HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Author: admin

Katowice Trip – All About the Random

I’ve written about the random before, where I think better and more interesting experiences can be had by letting fate decide the destination. And I decided to go on a random tram journey and saw that I was going to end up in Bytom, which I visited a couple of years ago. However, Bytom fascinated me, and so I can’t say that I was disappointed by this.

The tram I boarded, it wasn’t entirely packed. A few people got on throughout the 40 minute journey, but no-one was ever in fear of having to stand.

I bought a day ticket using the new app and that cost me around £2.50. There’s also this new way of scanning a QR code to pay.

Bytom intrigues me as it was German until 1945 and it’s one of the few places that I’ve been to in Poland which seems to be suffering economically. Mateusz Morawiecki, the previous Prime Minister of Poland before the formidable Donald Tusk swept to victory, made an economic speech in Bytom last year and there’s hope that’s it will have some sort of economic recovery. The European Union has poured money into the area and it seems to be having some impact with the public realm looking smarter. There’s a lot of empty buildings still around though, so there seems to be a long way to go.

It was Rozbark, a suburb of Bytom, that I was primarily interested in this time around, or Rossberg when it was part of Germany. This was a prosperous town, but it was in a complicated position as some nearby areas were part of Poland some were part of Germany. After 1945, Poland took over all this land and Rozbark lost its status of being a border town. More on this in my next post as I had a walk down the entire street, it was a little strange seeing the former grand properties along the main street into Rozbark mostly being in a poor state of repair.

October 7, 2024
Katowice Trip – Pasibus

I’ve never eaten in a Pasibus outlet before, they’re a Polish burger chain which are in around 18 cities and they started in Wrocław in 2013. They haven’t started an international expansion yet, but it’s apparently on the cards.

You can either order at the bar or by using self-service kiosks. I used a kiosk so I could see the whole range of options. And kiosks means that I can concentrate on the intricacies of the ordering process without the fear if withering looks from a cashier whilst sensing a queue snaking behind me wondering why I’m faffing. And there’s a lot to be said about no forced pleasantries with a stranger who wishes they were anywhere else, although I do of course understanding the importance of hospitality at the right place and at the right time. Like in a pub…. Sometimes though I don’t need engagement, just a symphony of technology and convenience before collecting my food.

When your number is called, you go and collect the food and drinks. This is all a bit more dignified than in some McDonald’s, where it sometimes feels like being part of a throng of fellow diners standing around like vultures circling around a carcass. Some form of buzzer system or service to table might have made this a little more decadent though.

The interior is modern, clean and feels on-trend.

The food is well presented (although I accept the chicken burger looks dried out in the photo) and the main burger is a chicken one with berries on top, with some shrubbery sticking out. The chicken was tender, the exterior was crispy and it seemed an entirely decent arrangement. The chips were served as a relatively small portion, but were crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. I also got a small cheeseburger, which is visible lurking at the back, and this rather melted in the mouth and was juicy.

The whole lot was just under £11, which was not a vast difference to what McDonald’s would have been, with offers being available as well. I thought everything was in order, I’d visit again if passing, although didn’t think that it was exciting enough to look up different outlets in the chain.

October 6, 2024
AI Images – A Little Aside

As an aside to my last post (which I’ve had to edit after realising I forgot to mention the go around from the pilot), expect more odd images as I’ve discovered how to use AI to create them. This blog never fails to excite and delight with its cutting edge approach. Well, that’s what I’m saying and I’m sticking to it.

October 3, 2024
Katowice Trip – Ryanair (Stansted Airport to Katowice)

I have yet to grow bored of walking down airport corridors such as this, they’re something of a endless stretch of anticipation and mild anxiety. I think it’s the excitement of people watching.

More time spent on the tarmac.

I always remember now to take a photo of the aircraft registration, just so I know if I’ve flown on it before. Me and my list ticking….. It’s EI-DHG and I don’t think that I’ve been on it before. It’s a Boeing 737 which has been in the Ryanair fleet since 2005 and the age does show compared to Wizz Air aircraft, which just feel more functional in terms of the internal fit-out. As a minor example, Ryanair tray tables are wonky, it’s an endless challenge to try and keep my phone sitting on them.

Safely in Katowice with my professional imagery making it look like the aircraft is defective. I took this from the shuttle bus which takes passengers about 75 metres to the airport terminal. I forgot to mention on my first version of this post that the aircraft had a failed landing, it was all quite exciting to hear the engines roar to get it back up again. It wasn’t ideal that the announcements weren’t audible in the part of the cabin that I was in, as I was hoping for some updates from the pilots, but I thought it added a little something to the experience. I mentioned this to a few friends who apparently wouldn’t consider this to be uplifting to their experience (note the very clever pun there) though.

48 minutes it took me to get through border control now I can’t use the EU lines….. This I consider to be sub-optimal.

October 2, 2024
Katowice Trip – Escape Lounge

Continuing with my run of posts with just one photo, this is because I hadn’t expected to get into the Escape Lounge with Priority Pass as I thought it would be pre-booking only. Anyway, I did, which was very fortunate as it made my three hour period before the flight rather more pleasant. However, I’ll rectify this lack of photographs omission in future posts as otherwise my two loyal blog readers don’t have much to look at. The lounge was probably at around 75% occupancy, so I’m not sure that they had many more seats to play with to allow walk-ins.

The breakfast options are cereals, pastries and some hot options, as visible in the only photo that I evidently bothered to take. As hot options go, they were fine, with the sausages being meaty, the bacon being slightly crispy, the potatoes having a firm exterior with a fluffy interior, whilst the tomato tasted like a tomato. The beer is Cruzcampo, which is generic rubbish if I’m being honest that is about as premium as Netto.

I’ll limit myself to simply noting here that I didn’t have any wait to get into the lounge and so it’s worth checking if there is availability. I always have low expectations of getting in, but I shall no doubt witter on about this several more times over the next year. More on this lounge in future posts.

October 2, 2024
Katowice Trip – Camden Bar and Kitchen

I will stress here that I’ve revisited Camden Bar and Kitchen this week and have more photos of the venue, but for my first visit here, this is all that I have. I was using my new Priority Pass card where I can get £18 restaurant credit and hence my rapid visit here.

The welcome was immediate from the greeter standing at the door, although customers here aren’t taken to a table as with some other airport locations, but they are pointed in a vague direction on where to go. I found a table and it was clear that they wanted customers to order via a QR code rather than have table service, although they could go to the bar. I couldn’t access the menu as the Stansted Airport wi-fi was playing up and my mobile signal was too weak, but I had to go to the bar anyway as I needed to get my Priority Pass card validated. There was a wait of around six minutes in the queue, but the team member was helpful and polite.

To stay within the £18, I ordered a latte and an Eggs Benedict. The total came to around £17, which if I’m being honest I felt was a little steep for what was delivered. The presentation of the food didn’t look great, the ham looked a little plasticky and the Eggs Benedict didn’t appear entirely vibrant in their looks. The taste though was better, the eggs were runny so I had the oozing treat I wanted, the muffin was firm but fresh, whilst the sauce had some flavour. The ham was reasonable in terms of its taste, but the whole arrangement could have looked better. I wasn’t expecting an artwork, but JD Wetherspoons deliver it at least looking appetising. The latte was large and rich in taste, so felt a little more acceptable. Maybe though I’m being too picky and as I wasn’t paying, I wasn’t overly concerned anyway about getting value for money on this occasion.

I felt rather perched on a table by a busy customer throughway, so I decided against lingering and thought I’d risk instead trying to get into the Escape Lounge. For my two loyal blog readers, there’s a fuller post about this bar which I’ll get to soon enough…..

October 2, 2024
Katowice Trip – Getting to Stansted Airport

Another week, another adventure. And yes, it’s all relative, I’m not Bear Grylls and so my adventures don’t require me to jump out of a plane or anything similar. This time it was a return to Katowice, one of my favourite cities in Poland. Liam kindly agreed, once again, to pick me up on his way to London, and initially I was planning for him to take me straight to Stansted Airport. However, the potential lack of sleep before the morning flight didn’t feel entirely optimal, so at the last minute (which required me to call Liam when he was ten minutes ago asking him if he fancied a trip to Braintree) I booked a Travelodge as it was an affordable price. My room overlooked my chauffeur, who isn’t allowed to leave until I’m safely checked-in.

A comfortable room at Braintree Travelodge, all quiet with no internal or external noise disturbances, it’s a reliable hotel this once. I’ve only been twice, so maybe I don’t have enough data points, but I’m happy with it so far.

Leaving the hotel, just after 06:00 in the morning.

Fortunately, the coach station is just outside the Travelodge, so it was not a long walk.

There we go, the X20 service to Stansted Airport which is operated by First Bus. The service costs just £2 because of the bus cap, something which made this whole little diversion to Braintree feel more affordable.

And safely on board. And, although I rarely stray into politics, I’m unimpressed by Louise Haigh who is the new Transport Secretary. She has refused to say whether there will be an extension of the bus cap, despite it being painfully aware that this should be confirmed by now and numerous figures in the transport industry have been asking for some clarification. Short-termism is detrimental to any sort of planning and this feels very unfair on the bus companies and risking showing contempt for the travelling public. And, yes, that was quite political, but I’d add that it’s just Haigh in the Cabinet that has significantly disappointed me with almost childlike media appearances. I really will now return to the main matter, which was that the bus arrived on time and was reasonably clean and tidy. It’s a very handy service operating across Suffolk, running around every 60 minutes for 24 hours a day.

October 2, 2024
Gdansk Trip – Luton Airport Back to Newmarket

I had initially planned to repeat my travel plans of the previous week, which was to stay at the Pret Landside at Luton Airport, then get the 04:30 National Express service to Cambridge and then get the first train to Newmarket. It was in many ways a sub-optimal journey. However, thanks to a particularly impressive early arrival from Wizz Air, a border with no delays and my ability to walk quickly, I was able to make the last National Express service of the day that would get me back to Newmarket.

And here she comes. Are coaches female? I don’t know, let’s say it is, I suppose there’s a comparison about a mother hen gathering up her chicks, just as National Express pick up passengers. I think that might be stretching the logic though and I’m digressing once again. I had paid £5 to transfer my coach ticket to this earlier service and that didn’t feel unreasonable for the convenience.

It wasn’t the busiest service I’ve been on.

I’m not sure if I’ve seen a request from a coach company about tipping drivers, even in the United States. Although I don’t envy drivers, dealing with this massive vehicle and edging it through traffic, battling roadworks and dodging kamikaze pigeons, all the time listening to the cacophony of coughs, sneezes and rustling crisp packets from passengers. They probably deserve a little extra every now and then.

The bus arrived at Parker’s Piece, perhaps most notable for being where the football games governed by the Cambridge Rules were played, the forerunner of how football is played today. It was pragmatic, there were plenty of students coming to Cambridge from various decadent private schools and it was only sensible that there were agreed rules on how to play the game.

I had to wait for my second coach, so it was time for a Titanic Cherry Porter in the JD Wetherspoon pub, the Regal. The beer is always a delight.

The gleaming beacon of cleanliness, it positively blinded me with its radiance, it must have been bathed in the tears of a thousand angels.

Changing to the next coach which turned up early, the driver seemed to take a dislike to another passenger and a shine to me, something to do with how I didn’t hassle him with my bag. I like being the favourite customer on board. It meant that I arrived safely into Newmarket at around midnight which was all rather lovely given that I had expected to arrive nearly nine hours later.

October 2, 2024
Gdansk Trip – Wizz Air (Gdansk to Luton Airport)

Ready to go through the Schengen gates, I was pleased that the random seating Gods had given me an aisle seat. King Sigismund II Augustus, the former Grand Duke of Lithuania, would have no doubt been pleased for me.

Passengers piling up at Gate 31, the wait here often feels like a tragicomedy of sorts, a drama of human existence.

Ready to board and listening to the usual symphony of sighs and slightly impatient shuffles from other passengers. And once again, I gazed slightly bored at the floor and wondered how the tarmac that my friend Liam helped put down at Heathrow twenty years ago is getting on. Indeed, I bet I’ve thought more about this than he has.

Another airline nearby. I had to look up which airline this was, it’s Smartwings who are a Czech airline with 37 aircraft.

And off we go. The aircraft is 9H-WNE, an Airbus A321 which was only delivered to Wizz Air in March 2024 so it’s still nice and shiny. Once again, the flight itself was without any particular note, everything was efficient, I was comfortable in my aisle seat and the cabin crew were polite although seemed a bit stressed on the flight. It was likely their third or fourth flight of the day, so I imagine that I’d be a bit stressed as well if I was doing the same job. The flight was particularly notable for me as I needed to arrive on time, but more on that in the next riveting post.

October 1, 2024
Gdansk Trip – Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport Executive Lounge

Located as far away as possible from the non-Schengen gates is the Gdansk airport lounge. My new Priority Pass card is getting a suitable workout already.

I found a table in the corner where there was that mythical beast of the modern age, a power socket so that I could remain fully charged. Electrical salvation complete, I could focus on the food and drink offering. It’s not an enormous lounge, but there was plenty of space and it all looked clean and comfortable.

A random combination of stuff that probably sums me up. Beer, a vague attempt at a healthy drink, coffee, chocolate and something with some chicken in it. The beer is the Złoto Brovarni, a hoppy beer which is locally made. There’s not a substantial range of food, more little snacks such as this, but the quality seemed high. The food area in an airport lounge can sometimes become a battleground where civilised behaviour goes to die, but it was all ordered here, although it was in a slightly compact space.

Excuse my own reflection in this photo (I tried to strike a nonchalant pose), but the beer selection here was one of the best that I’ve seen in terms of having a few to choose from and from local breweries. Some of the premium lounges in the USA have more craft cans, but there were around eight different beers here. I was surprised and delighted. Someone mentioned that I overuse that phrase, but saying that I was rapturous and bewildered or something seems a little strong here.

I thought that just one more beer would suffice me though. It’s not my favourite beer style, but it’s a clean and crisp pilsner.

The lounge would usually cost around £30 to get in as a walk-up, which might be a little steep given the limited food options. The reviews for the lounge are also a little average, perhaps some expectations were too high although some people weren’t happy at the customer service. It was a shame that the view was mostly of the car park, as lounges are often pointed at the runways, but I can’t say that I overly worried about this.

All that done, I left refreshed, my devices were refreshed and I was ready to leave the delights of Poland. Although, on the bright side, I knew that I was coming back a few days later.

October 1, 2024