3 Days, 3 Cities

Decibel festival, which we were supposed to be going to in Florence, was cancelled along with many other music festivals at this time. Ryanair, rather helpfully allow you two free flight changes if they are made seven days in advance of the original departure date. We ummmed and ahhhd about whether to still go anywhere at all that weekend, as it is a particularly busy time workwise and with August starting school and we couldn't really afford to take the small risk of being caught somewhere in the unlikely event of a positive e corona test. So, anything we did do needed to be as simple and low risk as possible. My only remaining anxiety about travelling internationally currently is the, in my opinion, ridiculous mandate by the British government to present a negative return test to enter the UK even if you're fully vaccinated. The last thing I want to do is test positive and not be able to get home to my little boy.

So, the risk mitigation strategy right now is to close the gap between testing and hopefully proving negative before departure and the return to the UK test. My reasoning is that if you know you are negative for sure when you step on the plane and you have to do your return test fairly soon after, there is a high chance that it will be negative, and you can fly home without problem. The government are even saying that if you are travelling for a very short break the test you take in the UK before you travel will suffice if the return is within 72 hours. So, this governed our search and also the fact that I really couldn't be bothered to drive down to Stansted again just yet. Living close to East Midlands Airport this presented a few opportunities of interest, but we settled on a flight into Lodz, pronounced ‘Woodge’ in Poland and out of Berlin. Always keen to have an element of newness and avoiding too much going over old ground. Three cities in three days, what an adventure! So, the flights had cost us nothing. The next challenge is how to get between Lodz and Berlin. Not wanting to spend pretty much an entire day travelling with only such a short trip, Poznan in Poland seemed the perfect stop off point. Flixbus, an amazing bus service and super cheap provide extensive services all over Europe and had a schedule that would enable us to travel in the morning and arrive at our destination early afternoon giving, not loads, but enough time to have a good look around and enjoy the evening there.

Flying from East Midlands reminded me why it's often worth the mind-numbing drive down the M11 to Stanstead. As an important regional airport they've really got some serious work to do to improve the airport experience. For an anxious flyer everything associated with this airport heightens your state of nervousness. Never ending building work, lack of seating, lack of eating facilities mean that walkways are super crowded, something that's particularly unpleasant at this current time. They seem to be really facing a staff shortage as well with one person seemingly attempting to man the entire security processing, and hence queues are long and tempers from the frustratingly unprepared travellers fray. The same applied to the poor old bird who was serving at one of the limited catering facilities. She sweated as she attempted to sling sausages into baguettes, take money with the same greasy gloves and cock up orders simultaneously. The overly loud and brash pre-flight announcements every few minutes successfully whip you up into an anxious frenzy. So, I'm still debating whether ease trumps a nervous breakdown.

Because by the time we arrived in Lodz we were within the 72-hour window, we decided to get our return lateral flow test at the airport. Again, this was really easy to arrange and a short wait later we were furnished with our letters of freedom. Lodz airport is only 6 kilometres out of the city centre, and we hopped on a bus, didn't have to pay, I'm not particularly sure why but the bus driver didn't seem too bothered. Lodz is a really cool city. My tattooist, who is Polish comes from there and often spoke about how the city had undergone a serious urban regeneration to offer hip and edgy dining and nightlife spaces, and as a lover of Poland it's long been a place I've been curious to visit. Happily, it transpired as a result of slow bookings on account of Corona, the accommodation that we had booked (Boutique Hotel) for the princely sum of £40 including breakfast had moved us to an even nicer hotel right in the centre of Lodz and after a rather frustratingly long check in, well anything seems long when you've only got a matter of hours in a place, we set off to explore the city on foot.

The hotel was adjacent to Piotrowska the Main Street in Lodz which wasn’t particularly outstanding but the little arcades and side streets off this main route really were intriguing. Some were, as the city marketing agencies would suggest, not too dissimilar from the East End of London and Shoreditch area. Others, more historical with traditional bars and restaurants. I found the architecture of Lodz really beautiful. We walked and walked interspersed with pretty great food and Polish beer.

The next morning a short walk took us to the bus station for our 9:30 Flixbus on to Poznan. I'm really embarrassed to say again that this trip was characterised by an absolute lack of preparedness. I think the frequency of the opportunity to travel plus how busy I am work and life wise when I'm not travelling doesn't afford a great opportunity to familiarise with the destination.

Poznan, in contrast to Lodz is perhaps an architecturally more beautiful but certainly historically beautiful city with a gorgeous square and Old Town. The accommodation that we had chosen, the Traffic hotel, which really did live up to its name in the early hours of the morning (only jealous as we were opposite an intriguing techno club), was fantastically situated. At 40 pounds for the night, it was an absolute bargain and only 10 minutes’ walk from the bus station and half hours walk into the city centre. I really find that the best way to get sense of place is to explore it on foot.

The day in Poznan was fantastic, exploring old and new within the city, some amazing retail redevelopment in the home of an old brewery, up to the Old Garrison war cemetery in the north of the city. This part of the city also has the most beautiful Citadel and gardens and within it the delightful restaurant Umberto where you could dine in or sit in one of the hammocks or deck chairs in the gardens.

This evening we sampled the delicious local fare and enjoyed true Polish hospitality, working our way through a range of flavoured vodkas. It's no wonder the Polish are made of steel. Whilst we would go into a bar and order a beer or a glass of wine, they would order 10 shots of vodka for themselves and swiftly make their way through them. I really enjoyed this cultural insight.

Last but by no means least, Berlin. I visited before and I loved it, particularly the east of the city and was keen to spend more time there. After some jiggery pokery with the accommodation and decisions around where we would get off the bus to try and maximise our time in the city, we booked the Hotel Gold Marie on Warschauer Strase in the Kreuzberg area. This hotel is super. Again 40 pound a night. So, all in all the trip was an absolute bargain, and with the incredibly reasonable prices in Poland particularly didn't break the bank.

We had no fixed agenda for sightseeing but walked and walked and walked. Again, not wanting to go over old ground too much, we opted for a walk along the River Spree into Friedrichshein. We were summonsed by the sound of incredible music, something for which Berlin is renowned and hence of course I'd love it. I hesitated, the place looked uber cool and that is certainly not me, but with a bit of gentle persuasion we approached the bouncers and enquired as to whether we'd be able to go in and have a drink. This must have amused them somewhat when the bouncer replied that it was an afternoon party hosted by the Kit Kat Club (for those who know, know) and whilst we could buy tickets on the door, we might find that our attire was not so kinky. Unfortunately, on Sunday afternoons I tend to not venture out in my PVC all in one and ball gag. So, we giggled and went along our merry way.

One of the things I love about Berlin is that there are loads of random and really quirky bars and leisure spaces. We could hear reggae music coming from behind quite a rickety fence in a space next to the river adorned with a sign “Berlin beach”, called Yaam. After paying a generous donation to gain admission we were delighted that we seem to have ventured into a little Africa along the side of the Spree in Berlin. Food stalls, good music and other pungent aromas assaulted our senses. It was nice to sit and just chill for a bit.

The bar opportunities then seemed to dry up and we were forced to go back over old ground. We queued outside an open-air Riverside club (Club Der Visionare) that I previously been to and queued and queued and queued. Really not sure whether it was the COVID related checks and testing to go in that was causing such a delay but, in the end, we got disillusioned and left to grab some dinner, bellies rumbling from all the walking. It is a bit of a shame though because I later found that Sonya Moonear was playing that evening and it would have been a good place to be.

One thing to note about Berlin, and again with this absolute efficiency and organisation of Germany it's perhaps not surprising. Everywhere you look in the in the city there are free COVID testing facilities, some with signs even saying that foreigners can get tested there too. Right absolutely on it in terms of providing the infrastructure to help you feel safe and help keep the places that you visit safe.

It was great to have the opportunity to fly out of Berlin Brandenburg airport which is recently undergone redevelopment to create an airport city. This is a superb example of airport city engineering and again, not particularly aesthetically pleasing but just easy to travel through.

So, what are my take-aways from this 3 day get away. Firstly, it is entirely possible to enjoy an amazing, multi-destination, weekend break on a shoestring, particularly right now as flight prices are so low. Secondly, open jaw travel is wonderful, especially when you don’t have long. Fly into one airport and out of another, and make the ‘journey’ part of the trip! Thirdly, European coach travel (as with rail travel and any other form of travel) is generally much cheaper, efficient and enjoyable thank its UK counterpart. Fourthly, Pierogi rocks! Fifthly, Berlin is the coolest city. Period. Thumbs up Poland and Germany, we love you!

#threedays #threecities #Lodz #Poznan #Poland #Berlin #Germany #lowcosttravel