Our young Polish host had been reticent about a tour of the dumpy male pubs of Laviska Gorne, but jumped at the chance to take us round student Mikolow a couple of miles away. She’d last done the pubs while at college here in the late ’90s, and was keen to see an apparent transformation in… Continue reading A NIGHT ON THE TOWN IN MIKOLOW
IMPERSONATING BRAPA IN POLAND
Our first base in Poland was one of the more unremarkable small towns I’ve stayed in. My teenage son, who’d been before, was adamant* I wouldn’t find anything to write about, and it looked that way when we arrived. I’ve been to Farnworth on a wet Friday in February (the Britannia, Bombardier NBSS 1), and Laviska… Continue reading IMPERSONATING BRAPA IN POLAND
POLAND – GREAT PUB TOILETS
PARENTAL ADVISORY – CONTAINS TOILETS I’m told that Christmas Eve dinners in Poland take longer than Indian weddings, so I’m getting in today’s post early, just in case there’s no tomorrow. At this time of the year, other blogs bring you the “best beers”, “best blogs” and “best pub cats“. No doubt Simon will bring… Continue reading POLAND – GREAT PUB TOILETS
KRAKOW CRAFT INVASION
Krakow was always going to be the highlight of our Polish trip, unless I break my blogging hand skiing or discover the perfect black pudding. Actually, the second of those has happened in Gorne, a culinary voyage of discovery to match the curry and chips near the Etihad. Apart from Krakow’s reputation as an undiscovered Prague, I’d… Continue reading KRAKOW CRAFT INVASION
CRAFT LIFE IN A POLISH VILLAGE
Greetings from Laviska Gorne, centre of the WiFi free world. I knew you’d want to see my birthday presents, which look rather similar to Mrs RMs, oddly enough. Beer from the bottom of a Polish coal mine; report to follow. Possible craft tonight in the next town, but Laviska itself is a modern place of… Continue reading CRAFT LIFE IN A POLISH VILLAGE
GORLITZ
We’re in Poland with some friends from our Cambridgeshire village, staying at their flat near Katowice, which sounds very middle class. Other folk flew, missing out on tram/hat-Gate in Krakow, and a great border town in Gorlitz. Timing it just right, or wrong, we missed their Christmas markets by a day, but the old town… Continue reading GORLITZ
LEIPZIG – TOP ARCHITECTURE, HIDDEN BOOZERS
Once past Braunschweig the German roads became a bit bumpier, and service stations/McDonalds a lot less frequent. Combined with a loss of internet, this produced the sort of search for fuel fun that you really don’t want in freezing fog. Mrs RM and I had always wanted to visit Leipzig. A city with a league-topping… Continue reading LEIPZIG – TOP ARCHITECTURE, HIDDEN BOOZERS
THE BRAUNSCHWEIG QUESTION
Sunday mornings in rural Germany are noticeably quieter than in similar shopping-fuelled towns in England, so we had a quick getaway from Osnabruck. I wish German had an alternative coffee option to McDonalds. Every alternate service station on the main road to Poland brings a giant M that would imperil a lowflying drone. That’s the… Continue reading THE BRAUNSCHWEIG QUESTION
CRAFT BEER & CHRISTMAS CHEER IN OSNABRUCK
Mrs RM wanted to stay somewhere new and German on her birthday as we headed down to Poland. I briefly entertained the idea of Monchengladbach, but a quick sighter on the Duisburg-Dortmund train last year suggested this may indeed be the Deutschland Middlesbrough. Without micropubs (or parmos). Osnabruck has the advantage of a budget B&B Hotel, a… Continue reading CRAFT BEER & CHRISTMAS CHEER IN OSNABRUCK
POLSKI PODROZ DAY 1 – HOOK OF HOLLAND
Day 1 actually started close to Hi-de-Hi Essex, but for reasons that will become obvious I’m saving that report for later. The Stena overnight crossing from Harwich to Hook of Holland is a family favourite. A pleasant drive down the A12 (compared to M11 chaos), easy check-in, spacious cabins, and a smooth 8 hour crossing. I… Continue reading POLSKI PODROZ DAY 1 – HOOK OF HOLLAND
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