Masterpiece in urban transformation

Leaving Belgium

I reached the airport around 1045.  Fearing the long waits that Kim experienced yesterday, I was delighted that everything went smoothly.

It was a slow walk through crowds to get airside but there was no waiting for security.  And because I was flying to Poland, another Schengen country, there was no immigration.  I was in the lounge 25 mins after getting to the kerb.

In the lounge, I was pleasantly surprised by the two hot Belgian selections on offer, being Flemish beef carbonnade (stew) and Ostend seafood stew (with fish and mussels).  While the seafood was delicious, the flavour of the beef stew truly captured my palate and heart.  I have to learn how to make it.

Flying to Warsaw

After over an hour, it was time to go to the gate for my LOT flight to Warsaw, timed at 1325.  Fortunately for me, they didn’t board by zones as I was seated in front and at risk of not getting locker space.

LOT appears to try harder than other European airlines for short flights.  They offered a sweet or savoury bun along with a bar service including alcohol, followed by a chocolate water.  After that, they offered extra payable services and then free giveaway to kids.

Landing a little later than the scheduled 1530, I got off quickly and found the train to Warsaw West station to get the train to my nightstop at Lodz.

Getting to Lodz

I had trouble determining which trains stopped at West because the monitor scrolls the stops horizontally and the station names were horrendously long, many of them preceded by the word Warsaw.  It took forever but I managed to hop on a train seconds before the door closed.

At Warsaw West, I had trouble booking my onward train on the app due to a pricing error.  I had about 30 mins to make the connection, so searched madly for the ticket office with great difficulty.  But as soon as I found the office, the app worked again and I managed to get the purchase done.

On the train, I was surprised that announcements used British English voices (as on LOT Polish Airlines).  I had always thought that Polish people have a strong connection to the USA due to the historic migration.

Also, the train was configured in enclosed rooms of six wide seats made up of two rows of three seats facing each other.  It was difficult to move through the narrow aisle located to one side of the train with people standing in the aisle during rush hour.  To make it worse, I had boarded one wagon before, ask I didn’t want to risk the train leaving without me.

Arriving at Lodz Fabryczna station, I had trouble finding the pedestrian exit.  Taking the path of least resistance had taken me to the taxi entrance which led to a highway-style road.

As it was cold, I paid to go for a wee by card only to have the turnstile not open for me.

I eventually made it to the B&B Hotel on foot, taking about 15 mins.

Exploring Lodz

Lodz has a lovely pedestrian mall on Piotrkowska Street.  I was putting just one street away, and took a wander along it after a short rest at the hotel.

It was nice to have cool weather after the high heat of Brussels.  There had been forecasts of 40 degC in Poland but that’s now been delayed and expected to arrive after my stay.

There is an alley off Piotrkowska that has been mosaiced with mirrors in the pattern of roses.  It’s called Rose Alley and I popped in for a look.  Unfortunately, the light wasn’t the best.

So, I continued to Manufactura, a lifestyle and shopping area that’s been created out of industrial buildings that was home to the textile industry.  It was a 27 hectare masterpiece in urban transformation from the city’s textile factories that were falling into ruin.

I finished the day with a supermarket salad before retiring.