On the 7th of November, 8 of the volunteers decided to take a day trip to Poznań. For me this was the first time I got to travel and I enjoyed it a lot so let me share a few impressions and fun facts about Poznań.
Our day started early as we took a 3-hour train ride across half of Poland. We arrived at 9:30 and walked to the city centre to do some sightseeing.
We also grabbed a traditional treat from Poznań for breakfast:
rogal świętomarciński which is a croissant filled with white poppy seeds and topped with glace and almonds. Delicious!
One thing that mesmerizes me about Poznań and most of the other Polish cities I got to see so far is how naturally buildings of different centuries fit in next to each other.
Another thing which I just absolutely loved was the market square. It is such a colorful, magical place even though the weather was a little grey. In the heart of the square there is the town hall which has a man play the trumpet at noon from one of the towers followed by two mechanical goats which bump their heads together 12 times symbolising a fight. Sounds absurd? Wait until you read the origin story in this article: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-fighting-goats-of-poznan-poznan-poland
Please read it, it is worth it. We got to watch the spectacle with some other tourists!
I noticed that a lot of signs did not only have the information in Polish but also the German translation. This can be explained by Poznań’s history which is strongly connected to Germany since the city used to be part of Prussia and was called “Posen” from 1793 to 1918. One building that remains from this time is the Residenzschloss or “Zamek Cesarski w Poznaniu” which was built by order of the German emperor Wilhem II as one of the last big castles in Europe from 1905 to 1913.
Because it was freezing outside we took the chance to warm ourselves up in the botanical garden or “Palmiarnia” for a while. There you can also find the oldest public aquarium of Poland.
Did you know that cork comes from a tree? I sure didn’t
The last place we visited was Ostrów Tumski, the cathedral island or Dominsel. It is home to Poznań Cathedral, one of the oldest Polish churches and the oldest Polish cathedral dating back to the 10th century.
After this long, cold but exciting day I was quite happy to be back in the train to Warsaw. Hope to see you again soon, Poznań!
