Since it's early and there will be masses still going on, we decide to visit the Poznan Ethnographic Museum, which is on the way to Ostrow Tumski. Ethnographic Museums are usually my favorite because they show how people lived in a particular region. There are displays of costumes, tools and equipment used in every day life. Of course, if you live in Poznan or Krakow or Warsaw, you'll want to see displays of regions other than your own. So there is usually a special exhibit, and in the Poznan Museum there was an exhibit of Kosovo on the first two floors. The third floor had an exhibit that had artifacts from all over the world, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the museum, reflecting the many different exhibits they've had over these years. Many of these were from regions in Poland, so it made the visit worthwhile.
When we were leaving the museum, Wieslaw mentioned we were going to Ostrow Tumski and the museum staff recommended a new museum there which just opened in June. They even called the museum for us to make sure that it was open today, a Sunday.
To reach Ostrow Tumski, we walked over the bridge crossing the Warta River and noted the incredibly long fishing poles the fisherman were using to reach the deepest water in the center of the river.
Ostrow Tumski was the area where Poznan started in the 10th century. Three centuries later, the island was given to the church and a new city built on the other side of the Warta. The new museum, Genius Loci Archeological Park, explains this and much more with a 3- D movie and multi-media kiosks. The movie has English subtitles, and an English audio guide is available for the rest of the museum. These explain what Poznan looked like during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Besides the movie theater, the museum consists of two large rooms, one which has excavations of walls of the original fortress wall, and the second has actual archeological excavations that show how the fortress walls were built with timbers, rocks and sand. Usually there is a small admission fee, but the museum is free on Sunday. The audio guide was 2 zloty (about 60 cents). It's only 2 blocks from the cathedral, and worth seeing as it provides good background for our visit to the Cathedral.
By then masses were over so we entered Peter and Paul Cathedral, the oldest site on Ostrow Tumski. The original building was constructed in 968, but due to many conflicts has been reconstructed several times, most recently after WWII. There are 12 chapels around the perimeter. The most notable is the Golden Chapel, the brilliantly gilded mausoleum for the former rulers Mieszko I and Boleslaw Chrobry. The high altar was created by 14th and 15th century Silesian artists depicting Out Lady surrounded by 14 female saints.
We took a leisurely walk back to the Rynek and stopped at Cukernia Gruszecki for a regional specialty, Rogale Swieto Marcinski, that is qualified by the EU Protected Designation of Origin, just like Parma ham and champagne. These buns are traditionally eaten on St. Martin's Day (Nov 11) but are available all year. The rogale we had was as big as my outstretched hand, but Wieslaw explained that the buns sold on the holiday are 2 or 3 times that size. The Rogale is a crescent shaped sweet bread with a white poppy seed and dried fruit filling and a nut glazed topping. It was delicious, and we washed it down with a hot chocolate to warm us up. Of course, it wasn't until then, late afternoon, that the sun made a vain attempt to come out.
After three days of touring Poznan, we were ready for a rest and needed to get ready to leave in the morning, so we went back to the hotel. Later, we decided to get some dinner, so walked back to the Rynek where most of the recommended restaurants are located. We chose Ratuszowa because it had czernina (duck blood soup). It's hard to find a restaurant in Poland that makes it. In fact, this was the first time we saw it on a menu. Not only was the czernina excellent, the entire meal was awesome and one of the best we've ever had in Poland. Even better, it was very reasonable compared to other places. And to top it off, the waiter said he had Pilarczyk in his heritage. Maybe he was angling for a bigger tip, but we really did enjoy the evening.
By evening the fog had settled back in and we couldn't see more than a block ahead. Given the surroundings, we felt like we were in a 1940's movie. Fortunately, after three days touring Poznan we felt like natives and knew where we were going. We had an awesome time in Poznan, and I have a list of places yet to see. So we'll definitely be back someday.
Do zobaczenia, Poznan!
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