Szczecin

Today, Friday, June 21, we arrived in Szczecin in the north western extremity of Poland. We left Krakow last night and spent just under 12 hours on a very comfortable sleeper train. Anna and I had individual compartments which made for a relaxed trip.

Yesterday in Krakow was very hot and humid and the train must have been in the sun all day. We were 30 minutes early and our shirts were drenched with sweat when the train got under, bang on time. Almost immediately a wonderful breeze chilled the compartment and we were able to enjoy a bottle of white wine before retiring.

The train arrived dead on time and we were helped off by the conductor. Sadly Szczecin is not a modern station and we suffered quite a number of staircases before we reached the street. Lonely Planet said our Hotel, Victoria, was just up the hill from the station. We took one look and decided that dragging suitcases up a quite

steep hill with a run-down footpath was not too attractive so we opted for a taxi. There must have been 10 queued and we were amongst the last to hit street but they seemed happier to read their papers or gossip than take our fare. About 6 back we found a driver who would accept our fare.

The hotel turned out to be fabulous. Despite arriving at 0930 we were able to access our room immediately. The shower was heavenly and we were soon ready to do the “red walk” recommended by Lonely Planet. Nearby there was a Tourist Information

Center. Anna went in and came out with some information but it was of limited use. Whilst she organised a coffee I went and English proved to be the magic ingredient. I came back with a map and a supporting booklet describing 42 sites in detail and in English to boot.

I quickly skimmed it and saw that the red tour was described as 7 Km long. I kept this to myself, feeling confident that I would travel solo if I shared the knowledge. I think the Szczecin tourism people sing from the same song sheet. The Walk my Dog app I use reported that we had completed 9.49 Km by the time we got back to the start. Feeling pretty noble we enjoyed a couple of well-earned beers.

Some highlights included:

The Harbour Gate

It is a long way from the water. It was erected in the early 1700’s and is a relic of the fortifications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Church of St. John the Baptist. The church has wonderful stained glass but also had a copy of the shroud of Turin. In my humble opinion this one is better but then I did not have to fight half the population of Italy to see it.

 

 

 

A shot of crack. As we walked along this young bloke passed us. Anna pointed him out and I took a snapshot. We continued to walk accompanied by a bunch of giggling young ladies.

 

 

Halfway stop over at Café 22, on the 22nd floor of the tallest building in Szczecin. We went up and

surveyed the view.

 

 

 

 

The Maritime University. This has some lovely old boats out the back and the building is a magnificent specimen of architecture.