Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Katowice Trip

Katowice Trip – Katowice to Krakow and Coming Home

I have something of a backlog of posts, once again, and I still haven’t excited and delighted my two loyal blog readers about my trip to Belfast, let alone the group trip to Tallinn last week. So, I’ll speed things up somewhat. And, not wishing to panic my collection of readers, but there will be a lot of posts about Tallinn.

I left the hotel early to get the train from Katowice railway station. I’ve written about this many times before, so I needn’t dwell.

Mine was the 09:38 service to Krakow.

A beautiful train, marking 20 years since Poland joined the European Union. It wasn’t though the train that I’d be going on.

A view of the railway station, something I had time to do as my train was running ten minutes late. I didn’t understand the station announcement, but I knew the train must have been delayed as there were some sighs and annoyed faces when the Polish announcement was being made.

Here we go, the arrival of the train!

I’ve edited out the passenger, but I loved the cat who was very well behaved and kept poking her head out to see what was happening. I had a reserved seat, something which works on Polish trains in a way that it completely fails on British trains.

Safely into Krakow.

The main square. I’ve explored Krakow many times before and I only had an hour here so I decided not to do anything too fancy. I was flying back from Krakow rather than Katowice as it was much cheaper.

Back at the railway station after my perambulation around the city centre. It was a little early for a beer (beers early in the day are only allowed on trains and in airports, that’s the rule I’ve set myself), so I thought a nice walk around Krakow would be in order.

And safely at Krakow Airport after a short train journey. I had bought a train ticket on-line, one elderly English couple were cut some slack by the ticket inspectors and they sold them a ticket even though they could have fined the pair.

There we go, a short and sweet post. “Brevity is the soul of wit” as Shakespeare said…..

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Rozbark Narrow Gauge Railway

There were a few clues dotted around the place which suggested that there used to be a narrow gauge railway around Rozbark, there’s little that gets past my detective mind. Given the industrial nature of Silesia, they were early to this and had horse-drawn tracks set up in the eighteenth century. Before the standardisation of tracks, the network of narrow gauge railways became quite extensive in the region and they became very profitable in the late nineteenth century.

The start of the walk (or the bit of the walk that I did), and unfortunately, there was a lot of rubbish dotted around the area. The development of the railways in this region became more complex after the First World War, as the new Polish state built lots of new bits for their country, whilst the Germans didn’t do much with their bit. The Polish system had to ensure they stayed within their boundaries, although a small section went through Germany, although with no stops.

The former track route, running parallel or next to the road.

Walking towards Bytom. The Soviets caused massive damage here during their occupation and withdrawal in the Second World War, their soldiers ransacked property, burnt down buildings out of malice and it’s evident from the local histories that the Poles haven’t forgotten this.

Very peaceful. Unfortunately, the period in the late 1990s saw massive theft along these lines with track, track bed and other items being plundered and ransacked. The damage done so recently has plagued the economic reconstruction of the area, but the recent investment in the area has improved matters a little.

Makes for a pleasant walk.

The views of Bytom from the railway bridge, looking both ways.

The route of the railway goes on. I only walked for around a mile of the route, but I suspect a longer network of trails will appear in the future, perhaps all better signed with more interpretation boards. Some of the network remains and is the oldest section of narrow gauge railway in the world that is still in operation.

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Ibis Budget Katowice

I’ve visited this hotel many times before, and have written about it many times before, and it’s always one of my favourite accommodation options in Poland. The staff are friendly, the rooms are clean, it’s peaceful, the breakfast is reliably decent, the prices are low and it’s just relaxing. This time, the hotel kindly upgraded me to the largest room they have, something I know because I had a little look on the fire escape plan, which for the low price is entirely functional for my needs.

I accept it’s not the most beautiful or luxurious room going, indeed some visitors have said they thought they were in prison, but I don’t have very decadent standards. My friend Richard is only happy if the hotel provides blueberries hand-picked by Finnish monks which are left in a bowl made from wood sourced in the Falkland Islands, placed next to a collection of towels made in the shape of swans. I’m generally happy with a door and a bed. Incidentally, this will be a handy way of seeing if Richard is reading this blog, as that might be my third loyal blog reader!

I won’t witter on here about the generalities of the hotel, as I did that on my last stay here in 2022.

Kettles don’t come as standard in Ibis Budget rooms, so I appreciated this kind gesture. They also provided sachets of honey with the tea which is something that I’m not sure I recall many other Accor hotels doing.

The obligatory breakfast photos from across my three night stay. It’s not exactly a gastronomical treat, but it is reliably filling and contains a range of pickled items. Sometimes the simplest of things, especially if they’re keenly priced, are the best. Coffee, orange juice, cold meats, something pickled, rolls and maybe even some fruit to shock and awe my body.

You can choose to not have your room cleaned and you get 100 Accor points each day for this. I went for this, and the allocation of the 200 points to my account was done same day, it’s sometimes something that I have to contact the hotel about after the trip. But Polish efficiency rarely fails them. There’s a Novotel which is literally next to the Ibis Budget and I’ve never made it there, partly because this hotel just feels the better value.

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Rozbark Promenada

Rozbark (or Rossberg when it was German) grew quickly in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century when the mining industry suddenly expanded quickly, with the population of the town growing from 4,000 in 1880 to 24,000 by 1927. It was a wealthy border town, but it came to be part of Poland after the Second World War and soon after became part of Bytom. I couldn’t quite get to the bottom of what was happening with this street, it says in some places that the economy collapsed after the Second World war, leading to properties being abandoned, whereas other sources suggest many buildings were taken out of action due to subsidence from the mining. These are some grand properties, or at least they were, with a fair chunk of the buildings down the street needing substantial repair. However, some properties are in the process of being repaired and restored in what is now effectively a suburb of Bytom. The area felt like somewhere hit by economic decline, the demise of the coal mining industry was a huge challenge to Bytom and Rozbark.

It comes to something when the wall painting is in far better condition than the building that it’s on. There were a lot of similar images in the area relating to the local football club, Polonia Bytom.

October 11, 2024
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
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