Poznan, Poland

We drove from Berlin to Warsaw, Poland. We stopped at the Germany-Poland border to exchange money, since Poland does not use the Euro yet. The conversion was about $1 = 3.5 Zloty.



Driving through Poland, we noticed:

• Storks are very common. They like wet areas, because they hunt for frogs, and they like to nest in unused chimneys. They are protected animals in Poland.
• The highway between Berlin and Warsaw is only one lane in each direction most of the way. There was a lot of traffic on the highway, especially trucks and tour buses. The highway went through many Polish villages. The houses are small, and many look poor.
• Polish cemeteries are covered with fresh flowers. We were told that they are covered with flowers in the winter too - plastic flowers.
  

Stork and nest on top of a chimney

Polish countryside

For lunch, we stopped in Poznan, the first capital of Poland. It had a quaint downtown with colorful buildings. There were many vendors selling postcards and little wooden trinkets.

When the town hall was built, there was a huge celebration. The town chef was supposed to prepare food for everyone, but in his excitement, he burned the food. He needed to find more food quickly. He found two goats and captured them, but they escaped and were found butting heads on top of the town hall. To commemorate their escape, wooden goats butt heads at the top of the town hall each day at noon.

Unfortunately, due to the traffic, we got to the Poznan town center just as the goats were going back inside of the town hall tower.

Town hall

Colorful buildings in Poznan's town center

Statue in the center of the town

Jesuit Church

The Jesuit church is very ornate inside with large marble columns and paintings on the walls and ceiling.