After a long chat with dad (and his really really wanting to hit at least one other country while in Europe) we decided to go to Poland. The closest country to us is Poland – it’s only 2.5 hours by train, and the price was about 50 Euros round trip.

Unfortunately, the day we decided to go, the weather was terrible. We’re talking fog all day with inturspaced periods of falling misty rain. The train trip up and back wasn’t bad, nor was the humorous experience of trying to communicate. Let’s just say that I speak NO POLISH, and they speak none of the languages I do. I can understand some polish (thanks to the Russian) but that doesn’t help too much in the long run.

Oh – and for those wondering – Poland is a part of the EU, however, they use the Zloty and not the Euro. Now that we have that straight (after 2 hours there – it was only when we wanted to buy something that we discovered this little fiasco) we wandered back, changed money over, and then took more pictures. Lunch wound up being at the KFC (I’ll take that picture right there please) rather than trying to figure out a standard printed menu. (Some things are just easier to point and hold a finger up for “1”.) Anyhow, here’s

A few Pictures from Szczecin, Poland

and a brief history of the town – off their website:

Szczecin, Poland is a city with over a thousand years of tradition and a turbulent history. The city was for many centuries one of the most powerful ports and trade centres in the German world. The past of the City of Szczecin is both multinational and multicultural one. The history of Szczecin began at the turn of 7th and 8th centuries and over time was ruled by the Polish, Prussians, French, Danish and Germans. In April 1945, Szczecin was conquered by the Russian army and a Polish administration took over the town. The German population was then expelled. Their place was taken by settlers from all over Poland and Polish speakers from Lithuania and Ukraine, who arrived in Szczecin and the rest of Western Pomerania in large numbers.

That being said, I will have to go back when the weather is better. They have REAL potato chips there – and a mall – and their Zloty is 3.55 to 1 Euro so everything is significantly cheaper. The only problem is… do they have clothes that would fit a gal with curves? Things that make you go humm….

~Rose

P.S. Your Lost in translation photo of the day (From yesterday’s trip to Potsdam with dad)