I still can't believe up to now that I have actually set foot in Poland.  Marc and I initially planned on going to Warsaw and then Krakow during the planning stages of our Eastern European vacation.  However, that plan was scrapped as soon as we realized we would actually be spending a lot of time on the train cutting our sightseeing time in many of the places we wanted to see.  We thus settled on cities like Szczecin (pronounced Cheech-in) which sat right on the German and Polish border two hours away from Berlin as well as Poznan which could be reached in as little as three hours by train or in our case 5 hours on the way out.  Both cities were very charming and we certainly would love to visit them again in the future.  Poznan for one was so extremely beautiful and medieval.  Walking in its streets felt like walking in a storybook by Hans Christian Andersen.  We only spent a day in each city.  They were actually day trips which we took from Berlin on two consecutive days.

The train station we arrived at in Szczecin, Poland

Upon arrival in Szczecin

We were glad to speak to a very kind female employee at the city's tourist information office inside the train station.  She gave us a lot of information shortly before we embarked on a walking tour of the city.

The statue in front of the train station.  I assume this is the statue of a sailor given the fact that Szczecin is maritime city.

One of the many trams which passed right in front of the Szczecin Train Station

I couldn't help notice the presence of kiosks selling food and other kinds of refreshments along many sidewalks.  Many of them were located close to tram and bus stops.

This was by far my favorite among all the food kiosks.  I really became fond of bread and pastries on this trip beginning in Frankfurt all the way to our last stop, Vienna.  I only had euros in my pocket and I had not yet changed money into zlotys, the local currency, when we passed by this store.  We even went inside a bank to change money but the lady employee advised me to change money at a nearby money exchange office which we couldn't locate.  Hence no Polish bread for me at this time.

As we walked towards the city center of Szczecin, we passed by this medical school.

Not sure if this was one of the departments of the University of Szczecin

Then we saw St. Jacob's Cathedral whose tower could be visited and climbed for a minimal fee for a bird's eye view of the city

St. Jacob's Cathedral

The facade of St. Jacob's Cathedral

The entrance to the cathedral

Although we had a map on hand, we didn't really use it as much during our first few hours in the city.  We just wandered around until we started seeing landmarks I saw on some people's blogs who visited Szczecin before we did.  The city turned out to be bigger than we originally thought.

Harbour Gate

The other side of the Harbour Gate

In front of Harbour Gate

The top part of the Harbour Gate

The monument of Kornel Ujejski in one of the parks in the city center of Szczerin

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from another vantage point

We couldn't understand a word written on these bulletin boards.  We assume they listed the masses celebrated on Sundays just like churches in other countries do.  We took a picture of them anyway to help us with the labeling for my photo albums and for this blog entry.  I got lucky when I looked for pictures other travelers took of Szczecin and found a picture of this same exact church with the name in translated in English.  In fact, that's how I got the names in English for some of the pictures of the monuments, buildings, and statues we took not just on this visit but for many others as well.  Of course, maps and guide books we get from the tourist offices help a lot too.

A local bank right across the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Polish is a very Catholic country and so it was no surprise to me to see many churches and people fervently praying in them.

The Church of St. John the Baptist

The statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus at the Church of St. John the Baptist

Some buildings had no historical significance at all. I took pictures of them anyway due to their quaint or pretty architecture.

More beautiful buildings in the city center

A pharmacy

Can you see the KFC Building?

These were actually the buildings on both sides of the street in front of a mall in Szczecin called Galeria Kaskada.  We went inside and it looked very much like the malls we have here in the US.  It was immaculately clean.  It looked brand new.  It was beautiful.  It felt like home.

Galeria Kaskada

Marc in front of GK, Galeria Kaskada

Van Graaf, a department store

Marc and I went inside to window shop.  The prices of the merchandise ranged from reasonable to steep.  We mainly looked at the men's section of the store and checked out shirts, jackets, shoes, and the like.

The food court

The food served here looked absolutely delicious.  There were the usual Polish dishes and they even had a KFC.

On another part of the city we saw C & A.  I think this is one chain that has yet to make its mark in the US.  In Europe, however, this store is everywhere.

More colorful trams in downtown Szczecin

The University of Szczecin

City Hall

The promenade and garden in front of City Hall

The Monument of Condottierre Colleoni in Lotnikow Square

The Monument of Gratitude

The Angel of Freedom Monument

The Royal Gate

A bigger view of the Royal Gate

The other side of the Royal Gate

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul

A monument similar to the rigging of a ship sitting on an island in the middle of an avenue

This monument simply reinforces its image as a maritime city

The Pomeranian Dukes' Castle

Inside the courtyard of the Pomeranian Dukes' castle

Old Town Hall

The Old Post Office

We had a wonderful time sightseeing in Szczecin.  We spent a whole day there and even then it was not enough to see everything.  We actually missed one of the city's major sights, the Maritime Museum.  We did try to go there but the museum's location was a bit too far given the time we had left before our train back to Berlin had to leave.  Anyway, that just leaves us another reason to return.  We did see an IBIS Hotel close to St. Jacob's Cathedral in the city center.  I liked, no, loved Poland a lot.  I really hope to go back soon.