Polish Blog A daily dose of Polish life

A few pictures from around Poland:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you find yourself in Poznan one of the things you should arrange is a vist to the Lech Brewery, it’s one of Poland biggest breweries and produces beers like Dog in the Fog, Zubr and of course Lech. Hop in a cab and it’s about a 25zl ride away. It’s best to give them a call the day before to book the guide, you can reach them on 61 8787 460.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You get shown around the brewing process from start to finish, seeing the copper vats, bottling, canning as well as some interactive media games you can play. After the tour has finished you usually get a pint of two free of charge in the bar and a chance to buy some Lech branded goods in the souvenir shop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour is free of charge and lasts around 2 hours, you might find yourself with a group or as happened to me it was just myself and a friend given a private tour. Try the Lech Pilsner, tastes a lot better than the normal Lech and grab a few bottles to share at home:

A story from the Polish tabloid Super Express revels that a woman had told her husband she was working at a store in town to make extra money but was subsequently found to be working in a brothel.

Her husband discovered this sordid secret when he visited the brothel himself, he said: “I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming”, The couple who have been married for 14 years are now getting a divorce.

A while ago I posted about Miss Polonia 2007 I somehow managed to forget about Miss Polonia 2008 until now. I won’t bother you with all the contestants so lets just cut to the chase and see the final 3.

In 3rd Place:

Paulina Kwasniewska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2nd place:

Ewa Chelminska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the winner who goes on to represent Poland in Miss World is:

Angelika Jakubowska:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19 year old Agnieska from Lublin has been doing a little traveling of late:

 

Not many Westerners would pick Poznan as a place to come for a holiday but I can thoroughly recommend a visit. I much prefer Poznan to places like Krakow and Warsaw, it’s a bit less in your face from a tourists perspective. Poznan has a lot going for it: the town square, the stunning architecture, museums/churches/cathedrals, great restaurants and a great nightlife. For those coming from the UK a favourable exchange rate of 5.25zl for £1.00 also means it will be a lot cheaper than a holiday in a Euro using country.

PLACES TO STAY / HOTELS IN POZNAN

There are many options for accommodation in Poznan from cheap hostels to the high end hotels like the Poznan Sheraton If you are after something mid range then I’d suggest Hotel Stare Miasto which is very central, has nicely furnished rooms and an excellent buffet breakfast, rooms range from  200zl to 350zl a night. 

POZNAN TOWN SQUARE

A great spot to watch the world go by and one of the best (if not the best) town square in Europe, after a bit of a battering in WWII the square has been beautifully rebuilt. There are a number of nice bars/restaurants with seating in and out including Poznan’s only microbrewery at the excellent Brovaria (the honey beer is lovely). Also worth checking out is Rooster’s which is the Polish equivalent of Hooters in the US. The usual burgers/ribs/fries all served by permatan busty blondes in lycra:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the world go by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You won’t be able to miss the Town Hall in the centre of the Rynek, it houses the museum of Poznan and displays exhibitions from the 10th century to the present day. One thing to watch out for is the mechanical goats which appear at noon each day and butt heads a dozen times. The reason for the goat is that in 1511 a chef in the Town Hall burnt the venison prepared for dinner so went out and stole 2 goats to cook, the goats escaped up the tower where they were spotted butting heads on the ledge. The fate of the chef is unknown, it is more than likely he ended up on the famous whipping post outside the Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won’t list every attraction in the Town Square as I’d be here all day but I’ll finish with a mention of the St Stanislaus church which is just off the square, work started on the church in 1649 and was finally finished 50 years later. One of the most exquisite examples of Baroque architecture in Poland, the interior is 57 meters long, 34 meters wide and 27 meters high and features many sculptures, paintings and statues. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued in part 2.

A lot of people have places they go to get away from the grind of daily life. Some countryside dwellers seek the hustle and bustle of a weekend in the city for a change of pace, others like to spend a few days topping up the tan on a beach. Whilst I live in a large city I like nothing better then escaping to somewhere peaceful with some forests, lakes and good food.

Lagow

There must be many little villages that visitors to Poland who head to the regular tourist spots such as Krakow, Wroclaw and Warsaw will miss. It’s a shame as some of these villages/towns are stunning. One of these places is Lagow (pronounced WaGuf) in the Lubuskie Lake District, Lagow is well known in Lubuskie and is a popular destination for locals as well as tourists from across the border in Germany.

The main tourist attraction in Lagow is Johannites Castle which is now also part of a luxury hotel (Zamek Johannites). In the mid 15th century the Knights St John (Teutonic Knights Templar) built the castle between the two lakes, it’s possible to walk up the steep steps to the top of the tower and take in a breathtaking view of the Lagow, the lakes and surrounding forests.

Zamek Johannites

View from Tower

Whilst Lagow is a small village there is no shortage of activities including cycling, scuba diving, boating, horse riding, swimming, fishing and walking. The village has plenty of nice cafes and restaurants and a lovely ice cream kiosk! 5zl for a huge ice cream with 3 different flavours and lots of fruit.

There are plenty of options when it comes to places to stay, the Zamek Joannitow Hotel is stunning but costs around 300zl per night. Those on a budget can find cheaper options, whilst quite basic Jordan has some cabins very close to the lakeand a two bedroom cabin costs 100zl per night.

Zamek Joannitow Hotel Room

Zamek Joannitow Hotel Dining

The Eurovision song contest seems to be more about politics than which country can produce the best song, the voting usually follows the lines of awarding the higest points to the strongest country you share a border with. This usually means lots of points for Russia and no points for the UK as they are the war mongering puppets of the USA.

The 2009 Eurovision song contest is being held in Moscow in May, Poland had a contest to find their entry with 10 singers competing for judges and public votes. The winner of the contest was Lidia Kopania with her song “I don’t wanna leave”.

It’s not actually a bad song and Lidia seems a nice enough girl so maybe Poland have a chance? Most likely not due to the political voting. Anyway, here is the song if you fancy a listen.