Poland                         Zgorzelec                9 September 2024


   On the same day I was wandering around Görlitz, I decided to cross
   over to the neighboring city of Zgorzelec, which lies just on the
   other side of the River Neiße.  I only learned by chance, while
   planning my trip, that Görlitz is right on the Polish border, and
   that to get to another country, all I had to do was cross the river.
   It had been over six months since I arrived in Germany, and I still
   hadn't visited any other European countries, so it would have been
   strange not to take advantage of this opportunity to stroll into
   Poland.  And so I did.

   I have to admit, it was a very surreal experience to simply walk into
   another country without any border control or bureaucratic
   procedures.  Quite astonishing, really.  To my surprise, the streets
   of Zgorzelec were full of people (or at least, there were far more
   than in Görlitz), and the cafés scattered around the city were
   packed.  Or maybe it just seemed that way to me.  Either way, there
   were definitely more people.  I was reminded that I was no longer in
   Germany but in Poland when someone passing by asked if I had any
   "groszy" (small change).

   Until 1945, this city was part of Germany, and it was the eastern
   part of Görlitz.  The Soviet army handed control of the city over to
   the Polish authorities, and the remaining German population was
   deported to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany.  Initially, it
   wasn't clear whether the eastern side of the city would permanently
   become part of Poland, so in the first months and years after 1945,
   only a few Poles settled here.  Instead, in 1949, the city became
   home to around 15,000 refugees from Greece, fleeing their country's
   civil war.

   An interesting fact: Zgorzelec's winter time matches perfectly with
   Central European Time, as the city lies directly on the 15th
   meridian, which defines this time zone.  Another fun fact: Zgorzelec
   is essentially the Polish version of the name Görlitz, which itself
   comes from the word "Goreliz" (to burn).  However, despite its name,
   the city didn't burn during World War II and has been very well
   preserved.  I didn't have much time to explore the town: I made it to
   the nearest McDonald's, grabbed a quick bite, and then headed back to
   the Hauptbahnhof.  Deutsche Bahn canceled one of the trains again, so
   I had to return earlier than planned via a different route.





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