Damn if we don't have some Poland

Got our first visitor from Poland a little bit ago. Poland, while famous mostly for getting curb-stomped by the Germans in 1939, is, of course, the birthplace of the late Pope John Paul II. Poland, as I'm sure the erudite readers of Eff You are aware, is bordered east and west by Ukraine and Germany, with a couple small countries like Lithuania, Belarus, and the Czech Republic scattered around it as well. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1065, and the current Republic of Poland was formed in 1989 in 1989 when the Poles told the Soviet Union to fuck off. In between, Poland was batted around by various European powers and generally had a hard time of it. The great astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, was a Pole.

Interestingly, Poland retains much of the wildlife that the rest of Europe killed off centuries ago:

Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in Poland, such as the wisent in the ancient woodland of the Białowieża Forest and in Podlaskie. Other such species include the brown bear in Białowieża, in the Tatras, and in the Beskids, the gray wolf and the Eurasian Lynx in various forests, the moose in northern Poland, and the beaver in Masuria, Pomerania, and Podlaskie.
In the forests, one also encounters game animals, such as red deer, roe deer and wild boars. In eastern Poland there are a number of ancient woodlands, like Białowieża forest, that have never been cleared by people. There are also large forested areas in the mountains, Masuria, Pomerania,Lubusz Land and Lower Silesia.
Poland is the most important breeding ground for European migratory birds. Out of all of the migratory birds who come to Europe for the summer, one quarter breed in Poland, particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along the Biebrza, the Narew, and the Warta, which are part of nature reserves or national parks.

For those who don't know, this is a wisent:

Looks a hell of a lot like an American bison, doesn't it?

There's lots more interesting stuff about Poland, but this isn't a foreign cultures blog, except when it is. Anyway, visitor from Poland, welcome to the Eff You family, and bring your friends next time.