Regret that you don't remember the 1990s in Poland, or 20 years ago in Poland. Then we were entering the European Union, and Polish stations and Polish trains looked like those in deep Russia or India or some Third World country. "Stink, dirt and poverty" - such a Polish proverb. We are approximately the same age, so I would be interested in how similar the state of American railways was then and now compared to the progress of Poland. Such long-distance journeys took place in compartment wagons, making it easier for thieves and criminals to commit robberies. There was no mini-toring, and gangs of thieves terrorized passengers and PKP employees. At night, people locked themselves in a compartment with wire. Trains very slow and unpunctual. I remember when the winters were hard and a snowstorm blew through the open hole in the toilet and the water froze. The train stopped in the middle of the forest because there was a power failure and suddenly it became very cold. All the stations looked like a gathering place for drug addicts and homeless people. They approached customers at the cash register with an infected needle and demanded alms. What were the advantages of those times - I'm talking about the 90s? Firstly, people did not have cars in such large numbers and they traveled en masse by public transport, which was generally ecological. Secondly, trains were relatively cheap, as was all public transport, apart from the so-called first class, which then looked like today's second class in the worst compartment - a pull-out seat and a lamp above the head. Thirdly, in those days there were more local connections, especially in western Poland to every village. These were beautiful, landscaped lines, closed due to unprofitability. Today, all that remains of them are bicycle paths. This is a positive legacy of the German invaders, who always developed railway connections wherever they ruled. Fourthly, PKP was a centralized, single enterprise, so you could buy a ticket in any village, even the smallest railway stop. EVERY place like this employed at least a cashier. These were charming pre-war buildings, often with toilets, waiting rooms, mini-luggage rooms and station bars. Today, the most often renovated platform is an empty platform without any infrastructure - only a glass shelter and layout. You could, for example, buy a ticket valid on a given line at a given time and get off and on subsequent trains, visit individual cities Fifthly, there were no mobile phones, people talked to each other, often got to know each other and exchanged addresses, making lifelong friendships. You could disconnect from the company only by reading a book or pretending to sleep :D Traveling together often ended with drinking alcoholic beverages and helping each other with products because the food in WARS bars was expensive. In general, there was such a "community".
Your response reminds me of when I was on a train in the late 90s traveling from Yaroslavl Russia to Saint Petersburg. No technology, just myself and another student among strangers on an overnight train. There was something fun about that adventure. I don't miss the toilets one bit. But I can imagine what Poland trains might have been like in the 90s based on that trip alone. I have seen first hand all the new stations being built up while smaller routes have been closed. Bad and good. Thanks for sharing what you did. Always good to get a bigger picture of how things have changed. @jarekjaroslaw3307
@@TravelwithMrJon What? An American citizen in Russia in the 1990s? Back then, Poland was quite a "wild" and dangerous country, poor and mafia-ridden. And what about Russia! Did you study in Russia? You've seen more than me in a world similar to the one I grew up in. You know the atmosphere of those years, so you know what I'm writing about. In those years, a foreigner from Western Europe was a rarity as a passenger in PKP, let alone an American in such an "open-air museum" as Russia. You also need to know that when the railway was built on Polish lands, there was no Poland as a country. It was occupied by three invaders - Russia, Austria-Hungary and Prussia (Germany). If you look at today's PKP network, you will see a "map of the partitions". The most developed network was in the German part, less developed in the Austrian part, and of course the least developed in the Russian part. However, it was in the latter that the first line in Poland and at the same time in the entire Russian Empire was built (1839) between Warsaw and Piaseczno, probably the later beginning of the Warsaw-Vienna railway. When Poland regained independence, it had three railway systems inherited from the partitioners, including wide tracks in the Russian part. Nevertheless, in the 1930s, Polish railways were better and more punctual than in communist times, and from Krakow to Zakopane, for example, it is only now as fast as then. In the years 1936-39, the fastest train in the world, "Flying Ślązak", departed from Bytom, which belongs to Germany, near Katowice. He traveled through Gliwice, Opole and Wrocław to Berlin in 4.5 hours!!!. Yes, it's true!!. After World War II, the Red Army successively robbed the German territories and railway infrastructure allocated to Poland. The areas that were electrified in the 1930s were only re-electrified in the 1980s and 1990s, and some still do not have it. There was also an incredible regression and technological return in 1945 to the era of steam and the speed of the first trains from the 19th century. The "Flying Silesian" train line, which marked the 21st century in the 1930s, today looks like a minor, unused line.
Wow, I didn't know about the fastest train in the world. And yes I actually spent time studying twice in Russia in the 90s. Early 90s in Crimea with a trip to Moscow thrown in and then late 90s for Yaroslavl. Was certainly different in both areas. It's funny you mention the train from Krakow to Zakopane. I never took that route but I swear it's faster to take the bus :) @@jarekjaroslaw3307
Rail route Szczecin - Poznan is under huge reconstruction and some major stations ( Stargard for example ) are completely renewed with new, simplified track layout.
@TravelwithMrJon still, it's 1€ compared to 10€/h minimum wage, not 4,50 out of 10! Poland is ridiculously and insanely expensive compared to the earnings. World prices and Belarus/Russian wages.
I'll make politically incorrect journey here .... Forgive me please! Polans were tribes living east of Berlin, actually all around Poznan, the word "Polana" is a word which means a small field in the forest, it does not actually mean big open Field. Having said that Polans did subjugate other tribes: Vistulans - around Karkow, Mazovians around Plock, Warsaw, Pomeranians later-on the statue in Gdansk was actually a statue of Swietopelek the leader of Pomeranians he wasn't Polish.... etc... Polans had the highest military organization etc... till this day Poznan and the whole region has the best economy, organization, the quality of work etc.... What's more WielkoPolska - Greater Poland and MaloPolska - Lesser Poland reminds me how Russians call Ukrainians - Khokhols(even worse slur, in Poland though it is a mystic creature) or Malo-Rus - Little Russian or stgh... ultimately Greater Poland conquered Lesser Poland to be honest. So yes Greater Poland, old Polish capital Gniezno etc... the heart of Poland beofre the Union with Lithuania and taking over modern Belarus and Ukraine.
Funny how English wiki does not really explain how offensive this word really is, especially during this "special op" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Russia
Small field lol... And think for over a year I thought it just meant fields :) Land of fields. Thank you for the history lesson as always. @perkunlitewski
@@TravelwithMrJon Back then Poland was mainly forest with some small forest fields, literally when you go to the forest in Poland people call those small fields Polana. if you interested you can read about Swietopelek wiki/Świętopełk_II,_Duke_of_Pomerania en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samborides
1:36 I'm starting to suspect that you're deliberately confusing a rooster with an eagle. This may backfire on you. I won't be surprised if an eagle shoots you from above with its ammunition 😅😅😅 So you visited Szczecin because of women. This explains it all, a guy will do anything for women 🤭 Good thing it wasn't Train to Busan 😂
@nonperson22 I had a bald eagle scare me once. It was perched up on a tree branch. I swear the thing was going to swoop down and peck me to death. I have never seen such a big, intimidating bird in my life. I'll take my chances with a rooster lol
Thank you for visiting my city of Szczecin and I wish you a pleasant stay in Poznań😊
@mrwr7308 Thanks. It was a good experience for sure.
Regret that you don't remember the 1990s in Poland, or 20 years ago in Poland. Then we were entering the European Union, and Polish stations and Polish trains looked like those in deep Russia or India or some Third World country. "Stink, dirt and poverty" - such a Polish proverb. We are approximately the same age, so I would be interested in how similar the state of American railways was then and now compared to the progress of Poland.
Such long-distance journeys took place in compartment wagons, making it easier for thieves and criminals to commit robberies. There was no mini-toring, and gangs of thieves terrorized passengers and PKP employees. At night, people locked themselves in a compartment with wire. Trains very slow and unpunctual. I remember when the winters were hard and a snowstorm blew through the open hole in the toilet and the water froze. The train stopped in the middle of the forest because there was a power failure and suddenly it became very cold.
All the stations looked like a gathering place for drug addicts and homeless people. They approached customers at the cash register with an infected needle and demanded alms.
What were the advantages of those times - I'm talking about the 90s?
Firstly, people did not have cars in such large numbers and they traveled en masse by public transport, which was generally ecological.
Secondly, trains were relatively cheap, as was all public transport, apart from the so-called first class, which then looked like today's second class in the worst compartment - a pull-out seat and a lamp above the head.
Thirdly, in those days there were more local connections, especially in western Poland to every village. These were beautiful, landscaped lines, closed due to unprofitability. Today, all that remains of them are bicycle paths. This is a positive legacy of the German invaders, who always developed railway connections wherever they ruled.
Fourthly, PKP was a centralized, single enterprise, so you could buy a ticket in any village, even the smallest railway stop. EVERY place like this employed at least a cashier. These were charming pre-war buildings, often with toilets, waiting rooms, mini-luggage rooms and station bars. Today, the most often renovated platform is an empty platform without any infrastructure - only a glass shelter and layout.
You could, for example, buy a ticket valid on a given line at a given time and get off and on subsequent trains, visit individual cities
Fifthly, there were no mobile phones, people talked to each other, often got to know each other and exchanged addresses, making lifelong friendships. You could disconnect from the company only by reading a book or pretending to sleep :D Traveling together often ended with drinking alcoholic beverages and helping each other with products because the food in WARS bars was expensive. In general, there was such a "community".
Your response reminds me of when I was on a train in the late 90s traveling from Yaroslavl Russia to Saint Petersburg. No technology, just myself and another student among strangers on an overnight train. There was something fun about that adventure. I don't miss the toilets one bit. But I can imagine what Poland trains might have been like in the 90s based on that trip alone. I have seen first hand all the new stations being built up while smaller routes have been closed. Bad and good. Thanks for sharing what you did. Always good to get a bigger picture of how things have changed. @jarekjaroslaw3307
@@TravelwithMrJon What? An American citizen in Russia in the 1990s? Back then, Poland was quite a "wild" and dangerous country, poor and mafia-ridden. And what about Russia! Did you study in Russia? You've seen more than me in a world similar to the one I grew up in. You know the atmosphere of those years, so you know what I'm writing about. In those years, a foreigner from Western Europe was a rarity as a passenger in PKP, let alone an American in such an "open-air museum" as Russia.
You also need to know that when the railway was built on Polish lands, there was no Poland as a country. It was occupied by three invaders - Russia, Austria-Hungary and Prussia (Germany). If you look at today's PKP network, you will see a "map of the partitions". The most developed network was in the German part, less developed in the Austrian part, and of course the least developed in the Russian part. However, it was in the latter that the first line in Poland and at the same time in the entire Russian Empire was built (1839) between Warsaw and Piaseczno, probably the later beginning of the Warsaw-Vienna railway. When Poland regained independence, it had three railway systems inherited from the partitioners, including wide tracks in the Russian part. Nevertheless, in the 1930s, Polish railways were better and more punctual than in communist times, and from Krakow to Zakopane, for example, it is only now as fast as then.
In the years 1936-39, the fastest train in the world, "Flying Ślązak", departed from Bytom, which belongs to Germany, near Katowice. He traveled through Gliwice, Opole and Wrocław to Berlin in 4.5 hours!!!. Yes, it's true!!. After World War II, the Red Army successively robbed the German territories and railway infrastructure allocated to Poland. The areas that were electrified in the 1930s were only re-electrified in the 1980s and 1990s, and some still do not have it. There was also an incredible regression and technological return in 1945 to the era of steam and the speed of the first trains from the 19th century. The "Flying Silesian" train line, which marked the 21st century in the 1930s, today looks like a minor, unused line.
Wow, I didn't know about the fastest train in the world. And yes I actually spent time studying twice in Russia in the 90s. Early 90s in Crimea with a trip to Moscow thrown in and then late 90s for Yaroslavl. Was certainly different in both areas. It's funny you mention the train from Krakow to Zakopane. I never took that route but I swear it's faster to take the bus :) @@jarekjaroslaw3307
Rail route Szczecin - Poznan is under huge reconstruction and some major stations ( Stargard for example ) are completely renewed with new, simplified track layout.
@mecx7322 you see in the vlog Stargard for sure. It's all torn up...in the renewal process.
@@TravelwithMrJonThanks for info.
6:33 "Wagons"?
Did you just incorporate a Polish word for train car?! 😁 😁 😁
lol not intentionally... @Dreju78 :)
4,50 to piss or 💩? This is insane!!! Some people still make 10 zł an hour, so they have to work have an hour to be able to poo in a public place...
I agree it’s crazy to me too @Nieczynny
This is insane. In Western World toilets are for free.
At some of the smaller train stations the cost is free. I find at larger cities not so much.
@TravelwithMrJon still, it's 1€ compared to 10€/h minimum wage, not 4,50 out of 10! Poland is ridiculously and insanely expensive compared to the earnings. World prices and Belarus/Russian wages.
Quite true. I think it's high for sure.@@Truthtellerhere666
@@Truthtellerhere666 Minimalne wynagrodzenie w Polsce to 23,90 zł na godzinę netto (na rękę).
I'll make politically incorrect journey here .... Forgive me please!
Polans were tribes living east of Berlin, actually all around Poznan, the word "Polana" is a word which means a small field in the forest, it does not actually mean big open Field.
Having said that Polans did subjugate other tribes: Vistulans - around Karkow, Mazovians around Plock, Warsaw, Pomeranians later-on the statue in Gdansk was actually a statue of Swietopelek the leader of Pomeranians he wasn't Polish.... etc...
Polans had the highest military organization etc... till this day Poznan and the whole region has the best economy, organization, the quality of work etc....
What's more WielkoPolska - Greater Poland and MaloPolska - Lesser Poland reminds me how Russians call Ukrainians - Khokhols(even worse slur, in Poland though it is a mystic creature) or Malo-Rus - Little Russian or stgh... ultimately Greater Poland conquered Lesser Poland to be honest.
So yes Greater Poland, old Polish capital Gniezno etc... the heart of Poland beofre the Union with Lithuania and taking over modern Belarus and Ukraine.
Funny how English wiki does not really explain how offensive this word really is, especially during this "special op"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Russia
Small field lol... And think for over a year I thought it just meant fields :) Land of fields. Thank you for the history lesson as always. @perkunlitewski
@@TravelwithMrJon Back then Poland was mainly forest with some small forest fields, literally when you go to the forest in Poland people call those small fields Polana.
if you interested you can read about Swietopelek
wiki/Świętopełk_II,_Duke_of_Pomerania
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samborides
I'll take a look. Thanks! @@perkunlitewski
@@TravelwithMrJon No worries, I love Poznan, I'm biased of course...
1:36 I'm starting to suspect that you're deliberately confusing a rooster with an eagle. This may backfire on you. I won't be surprised if an eagle shoots you from above with its ammunition 😅😅😅
So you visited Szczecin because of women. This explains it all, a guy will do anything for women 🤭
Good thing it wasn't Train to Busan 😂
@nonperson22 I had a bald eagle scare me once. It was perched up on a tree branch. I swear the thing was going to swoop down and peck me to death. I have never seen such a big, intimidating bird in my life. I'll take my chances with a rooster lol