I am somewhere between Koszalin and Poznań. The moment I realized I’m going to Poznań on the same train as most of Poznanian tourists going back home from Mielno, it was too late. On top of that, I feel extremely silly wearing a light blue Polartec jacket (everything else has been laundered and hung out to dry,) and having to pull behind me an enormous red suitcase. In exactly a week I’m leaving for China. Before I go, I have yet to settle a few matters: the letter with my debit card has not come yet, which means I wouldn’t be able to use ATMs in China (I assume it’s rather unlikely there’s Alior Bank in Chengdu if there is none in Koszalin; I once met a 19-year-old girl from London in Odessa, Ukraine who was surprised there was no office of the Central Bank of London in Odessa—in the end, there is one on every corner in London, isn’t it?) Most of my possessions are located haphazardly somewhere in Koszalin, Poznań, and between. Plus, I want to meet with the girl I met on the train for the last time before I leave.

2014-08-19 16:44:49 +0200
It’s still Poznań and I’m on the train again. I was supposed to come here again to meet the girl from the train from Poznań to Warsaw, but my plans changed and I’m not coming to Poznań until July next year.

I wanted to say something about this city. Every time I’m going back to Poznań after any longer absence, I usually say I’m so happy. But I’m afraid my good mood is soon going to change, because I’m arriving in Poznań and I’ll have to buy tram tickets. You may argue that the public transportation network in Poznań is not that bad. My answer is usually: it’s not bad. It’s tragic.

What’s good about Poznanian transportation is that there is “Pestka”, that is, Poznański Szybki Tramwaj (Poznanian Fast Tram). It’s actually an ordinary tram, the only difference being that it doesn’t go through the crowded streets, and has its own dedicated line instead. Pestka is quite cool. In my first course I had P.E. classes at the other end of town. It took an hour’s tram ride from where I lived at that time to the Morasko Campus. Getting up in winter at 6.30 on a Monday morning is bad enough, though sitting on the tram is a good time for reading books, like the Jeżycjada series by M. Musierowicz (I read 17 out of 19 episodes mostly on those foggy Mondays.) Now imagine you can’t buy tickets because the vending machine is broken (Poznań is the only city in Poland where drivers don’t sell tickets.) Or that a tram broke on the way of Pestka and there are ten trams queueing one after another and you have to get off and walk (which is actually not that bad, since walking is good exercise.) Or that you missed the only bus that could take you to Morasko campus and you’re 20 minutes late (and so what? Who cares?)

Tickets. I didn’t spend a single minute in Poznań during the UEFA 2012 cup, but I heard from Poznanians that the cheapest reduced-fare tickets used to be 1 PLN before that memorable event. Then the city had debts and they gradually raised prices. It was 1.30 PLN/15 minutes when I moved, 1.40 PLN/15 minutes from the beginning of 2013 until recently, and now it’s 1.50 PLN/10 minutes, 2.30 PLN/40 minutes, and nothing in between. This means that single tickets in Poznań are now more expensive than in Warsaw, where you pay 2.20 PLN/75 minutes, and Warsaw is way bigger anyway. The city also enforces the use of PEKA (Poznańska Elektroniczna Karta Aglomeracyjna, Poznanian Metropolitan Electronic Card.) If you have the card, you can pay proportionally to the number of stops you ride; in the end, it’s just 0.08 PLN (0.04 PLN for reduced-fare ticket) for one stop. However, the price list is written in a very unclear way. Also, the PEKA works electronically, so it’s subject to technical problems. One of my classmates transferred 10 PLN to her PEKA account… and after a week the money was still not booked—which meant she had to pay those ridiculously high prices.

Poznań is a city that forces one to ride a bicycle—the roads are too crowded to drive, especially at rush hour, and the buses and trams are simply much slower and more stressful than a 15-minute bike ride to the city centre, or 25-minute ride virtually anywhere else.

2014-08-19 20:47:14 +0200
So I’m still here on the train and my enormous suitcase (ready for China) are right above me. Next to me there is a typical Polish family: the father is tall, muscular and bald, the mother plump and growing older with every second, and the daughter something in between, about 13 years old. Apparently they set out for an adventurous journey from somewhere in central Poland (maybe Poznań) to the seaside town of Kołobrzeg. The father seemed to be disappointed throughout the journey that there was nothing to get drunk on, and he kept talking boulderdash. He even said something about birds and platypuses and I naturally told him that platypuses are mammals. He was utterly bewildered. Just lately the whole family had an argument over nothing in particular and now the female part of the family seems to have just cried.

My bottom is tired of sitting. My sinuses hurt a bit like they want to kill me softly, and I’m as tired as I could be.

2014-08-20 16:14:43 +0200
Today I wanted to go swimming in the swimming pool, but when I came there it turned out only the smaller one was open and that I can either wait until September or go to another city. That’s exactly why I’m going to Szczecin this weekend (and since I’ll already be there, I can also visit my father.)

Dorje Sempa: 40 300 (+250)