I didn’t know much about Poznań, no scratch that, I didn’t know ANYTHING at all about Poznań, other than it was a town somewhere in Poland. So it was with great excitement that I got my fat butt (yes, it’s fat, I’ve gained 3 kilos during my time here in Poland) on a train to Poznań last Friday. The excitement was great indeed, because not only was I going to see a new place, which is always fun, but also I was going to meet a new person, which is not always fun. Yes, I was going to a place I’d never been before to meet a girl I’d known only from internet forums. Fortunately, the girl turned out to be a girl IRL, too, and not some psycho with whips and chains and a dungeon in the basement. Though these days you just never know… So, kids, don’t do as I do, because I do stupid things. A lot.
The train ride was all excitement, adventure and really wild things. It was a “rapid” train that took more than 5 hours to travel the distance of 313 kilometers. I sat my fat butt in what I thought was a non-smoking car, which very quickly filled up with cigarette smoke. Apparently, the “no smoking” sign was merely a loose suggestion. The conductor came around, checked the tickets and then stood in the isle, smoking.
Poznań (Posen for those of you who prefer the German version) is a lovely town. It has the most magnificent shopping mall – Stary Browar (Old Brewery). And it’s not just the mall, the whole town is full of high-end shops. The good people of Poznań must be loaded.
After visiting the mall (well, it was raining) we walked around the old town (pretty). We saw the sites (well, not really, it was the Museum Night and there were hordes of people everywhere). And we went to dinner - restaurant “Pod Koziolkami” (annoying flash site that takes a couple of centuries to load, at least on my computer) – good local Polish food full of oceans fat and mountains of bacon, but check your bill carefully, they added a dish we didn’t order to ours, which I only realized two days later when I was emptying my purse and saw the receipt.
That evening we watched the Eurovision final (Arash came in third, woot woot!) and that was it.
Definitely, I’d like to return there for a longer visit. It’s an interesting place. They have an artificial lake called “Malta” over there. I could say “Oh, I’m going to Malta for the weekend” and then take a stinky train to Poznań.
We went inside this church and there was a mass in progress, which only confirmed my suspicion - I can enter any Catholic church anywhere in Poland at any given time and there will be a mass in progress going on inside. Either they have them around the clock 24/7, or this is just my kind of luck.
A bit of communist nostalgia over here. This is a funky bar/cafe. Unfortunately, we were greeted by stench and swirling clouds of cigarette smoke when we opened the door.
These old houses are just too cute. Very different from what I saw in Gdansk.
And a splendid example of post-war socialist architecture.
I like Poznan a lot :-) It's just 2 hrs away from Wroclaw by train, so you could have taken your globetrotting self further down the south to another lovely city, also known as Breslau!
Posted by: Graz | May 23, 2009 at 08:53 AM
You must not have made it there by noon ... You ate under the goats and yet didn't mention them?! Poznan's #1 attraction :)
Posted by: poetloverrebelspy | June 16, 2009 at 02:56 PM
I didn't mention it, because I had no idea this was meant as a special attraction. And if that was Poznan's #1 attraction, then damn, I feel sorry for that town. It needs an image makeover. And yes, they do rip off foreigners at the goats. For that alone they don't deserve a mention. I got quite a few emails complaining about their practice of adding to the bill dishes that were not ordered. This is done mostly to foreigners who don't speak Polish and can't argue and complain. So, f*ck the goats, if you want to know my opinion.
For me the chief attraction was the Old Brewery mall - my priorities are slightly different, I guess ;)
Posted by: Anna | June 16, 2009 at 03:09 PM
Hi!
Can you tell from where it took 5 hours?
cause I want to travel from Sweden to Austria, which I can get cheap ticket to Poznan and then I wonder if I can go from there by train to Graz?
Posted by: Per | September 18, 2009 at 05:31 AM
Hi Per!
It took 5 hours from Gdansk to Poznan. I have no clue how one would go about going from Poznan to Austria, but I would assume, first to Germany.
If anything, I suspect that flying into Krakow would be better and then getting a train south through the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Good luck!
Posted by: Anna | September 18, 2009 at 07:38 AM