To start Poznań is not Potsdam. Potsdam is in Germany and has a beautiful castle; Poznań is a Polish city located west of Warsaw. It’s a student city with very cheap Ryanair flights coming here, so perfect for a weekend escape!

1. See the Billy Goats at midday

The performance lasts around 5 minutes

Every day at noon, on the east side of the main square, two billy goats emerge from behind wooden-looking door and butt each other twelve times. Why twelve? We imagine it’s because the hour is 12:00, but we haven’t found any official explanation. Where does the tradition come from? Well, the legend goes that when the city of Poznań had to rebuild their city hall after it had been damaged in a great fire, they hired a well-known and accomplished craftsman to deliver a clock for the tower. The guy was such a virtuoso that they even threw a big party to celebrate that fact. As befits a good feast, a roasted haunch of venison was going to be served. Unfortunately, the absentminded chef overlooked the preparation of the dish and the piece of mean got completely burned. To save the day, he decided to steal two billy goats from a nearby field. As luck would have it, the animals escaped and were next seen fighting at the top of the tower, to the amusement of guests and the governor. To commemorate the event, the mayor ordered a mechanism imitating billy goats to be constructed and installed at the top of the city hall tower.

2. Try Polish cuisine

Pierogi. Gofry. Lody. Zupa. Kebab. Schabowy. If these words mean anything to you, you are already one step ahead from the uncultured ones who don’t know anything about exquisite Polish cuisine. Of course, the best place to try these delicatessens is at babcia’s (grandma’s) house but if you don’t have a special friend [i.e. get a Polish boy/girlfriend], then Poznań has good restaurants to taste the cheap nice food! Some recommendations:

• Pierożak Pierogarnia - you can purchase very cheap individual pierogis (z wody = boiled), choose your flour, topping and filling. Cooks are constantly making pierogi in front of you!

• Na Winklu - great for pierogi (z pieca = oven),  big portions, amazing piece of schabowy meat!

3. See some murals

We are not going to tell you where these murals are, go to Poznań and keep your eyes open to spot them around :)

Entering the psychiatric centre of love

Paintings from the 2016/2017 Street Mural Competition

Or… simply get a street art map from the Tourist Information Centre that displays more than 100 murals available all around the city!

4. Eat a St Martin’s Croissant (Rogal Świętomarciński)

The most famous pastry in the region. It’s a horseshoe-shaped croissant made from a Danish pastry of 81 layers, with a filling based on white poppyseed, along with sponge cake, nuts, raisins, almond aroma and candied fruits, covered in frosting and finely chopped nuts. Altogether, it weighs between 150 and 250 grams (compare it to regular croissant’s 50 g).

St Martin’s croissant

What’s interesting about this pastry is that not just anyone can make it and sell it as St Martin’s Croissant. In order to preserve the authenticity of this special product, its name is legally protected by the European Union! To begin selling it, a pastry shop or a bakery must obtain a certificate from a specifically designated chapter and display it in a visible location. Moreover, under its original name, St Martin’s croissant can only be sold in Poznań and some other townships in the Greater Poland. What it means in practice is that it’s not as easy to purchase this local pastry as you might expect. There are only a little over hundred confectioneries possessing the certificate in the whole region, and some of them only bake St Martin’s croissants on 11th of November, known in Poznań as St Martin’s Day. Therefore, your best bet is to look for them early on the day (which ensures that they wouldn’t have run out, that the bakery is open and that pastries are fresh). Examples of places where you can find them are:

• Cukiernia Passionata in Hotel Mercure (ul. Roosevelta 20)
• Piekarnia NATURA in Avenida shopping mall near the train station
• So! Coffee at the Ławica airport
• In multiple locations of chain confectioneries such as cukiernia Fawor, cukiernia Karpicko, cukiernia Elite and a few others.
• Last but not least, you can get them in the Croissant Museum, located near the main square. Calling it a museum might actually be a little misleading since what they have on offer is a one-hour-long semi-interactive presentation (at 13 45 in English) covering the history (briefly) and the way of making (extensively) St Martin’s Croissants.

Wendy cutting the dough

If you volunteer, you’ll have a chance to get your hands dirty during some stage of pastry preparation. At the end of the show, everyone gets to try a part of pre-made croissant and there’s a short film about Poznań’s history. Overall, based on online reviews, we’d expected something better; it was alright, but nothing extraordinary. Given that the theme of the show (‘How to make a croissant’) is not overly exciting but gets compensated by the speakers’ sense of humour. Indeed, the presenters make some jokes to keep the interaction entertaining. Our recommendation would be: go there only if you’re interested in a short cooking interactive session and don’t mind spending 20 PLN per person.

5. Eat a “gofry” (waffle)

You know Belgian waffles, don’t you? They’re small, plain, extremely sweet, expensive - generally, not so great. Polish “gofry” are way better!

• Recommendation: Gofry with seasonal fruits and fresh whipped cream.
• Also, don’t miss out on the artisan lody (ice cream) for less than £1 per ball.

6. Play an urban game

Have you seen “The Imitation Game”? That film in which Benedict Cumberbatch brilliantly depicts the story of Alan Turing’s life, with an emphasis on breaking the Enigma Machine, inventing what we now call a ’the computer’ as part of the process. Well, you can follow Turing’s steps yourself thanks to the Enigma Challenge city game! All you need to do is go to the Tourist Information Centre, grab a leaflet and look for hints all over the city!

7. Shop in Stary Browar

No matter if you are a shopping addict or an architectural design enthusiast, you should visit the shopping centre called Stary Browar. Actually, it’s half a shopping centre, half art gallery, following an ‘art along business’ principle. It was built in 2003 and we must admit it’s pretty cool for a shopping centre. Possibly the most elegant shopping centre we’ve seen so far. And The International Council of Shopping Centers evidently shares this view as they selected Stary Browar to be the Best Shopping Centre in the World in the category of medium-sized commercial buildings.

8. Climb Bishop Jordan’s bridge (Most Biskupa Jordana)

It’s apparently forbidden, but who cares! Actually, at the time of capturing this picture, we didn’t know it was. I mean it makes sense, a bad move and you, at the very least, break your leg… But well, nice adrenaline flowing through your blood while crossing this bridge.

9. Chill in KontenerART

Located just by the river with hammocks and beach volleyball pitch, what else could you ask for when it comes to a beer & snack break venue?

10. Go to Citadel Park (Park Cytadela)

It takes around 15 minutes from the city centre to reach this park, but it’s worthy! Make sure you visit the iconic statues located around the park to take as cool pictures like the following ones:

Most of the park is dedicated to commemorating victims of the WWII and there is a couple of museums devoted to it too.

Summing up

Poznań is a great city for a weekend escape, 1-2-3 days trip. Plenty to do, cheap (it’s Poland!), loads of museums, parks and eating/drinking spots.