Poland                   Zgorzelec's Manhattan              21 June 2025


   Today brought a completely spontaneous trip to Görlitz (and just
   across the river, the Polish town of Zgorzelec) with Anton, which we
   hastily planned yesterday evening and managed to pull off today.
   Yes, you know I love this sort of thing.  We particularly wanted to
   visit the area in Zgorzelec called Manhattan, which consisted mainly
   of prefabricated panel buildings, similar to the ones where I live in
   Wolfen, but taller.

   Well, what can I say, the trip didn't disappoint.  Manhattan
   certainly made an impression on us, I hadn't seen such all-consuming
   bleakness in ages.  But I love that sort of thing.  Walking through
   the neighbourhood, we deliberately spoke German to each other, partly
   to show the locals that some Germans had turned up, and partly just
   for a laugh.  It really did amuse us, and we kept it up throughout
   our entire wander around the town.

   The grand finale was visiting a little kiosk selling local fish and
   chips, followed by a trip to a Żabka shop to buy some local beer to
   try.  Since we'd been speaking German the whole time, we'd got so
   used to it that in the shop we confidently unleashed our entire
   vocabulary on the cashier.  The cashier replied in German too, but
   very hesitantly, which amused us.  We recognised our former selves in
   him, from when we were just starting to learn the language.

   Back in Görlitz, we inevitably began comparing the German town with
   its Polish twin just next door.  The temptation was too great.  Of
   course, Zgorzelec has its own particular beauty, but in Görlitz we
   found the familiar eastern Germany we know, small, well-kept and
   empty, which we didn't want to leave behind.  At Görlitz station
   there was an amusing moment when a Deutsche Bahn employee asked if we
   were going to Dresden, and when we said yes, she smiled at us and
   disappeared.

   Another wonderful trip with a good friend on a sweltering but
   cheerful day.  What more could you want?  And today is actually the
   summer solstice too, I nearly forgot.  Just another interesting
   addition to the mix of circumstances.  I'm writing this on the train
   from Leipzig to Jeßnitz, and when I get home I'll process the photos
   I took.  There aren't many this time, but each one captures the mood
   of today's little adventure perfectly.





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