Lost in Lodz

Losz is acutally pronounced more like Wootch but that doesn't work with my title!

I wandered south to a district called Księży Młyn, which was home to a lot of old textile bulidings during the instustrial era. Nowadays they are being revamped as cafes, restaraunts and galleries housed in these distinctive large, red brick buildings. Spotting a promo, I had a nice 'business' lunch from a set menu. As I was paying, the guy noticed my accent, turns out he worked at a deli in Edinburgh which I'd been to,  sometimes it's a small world!

Strolling back through the park, saw the unexpected sights of a red squirell, didn't know they lived here. Also in the park was a botanic glass house (this one was open). It wasn't too humid, around 50% in the main section, and lower in an adjoined desert section. Another unexpected surprise was the fish tanks which seems to house huge fish, the heat must make them grow faster!

Lodz was apparently the Polish Holywood, back in the day, hence the existence of the Cinema museum. This showcased the old move making scene with lots of cameras, props and costumes. Maps of Lodz show an explosion of cinemas, now mostly gone. Near the end a mocked up video store showed the glory days of VHS rentals, with 80/90s blockbusters, split into sections such as Sportowe, Fantastyka, Historyczne and Godzilla.

I jumped on the bus, but it veered off were I was epecting it to go, so hit the top button and ended up back at the train station where I had initially arrived. Deja vu. Back in the centre of town, a statue stands on a tall column, cosily wearing a t-shirt. This feels like the equivalent of a statue with a traffic cone on his head.

Nosing down a side street, there is a rather strange sight of an ordinary residential building which has been jazzed up by an artist. They have placed crazed mirror over the entire surface causing it to gline and shimmer in the sunlight.

 The main street with runs through Lodz is the very long and semi-pedianstrised Piotrkowska Street, the heart of the city. I'd popped into a fancy looking bar for a drink, regretting it when I saw their prices :) exiting later, the sun had set, and the street was rather lively. The majority of cafes are licensed and affiilated with a specific brand of beer displayed on the overhanging sun shades e.g. Tyskie, Książęce, Żywiec. So mostly pointing at the menu as trying to pronounce them wasn't very successful! One of the more unusual bars is Ministerstwo Śledzia i Wódki which serves up herring & vodka. Further down when things seem to be thinning out, there is OFF another cluster of bars/restaurants. There were putting up some large metal flamingos there for some reason! Even had a fresh flower vending machine.

Next day it was time for some breakfast, ended up in a trendy cafe, where they seemed to be doing a morning photoshoot for the instagram crowd, then there is me making the place look untidy. I went to visit the Art Museum but was greeted by a notice that it Saturday was the Night Of The Museum and opening hours were now 18:00-00:00. Went for dinner at a Polish restaurant, had Bigos which is a kind of stew with smoked sausage & bacon accompanies by some hefty bread with something like hummus.

Had another go at the museum, and it was very popular and busy (maybe cos it was all free!). In between popped into a large mall, Manufaktura, near the top of Piotrkowsk. Large area outside it for community events, seemed to have some sort of powerlifting competion, as guys standing on either side of a barbell competed for reps.