I didn’t know much about Poznań, no scratch that, I didn’t know ANYTHING at all about Poznań, other than it was a town somewhere in Poland. So it was with great excitement that I got my fat butt (yes, it’s fat, I’ve gained 3 kilos during my time here in Poland) on a train to Poznań last Friday. The excitement was great indeed, because not only was I going to see a new place, which is always fun, but also I was going to meet a new person, which is not always fun. Yes, I was going to a place I’d never been before to meet a girl I’d known only from internet forums. Fortunately, the girl turned out to be a girl IRL, too, and not some psycho with whips and chains and a dungeon in the basement. Though these days you just never know… So, kids, don’t do as I do, because I do stupid things. A lot.

The train ride was all excitement, adventure and really wild things. It was a “rapid” train that took more than 5 hours to travel the distance of 313 kilometers. I sat my fat butt in what I thought was a non-smoking car, which very quickly filled up with cigarette smoke. Apparently, the “no smoking” sign was merely a loose suggestion. The conductor came around, checked the tickets and then stood in the isle, smoking.

Poznań (Posen for those of you who prefer the German version) is a lovely town. It has the most magnificent shopping mall – Stary Browar (Old Brewery). And it’s not just the mall, the whole town is full of high-end shops. The good people of Poznań must be loaded.

After visiting the mall (well, it was raining) we walked around the old town (pretty). We saw the sites (well, not really, it was the Museum Night and there were hordes of people everywhere). And we went to dinner - restaurant “Pod Koziolkami” (annoying flash site that takes a couple of centuries to load, at least on my computer) – good local Polish food full of oceans fat and mountains of bacon, but check your bill carefully, they added a dish we didn’t order to ours, which I only realized two days later when I was emptying my purse and saw the receipt.

That evening we watched the Eurovision final (Arash came in third, woot woot!) and that was it.

Definitely, I’d like to return there for a longer visit. It’s an interesting place. They have an artificial lake called “Malta” over there. I could say “Oh, I’m going to Malta for the weekend” and then take a stinky train to Poznań.

(For more pictures and stories from this trip, check out the rest of the entry at Budget Trouble Blog)