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Published: December 8th 2014
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We settled down in Przemysl rail station to wait for our return chariot to Rzeszow. The waiting room was nice and warm and must have been too comfortable. We were now experts in the pronounciation and were possibly sat congratulating ourselves. We could say where we'd been......... "Shem shell" ........ or is it "Shem ish"........ and to where we were heading back to ..........."Chez ow". The latter must be said at speed or they will still look at you as though you've just landed from the moon. Mind, plenty of people do that at work and there is a big difference between Teesside and the moon. There was a misjudgement in how long it would take to wander across to Platform 3, but we made it with a few minutes to spare. It could have transpired to be a 10 Zloty mistake, but all was well - not quite as tragic as missing a connection back home.
The vacant seats were directly over a heater buried in the seat frame. Trains in Poland might not be the quickest, but they certainly pass the temperature test. It was so hot, that I moved to another vacant seat when the opportunity arose.The
train ground to a halt half way at a station I forget. The announcement in Polish went way over our head, but no-one seemed too surprised and within 20 minutes or so, we were back on track.
We arrived back in Rzeszow, hoping to find more on offer during daylight hours than the after dark kebabs and strip club touts. In one sense it is thriving compared to Premsyl, but in other ways it lies confused between the East and the West. We reinstalled ourselves back in the Hotel Grein, which was once again buzzing with conference activity. The loyal custom was appreciated and we seemed to be upgraded to a business class room twice the size of our weekend domain. We are easily pleased and were still getting over the fact that elctricity points actually worked to charge a camera or a phone.
Rzeszow is very much made up of the old and the new. The hotel was just across the River Wislok which skirts the old centre. The high rise flats and business parks dominate here, although none in the same way as the Merkury Market. The prominent position on the junction is not enough and
it blares out music and promotional propaganda during business hours to entice you into the home improvement heaven. It was obviously a popular venue.
The Old Town square is very pretty. The more expensive hotels congregate around it and bars take the remaining space. The Town Hall lies stranded somewhere in the middle. A Czech bar was well recommended by the original taxi driver, but seemed a little soulless. Why pay more for the imported product? It ws possibly the most expensive beer of the trip. The Peaky Blinders Bar looked a better bet. It is a concept that is taking over the world. The exterior sported an old photograph and the inside transpired to be full of the same. We would have to be careful not to cross the eyes of Arthur. We would no doubt find out later. There was a need of daylight photographs of Resovia’s ground. It was a cold November afternoon, so it was some surprise to see a groups of attractive young athletes hammering round the perimeter track. The Man in the Middle rested in the Main Stand and perused the view, whilst I headed around to the far side in pursuit of
Corner Bar
.............. green beer a panorama. The tiny away end was laced with barbed wire to prevent an early escape. although as we found out a few days previous with Motor Lublin the really serious opposition never get the chance to test out the fences.
Food was the order of the day. The Man in the Middle grew up with pierogi. Confused? Think Eastern European pasta with more butter. They are traditionally filled with potato. On this occasion, we opted for meat. The cafe had origins in Lviv, so we were esily persuaded on to the bottled Ukrainian beer. The other customers were not so keen and departed without ordering on discovery of no draught Tsykie. We sampled the souless Czech bar and were irritated by a local drunk, who attempted unsuccessfully to shre his meal with us in the Peaky Blinder bar. It was a shame as we quite liked it in there, but we couldn't cope with the irritation - harmless as our food friend was! As possibly expected if you have read our previous blog from Rzeszow, the Corner Bar loomed. The 10 Zloty was ready for the pruchase, so it was with some surprise that change materialised - 3
Rzeszow
............ Old Town Square Zloty to be precise! It was Happy Hour. I know we said we could quite get to like it here, but 75 pence a pint is ridiculous - especially in pretty square. The wifi signal was a bit weak, but if you read a tripadvisor review giving 2 stars or something - ignore it and at those prices proceed straight in. We were then confronted with something neither of us had ever seen - green beer. It looked like normal beer. It tasted like normal beer. It was quite passable and possibly a lot weaker than the normal poison brew, but it still looked like somebody had been sick in it before it came over the bar!
There are only so many times you can look at the Square, so we investigated the local museum circuit. A military museum had caught our eye, but the door remained firmly shut past the 10 am opening. We went round the block a couple of times and it was still shut. A peak through the windows suggested no floors and possible refurbishment. The museum about culture in the Old Town square is worth skillfully avoiding. We hung our coats up. The lady
Rzeszow
................ appealing to the shopper who had relived us of 7 Zloty didn't exactly look surprised when reappeared about 10 minutes later to reclaim them. It passed the temperature test though - maybe that was what we paid for - and we were soon out on the cold again.
The streets of Rzeszow are adorned with statues. The majority are your usual "man on horse" warrior or statesman of old. The one that stands out is that of Tadeusz Nalepa - apparently the father of Polish blues - who went to college in the town. He stands -guitar in hand - amongst the shoppers, doing a passable impression of Rory Gallagher. It inspires you to listen to his material. The colourful colourful litter bins are a nice touch. Bins covered in flowers add colour to the drab, dull winter scene and possibly confuse Polish insects in warmer months.
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