To Poznań for my third business trip of 2024. As with my two January trips to Łódź, I have been focusing on architecture, as it is a city's architecture that most impacts its klimat. Poznań's period under German rule is still visible in its older buildings. Below: Ulica Bukowski 31.
Below: ul Bukowska 32, the building next door, catching some intermittent sunlight between passing clouds. Fancier in style, some
Art Nouveau decoration, recessed balconies. Overhead, planes are coming into land at Poznań's Ławica Airport (officially named after some musician or other; can't be bothered to check), which is at the far end of ul. Bukowska.
Below: built in 1902 for Adam Jeski, the
sołtys (village elder) of Święty Łazarz, when it was a separate village rather than a part of central Poznań. It's falling apart now, as the developer and the city authorities can't agree as to the provision of car parking. [My view: sod the cars, install bicycle racks.]
Below: plinthed steam locomotive, standing forever outside ... an H. Cegielski Poznań-built Ty51 2-10-0 engine stands outside the Enea stadium. (For a side view, plus photos from Poznań's old town, click here.)
Left: Poznań's most iconic landmark? From the point of view of the city's visitors, it is – my first visits to the city after moving to Poland were all involved with the international trade fair (Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, MTP). The tower at the eastern end of the complex dates back to 1928. The trade fair premises were used as a Focke-Wulf factory during WW2, which led to its bombing by the allies. Rebuilt after the war, MTP remains Poland's premier trade-fair venue.
Below: Poznań's old post office; as with Szczecin, Opole, Gliwice and other cities of the former Reich, the building was meant to be imposing and project administrative efficiency to the local populace.
Below: the western end of Poznań's sprawling main station, Poland's busiest. Whilst the eastern side of the tracks is now a giant shopping mall, the original entrance to what was Poznań Zachodni station has been retained and renovated. Note the winged wheel on top. This is the Flügelrad, a symbol denoting the railway in common use across German (and then Central and Eastern) railway systems from their earliest days, regardless of operator.
In September 2022, Poznań Główny had its platforms renumbered in the interests of clarity. Platform 1 is the easternmost; Platform 11 the westernmost. It used to be a confusing jumble (from east to west, the numbers used to run 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, with Platforms 3A, 2A, 1A, 4A and 4B thrown in to make the whole thing more confusing still). Twice I missed connecting trains here, rushing for Track 4 Platform 5 rather than Track 5 Platform 4 or something like that. But still infrastructure operator PKP PLK persists in using track numbers, rather than platform-edge numbers.
Below: logically, these should be Platforms 22 and 21, rather than Track (
tor) 58 and 56 on Platform (
peron) 11. Still confusing. Track numbers are only of value to railway workers.
Below right: the new-style digital timetables dispense with track numbers, on the basis that it's more important to guide passengers to the right platform; once there, they can work out from which track their train will depart. Below left: traditional printed timetable still tells you the platform (top) number, with the track number beneath it. The trouble is, station announcers still state the track number before the platform number. Track numbers must die. They only serve to confuse passengers.
My trains are all on time in both directions; PKP has improved greatly over the past 26 years since I moved to Poland. The interchange at Warsaw West could be easier (it will be once the new station is completed); and punctually I'm back at Chynów. The evening sun is streaming in. It's good to be back, even after just one night away.