Poznań and Wroclaw, scenes from two boomtowns

Thursday morning at half past three in the morning I awake, to catch the 04:46 train to W-wa Zachodnia (arrive 05:08 to photograph the sun rising, below), from where I catch the 05:40 express to Poznań. At 08:30 I've arrived. A couple of meetings across Poznań, which I traverse by suburban train, taxi and tram. Poznań has unbelieveably low unemployment (1.3%) which is hampering business growth - firms are struggling to recruit and retain people.

Below: electric scooters for hire by the minute are present in Poznań - these happen to have lovely design, very retro, slightly reminiscent of the Polish WFM Osa scooter of the early 1960s.

Below: joined-up public transport in Poznań - tram stop by the main railway station. The tram route took me in from the the north of the city to the centre much quicker than the taxi going to my meeting. Trams might stop every now and then to pick up and set off passengers, but taxis stop at every red light and traffic jam along the way. Modern and comfortable rolling stock.

Joined-up public transport in Wrocław - this is how to buy tram tickets! Simply choose the ticket you require - in my case one normal single for 3.40zł (70p) - and present your payment card to the reader - and the ticket is encoded on the chip. No wasted paper or card.

I am booked to stay at the Haston City Hotel on the northern fringes of Wrocław. To my delight, there is a display of classic American automobiles!

Once upon a time, Hupmobile was an automotive brand of distinction and prestige; I heard of it here:

"Rich the makes of motor whirring,
Past the pine-plantation purring
Come up, Hupmobile, Delage!
Short the way your chauffeurs travel,
Crunching over private gravel
Each from out his warm garage."

[From Indoor Games near Newbury, by John Betjeman]

Well, here's a Model 20 (from 1911), the first Hupmobile I've ever seen in my life...

And here's a 1932 Packard Eight sedan...

And here's a 1930 Chevrolet pick-up truck...

Lovely, bright, modern hotel, excellent breakfast, air condition worked perfectly and did not make an unholy racket as some hotel aircon systems do. Lots of business people staying.

Time to go to work, to visit our members and talk about growth and the limits to growth (finding the right people in some cases, just finding people in others). Below. ul. Świętego Mikołaja (St. Nicholas Street).

Left: under a cloudless sky, parts of Wrocław are starting to resemble California. This is the western entrance to Wroclavia shopping mall, located near the main railway station.

Below: the main railway station, Wrocław Główny, does not resemble California - it harks back to imperial Germany. I have written about the station before, during its major refurbishment ahead of the Euro 2012 football finals.

This time six years ago:
Scaling the highest peak in Wales

This time seven years ago:
Beaches of the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula

This time eight years ago: 
The Accursed Soldiers - a short story

This time nine years ago:
Driving impressions of the Toyota Yaris
[Nine years on - still no imperfections to report whatsoever]

This time 11 years ago:
Poland's dry summer

This time 12 years ago:
The UK's wettest summer ever