Circling through Poland - with a bit of Germany thrown in.

[OZDUCK]

Now some local food. Only a little as we took the opportunity of having a kitchen in our apartment to have some quiet meals 'at home'. There was a large Carrefours just across the road to buy the ingredients. We also had probably the best filled doughnuts from a stall near a busy tram/bus stop. The doughnuts in Poland are very good so these were excellent.

Firstly a local favourite a Pasztecik

Szczecin pasztecik

Szczecin pasztecik, or simply pasztecik, is a Polish variety of machine-produced deep-fried yeast dough stuffed with a meat or vegetarian filling, served in specialised bars as a fast food. It is a typical dish of Szczecin, where it was popular during the time of the Polish People's Republic and...

dbpedia.org

Certainly not the most sophisticated food item I have ever eaten. But it was hot and filling and perfectly fine as fast food. This was bought at the railway station. Ideal after a night out I would guess.



We walked to a restaurant that rated highly on local sites for having good 'authentic' food. I have no idea how authentic it really is but it tasted very good.

The name of the restaurant, according to me, roughly translates as 'Polish Inn'

Karczma Polska Pod Kogutem - The Best Restaurants - Restauracja Szczecin

restauracja, hotel, park, goleniow, karczma, polska, pod, kogutem, the best restaurants, zachodniopomorskie, Szczecin, piwo, jedzenie, zabawa, impreza, ludzie, znajomi, dziewczyny, przyjaciele

www.karczmapodkogutem.pl

You most certainly didn't come away hungry

Roast duck in gravy with apples, potato dumplings & red cabbage. Around A$32



Cod with spinach, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetables. Around A$24



Another building of note.

The Szczecin Filharmonia Building opened in 2014. We wanted to attend a performance here but during our stay it was the finals of the competition for the best youth orchestra in Europe and the hall was booked solid. Tours of the building were only conducted in Polish and German.

The building - Filharmonia w Szczecinie

<p align=center>Virtual tourguide of the Philharmonic https://youtu.be/Z Q PK-w6SA</p> The idea to build a new hall for the Philharmonic in the place where...

filharmonia.szczecin.pl

During the day it is bright white




At night it is illuminate din various colours that can change but we saw only the one hew.

By night










If you looked at it directly from the front the mauve tint changed to white

 

[OZDUCK]

On our second day we took a 2 hr boat cruise out through the harbour and into Dąbie Lake. It is the 4th largest lake in Poland.

Our vessel. The recorded on-board commentary was in Polish, German and English. There were native speakers of all three languages on board even though there were probably only about 25 people doing the tour.





As you could probably guess about 90 minutes in I forgot to duck enough and scalped myself. I had a nice little bleed for a few minutes and it was a bit sore for a week or two.



The Marine Science Centre



Chrobry Embankment





We then passed by what had been in the days of Imperial Germany the Vulcan Shipyards.

AG Vulcan Stettin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Probably the most famous vessel that was built there was the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. At the time of her launching she was the largest and longest liner afloat. In 1989 she held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. Unfortunately for her longevity she was designed to be able to be converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser during wartime and that is indeed what was done in 1914. After sinking a few ships she was engaged in battle by a Royal Navy Cruiser and eventually sank off the west coats of Africa less than a month after the start of WW1.

"The liner was built in Stettin for Norddeutscher Lloyd, and entered service in 1897. She was the first liner to be a Four funnel liner and is considered to be the first "super liner."

"Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first liner to have a commercial wireless telegraphy system when the Marconi Company installed one in February 1900"

SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is where the first agreements in Poland giving birth to the "Solidarity" movement were signed in August 1980,



There is some work still going on in these shipyards but it mostly seems to be repair/ refurbishment.

A large floating drydock - "This dock, measuring 47 meters wide, can accommodate ships up to 230 meters long and 36 meters wide"



A couple of what looked like Offshore Oil Platform tenders were being built

 

[OZDUCK]

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

We also passed by this



Before moving onto less industrial scenery







We went down a small channel between two islands. This is where Imbriaga, the cat, was said to have deserted ship. We got a full telling of the tale on board.













There were the usual tales of friendly mermaids who helped the fisherman and the like



A Water Police boat







Szczecin in the distance

 

[drron]

It looks like I should try and visit. In 1988 I met Lech Walesa at the NSW State Reception for him. It was in Maitland which at the time was the largest Polish city in Australia. I was good friends with the head of the Polish community and at that time had a Polish BIL. Lech made me an honorary Polish citizen but unfortunately no paperwork.
Yous story and pictures make me want to visit and I am looking at something to do in Europe in September next year.

 

[OZDUCK]

It looks like I should try and visit. In 1988 I met Lech Walesa at the NSW State Reception for him. It was in Maitland which at the time was the largest Polish city in Australia. I was good friends with the head of the Polish community and at that time had a Polish BIL. Lech made me an honorary Polish citizen but unfortunately no paperwork.
Yous story and pictures make me want to visit and I am looking at something to do in Europe in September next year.

Poland is well worth a trip as is Szczecin. We did notice that by the time we left Poland - 8 September - the days were getting noticeably shorter. The weather was still pleasant but you could sense a change.

 

[VPS]

Your TR made me just google to see what it happened to Lech Walesa. He’s still kicking along.

 

[OZDUCK]

Just wandering around Szczecin

From tyranny of the far-right to that of the far left - Gestapo to State Security Service. But of course there is often not a lot of difference.







Solidarity Square

Memorial to the Victims of December 1970 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Just across the road this nice piece of illumination



As someone who is still a keen bicycle rider I like these stands. Designed to put one foot up while waiting at the lights so you are able to move on quicker and easier.



If Imperial Germany could do one thing well it was building interesting Post Offices

Former seat of the Prussian Royal Post (currently Polish Post)

A three-storey building is made of red, partly-glazed brick and has a richly-decorated elevation.

visitszczecin.eu

Even with the old Post Coach

 

[OZDUCK]

How it looked pre WW2. The square in front of it is now pretty non-descript





Reverse side



Unfortunately these sorts of signs are far too common all through Poland



Nearby is the rectors office of the Pomeranian Medical University built in 1904 to house officials of the city.

Rector’s Office of the Pomeranian Medical University

Neo-Renaissance building and its 68-metre tower were erected between 1900 and 1902

visitszczecin.eu

A nice Art Nouveau building









A pretty impressive water pump

 

[OZDUCK]

There are several old gates that were once part of the city wall.

Constructed around 1726 and now known as the Harbour Gate. It houses a small theatre.

Harbour Gate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This one is known as the Royal Gate and was constructed around 1728. As you can see it now houses a restaurant

King's Gate (Szczecin) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When we get a bit tired, we averaged walks of around 16 km a day on this trip, we will just hop on a tram and see where it goes.

Many of them are pretty modern



This one of the older style with a few steps to climb



Our tram took us past the shipyards, much of which was rusting away, into a fairly rundown part of Szczecin. It appears to have been an area that grew up to service the shipyards and workers therein.

We passed some abandoned buildings







The terminus was basically in the middle of nowhere with a bit of a ghost town feeling.

 

[OZDUCK]

The tram line that we took is the same one that runs along the waterfront. While I thought the tracks were a bit warped there it was even more noticeable the further we got out of town. This was the only tram trip on which we experienced such a poor ride. Maybe because its going to nowhere 'important' maintenance has been delayed?

And that is the end of Szczecin. It has some gritty areas because of the loss of subsidised heavy industry after the fall of communism but it really is a nice place to spend 3 or 4 days.