior resembles a canteen rather than a restaurant. The full name of such an establishment, and we can call it Polish specialite de la maison, is a bar mleczny (literally: milk bar). Where does the name come from? Well, in the past many dishes served in such places were made with milk, cottage cheese and eggs. Nowadays bary mleczne are still quite popular and they can be called a sociological phenomenon since their customers come from various social groups. A visit to a bar mleczny has become a must-do for foreigners visiting Poland.

      The legendary „Prasowy“ milk bar in Warsaw. More on the Polish language and customs on our FB page

ON PLAŻOWICZE (beachgoers), KOCE (blankets) AND PIASEK (sand), or Polish on the beach

Summer is a perfect time to learn a foreign language (e.g. Polish in one of our courses, information on which you can find here), but the truth is there’s no holiday without plaża (beach) and kąpiel (swim; bath) in the sea or lake.
Actually, plaża is also a perfect place to… learn some new vocabulary. If you are planning plażowanie (beaching), which means spending time on the beach at the Polish seaside or one of the beautiful Polish lakes, you must definitely get the equipment every plażowicz (beachgoer) needs.

Polish words which you need on the beach :)

POLISH BEACH GLOSSARY

The Baltic seaside, whether we like it or not, is often windy even on a sunny day, therefore it’s a good idea to get a parawan (beach windbreak), which will protect you against unwanted gusts of wind that might prevent you from enjoying the sun. The act of „enjoying the sun” is called kąpiele słoneczne (literally: sun baths) or you can say that someone opala się (is sunbathing).
If you need protection against the wind or rain which may unexpectedly start even in the summer and take the beachgoers by surprise, you can take shelter in a special kosz (basket), which you rent on the beach since it’s rather large and heavy
While sunbathing you should protect yourself from direct sunlight and then a parasol plażowy (parasol) might come in handy, which will give us some relieving cień (shade).
It is difficult, however, to lie (leżeć) on the sun-heated piasek (sand). It is much better and more comfortable to lie on a koc plażowy (beach blanket), mata (mat) or leżak (sunlounger). And when you get bored with sunbathing it’s a good idea to go for a swim (here’s when we have discussed swimming in and on the sea), build a zamek z piasku (sand castle) for which you need łopatka (shovel) and wiaderko (bucket), zbierać muszelki (collect seashells), karmić mewy (feed the seagulls) or to go for a spacer wzdłuż brzegu (walk along the shore).
And you can always speak Polish
Miłego wypoczynku! (Have a nice holiday!)

By the Polish seaside you can not only lie on the beach, you can also look for seashells.

DZIAŁKA (allotment) and DACZA (dacha), or where else do Poles spend their holiday?

That’s right, we have already discussed the topic of where to spend a holiday in Poland on several occasions. In Warmia and Masuria, in the Bieszczady Mountains  or in the north of Poland . It’s hard to believe, though, that we have overlooked one important aspect, one really important Polish word known very well by virtually all participants of our summer Polish courses.

DZIAŁKA. WHAT IS IT AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT IN POLISH LIFESTYLE?
Działka is not only a piece of land with a summer, holiday house located ouside of town, somewhere in the country and the further from civilisation the better. It is also a specific style of life and spending leisure time of people who normally live in blocks of flats. When asked what they do at the weekend or on holiday the Poles often answer Jadę na działkę/ Spędzam weekend na działce/ Dostałem zaproszenie do znajomych na działkę (I’m going to the allotment/I’m spending the weekend on the allotment/I’ve been invited to my friends‘ allotment). What's funny, foreigners who have a Polish family or friends, often, even speaking in their own language, do not translate the word and use the Polish form (I'm going to działka). On the plot/allotment, in addition to a small garden (ogród) or orchard (sad) - more on these words here - first of all there is a dom letniskowy (summer/holiday house), which is usually very simple, made of wood and without any luxuries (although there are exceptions).

                                                   More on Poland and the Polish language you can find on our FB page

WHAT DO POLES DO ON A DZIAŁKA? SOME POLISH VERBS
Poles are very happy to invite friends to działka to have a barbecue together (grillować/robić grilla – to barbecue/have a barbecue), swim (pływać), read books (czytać książki) in a deckchair or hammock, make food together, go mushroom and blueberry picking (chodzić na grzyby i jagody) to a nearby forest, do crosswords (rozwiązywać krzyżówki), play scrabble, cards or chess (grać w scrabble, karty lub szachy). And simply to rest in the bossom of nature (odpoczywać na łonie natury).

                                                          Check here  for conjugation of the verb ODPOCZYWAĆ

Those who don’t leave the city associate działka with a plot where a new building may be constructed (that is another meaning of the word, known to foreigners working for property development companies) or with ... ogródki działkowe (allotment gardens). The latter is a characteristic feature of landscape of many Polish cities. On such a działka in the middle of the city people grow vegetables, fruit or flowers. This is a favourite pastime among pensioners, but not only... Recently more and more young people are starting to appear in allotment gardens.

DACZA AND DZIAŁKA. POLISH IRONY.
The word dacza (dacha) was borrowed from Russian and means the same as a ... działka. This word used to be more popular before the political transformation. These days it’s rather archaic and Poles use it in an ironic or humorous way especially when referring to a very well-equipped summer house (O, masz daczę za miastem?! – oh, you have a dacha outside the city? ; Ale dacza! – what a dacha! ; Dobra, przyjedziemy do ciebie na daczę – all right, we’ll come to your dacha).

At the end we have some advice for all learners of Polish. If you are ever invited to a działka by a Pole, do not decline. Działka experience is an essential element of socialising in Poland. Have fun!