While I did visit Warsaw one ill-fated night in 2013, I had never really seen much of Poland. When a paper I wrote was accepted for a conference that was to be held in Poznan, I booked a ticket. My school was not contributing to this in any way, so it was back to my solo/budget-travel days!
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| No, it is not feasible to do day trips to Auschwitz (see below). |
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| So much for taking a day trip by train to explore the country! |
I booked a room close to the conference venue, which actually was not a great idea. I thought I would save time by walking to conference instead of buying public transit tickets every day (which would add up over 6 days!), but the conference was held on an enormous college campus that has its own zip code. As fate would have it, my room right "next to" the venue was actually a 40 minute walk away. I still walked, because taking the bus from where I was would actually take more time. To add insult to injury, the first day of the conference they gave everyone free public transit passes, allowing for a 15-minute journey from the town center to the conference on a fast tram. Oh well!
My walks to and from the venue were actually very interesting. In order to explain, though, I need to back up to when I first arrived, hauling my conference-ready backpack, rolling luggage, and purse. I had pre-routed the trip from the airport on my phone so I could use it without wifi. So off I went, transferring buses and trams four times (!), and eventually getting to this one street.
I was quite tired by this point, so I thought I was hallucinating when my directions told me to turn right. There was no road there. Here is what was there:
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| "Turn right." |
It turns out that WAS the right way. A sandy, meandering path through a pasture. This seemed absolutely outrageous at the time but now I've embraced it. It's actually one of the more "developed" "roads" that I take to the conference. All the other professors and intellectual researchers seem to drive or take the tram, but not me! I come bungling out of the undergrowth, hunchbacked and with bits of twig and leaves stuck to me, ready to take Academia by storm.
I went through quite an evolution in mental processes as I walked to the conference each day. I had 40 minutes each way so plenty of time to reflect.
Me on Day 1: What in the absolute **** is going on? Who did this? Who made this city this way? It's not ok.
Me on Day 2: It's actually kind of cool! It's like hiking every day, except you go to work in between hikes. You know, we could all use this in our lives. (Increasingly sanctimonious) It's time we get back to nature, dammit. We can't thrive in concrete.
Me on Day 3: Ok who would ever hike to work? Like... I am transporting a laptop right now. And I'm wearing stylish work flats.
Me on Day 4: Eeeee look at that adorable woodland creature!
Twigs: Guys don't forget to cover the entire head.
While the outskirts are decidedly rural, downtown Poznan is happening. All you could ever want to know about it is here. Personal trip pics on my Insta.
I went on 3 different walking tours and had a ball; two were in the evening but one was in the morning so I ducked out of the conference to go on it. Once I was with the tour group I noticed one other lady (among the dozen participants) who also seemed to be on her own. I sidled up to her and asked if she was solo traveling. She replied, "Oh no, I came here with my husband. He's presenting at a conference." Ha! The very conference I was supposed to be attending! I'm sure she was impressed by my rebellious tour attendance, but she managed not to show it.
Tomorrow I have one last tour, then it's off to Copenhagen before heading home and going back to school a few hours later. But for now, it's time for tea and dinner while watching the sunset!
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| "End of a dirt road" kind of views. |
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| Bucolic breakfasts. |
