This day was my last day on this wonderful journey. The day began as usual with a cup of good black coffee. There was a lot of hassle with packing and seeing everyone before I left.
So being my last day, I decided to explore some underground bunkers dating back to WW2. As said before in the previous blogs- Szczecin is laced with them. When war began and Szczecin became a target for bombing, locals have started constructing underground bunkers to hide in. The sirens would sometimes go off a couple of times in the day which would be a warning that planes are approaching and the bombing could occur. The bunkers started expanding with years, connecting with one another which allowed a safe access to different parts of the city, all underground. There was also a number of bunker shelters build next to houses of the locals (such as my house when I was residing there). These would provide a quick access to safety when under attack. Szczecin back then, was a part of Germany, which meant that it was bombed by number of countries, one consistent date being 20th April, which was hitlers birthday.
The number of bunkers are closed down or inaccessible nowadays, due to safety reasons or flooding. But there is a number of them in a city which are open to public. One particular which is open for underground tours. It opened recently, so although I have seen many unofficial bunkers, I haven’t managed to explore this specific one yet. It’s apparently the biggest bunker in Szczecin which also involves a nuclear shelter. The tour costs 28zl which is equivalent to about £6.
I rushed in to the train station, never being in this place I almost got lost due to some closed entrances. The entrance to the bunkers was on Platform 1, you had to go down underground using steps to get to the entrance. It felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie, going into a secret passageway, another world perhaps, a break from reality.
The tour guide has introduced us to the process of the trip and the route we will take. The tour starts at 12 pm every day. Which was the shortest one, taking about an hour. There’s also a 2-hour route, which takes place on Saturday, or can be booked separately if that’s preferable. They also do Birthday Parties …. (that’s not a joke). So, if you know of an 8-year-old, that wants to spend their birthday in a dark, gloomy, damp nuclear shelter bunker…. You better invest in booking that amazing place… and possibly a therapist.
The tour guide, introduced us to some background history of Szczecin. The fun fact is that Szczecin has actually been existing since 8th century…. It’s been a long time hehe
Most of the background story obviously evolved around the time of war. He gave a lot of deep and thought-provoking information about the conditions during the war and what life in Szczecin looked like back then.
Families would have something like an emergency suitcase. Which would be packed with essentials, ready to grab in case of a bombing. The tension of the war started crumbling Szczecin, especially towards the end of the war when the fight for the city began, demolishing this beautiful place in the process. A lot of history survived however, the gothic and renaissance style buildings and historic monuments giving an amazing feel to the city today, some of which I shared in my previous blogs.
The tour was very restricted on the image taking, which is bad news. However, I did get permission to share some of the photos which will give you an idea of what the ambience of the place is like.
It was surreal being there, standing on the ground that other people stood on years and years back. I imagined what they were feeling when being there during the time of war. Being in this cold place, surrounded by walls. Fear would be one of the things I could imagine, but certainly it was better to be there than in the city during the bombings.
The bunkers have a standard temperature all year round. I’m not entirely sure but I think he mentioned it was 3 degrees. No matter what temperature would be outside, the temperature in the bunkers would always be solid. There were specific stay rooms for children and pregnant women that would have some heaters and also a bed. Beds or benches were a luxury, as putting them in the bunkers would normally be avoided due to lack of space and also obstacles which would get in the way when moving fast in the dark, during bombing. The room for elderly, had a bench and a medication box which would hold meds. Some stickers dating the war were still on, which I thought was pretty cool.
The bunkers a lot of times would have lights off. That’s why the ceiling and the side of the bunker was painted with fluorescent paint so once lights are off, would lead through pitch dark corridors of bunkers. We got a demonstration -which was an interesting experience, once again, deepening us into the insight of what the people had to experience while walking the tunnels of this bunker back in the war.
We had a look at some artefacts of war such as guns and bombs, and also some photos presenting the city before war, after war destruction struck and also people who lived there.
There was a lot of interesting tips and perks throughout the journey. For example, one massive corridor – was filled with a line of mannequins showing fashion and typical dress code of the time period.
The bunker was also used to film some movies, therefore one of the rooms was used to present the costumes and props that were used in the film.
What I kept thinking about, is how awesome it would be if they utilized the space to do some zombie maze runs. I would soo… be down for that idea!
We walked through corridors, steps, going up, going down…. Like in a maze. Until we reached the end, it seemed to me like we were getting further away from the entrance but in reality, we just did a full circle. I would soo….. get lost in this place hehe.
I loved this experience, and urge anyone that’s visiting the city to try it out. Not only educational, it’s quite a unique activity which will surely make some unforgettable memories.
The day was amazing so far filled with so much adventure. I wanted to also involve some snow shots of one of the parks in Poland, before I left to catch the plane. A small stroll around the park to finish this journey sounded like an ideal way to end this holiday.
(Ruins in the forest, of an old Mansion which stood there before WW2)
After this eventful day of exploring, I rushed off to catch my plane back to the UK!
And after a cold, but calm day, I get to the airport to experience an intense snow storm.
(Selfie)
I think it’s apparent my plane journey was delayed, the hours just kept dragging along while I was sitting on the airport, listening to my favorite songs on MP3 and watching the snow fall down, while eating my bagel.
(Close-up of a snow flake)
The time came where my plane landed and we were ready to board, the whole flying crew was nervous and took extra time to point out precautions and the emergency procedures. I’ve been on a plane many times before but never seen people so paranoid. They washed the ice off the wings, they put me in an emergency exit and went through emergency exit procedures making sure I know what to do in case we crash….. so much for relaxing flight back eh? We had to have our seat belts on at all times throughout the flight, and boy….. did the plane shake…..
But I wasn’t stressing…. Not sure why…. I mean the whole situation was quite nerve wrecking, but I was there.. sitting and watching a movie, without a care in the world. I didn’t get my coffee on the airport, so until I got my coffee I decided to ignore outside world and deal with issues as they come rather than stress about them. *coffee maniac here
We landed, I was glad to be back on the ground safe! I heard that multiple flights and airports were shut down due to the weather… because as it turned out…. The whole UK was covered in SNOW! Now, that was a surprise….. In the 10 years I’ve lived there I’ve never seen the snow outstretch into so many places within the uk! And it was heavy snow too! Although tired and half- asleep, the road back was stunning me with beauty. Trees covered with white outline, everything bright and magical… like in a movie. I stopped on the side of the road to enjoy a bit of the snow ball fight before heading back to the car and collapsing from lack of energy. The roads weren’t easy back, we had to be extra careful driving because of ice and heavy snow, but we got back in the end.
(Selfie in the snow)
Yes, it was such a long day, and I had a wonderful time in Poland, catching up with people there and exploring some winter gems of places! But after all that, I was just glad to be back home in my bed. I love snow, but boy does it make it hard to travel sometimes…. Hehe
I hope you enjoyed these posts about Szczecin, it is truly a wonderful place which has a lot more to offer than what I showed…. and if I ever travel there in better weather, I’ll make sure to continue showing you the wonderful places in this area. But for time being, I hope that the little insights into adventures I had there, have been as fun for you as they were for me!
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Marta!