Poznan vs Szczecin

Gadget88 · 11 Mar 2019

I am possibly looking at going via train to Berlin with a stop in Cologne. I looked at these two Polish cities for a day trip would anybody recommend either? Or should I spend the extra day in Berlin (I have been to Berlin already in 2017..) and I don’t fancy Prague much.

I believe both cities are within 1-2 hours from Berlin. Many people on my Facebook fly there and Kraków seems popular.

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Gadget88 · 11 Mar 2019

Another option for my holiday plans is Kolding in Denmark three hours from
Hamburg so I could go Cologne to Hamburg and go a day visit. I just done Italy and Switzerland by train from Paris so know the train has many options

306024 · 11 Mar 2019

Poznan is a very pleasant city, but unfortunately I've never looked round Szczecin so can't compare. The main square in Poznan is about a 15 minute walk from the station.

Dresden would be another good day trip from Berlin, although the most scenic part of the line is beyond Dresden towards Prague.

Having stayed in Kolding there wasn't much there unless I missed it, although the bridge over the Kiel canal at Rendsburg is impressive heading north from Hamburg. Lubeck though is a short 45 minute journey from Hamburg and is a much more interesting historical town.

Krakow is superb in its own right but a fair distance from where you're going. Polish trains are not the fastest.

Just some personal views, others may have more ideas.

AndrewP · 11 Mar 2019

I have spent quite a bit of time in Poznan and it has a beautiful, mainly rebuilt centre and is a lovely place to spend some time.

Polrail · 11 Mar 2019

In terms of train fares, it would be less expensive for you to visit Szczecin as it falls under the VBB tariff. (11 Euro one-way, 22 Euro return; the Berlin-Stettin-Ticket also includes public transport in Szczecin, so you can explore the tram network!)

The Berlin-Brandenburg-Ticket (31 Euro) can also be used to reach Szczecin.

Szczecin is quite an interesting city an certainly well worth a day trip.

LNW-GW Joint · 11 Mar 2019

Szczecin is 2h07m (1 change at Angermünde) on regional trains, roughly every 3 hours. (You might be able to use the Brandenburg Ticket with a supplement).
Poznan is 2h40m direct on EC trains, also every 3 hours.

You won't do Krakow in a day, it's 9 hours via Warsaw (which is 6h40 on the same trains as Poznan).
Dresden is 2h10 on 2-hourly EC (usually continuing to Prague in 4h).
Hamburg is 2h on hourly EC/ICE (connecting to Lübeck in 3h).

Use bahn.com to plan.
I haven't been to the Polish cities other than the excellent Krakow, but there should be plenty to see and do in all the German cities.
The ferry trip down the Elbe in Hamburg is impressive (1 hour return to Finkenwerder - where the Airbus factory is, and past all the container terminals).
Scenery-wise it's all a bit flat and monotonous.
You have to get south of Dresden for hills and some variety in the landscape.
None of the railway is properly high speed (it was mostly in the DDR), but the Hamburg and Dresden lines have been upgraded recently.

gordonthemoron · 11 Mar 2019

Poznan is larger and more intersting than Szczecin, the Rynek Glowny (town square) is particularly good. Plus the trains are better. Downside is it's more expensive to get there. Have you thought about going to Dresden?

30907 · 11 Mar 2019

gordonthemoron said:
Poznan is larger and more intersting than Szczecin, the Rynek Glowny (town square) is particularly good. Plus the trains are better. Downside is it's more expensive to get there. Have you thought about going to Dresden?

Poznan is nice, not on the touristy level of Krakow (you need to be in the town square at midday for the clock...). On a weekend there are steam trains to/from Wolsztyn. Good trams too.

Gadget88 · 11 Mar 2019

Yes I am looking at my travel plans for around September so have a few options

Eindhoven, Aachen, Hannover, Lyon, Liage, Basel are all cities I also want to visit.

I want it avoid Paris as I found it too busy but if I do go around France or Basel I have no choice. Brussels is a much better interage station.

So yes my favoured option is Germany there is some great cities but I also liked the idea of adding Poland to the list of counties I can visit. I hated the journey from Paris to Zurich of 4 hours and I note it is 4 hours from Cologne to Berlin so may be a bland journey too.

gordonthemoron · 11 Mar 2019

Gadget88 said:
Yes I am looking at my travel plans for around September so have a few options

Eindhoven, Aachen, Hannover, Lyon, Liage, Basel are all cities I also want to visit.

I want it avoid Paris as I found it too busy but if I do go around France or Basel I have no choice. Brussels is a much better interage station.

So yes my favoured option is Germany there is some great cities but I also liked the idea of adding Poland to the list of counties I can visit. I hated the journey from Paris to Zurich of 4 hours and I note it is 4 hours from Cologne to Berlin so may be a bland journey too.

Choose the ICE from Cologne to Berlin via Wuppertal so you can see (from afar) the Schwebebahn. The rest is pretty boring, the route via Dusseldorf is completely boring

gazthomas · 11 Mar 2019

I've been to Szczecin from Berlin, an okay city if nothing remarkable. A bit like Birmingham! The train trip was pretty boring, flat, lots of single track and a small DB DMU though on the way back I changed trains over the German border at Angermünde.

I did enjoy seeing the old trams and class 84 "look alike" elwctiic locomotives at Szczecin Glowny.

Be careful with train tickets, buying from the ticket machines in Berlin was twice as expensive as buying from the ticket machine on board (great idea!). I think this was due to the former selling "inter city" tickets. €20 vs. €40 if I remember properly though that was 5 years ago

johnnychips · 11 Mar 2019

Poznan is a good city with a fine central square, an interesting tram system and a nice lake to walk around not far from the centre.

I made it a round trip: from Berlin Lichtenberg to Kostrzyn, changing there for Poznan, then came back by the IC train. I booked the last two trains on the Polish Railways website before leaving. For the German train from Lichtenberg I already had a Zone ABC ticket, so bought a single from Strausberg (at the boundary) to Kostrzyn the day before from a machine in Berlin.

Lovely day out, not too dear either.

eastwestdivide · 12 Mar 2019

If it's any help, Portillo's being repeated on TV, BBC2 today and tomorrow visiting Poland including Poznan.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rdqn7/broadcasts/upcoming

Gadget88 · 12 Mar 2019

Cool so would anybody recommend visiting Germany’s other cities like Hannover and Dortmund over another trip to Berlin?

gordonthemoron · 12 Mar 2019

Gadget88 said:
Cool so would anybody recommend visiting Germany’s other cities like Hannover and Dortmund over another trip to Berlin?

I've been to Berlin more times than I've been to all the other German cities combined, so it's a no from me. Hanover and Dortmund are quite boring. The ones I like are, in no particular order, Hamburg, Lubeck, Erfurt, Dresden, Nuremburg, Dusseldorf, Munich

D6700 · 12 Mar 2019

Just going back to Poznan, as has been said, it's a bit of a trek from the station, but is most definitely worth it.

I spent a few hours there three years ago, whilst between trains. I took a wander into town and was very glad I did. The old town is nice - and the Fara Church, near the main square, has a truly stunning interior. I don't normally go inside churches, but this was jaw dropping! Between the station and the old town is a big shopping centre, converted from an old brewery. Like churches, I'm not one for wandering around shopping centres, but this was another unexpectedly amazing place.

I had a hot meal in a buffet restaurant in the town centre. It was an eat all you want affair, but where the price you pay is based on the weight of your plate when you reach the till! This is quite common in Poland and will be good value for those who don't eat much.

Another oddity I recall, was an old London bus, driving around, being used as a mobile bill-board, with a large speaker system to grab your attention!

30907 · 12 Mar 2019

Poznan has a very good Brewpub/beer hall - Brovaria I think from a quick Google - I'm not a beer drinker but my wife approved!

duesselmartin · 12 Mar 2019

Dortmund is only interesting if you like Football.
Wuppertal is interesting for the Schwebebahn.
In East Germany Leipzig, Weimar or Erfurt are worth visiting.
Not far from Berlin is the island of Rügen with a narrow gauge steam system.

30907 · 12 Mar 2019

gordonthemoron said:
I've been to Berlin more times than I've been to all the other German cities combined, so it's a no from me. Hanover and Dortmund are quite boring. The ones I like are, in no particular order, Hamburg, Lubeck, Erfurt, Dresden, Nuremburg, Dusseldorf, Munich

Think you meant a yes!
Not been to Luebeck but it's on my bucket list - definitely Dresden but its full of tourists

. Erfurt was almost a second home at one time, think York but many fewer tourists... add Leipzig and Schwerin.

LNW-GW Joint · 13 Mar 2019

30907 said:
Think you meant a yes!
Not been to Luebeck but it's on my bucket list - definitely Dresden but its full of tourists. Erfurt was almost a second home at one time, think York but many fewer tourists... add Leipzig and Schwerin.

I spent time in Gotha once in DDR days, and visited Jena (still steam-hauled!), Weimar, Erfurt and Eisenach, all interesting and historic towns to explore in Thuringia.
I reached the Wartburg castle just above Eisenach (where Martin Luther translated the new testament into German, and the setting for Wagner's Tannhaüser).
Eisenach station also has some splendid socialist-era stained glass depicting the original motor works there (one-time BMW, later Wartburg, now closed).
Gotha Hbf is also the start point for the Thüringer Waldbahn rural tram line into the hills.
But a day trip is too short really, unless you are staying locally.
In 1977 the most impressive DR loco on view was the Soviet (Ukrainian) class 132 diesels (now DB's class 232).
On my next visit in 2016, I was surprised to see one of the DB versions still at work in the sidings at Eisenach.
Leipzig Hbf is now an impressively upgraded station, with heritage railway exhibits in some of the spare platforms.
And the 2-hourly Frankfurt-Berlin ICE via Fulda and Erfurt is a whole lot more scenic than the approach from Köln via Hannover.

Calthrop · 13 Mar 2019

Should you go to Szczecin; an aspect of that city which it might be worth being aware of -- which I fell foul of on my one (fleeting) visit to the place -- is as follows. The main station, Szczecin Glowny, is in a quasi-suburb significantly east of the city centre -- to get to where it's at, city-wise: head westward. I was ignorant of this when I arrived at S. Glowny station, and had a devil of a job (ultimately a very costly one) finding a hotel for a much-needed bed for the night -- I just did not realise, that I was out of city centre and hotel-land.

This is not a new phenomenon: until 1945, Szczecin was German Stettin. Have read a World War II prisoner-of-war-escaping account, in which one chap escaped from his POW camp in the then far east of Germany, and headed for what was then Stettin; hoping to find at the docks there, a friendly ship which would take him out of Germany. He arrived at the main station -- was flummoxed by the city's odd layout, not realising how far he was from the centre: while floundering around, he was spotted and recaptured.

shredder1 · 13 Mar 2019

As essentially a shed basher I like both Szczecin and Poznan.

Please Explain · 13 Mar 2019

Calthrop said:
Should you go to Szczecin; an aspect of that city which it might be worth being aware of -- which I fell foul of on my one (fleeting) visit to the place -- is as follows. The main station, Szczecin Glowny, is in a quasi-suburb significantly east of the city centre -- to get to where it's at, city-wise: head westward. I was ignorant of this when I arrived at S. Glowny station, and had a devil of a job (ultimately a very costly one) finding a hotel for a much-needed bed for the night -- I just did not realise, that I was out of city centre and hotel-land.

This is not a new phenomenon: until 1945, Szczecin was German Stettin. Have read a World War II prisoner-of-war-escaping account, in which one chap escaped from his POW camp in the then far east of Germany, and headed for what was then Stettin; hoping to find at the docks there, a friendly ship which would take him out of Germany. He arrived at the main station -- was flummoxed by the city's odd layout, not realising how far he was from the centre: while floundering around, he was spotted and recaptured.

Indeed.

I'll second Stettin, I was there this time last year and really enjoyed it.
As you point out, it's a city with a most interesting history, having only became Polish in 1945 thanks to Churchill and Stalin.. Actually, I read that Stettin was originally planned to remain Deutsche, with the border drawn around the east of the city, but Churchill was having none of it in the end and decided to deport all remaining inhabitants west of the Oder–Neisse line;

"Expulsion is the method which, in so far as we have been able to see, will be
the most satisfactory and lasting. There will be no mixture of populations to cause endless trouble. A clean sweep will be made. I am not alarmed by these transferences..."

I stayed on board the MS Ładoga, an old Russian ship that's now a floating hotel and restaurant, its a bit of a trek from the Hbf / centrum but was a unique experience and the cabin was pretty cheap.
Can't speak for the food but the coffee was good..

That story about the PoW sounds like a most interesting read, can you share the title with us??

SHD · 13 Mar 2019

Please Explain said:
Indeed.

I'll second Stettin, I was there this time last year and really enjoyed it.
As you point out, it's a city with a most interesting history, having only became Polish in 1945 thanks to Churchill and Stalin.. Actually, I read that Stettin was originally planned to remain Deutsche, with the border drawn around the east of the city, but Churchill was having none of it in the end and decided to deport all remaining inhabitants west of the Oder–Neisse line;

"Expulsion is the method which, in so far as we have been able to see, will be
the most satisfactory and lasting. There will be no mixture of populations to cause endless trouble. A clean sweep will be made. I am not alarmed by these transferences..."

I stayed on board the MS Ładoga, an old Russian ship that's now a floating hotel and restaurant, its a bit of a trek from the Hbf / centrum but was a unique experience and the cabin was pretty cheap.
Can't speak for the food but the coffee was good..

That story about the PoW sounds like a most interesting read, can you share the title with us??

That is a bit of an exaggeration, it was founded in the early Middle ages by pagan Slavic tribes, then was ruled by vassals of the Polish kings. It was a city, and at some point the capital, of the Duchy of Western Pomerania and until the XVIIth century, the Dukes of the (various) Pomeranian duchies were from Polish/slavic families. As to the population in the cities and countries, it was a mix of Slavic and Germanic people, the germanisation of the area was a slow process.

Calthrop · 14 Mar 2019

Please Explain said:
That story about the PoW sounds like a most interesting read, can you share the title with us??

I've read a lot of POW memoirs: all read many years ago now -- details pretty blurred in my mind, most of the titles forgotten -- sorry. This was a favourite escaping ploy: head for a Baltic port, and hope to make contact with personnel from either a Swedish ship, or one from a country which was an unwilling victim of German occupation. There was a good chance that these chaps would be willing to help the Allied war effort by smuggling the escaper out of Germany. A couple of the guys in 1944's "Great Escape", who were successful, got out by this means -- I don't think the bod who came to grief at Stettin, was part of that break-out; but as said, it's unfortunately pretty much of a memory-type muddle for me now.

Poznan vs Szczecin

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