Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Poznan – National Museum in Poznan (Andrzej Wróblewski)

    I don’t usually understand modern art unless it’s explained to me, and even then I’m often clueless. This artwork, by Andrzej Wróblewski, initially left me as confused as usual. So, I decided to stand in the gallery and spend some time Googling the painting, making me ever more interested in the artist. The artist died young, living from 1927 until 1957, dying in a climbing accident at the Tatra Mountains.

    He was born in Vilnius, but when this was moved into Lithuania after the Second World War, Wróblewski was relocated to Kraków. The painting title is “Execution with a Boy – Execution V” and is one of eight artworks in a series which portrays the period when the Germans occupied Poland.

    The blue colour is deliberate and represents death. It’s interesting to see where these eight artworks have ended up, number 1 is in Toruń, number 2 is the National Museum in Kraków, number 3 is apparently in this museum but not on display, number 4 is in the Polish Army Museum, number 5 is this one at the National Museum in Poznan, numbers 6 and 7 are held privately somewhere and number 8 is at the National Museum in Warsaw.

  • Poznan – Basilium

    Basilium, which was meant to have one of the best beer selections in the city. I’m still slightly confused about this place, as they did have an enormous beer selection to buy in bottles, I assume to takeaway, but a rather limited selection of beers to drink in the pub.

    There a lot of beer cocktails and flavoured beers, but it seemed out of proportion to the small number of beers on draft which are listed at the bottom. The staff member said that there was one dark beer on draft and one bottled, and he was polite and helpful, but I had expected a little more choice. On reflection, I did wonder whether something was lost in translation, although the staff member did speak English.

    Some of the bottled beer selection.

    This is Fortuna Czarna, it’s drinkable, but not particularly exciting as it lacked any depth of flavour. There was no lingering taste or bitterness, but it was at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature.

    Branding in the toilets….

    The surroundings are clean, comfortable and quite modern in their appearance. There was a front and back area, although it was pretty quiet during my visit. It was a pleasant environment, but for me I’d have ideally liked a printed beer list to fully understand the range and specials that were available.

  • Poznan – Mo.Bar

    Mo. Bar, a rather modern and contemporary restaurant and bar, which food-wise specialises in pulled pork. They do salads, fries and some other meals, but they seem quite proud of their pulled pork.

    The menu was available in English. The staff were warm and engaging, it all made for a relaxing and comfortable visit.

    The pulled pork with chorizo, served with large fries. Its beautiful presentation made it all the more appetising and the taste didn’t fail to live up to my expectations. The pulled pork was tender, moist and full of flavour, with the chorizo adding an extra element of taste. The bun was firm and the seeds added texture, with the portion size being generous. The chips were also decent, firm on the exterior, fluffy on the interior and they were suitably garnished and seasoned.

    I have to confess that I just asked for a dark beer, so I’m not entirely sure what this is. Whatever it was was rich in flavour and had a greater depth of taste than I had expected.

    I liked how the restaurant had kept their menu simple and manageable, so they could concentrate on just doing a few things well, rather than lots of things badly. Welcoming, clean and the prices were reasonable, around £7.50 for the burger, fries and beer. All very lovely.

  • Poznan – Old Marych Sculpture

    I liked this sculpture located at plac Wiosny Ludów in Poznan, primarily because I feel that it represents how I usually ride a bike. It involves walking alongside the bike as the cycling bit for me is far too tiring, it’s just easier to push it.

    Anyway, I thought it might be a representation of an interesting local character, but it was decided to make a sculpture of just a typical Poznan resident on his way to work. It isn’t modelled on anyone in particular and it was designed by Juliusz Kubel, a local sculptor.

    Apparently it’s now good luck for cyclists to touch the sculpture. But I’m not a cyclist, so I didn’t bother.

  • Poznan – Stodola Kebap N Grill

    This Turkish restaurant is very well reviewed on-line, but I’m not really an expert in this type of cuisine. I’ve never been to Turkey and I’m not sure that the kebab shops in Lowestoft and Ipswich are really indicative of decent Turkish food. Anyway, I wasn’t actually that hopeful about this place.

    Nice and bright counter, with the staff being enthusiastic and welcoming, speaking good English. I had checked the menu on-line in advance so I knew what I was going to order, and I was pleased that this coincided with what they had on their menu boards. It doesn’t always work out like that…..

    Contemporary and modern design, all very interesting and fun.

    This is chicken kebab and chips with a spicy sauce on top. When it arrived the presentation didn’t look particularly exciting, so my expectations were still low. But that meat was outstanding, tender, packed with flavour and very moreish. The chips were firm and well salted, with the sauce adding some extra flavour and spice.

    This visit far exceeded my expectations and if this restaurant is typical of Turkish cuisine then I might need to have a little visit to Turkey. The meal, including a Fanta, cost around £4 and the restaurant was busy throughout my visit with both eat-in and take-away orders. Very lovely.

  • Poznan – Accor Hotels Menu

    This was the menu in the lift of the Ibis hotel which indicated the special food selection in their various hotels in Poznan. I couldn’t help but think it was a bit pork orientated….

  • Poznan Lawica Airport – Business Executive Lounge

    Located just to the right after the security area is Poznan airport’s sole business lounge, although it’s in the non-Schengen area. This meant that I left the lounge with lots of time in case it took me a while to pass through the security check, I thought 45 minutes would suffice. It took 20 seconds, so I felt that I had perhaps been a little over-cautious. Anyway, I had over two hours in the lounge and that sufficed.

    The food and drink area is stylish in its design, with a decent variety of drinks and a passable selection of food. There were self-pour wines and both local and national beers, but the soft drinks selection was particularly extensive. There were vitamin and energy drinks, which provided me with a useful boost.

    The food was limited to cold selections, primarily just biscuits, chocolates and snacks. This sort of food is perfectly sufficient for me, but ideally there would have been some sandwiches or salads available to choose from as well.

    It’s not a huge lounge in terms of the seating capacity, but it feels spacious and airy. There are toilets at the rear so visitors don’t have to leave the confines of the lounge, with a separate area for those wanting to use the computers. There aren’t very many power sockets, but there are some in the liftable floor panels for those who go looking for them.

    A beer, a vitamin fruit drink and an eclectic range of snacks. The staff in the lounge were friendly and, like with nearly everywhere else in Poznan, spoke excellent English. The newspaper selection was quite limited and all of the newspapers were in Polish, I didn’t see anything in English.

    The lounge was clean and tidy with plenty of departure boards located around it. They don’t make individual calls, although it’s possible to hear the airport announcements easily enough. If I visit again I will though perhaps not rush off to the departures gate quite as early next time, but always better to be early for a flight than late…..

  • Norwich – Christmas Decoration at Chapelfield

    I’m typing this in January, but since this Christmas decoration is still at Chapelfield it doesn’t feel inappropriate to post this. Anyway, this random photo is of the giant bauble outside of Chapelfield, and I think it looks rather impressive. Sad to see that the nearby Carluccio’s has now closed, it would have been a good view for their diners to look out on.

  • Peterborough – Peterborough Cathedral (Mary, Queen of Scots)

    Peterborough Cathedral was, for a short while, privileged to be the burial site of two Queens, Katherine of Aragon and Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was born in 1542 and was rather a threat to Queen Elizabeth since they both have rival claims to the crown. On 8 February 1587 Queen Elizabeth decided that she would have Mary beheaded, whilst she was being held at Fotheringhay Castle.

    From Fotheringhay Castle, Mary was brought to Peterborough Cathedral to be buried, with a grand service being authorised by Queen Elizabeth. There was though some delay with these proceedings, with the body not being brought from Fotheringhay to Peterborough for over five months. It’s also thought that her heart and organs were buried near to where she was executed.

    James I decided to bring his mother’s body to Westminster Abbey in 1612, where her tomb remains to this day. The tomb that he created at Westminster is rather grand to say the least and was designed by William and Cornelius Cure. Peterborough Cathedral was left with just one Queen, which is still more than most cathedrals in the country can offer.

    An information board located near to where the tomb of the Queen was. It’s marked today by Scottish flags which are placed in the nave.

  • Peterborough – Cowgate Parish Burial Ground

    I’ve walked past this plaque lots of times on Cowgate when heading from the railway station to the city centre, but I’ve never noticed it before. It must be the excitement of walking into Peterborough and so I’ve rushed by it at speed.

    There is now absolutely nothing left of the graveyard, as can be seen from the side by side map above. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the graveyard was finally removed to build this lovely big roundabout to serve the needs of the local population. If that wasn’t good enough, part of the former graveyard is now also used as a car park. What a wonderful piece of remembering the dead that was….

    Incidentally though, this site is said to be one of the most haunted areas in Peterborough. There was some bodysnatching which took place here in the 1820s and the reports of ghostly sightings has been put down to that. Although if I was a ghost, I think I’d like to find somewhere more fitting to stay than a roundabout in Peterborough.

    There’s lots more information about the parish burial ground at https://www.peterboroughcivicsociety.org.uk/plaques_blue2.php#ParishBurial.