Return to Lublin

In Lublin today to chair an investment seminar. Weather perfect. Arrive 90 minutes early and take in the Old Town before getting down to work. I was last in Lublin a year ago. Make your way down Lublin's main thoroughfare, Krakowskie Przedmieście (left). We're still in university term time, though before the main holiday season. So the town's quite busy, but not overcrowed. No endless crocodiles of guided tourist parties that spoilt Prague for me when I visited it in 2005. Through the gate (below)... And into the Old Town. Which ten years ago was empty, eerie, crumbling, yet intensely atmospheric. Today, it's been (partially) renovated, and it's thriving. The city's marketing campaign is encouraging Poles to take a look at this once-neglected tourist attraction. A city of 355,000 people, Lublin's five universities have a total of 100,000 students - the highest student/population ratio of any Polish city. In terms of economic development it's quite some way behind Poland's more westerly cities - Wrocław, Katowice, Poznań, Kraków, Gdańsk, Łódź and Warsaw - mainly because of poor transport links (no motorway or airport connections). The city's authorities have recognised the Old Town's tourist potential and have invested sensitively in ensuring that its charm is not lost after the restoration process has been finished. The horse and cart is the ecologically-friendly refuse removal vehicle. Note too the friezes painted onto the newly-plastered walls. Beer gardens extending onto the cobbled squares abound; there's a huge variety of bars and restaurants. Some buildings are crumbling, while others have been restored. Aesthetically, the restoration looks good, but the Old Town is starting to lose its original character. Left: The left-hand building is a Jewish restaurant, a reminder of Lublin's pre-Holocaust history. Part of the Old Town's appeal is the large number of arched passageways that dive off between buildings. The cobblestones are hard work for buggies, wheelchairs and stiletto heels, but are essential for the place's character. On my first visit, in February 1999, the town was deserted; there was melting snow on the cobbles, and one could sense the ghosts of the past everywhere. That evocative, haunting atmosphere has now gone; the town's happier, vibrant. You gain, you lose. That's progress. The gate at the eastern end of the Old Town, that leads across to Lublin's castle. Yet again work prevented me from visiting it. I've been to Lublin ten or twelve times, always on business, and have yet to pop in. Below: My favourite pub in Lublin's Old Town, U Szewca ("At the Cobbler's"). Here, one can actually buy draft Bishop's Finger ale from Kentish brewery Shepherd Neame. Place looks empty, but all the tables outside were occupied.

   

This time last year: The perfect rainbow over Jeziorki