Poznan is located in the western part of Poland, and is the fifth largest Polish city by population. Even though Poland is better known for its Big Three Cities – Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk, a trip to Poznan is still worthy for its rich historical sites.

Poznan is located about 480km from Krakow and takes approximately 5 hours by the intercity train. Even though I previously drew up an itinerary for this trip, recommendations from colleagues in my team slowly trickled in on accommodation, dining spots and sights, so much so that my initially relatively relaxed trip wound up as a pretty fun filled adventure!

Day 1:

Breakfast at Minister Cafe

I took the first train out from Krakow to Poznan and managed to arrive in Poznan by 10am. Food is really important to me, hence whenever I travel, I will be sure to do up a foodie list. This list would often include, what is best locally, healthy food joints, cafes / bakeries and one or two slightly more "fine" restaurants. That said, Minister Cafe is highly rated in Poznan for its freshly made toasties. I ordered the avocado, fried egg and arugula sandwich, served with a homemade aoili sauce. A great, healthy combination for breakfast, with all my favourite ingredients! I recall D and I chatting once about our favourite foods - D loves chicken rice whilst I can eat eggs and toast pretty much all day err day.

Minister Cafe - Fried Egg, Arugula and Avocado Sandwich served with Homemade Aioli

Poznan Old Town Walking Tour

After brunch and a quick check-in at the hotel, I headed straight for the Old Town Walking Tour. The tour started with a big crowd of us gathered at the Market Square. At 12 noon, it is a tradition for two billy goats to make their entrance above the clock tower and perform a "headbutt" to each other. There is a folktale from back in the day that the town was celebrating a fight victory when the chef realised that too many people had turned up for the celebratory meal. He was flustered due to the potential lack of food and went in search for a billy goat. Instead of finding one, he found two! And both started to fight for its own survival. How true is this story? Well, I heard it from the local guide on our tour.

At 12 noon, the two billy goats will greet the market square crowd with a head-butt routine.

Poznan's beautiful market square from a distance.

St Martin's Croissant Museum (Rogalowe Muzeum) Baking Class

I my next pitstop in held high anticipation, as there was going to be a hands-on experience of baking croissants. They are by no means like French Croissants, instead these are St Martin's Croissants and there is a story behind them. In 1891, Martin was a priest who wanted to help the poor with food. After the loss of one of his horseshoes, he had the inspiration to create these croissants. It is filled with different ingredients and is a pretty dense croissant compared to the French Croissants. St Martin's croissants are only allowed to be baked in Poznan and must weigh between 150g to 250g. On 11 November every year, the city celebrates St Martin's Day by eating these croissants by the lake to commemorate him.

St Martin's Croissant must weigh between 150g to 250g.

Try my hand at making the St Martin's Croissant.

It is important to have fun in the kitchen!

Castles

After the St Martin's croissant museum tour, I decided to make a detour to the Imperial Castle and another castle for a view of the market square from atop. A pretty good decision given the pleasant weather that weekend, where I had a bird's eye view of the entire town from a distance away. I enjoyed this serene view, away from the hustle and bustle of the city's crowds.

Mid day sweet treat.

St Stanislaus Church

Even though we covered this sightseeing spot during the walking tour, it was brief and difficult to capture nice photos worthy of this beautiful church with a crowd of people. Hence, I made a second visit in the afternoon, where it was quieter, to take some photos of this beautiful structure and its magnificent looking organ.

Grand looking organ in Basilica of St Stanislaus.

Before heading for dinner at this restaurant recommended by a colleague, I went back to the hotel for a quick recharge of my phone. Yes, I still refuse to buy a replacement portable phone charger. D & I had a short chat before I headed out. What he does not know was that I only left the hotel 10 minutes after we both hung up because I was writing him a postcard, which he received just two days ago!

Dinner at Papierowka

Dinner was romantic in ambience as the restaurant was set in the midst of greenery and a playground. There were fairy lights in the outdoor section which made this place feel incredibly dreamy. What I liked about this place beyond the setting, was that their menu only had ONE bestseller / recommended item. This helps brilliantly with decision making! I ordered that ONE recommended dish - a duck fillet, which was done beautifully. Post dinner, I felt a need for a sweet treat and went along with the waitress' recommendation of a coconut cheesecake. Rich and creamy but not overpowering, it was a good recommendation! Overall, I had an amazing dining experience here, both in terms of food and service. Highly recommend a visit here for those of you who live or are planning a visit to Poznan.

An amazing duck fillet from Papierowka.

Ending dinner on a sweet note - coconut cheesecake.

The Old Brewery 50-50

Set in an Old Brewery, no, this is no longer a brewery. Instead, it experienced a makeover and is now a popular shopping mall. I reckon it is still relatively new / young, given quite a few shopfronts are either still under renovations or un-tenanted.

Brovaria

Last stop of the day was one of initial hesitation. I had a super filling dinner, but was keen to try out this beer house, recommended by a colleague once again. Decided to kick the doubts away, and just headed in to try out the beers offered in the house. I found out later that the beers were made behind the restaurant and you cannot get a "fresher" beer elsewhere. I went for the tasting platter which came in a mix of three different beer types - Pilsner, Honey Beer and IPA. I enjoyed the Pilsner the best, which often is the safest beer choice in my opinion! 

Beer tasting platter from Brovaria.

Day 2:

Started this day with one hour lost in my sleep! Daylight savings kicked in on this last Sunday of March. Instead of lamenting about having to wake up an hour earlier, I was glad to have more daylight. More importantly, D is probably glad that he will get to sleep slightly earlier! :P 

Citadel Park & Fort

About 10 minutes walk from my hotel is this beautiful park with a war memorial. D had accompanied me on this excursion and I am glad to have my travel partner. I showed him in excitement of the beautiful sights. Somehow we wished the world is much smaller than what it is.

Technology is amazing! Facetiming D and having him accompany me for parts of my travels.

Amazing weather for the park!

Brunch at Lars, Lars and Lars

In Poland, cafes open later on the weekends, hence after visiting Citadel Park, it was a perfect time to squeeze in some brunch. Lars, Lars and Lars is a cafe by day and bar at night, and occupies a pretty spacious ground. I ordered the Shashuka, which was pretty popular here. The portions were generous and I particularly enjoyed the creative and freshly baked bread. YUM.

A great way to kickstart a full day of activities with this Shashuka!

Cathedral Island

This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Poznan. Little did I expect Cathedral Island to be so beautiful. The following photos would probably do more justice to the beauty of this place, more so than my words can convey :)

Definitely did not expect to be greeted with this beautiful sight on Cathedral Island. 

Can't miss a tourist moment. Somehow this bridge structure reminded me of Universal Studios?!

Lake Malta

My last sightseeing spot was at this famous lake. Thankful for the really pleasant weather, with the water reflecting the blue skies. It was a perfect day to be out without the humidity. A pity that there are no restaurants surrounding the lake as it would have been great to lay on the grass with a beer in hand.

Lake Malta.

Weranda Caffe & Ristorante

I mis-calculated the amount of time I would take for lunch and by the time my food was served in this cafe, I had to gobble it down quickly, before dashing back to my hotel to pick up my luggage. I ran to the train station at pretty much at top speed. Thankfully I have been sticking to a relatively healthy regime here, so much so that I managed to buy a sandwich for dinner onboard the train and boarded my train 5 minutes before its departure! This cafe had a beautiful interior and pity that I did not have the opportunity to enjoy a slow meal, instead having to rush so that I did not miss my train back to Krakow. Lesson learnt.

Till the next adventure xx,
L

Last weekend, I made a spontaneous trip to Wroclaw. The trip was decided only two days before and I went ahead with booking train tickets after checking that the weather would be pleasant. I have learnt from my weekend trip to Warsaw that if the weather is miserably cold, it might be wiser to simply stay in Krakow and shelve the trip for a later date! That said, I have plans to make another weekend trip to Warsaw, perhaps in the later part of this month or in May.

Wroclaw was a city in my Polish cities-to-visit bucket list, prior to my arrival in Poland. I was charmed by the colourful block of houses that stood on its market square grounds. Given that it is a small city relative to Krakow and Warsaw, a day trip was sufficient to cover its key sights.

Once again, I decided to hop onto the first train that departed Krakow for Wroclaw. Being slightly closer by distance, I arrived in Wroclaw by 9am. Without having to check into a hotel, I was in Central Café for brunch by 9.30am. Despite being relatively early on a Saturday morning, Central Café was already bustling with a hungry morning crowd! Signs of a café that serves good food. The thing about cafes is that they typically have a few bestsellers (normally two or three of them), which makes for a tough decision in the context of solo travelers. This time around, it was a toss-up between having bagels or pancakes. Seeing how the staff were preparing freshly baked bagels from the counter, I couldn’t resist not trying them. I ordered the Bagel with Haloumi cheese and Spinach, and it was delicious!

Interiors of Wroclaw's Central Cafe

Pan Fried Haloumi and Spinach Bagel and Orange  Grapefruit Juice.

Playing around with the bagels - a selfie for D.

Strolling along the streets of Wroclaw's Market Square, it is noticeably smaller than the market squares of larger towns. I went in search of the colourful block of houses, known as Hansel & Gratel House, and located it without much difficulty. It was as beautiful and picturesque as the Google images that I had seen, which set the postcard theme for my mail to D this time around!

Wroclaw's Hansel & Gratel colourful housing block.

Wroclaw's Market Square from the front.

Wroclaw's Market Square from the back.

About 20 minutes walk from Market Square housed the Panorama of Raclawice Battle Painting. It was a sightseeing spot highly recommended by Lonely Planet and I was excited to see this painting, as I had not seen something similar to this before. The exhibition was accompanied by an audio guide, which presented the magnificent painting with an overview of its historical background before zooming into various scenes painted, where interpretations of the scenes captured shed more light around what happened during the Raclawice Battle.

Panorama of Raclawice Battle -
Can you tell which is part of the painting and which are actual live items?
Pity this photo appears flat. In reality, it is a 3D painting.
Unfortunately, this photo does not do it sufficient justice.

Wroclaw is also known as the city of Gnomes. There are a total of over 200 gnomes located across the city, with most of them situated in the Old Town area. I decided to find one of them and subsequently, I found this "hunting" game to be pretty addictive and found myself on a Gnome Hunting spree.

Having walked around quite a fair bit, I decided to take a short break and made a pitstop at Vinyl Café. It was pretty unique by concept due to its theme as an old records store. I had researched this place prior to visiting Wroclaw and found that they do a pretty decent cuppa! Unfortunately, I have recently stopped drinking coffee and switched to tea, juices and water. Hence, I went for their homemade chocolate cake and homemade lemonade - a perfect combination which I particularly enjoy. A visit to this cafe is highly recommend if you are in Wroclaw - it is very local and just a short walk from Market Square.

Vinyl Cafe has a retro / vintage records store theme and
does a pretty amazing job in home baked creations.

Perhaps it was because I had just recovered that I was feeling tired by the time it was around 4pm. Having clocked in all the sightseeing spots, I just wanted somewhere to rest my feet and people watch. Craving for croissants, I headed straight for Vincent Bakery, which is pretty known for their croissants and pastries. I loved how the place had intricate tabletop decorations! D was also home then, post dinner, and we decided to FaceTime each other there!

Because of the recent research on Paris, I was craving for croissants!

And there you go! It was a good day trip out of Krakow - Wroclaw definitely did not disappoint. I am glad that this day trip was a 50-50 balance of food, fun and adventure!

Till the next adventure, xx,

L

Dining in a Michelin starred restaurant is not an everyday affair and it goes beyond the food experience (given the price of such meals are often not cheap). Even though I have only dined in a small number of Michelin starred restaurants, I enjoy the experience of having knowledgeable waiters share with you how each dish is meticulously created by the chef and the specially chosen seasonal ingredients. The climax then comes when each mouthful is a burst of flavours that are unexpected and bordering on inconceivable. Perhaps to justify the price, the duration of such meals are often longer than usual (~3 hours), hence it is often the dinner table conversations that complete the meal.

My itinerary for Warsaw came together really quickly (credits to D's super prompt turnaround on recommendations for edits + the perks of travelling solo) and in my research for food places to visit, I came across Senses Restaurant. I initially held apprehensions over dining solo in a Michelin starred restaurant - Would it be weird? What am I to do in between courses? Will I be judged?

Pushing those thoughts aside, I bit the courage pill and called the restaurant to make a reservation for one. During the call, the waitress asked if I was celebrating a special occasion. Not expecting that question, I responded with "well.. (thinks really hard)..it is my first time in Warsaw?" That literally came out as a question. Even though I am still embarrassed with my answer, now thinking back, this is a sign of good service, isn't it?

Back to the actual dinner. D and the rest of SG were asleep after I had found the restaurant and settled into my seat. Given that I was dining alone, I spent most of my time observing, reflecting and conversing with the waiters. Hence, I would like this post to be beyond the amazing food that I had tasted, and instead be about my dinner table reflections.

Reflection 1: A dinner table brings together a family of people. Take the time to enjoy each other's presence and to engage in meaningful conversation.

A well dressed family of three (father, mother and son) were in the restaurant when I arrived. One can tell that they are from the upper class given their dress sense and that their presence instigated a personal greeting by the head chef. They were perhaps regulars there. However, it was sad that during their entire dinner, the father was engaged on his smartphone whilst the son was either playing on his iPad Pro in between courses or gobbling down his food in order to earn his time on the iPad Pro. It is a pity to see that even though they are wealthy in material sense, that does not seem to extend into their relationship with each other at the dinner table.

D and I discussed this the next day, and I am glad to hear his views. Agree that it may not be easy to constantly be engaged in conversations with people that you meet everyday, but that should still not be a natural escape for one to prefer technology over the pure simple joy of enjoying each other's presence.

Reflection 2: Celebrate good meals beyond your other half and family. Do it with your friends, especially the ones that you hold dear to.

There was a table of two ladies sat diagonally across me. Whilst I did not know their story, it was clear that they were there for a celebration. Fine dining is probably not something they do often. Well, just based on my sense, really. This sight made me think about the meals that I have with my best friend, G. We often enjoy indulging in meals, creating occasions deserving of a celebration. And given that work has now pretty much taken over our lives, we eat well beyond just for occasions. That said, I do miss our weekly or bi-monthly dinner catch-ups now that I am here in Poland, even though I still do enjoy pretty good meals and with a mix of different people.

D and I both hold our friends really dear to our heart, and I think that is something that will not change over time.

Reflection 3: It is endearing to see old couples sharing conversations lovingly, giggling over each other's jokes and genuinely enjoying each other's company.

There were a few tables with old couples and it is indeed heartwarming to see how they still treat each other with that much love, patience and kindness. They probably fulfill the definition of what our generation would call #relationshipgoals. I believe that this is something we are no stranger to. Knowing is one thing, executing is another. And for sure, this is something we are constantly working on and I hope that you readers also share the same goals with your other half!

Senses Restaurant's version of a bespoked cocktail -
A mix of passion fruit, lychee, Belvedere vodka, vanilla and two other ingredients which I can no longer recall.

A fancy bread platter to kickstart the meal.

Senses is out to surprise you with what is not shown on the menu.
The first amuse-bouche served to tickle the palette.

And then the second amuse-bouche served.

No, it does not end with two or three..

Just as you start craving for more, this is the last amuse-bouche served.

First course of the degustation menu: Sea Trout - Cucumber Salad - Cultello

Second course of the degustation menu: Pierogi Ruskie - Red Prawn - Smoked Cream

Third course of the degustation menu: Pork Cheek - Tomato - Pea - Black Caviar - Herbal Ricotta

Fourth course of the degustation menu: Seafood - Goulash - Lard - Yuzu - Rapini

Fifth course of the degustation menu: Beef - Polish Korma - Leek - Potato - Mushrooms - Artichoke

Sixth course of the degustation menu: Apple Pie

The meal does not end with one dessert, or two, or three, but at least six to ensure you leave satisfied.

A creative and meticulous creation, which leaves one craving for more.

Yes, another dessert and the meal is not ending.

Just when you think the surprise is over, Senses tops it up with a dry ice on 2 more desserts,
which leaves the rest of the customers in the restaurant wondering.

A "cigar" to end the meal. Nicely smoked and beautifully put together.
You would think you are having a cigar, but truth is, this is a lot healthier on the lungs!

To the next foodie adventure.

xx,
L