Wednesday 15 June We're not in Germany anymore - welcome to Poznan, Poland. A new country, new language, new currency, new challenges.
We travelled Poznań by train and then caught a tram to our Air B&B accommodation.After dumping our bags in the excessively small room that had been changed at the last minute, we went to explore the town centre of Poznań. Poznańis reputed to be the location of the beginnings of Poland and is quite proud of it.
There seems to be some strong rivalry between Poznań and Krakov, a bit like Sydney and Melbourne.
Like many of these older European cities, there was the usual collection of public and private buildings based around a town square. The most imposing building was the town hall, rebuilt a number of times so that only the basement is original.
Its claim to fame is that at midday, doors open in the clock tower and two goats come out and butt their heads. This is apparently based on an event hundreds of years ago when the local count saw two white goats fighting and ordered that it be incorporated into the clock. This has also spawned a plethora of kitsch goat souvenirs, which are peddled around the marketplace. The historic photo shows the square and town hall in 1945.
The market square is home to lots of permanent stalls selling local foods and other goods, so in fact it is rather cramped.The square is surrounded by other private buildings that have been colourfully decorated, apparently in the style of the originals. They are very attractive though but difficult to photograph in the cramped space.
After a short rest we went looking for a restaurant for dinner. Poznan is full of bars, cafes and restaurants, so finding one was not a problem, but deciphering the menu was. Eventually we went into what looked like a downmarket, but local, restaurant. After we sat down we realised that it was one of the former communist era ‘Milk Bars’ that served cheap but wholesome local food for workers and citizens.
They appear to be run and staffed by middle-aged Polish women, and everything was in Polish. There is no table service, so you order at the counter, and are expected to return your plates and wipe the table when you finish.
We ordered the only food we could remember, pierogi (filled dumplings like large tortellini) and a vegetable soup. They had 3 types of pierogi, spinach, meat and saukraut, so we had some of each with salad. The vegetable soup was excellent, with only small pieces of pork in it. The pierogi were tasty but incredibly filling, and we had trouble eating the dozen we had on the plate. The Lech Beer helped wash them down. We finished off with two sweets: a strawberry tart with a sweet cheesy cream, on a bed of jam, nestled in a sweet pastry (a total sugar bomb) and a chocolate mousse which Frances really liked. A good introduction to a bit of old-style Polish culture.