Our hotel was Apartamenty Wodna 12 (don't mix up ulica Wodna for ulica Wożna, the very next street along!), well situated for our event venue and for the old town. After an excellent Indian meal at the Taj Mahal (the price list on the menu looked identical to one in any Indian restaurant in London, except the numbers were expressed in zlotys rather than pounds), there was time for a stroll around Poznań's old town.
The weather was excellent for late October - the climate change dividend. No coats required, even at around ten pm. But long after the main holiday season has ended, the old town is quiet, many places to sit and eat.
There's a graffiti problem. Poznań should wage war against it, instantly painting over tags.
Below: the old town square is full of hustlers trying to get you to eat at one of the restaurant there. I don't like them - they are a foretaste of how a nice city can get over-touristed. The hucksters and the barkers - the AUSCHWITZ - SALT MINES - SCHINDLER'S FACTORY - CHEAP! syndrome - are what turned Kraków into an old town to avoid.
Below: I was delighted to wake up on Tuesday and behold this sight - the rooftops and skyline of the old town with the basilica and town hall in shot.
Below: the old-town remont has extended to Plac Kolegiacki; all coming along rather well. Poznań is very much a business town, its local economy boasts the lowest unemployment anywhere in Poland (1.2% at the end of August 2019); very much worth a visit whether for business or pleasure.
This time two years ago:
West of Warsaw's central axis
This time six years ago:
Plac Unii shopping centre opens
This time eight years ago:
Visceral and Permanent, Part II
This time nine years ago:
Autumn colours, locally
This time ten years ago:
Edinburgh
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1 comment:
Train speed is an interesting subject. I can get to London in an hour at an average of 80mph, and that seems respectable enough. However, politicians and civil servants say that it's 'too slow', even though passengers tell them via surveys that their biggest issues are prices, getting a seat, and wifi availability. It seems that speed is on the agenda largely because business cases for investment are based upon the value of time saved by journey time reductions - a 'social benefit' that isn't necessarily captured in 'real money'.
Poznan looks well worth a visit. I saw it last in the 1980s on my way to Wolsztyn, and it certainly looks brighter now. Last September I enjoyed a lovely visit to Krakow without being bothered by touts, perhaps because a Polish friend guided our way.
That was after a nice trip by train from Prague (with restaurant car), a change of trains at a station that hadn't changed in decades, and a Pendolino creeping the last miles at steam-era speeds. PKP has a way to go still.
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