I get into Szczecin Główny station at ten past six in the morning; the sun would not rise for another hour and 40 minutes. Indeed, the sun rises over Szczecin half an hour later than it does so over Warsaw. I have plenty of time to investigate the city as daylight approaches. There's no better way to get to know a place, on foot, in the hours before dawn.
Below: from the steps of the Archcathedral Basilica of St James the Apostole, the sun rising over the right-bank district of the city, and the Szczecin combined heat-and-power station across the River Oder.
Below: looking back at the 17th century Baroque Archcathedral Basilica. Note the houses at its feet – they look like billboards, but no – they are indeed three-dimensional residences, each one with a garage facing out into the passage between the houses and the church.
Below: inside the courtyard of the Marshal's office. It's not yet eight, but all the lights are on, workers are in for an early start. Not something I'd willingly do! Note the stocks and the lack of graffiti. Making any connections?
Left: fragment of the Oberpostdirektion Stettin (Stettin Higher Postal Directorate), a massive neo-gothic building completed in 1905, a mere 40 years before becoming the seat of the administration of the Dyrekcja Okręgu Poczty Polskiej. The rails disappearing into the gate intrigue me; these could not have belonged to a main-line railway, as they emerge at right angles to Aleja Niepodlegóści (formerly Paradeplatz). Maybe a post-tram? A bit of digging on the German tram internet suggests that yes, something like that did exist (see here).
(in praise of charity shops)
This time two years ago:
Comfort, discomfort and winter cold
This time three years ago:
Frustration as completion of Chynów station draws near
London in verticals
Castro's death divides the world
London to Edinburgh by night bus
This time nine years ago:
The Regent's Canal, London
This time 11 years ago:
An end to the entitlement way of thinking
This time 12 year:
West Ealing - drab and sad suburb
This time 13 years ago:
To Poznań by train
This time 15 years ago:
Late autumn drive-time
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