This weekend, my friend Jade and I decided to take our last trip to Poland together. She’s leaving in the beginning of September, and I’m moving to Ireland just as soon as the stuff with the dog gets sorted out. Because we’re both going away soon – we decided to make an “over the border for Perogies run” and at the same time, spend a pleasant day in Szczecin, Poland.

The thing with Szczecin is that I’ve been here before. 3 times. In winter. In January. When it was freezing cold. We’re talking frozen solid walk on river cold. Somehow, I had this mental image (maybe because of when I went) that this town is nothing but a frozen gray wasteland where no one ever goes outside (except this stupid tourist) because of the wind that takes a bite out of your face like a zombie in a horror flick.

I must say, however, that this image of this town has now been shattered. Sure, it’s gray and fucking freezing in the depths of winter – but actually, in the summer, it’s quite lovely. Sure, there’s parts of it (think the trams and alot of the buildings) that are quite run down. You have to go through those parts – because the train station is in the industrial area – to get to the shopping center – which is also in the industrial area which means that if you never get off the trams, you’ll never see anything else. Generally speaking – because this is the industrial area – and it was so damned cold – I never wanted to be outside to walk anywhere else, or face getting lost, frozen, and turning into a ice sculpture. So, it’s my own fault for making this image in my mind – and reminds me once again to NOT judge a place by a single visit (or three).

You see, this time, the weather was just beautiful, and Summer made all the difference. This meant that Jade and I hopped off the tram and only spent a few minutes in the Duke’s Palace that’s there – just long enough to pick up a guide book and choose to bypass the mall. Once we had that map -we followed a it up to an area I’d never been, but that the information place recommended for the required Perogies. This resulted in us simply passing by the crappy, run down buildings of the industrial area – and into a more affluent pleasant area with a few round a bouts – the centers of which were all parks and sculptures. Then, as we made it to the cafe, it was on a long street with center park area lined with cafes and umbrellas. After eating, we started walking again and we eventually got to the philharmonic and opera buildings (Yes, they have a symphony AND an Opera!).

To my surprise – on the other side of the Philharmonic was a lovely green park with sod and sculpted gardens. We’re talking sod so thick you wanted to take your shoes off and feel the soft velvety-ness of the grass against your feet. Because of the nice weather – I think I saw more people there than I had on any previous trip. There were children playing ball on the grass, teens riding bikes, moms with strollers, grandparents in wheelchairs, people soaking their feet in the fountains and eating ice cream, and best of all, having picnics under the trees. It was the perfect place for it – and I couldn’t resist taking a few photos (hope to have those up soon).

Yes, now I see the appeal of going to Szczecin – the parks there would be great for biking around, camping along the river (now that I see it’s not just frozen solid year round), doing some canoeing, or just relaxing.

All in all, this is one mental image I’m glad I shattered. Oh – and the Perogies? They were tasty!