More Poznan

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It appears I was wrong about the old town, it's been largely rebuilt after being laid to waste towards the end of WW2.  You'd never know from looking at it though, so give me a break!  I've also become suspicious about the authenticity of a castle located near Paris, apparently owned by one 'Cinderella'.
I'm back in the UK now, but other stuff I failed to visit was the cathedral (I'm a bit of an architecture enthusiast on the quiet), and fort VII, which was used by the Nazis as a concentration camp.  I'm not sure I'd actually want to see that, I'm now aware of this city's grim history and can't see it giving me a positive experience.

Poznan is disappointingly non-Soviet.  Apart from the odd Polonez, everything on the road is recent Western European or Japanese.  The standard of driving is much better than I was led to believe too, it's certainly better than London.  The concrete tower blocks are still present but colourfully decorated, the whole place is thriving and dynamic.  My hotel (the Mercure) was perhaps the most old-fashioned place; although the rooms are stylish and modern, dinner in the restaurant was decidedly grim - I felt like a Russian tractor parts salesman on a business trip in 1976 - that was BRILLIANT.  Here it is, looking suitably miserable:
I had a picnic in my room after discovering a Tesco superstore - seeing that big familiar logo was so welcome, until I went inside and it was still ALL FOREIGN.  Check out my purchases, you'll notice I've covered all 3 of the major food groups (Crisps, Cake, Biscuits):
Those donut things contained Branston pickle-style filth, and not only were they as horrible as you'd imagine, I felt betrayed by them.  They looked so good on the outside.  It was like being mugged by a toddler.
It took me 66 hours to install this lot, and it's not finished yet.  I'm back again soon for another dose of RyanAir's idea of service and Stansted's comedy car parking charges.

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