My second and last day in Szczecin was mostly spent in meetings but I did manage to get out and walk through the park opposite the offices to the rather amazing Amfiteatr which is, as the name suggests an open air theatre in the shape of an amphitheatre.
It immediately reminded me of the new Wembley Station with the arch spanning across the top of, in this case, the stage. It was a really pleasant place to be on a warm summer’s day. I’m not sure that it would have been quite so hospitable if it had been raining.
The office I had been visiting is right next to the Kownasa Park which is a lovely green space that includes an outdoor gym. There were probably about ten different machines and on one was an old fella, legs spinning away on the bike machine! I’m not sure that I’d seen such a thing before.
Walking back to the office I had to cross what is not by any stretch of the imagination a busy road. There is a zebra crossing which seemed to be optional as far as the cars were concerned but that wasn’t the issue. The problem for me was trying to over come all those years of conditioning to look left for the on coming traffic. It just is so automatic these days. It is doubly important here as it is not just the cars that are out to get you but the trams too so you need to be pretty vigilant.
I think I wrote on my last visit that the Poles are so good about waiting for the green man at crossings. Today I found out why – there is a 250PLN (about £50) fine for not doing so. It clearly works.