"I, I can remember... standing by the wall”
It’s interesting that every single train station in the former eastern bloc is a dump. Szczecin is no exception, with a lack of information about trains on the actual platforms, unclear signs (a ridiculous division of platforms into tracks), and drunks loitering everywhere - the entire place permeated with a smell of stale urine (since it costs something to use the toilet, the average drunk will take a piss at a random location round the station).
Oh, and there is the issue of punctuality with the trains. Thanks to lateness, I missed the connection to Berlin at Pasewalk, and was forced to sit out 40 mins for a slower service. I went for a walk.
After all the money poured into reunification, the former DDR, still feels like the former DDR. People here still cultivate the art of the mullet and dodgy moustache. Having said that, there are definitely regional variations, as the white-trash kids are a lot more ‘hip’ than their Polish counterparts. Instead of the dirty tracksuits, it is more likely that they will be wearing cams. Instead of shaven heads, they will have a funky ’do’ with colour laced through it. And there will be coloured piercings in funny places.
Housing-wise, Pasewalk is an interesting mix. Parts of the medieval fortifications have been re-built, and there are nice paved roads with sidewalks. The tastless DDR-era 3 storey housing estates that dominate the town have also had a bit of money spent on making them look friendlier. There is a square in the middle of town, flanked with 19thC houses, that seems altogether too large in proportion to the rest of it.
Near the station, it’s a different story. There is a large derelict hotel, and the house next to it also seems derelict. There’s still plaster missing from WWII bullets. Posters advertising gigs of bands with names like ‘Satanic Slaughter’ adorn the walls. Further up, there’s a an undertaker and an urn specialist on the other side of the road. Then there’s the butcher’s – possibly the only butcher’s shop in the world that serves coffee and beer. What’s more disturbing, is that people seem to be constantly partaking in these services as an active part of their social life.
In Berlin, I got myself to the outer burbs and ran to the Georgian embassy, knowing I had only an hour thanks to the missed connection. The pleasant man at the embassy told me that I had to come back the next day anyway. But I thought I’d interrogate him first. Good idea, as it turns out that the Berlin embassy doesn’t issue visas to non-residents of Germany. He told me to get my visa in Turkey.
For some reason I found all this incredibly amusing. Germany is a funny place. The park on the way to the embassy had a DDR-era statue, 19thCentury gates and an enclosure with 2 sheep and a goat. There were three nursing homes in the area which surrounded a sports oval. The trip back took 5 hours thanks to shitty connections.
Oh, and there is the issue of punctuality with the trains. Thanks to lateness, I missed the connection to Berlin at Pasewalk, and was forced to sit out 40 mins for a slower service. I went for a walk.
After all the money poured into reunification, the former DDR, still feels like the former DDR. People here still cultivate the art of the mullet and dodgy moustache. Having said that, there are definitely regional variations, as the white-trash kids are a lot more ‘hip’ than their Polish counterparts. Instead of the dirty tracksuits, it is more likely that they will be wearing cams. Instead of shaven heads, they will have a funky ’do’ with colour laced through it. And there will be coloured piercings in funny places.
Housing-wise, Pasewalk is an interesting mix. Parts of the medieval fortifications have been re-built, and there are nice paved roads with sidewalks. The tastless DDR-era 3 storey housing estates that dominate the town have also had a bit of money spent on making them look friendlier. There is a square in the middle of town, flanked with 19thC houses, that seems altogether too large in proportion to the rest of it.
Near the station, it’s a different story. There is a large derelict hotel, and the house next to it also seems derelict. There’s still plaster missing from WWII bullets. Posters advertising gigs of bands with names like ‘Satanic Slaughter’ adorn the walls. Further up, there’s a an undertaker and an urn specialist on the other side of the road. Then there’s the butcher’s – possibly the only butcher’s shop in the world that serves coffee and beer. What’s more disturbing, is that people seem to be constantly partaking in these services as an active part of their social life.
In Berlin, I got myself to the outer burbs and ran to the Georgian embassy, knowing I had only an hour thanks to the missed connection. The pleasant man at the embassy told me that I had to come back the next day anyway. But I thought I’d interrogate him first. Good idea, as it turns out that the Berlin embassy doesn’t issue visas to non-residents of Germany. He told me to get my visa in Turkey.
For some reason I found all this incredibly amusing. Germany is a funny place. The park on the way to the embassy had a DDR-era statue, 19thCentury gates and an enclosure with 2 sheep and a goat. There were three nursing homes in the area which surrounded a sports oval. The trip back took 5 hours thanks to shitty connections.
posted by nekonote1903 at 3:50 am
1 Comments:
Hey Krys,
Still enjoying reading about your travels. Great stuff. Keep writing.
I'll be in China from Feb 23 to May 25. Come visit.
Embrace the hate...
Col.
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