Flew all the way back from Poland to JFK last week with a woman and her bratty kid right behind me. He was pretty much kicking my seat the whole way except for the 3 out of 8 hours he slept and the woman next to me and I asked the flight attendant to ask the mother to control the kid. My wife was across the aisle and didn't have to put up with it. The mother didn't try too hard. When we landed. we unbelievably had no gate for about 90 minutes and the kid was really difficult with pushing the seat. It's one thing for a little kid to be crying or talking, but a parent has to control the kicking. When I finally asked the mom to please get him to stop, the idiot said, well he's little, and she paid for her ticket (implying she was entitled to do what she wanted) and that we should fly first class. I've flown with my own kids when they were little and with my grandchildren and one thing I know you can do is control kicking. My wife, the woman next to me and our friend across the aisle from this woman couldn't believe her.
On a plus side, we flew LOT, the Polish airline and it was good. Modern planes (windows that had a interesing tint control and no shades), decent food and decent service. I watched the Ben Affleck movie The Accountant, on the way home. I thought it was awful. which is saying a lot for a movie with John Lithgow, JL Simmons and Anna Kendrick.
Poland isn't yet a big American destination, and it's new very right wing government is no bargain, but we loved it there. Great cities, great people and terrific food (about 25 varieties of pierogies and many types of sausage. pork. pancakes and other good dishes. Ice cream shops all over. There are a ton of McDonald's and especially KFC, apparently an influx once the Communists were ousted about 30 years ago. We didn't go to any of them,. but people told us the burgers at Micky D's are better quality than in the US. They have sort of a local version of fast food called, for no apparent reason, Milk Bars. Really good food, full hot meals with great variety and very low cost. The locals jam them.
I know people we met were afraid to criticize the government, some crazy new laws, but there was no particular overt police presence, maybe plain clothes, I don't know. I'd go back to visit other cities. The downers were a visit to Auschwitz and the bigger sister death camp Birkenau and the remains of the Warsaw ghetto wall, pock marked by bullet holes, and a few ruins of old buildings where the Jewish resistance fought the Nazis until overwhelmed.