What a cracking city Scott! Katowice has also changed quite a bit, and Alicja has told me all about the beautiful old train station, ripped down and replaced by a faceless mall. I found this video really interesting - I lived in Devonport New Zealand 25 years ago, and have always wondered whether to go back or keep the memories locked in as they were. I do think there is always a wide eyed excitement for a new place that will never be there when you return, but that’s not saying it shouldn’t be done. Excellent work Sir!
Thanks Steve. It's strange, but there are a few locations around Scotland which I can remember from decades ago, and then switch to a memory made just this year. Fortunately my brain doesn't delete or write-over old memories. They live in separate filing cabinets.
Poland has been a country of the fastest economical progress in Europe for last 30 years and general forecasts are still optimistic despite of high inflation rates. So when you come after next 8 years you will see different Poland as well.
I was in Warsaw briefly in November 2022 and there were so many changes there was well. Poland definitely seems to be a country with her eyes focussed on the future. It's an amazing place.
The problem with many old buildings in Poland is a complicated ownership structure - a property has over a dozen or more shareholders which cannot compromise. Or some private investor bought a property from falling company with occasional price, but doesn't have enough money for refurbishment or addopting it on new purpose.
I returned to Singapore after 55 years, from a 13 year old to a 68 year old. Almost everything had changed. TH-cam bridges that gap and prepares you for the changes. In Singapores' case the heat, humidity and rain were an enduring memory and they haven't changed.
Did you enjoy it as much Robert? I recently returned to my beloved city of London after a 30 year gap. I can't say I was a happy as I expected. Kinda just felt like just another big city.
@@ernietech-101 Two main things made it special. The black and white bungalows at RAF Seletar which in main are still lived in and preserved. I lived in one of these in the 1950's as a child. Also seeing the last surviving village, Kampong Lorong Buankok again preserved and a glimpse of the past. I'd love to go back again.
Thanks for this video! Szczecin is my home town which I left for 8 years ago and I live abroad now. But I love this city and it's really very impressive how fast it is changing in the last years. And it is always interesting to see places you know so good through others peoples eyes :)
Stettin (Szczecin) and Breslau (Wrocław) were part of Germany until 1945, when they were given to Poland by the Allies in the redrawing of the borders. Danzig (Gdańsk) was an independent city state populated primarily by Germans. The German residents of Stettin, Danzig and Breslau were forcibly removed and the cities were repopulated with Poles.
Couldn't agree more Scott. I lived in Dorset for 27 years and went back after a 3 year gap, so much had changed. Hang on to your original memories. Please keep your videos coming.
Scott, your travel videos get better and better. I have Polish friends and I hope to visit the country for the first time with them in the near future. Vivian
Thanks for your comment Vivian. This was a subject which I had asked friends about, and really didn't get a straight answer. Definitely go to Poland - you won't regret it.
I really enjoyed this video Scott. You expressed exactly the words I've been searching for since my return to London this past September ('22). I hadn't been there since the early 90's when I was just a youngster of 35. And all the the visuals and feelings that I had stored away were just itching to be revived. And as you made so clear, should you return? Well I did and It was different. It felt different. I felt different. Even the little town of Blackheath that I ached to return to didn't feel the same. Did I enjoy it? Sure, but not as much as I was hoping I would. Was it me now with a lifetime of experience and an older head? Maybe. Thanks for the wisdom.
There was a 10 year gap between my visits to Edinburgh and while the city hadn't changed much - they were working at the new tram network - all my favourite shops had gone, from Menzies and Bargain Books in Princes Street to all sorts of second hand (book)shops in the Old Town. It's been almost 20 years since that last visit and now the people I knew there are also gone. I considered it a "farewell tour" and that's what it became.
The building of the tram line was a nightmare for shopowners along the route, but if they survived the upheaval, they would reap the benefits. Then Covid came along. Edinburgh was close to losing their UNESCO heritage listing because of modern building plans. As far as I know they have been watered down. However, a few years ago, there was an almighty hoo-haa about felling some of the trees in the Princes Street Gardens. This was to do with 'progress' and the city plans to have more useable event space there, so some trees had to go. It's still a lovely place although the crowds (understandably) are a challenge at times. Some things never change.
Excellent video as always. I think I spotted you at around 1915 on 21/10 at Gretna Service station. I was going to say hello, but it appeared you were with your good lady and was having some issues with the KFC ordering terminal system. 👍🏼
I have an unlimited supply of nonsense, although to be honest, that was one of the more 'deeper' and philosophical videos I have made. Don't worry - normal service has since resumed. Thanks for your comment.
Hahaha, super. I love my city 😁 Nice that you visited us. We invite you again ✌️ You didn't have enough time to see everything. And there is still much to see. 🇵🇱
Scott, you should come back to Szczecin and let me show you my city again, so you can fall in love with it once more! I strongly recommend late spring, the city center is blooming with magnolias (it is Szczecin's siignature flower/tree) and it is just delightful. Let me know when you coming back and let me give you a tour with born and raised Szczecin person 😅 xx
I grew up in Chicago Illinois USA, I lived there for 44 years. I moved away to Colorado USA in 2004. I always loved Chicago and I enjoy visiting it, but it isn't the same city that I grew up in and I always am a bit nostalgic for the old Chicago. Things are so cleaned up, gentrified and neatened, and in that process has lost some of the character and adventure of the old Chicago. So, I understand what you mean. I would love to visit Poland, definitely on our list. Thanks for the great video!
Returning always runs the risk of change but finding something that brought previously good memories is fab. As a football fan, I was hoping you went near Pogon Szczecin FC
I found the same with Berlin. I absolutely loved the place when I first visited, not long after the wall came down. There was so much change on subsequent visits. Last time, 2002 ish, I got completely lost driving through the city - so much had changed.
Great video Scott. Like you we are members of the Accor club and stayed in many good Ibis in Europe. I grew up in Manchester but lived in Parramatta from 1988 to 2017. It was great place in those times but has changed a lot over the past few years. We are now In New Zealand which is a nicer pace of live. Look forward to your next video. Debbie
Thanks Debbie. When I worked for Air NZ I would pop across the water whenever I could, and always thought New Zealand was a much more laid back country. It seemed to have the best of both worlds - the best of Australia and the best of the UK. I remember back in the 1980's the then PM of NZ commented on the movement of people from NZ to Australia. He said something like the population movement helped raise the IQ of both nations! I miss the trans-Tasman banter. :-)
My mum was born in Warsaw and she moved to London in the early 1960s. In 1976, when I was 9 yrs old she took me to visit my grandparents in Warsaw. The country was of course still under the communist regime. My memories are very good though, the streets were so clean, it was forbidden to throw you litter on the pavement. I loved the red trams. The shops were mostly empty though. I recall visiting a lido and at lunchtime on our way to the restaurant I was imagining beefburgers and chips, instead I got boiled cabbage! I did visit a few more times during the next decade, but never after the fall of communism. I don't want to spoil my childhood memories...
Hi Scott. I am a subscriber just catching up on your recent videos. I was intrigued in earlier videos of yours when you talk about growing up in Sydney. So now you have divulged a bit more info about that, we were almost neighbours. I grew up in Beecroft. My father was the only one in his family who was born in Australia. His father & two uncles came to Australia, to Port Pirie, in the 1920's. They were from Motherwell. My grandfather & one of his brothers returned to Scotland & then brought their families back to Sydney. I now live in Adelaide. Anyway, I enjoy you videos. Keep up the good work.
So how long were you living in Australia before you decided to move back to Scotland? And why? Just interested. I have been to Scotland three times during summer & winter. I couldn't imagine living there...
Another great video Scott this video is quite thought provoking I remember of places that I really loved but I've not returned this video got me thinking about revisting places I loved and I have some good memories of I am currently thinking about trips in the next year I may end up revisting some of those places. Because of this video
Thanks for your kind comment Shane. Returning to a loved destination has it's fair share of danger. It's strange, but there are a few locations around Scotland which I can remember from decades ago, and then switch to a memory made just this year. Fortunately the brain doesn't delete or write-over old memories. They live in separate filing cabinets.
Hi Andoni, thanks for the comment. It's something I'm looking at this year. The camcorder I use doesn't have an external mic jack, and I realise the sound quality is poor at times. I also need a wind muff, as my camera picks up the slightest breeze.
I have to agree, that there is a lot of construction going on in Szczecin, so I'm not surprised that you boarded a tram in the wrong direction. As I local I get often confused too.
What a very good point Scott we never really think about when returning everywhere changes and when we all return we all get suporosed one way or other great street at I can't even draw a matchstick man g8 video look forward too next
Great video, Scott. I spent a day there last summer, 2021, meeting an interior designer to plan my new apartment so apart from the river where the river cruise boats are moored and the restaurants are, I saw little. The drive in from the north east coast where I was staying was suffering from horrendous traffic, and there were roadworks everywhere. TBH I found it a bit soul-less on that short vist, but I'd like to go back for a better look sometime.
Did a day trip by rail from Berlin there a few years ago, the rail service to Berlin is very slow and I remember the last few miles were by a bus replacement. The first thing I saw on the border was a huge Amazon depot. Nice city to walk around and there was a nice mall with a Costa Coffee and Zara, worth a visit.
I was in the port of Szczecin in the early 90's on a bulk carrier loading steel for the Far East. A strange port indeed being 30 miles inland from the Baltic sea, access being via a long straight canal that cut through the Polish countryside. Poland had just started the transition from Communism to Capitalism and everything was in a state of confusion. A heady mixture of old and new systems. To buy something in a department store you first had to pay at the cash desk after describing what you wanted to buy. Not knowing a word of Polish but with lots of hand gestures I finally got my ping pong bat and balls!!
i think this video is brilliant Scott, and yes and how the heartbeat of life really changes and how we forget other towns will certainly develop as much as our own one does, whether we witness it or not. us mortals experience the same with bars and eateries i think. but it is a shame really that beautiful old industrial building will eventually give way to a concrete and glass monstrosity. they will blame costings of course and claim a new build to be cheaper for the future of the town and cheaper to build rather than modernise and repurpose. got to love your pendulum comment, i actually ( once ) new a geeza who believed in flat earth, his head was fubar.
There are hundreds of renovated old manufacture/factory buildings in Poland, which are now luxury apartments/hotels or very modern (inside) shopping malls.
I’m originally from Szczecin, after 20 years in the UK I finally returned home. I will say the same thing you said at the end. It’s ok. City is definitely less Polish but roads are getting better. I love Szczecin in the summer and not so much in the winter.
I totally agree with you about Sydney, Even in the past 10 years I haven’t lived in Sydney and the lower blue mountains since 2012 it’s massively changed (Penrith was my main stomping ground for the first 25 years of my life now on the NSW Mid North Coast). But I went to Sydney on the 4 - 6 of October 2022 having not been there for over 2 years since Pre COVID, Although it looked and smelt familiar it just didn’t feel the same almost like it had lost part of its soul. As You should see what they’ve been doing to Central Station, Sure it’s nice to modernise but at the moment it looks like they’ve slapped lipstick on a pig and that’s saying it nicely. There’s no way I’d be able to live back there again, Visit yeah but live there again definitely not.
A few months ago I was having a look on Google Satellite, and was amazed at Sydney's western suburbs sprawl since the 1990s. OK, it's been a few decades, but the place has just taken over the Cumberland Plain. Then I looked at the Central Coast region. What happened there? It's almost continuous urban sprawl all the way to Newcastle. I used to drive up to Tuggerah Lake and Wyong for the day because these places were out in the country. Now it's just suburbia and the great Australian dream.
As a fellow Scotsman my favorite city in Poland is Bydgoszcz. Friends always ask why?? but I just have special memories visiting there. Somewhere that has changed a lot since my last visit is Kraków.
Thanks for your comment. The general concensus with the comments is that things have been booming in Poland recently, and all of the larger cities have seen a ton of investment and changes to their skylines.
I went back to Camp de Mar in Mallorca after 20 years. It's still a pretty resort but two restaurants I loved were either closed or turned into an expensive seafood place. A favourite isolated beach couldn't be got to because the path was degraded and an easy path which took you to Paguera had been made more difficult because a new golf course had been built.
I go to Eastwood every weekend for shopping. The granny smith festival was held there last weekend. Property prices have gone through the roof. I live quite close by.
In July 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landing on the moon, I emailed the headmaster of Eastwood Primary school. I mentioned I was possibly the only person who could remember being there on the 21st July 1969! The moon landing broadcast was played all around the school play areas. I mentioned to her how much Eastwood had changed, and she couldn't agree more. She said I wouldn't recognise the place. I guess property prices have gone nuts because the influx of Chinese (I'm guessing from Hong Kong) and their level of affluence has had an effect on the property market. That's one of my philosophies of life - nothing stays the same for ever.
Nostalgia is a strange beast. We can only make use of it 3 maybe 4 years max after initially visiting it. Leave it more than that, it becomes a foreign country.
Very true, although I think it depends on where you are. I don't think the centre of Paris has changed much since the ugly Centre Pompidou was built in 1977 or the Louvre Pyramid was opened in 1989. Most of the changes are over at the La Defense business district. Paris is the same old Paris in most places.
This year I returned on holiday to North Yorkshire, an area which I loved pretty much and this time it was no different. Barely anything has changed but found out new places to explore over there
Places are never the same, especially if you really enjoyed it, I think that you have probably changed and a bit of nostalgia has got involved? That's my idea anyway.
Hi Julie. Rusty Nails is in semi-retirement at the moment.I haven't broadcasted this to anyone, but not having a car means I have to travel further and further with public transport. This isn't always ideal when carrying a shovel or metal detector or when covered in stinking mud or dirt. The channel was always great fun, and I had a super fan base, so I guess it's a case of never say never. There is one place I really need to explore, and should I go there this spring, Rusty Nails will be there too!
Google Maps is sometimes off. It told me once to get off a station that was still under construction and closed for public. Of course the train did not stop there instead pulled through to the next stop.
I'm surprised no one has corrected you, its pronounced 'Stettin' and if you look at translations and how locals talk about the place. By the way I have visited and worked here on numerous occasions over 30 years, I like the place
It can definitely be a shock when you visit a place for the first time in many years. I visited Barcelona several times before life got in the way and I didn't get to visit it at all between 2008 and 2019. When I went back it just wasn't the same, and I don't think the changes were for the better. It definitely didn't feel as friendly. I don't blame the Catalans for the changes though - overtourism is the main problem I fear.
It took me a while to get my head around a 'peron' and a 'track'. Sometimes the departure boards tell you the peron, but your train could leave from either side of the platform. I agree, Polish food is definately up there with the best. There's no chance of going hungry in Poland.
It's much easier to call it Stettin . It may be in Poland but it's a German city at heart . I have been a few times and loved every minute I was there , warm hearted and super friendly Polish people , but can't change the fact that , like Danzig , its not Polish
Change is the constant is what applies to most places. However in the case of certain places which were built around industries which died out , the towns or cities themselves either followed into oblivion or were gutted and shrunk in size. With globalization many towns and cities are being gentrified and are acquiring an international flavour whether for good or bad . Szczecin looks very beautiful and charming ; just hope they don't take a hammer to the old historical landmarks.
Hi Scott. Like you i first visited Poland in 2014 and i too fell in love with the place. Szczecin was my first stop as we travelled there via Berlin by bus and then it was a 30min train journey to Stargard which is about10-15 miles from Szczecin(thats where my Polish pals are from) I have now been 7 times since and i plan another trip next summer 👍 Loving your uploads Scott cheers for making the effort. peter :)))
I recently revisted a city break but i had already seen everything and i just ended up going to bars. Was a bit of a waste really. I wouldnt go back to most of my city breaks now.
This city was part of Germany until 1945, when it was given to Poland by the Allies in the redrawing of the borders. The German residents of Stettin were forcibly removed and the city was repopulated with Poles.
Remember that Szczecin was founded by Poles, at the beginning this area was Polish, in around 1200 it was conquered by the Germans, then the Swedes, the French, and now it is Poland again :)
I will bet you a crisp Zloty that if you take me back to Poznan I will still bloody love the place. This whole area just seemed to be trying too hard, and really didn't have the attractive city centre my Poznan does.
It seems you are unaware about the origin of Szczecin. Up until the end of WWII it was the German City of Stettin. This is where my German ancestors are from in Pommerania. I have wanted to visit for some time as it is not that far from where I currently live in Leipzig. It is sad that nobody mentions it was a German City, and most of the old Architecture is German, not Polish. I do not blame the Poles for erasing it's history. However I do find it a bit sad, that they appear to have erased it's true history. By the way, I currently live in Germany, but I was born and raised in the USA.
The city's name is not that hard to pronounce, just say like Churchill in the "Iron curtain" speech. Or the proper Polish way: [Shh-te]-[shh-tin] in two syllables
Sketchy area...be careful. Perhaps the owner of the old building wants too much money. Cheaper to have new construction. Everything has to change and its not always good.
@@alfredroyal3473 You want Poland to start claiming its former sphere of influence over Spandów/Kopanica aka Berlin and talking about the old German-Slavic border at the Elbe and Saale rivers?
![ปฏิเสธไม่ไหว (Crush on you) - LIPTA feat. No One Else [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NBw1jF342vw/mqdefault.jpg)
'No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.' Heracilitus
What a cracking city Scott! Katowice has also changed quite a bit, and Alicja has told me all about the beautiful old train station, ripped down and replaced by a faceless mall. I found this video really interesting - I lived in Devonport New Zealand 25 years ago, and have always wondered whether to go back or keep the memories locked in as they were. I do think there is always a wide eyed excitement for a new place that will never be there when you return, but that’s not saying it shouldn’t be done. Excellent work Sir!
Thanks Steve. It's strange, but there are a few locations around Scotland which I can remember from decades ago, and then switch to a memory made just this year. Fortunately my brain doesn't delete or write-over old memories. They live in separate filing cabinets.
Poland has been a country of the fastest economical progress in Europe for last 30 years and general forecasts are still optimistic despite of high inflation rates. So when you come after next 8 years you will see different Poland as well.
I was in Warsaw briefly in November 2022 and there were so many changes there was well. Poland definitely seems to be a country with her eyes focussed on the future. It's an amazing place.
The problem with many old buildings in Poland is a complicated ownership structure - a property has over a dozen or more shareholders which cannot compromise. Or some private investor bought a property from falling company with occasional price, but doesn't have enough money for refurbishment or addopting it on new purpose.
Here in Denmark we solve it by taxing it based on the value of what could be built there. It makes the penniless sell to someone with funds.
I returned to Singapore after 55 years, from a 13 year old to a 68 year old. Almost everything had changed. TH-cam bridges that gap and prepares you for the changes. In Singapores' case the heat, humidity and rain were an enduring memory and they haven't changed.
Did you enjoy it as much Robert? I recently returned to my beloved city of London after a 30 year gap. I can't say I was a happy as I expected. Kinda just felt like just another big city.
@@ernietech-101 Two main things made it special. The black and white bungalows at RAF Seletar which in main are still lived in and preserved. I lived in one of these in the 1950's as a child. Also seeing the last surviving village, Kampong Lorong Buankok again preserved and a glimpse of the past. I'd love to go back again.
Great video.. thank you Scott 😊
Thanks for this video! Szczecin is my home town which I left for 8 years ago and I live abroad now. But I love this city and it's really very impressive how fast it is changing in the last years. And it is always interesting to see places you know so good through others peoples eyes :)
Poland is fantastic in general. I’ve done Wroclaw, Gdańsk and Warsaw so far. Loved them all equally.
Stettin (Szczecin) and Breslau (Wrocław) were part of Germany until 1945, when they were given to Poland by the Allies in the redrawing of the borders. Danzig (Gdańsk) was an independent city state populated primarily by Germans. The German residents of Stettin, Danzig and Breslau were forcibly removed and the cities were repopulated with Poles.
@@flughafentxl Stettin was a Hansestadt, right? It looks like one especially the canals and high gabled buildings.
@@simonh6371 Stettin was indeed a Hansestadt, as indeed was Danzig.
@@flughafentxl Thanks. I knew Danzig was.
@@flughafentxl Germany in 1945 end up badly. Don't start a war never ever.
Great video Scott
Couldn't agree more Scott. I lived in Dorset for 27 years and went back after a 3 year gap, so much had changed. Hang on to your original memories. Please keep your videos coming.
Hi Scot. Look up Polish my Kitchen. A polish lady who married an American. They are based in Szczecin. brilliant channel.
Shall do. I'm always looking for foreign food inspiration, and the grub in Poland was delicious!
Scott, your travel videos get better and better. I have Polish friends and I hope to visit the country for the first time with them in the near future. Vivian
Thanks for your comment Vivian. This was a subject which I had asked friends about, and really didn't get a straight answer. Definitely go to Poland - you won't regret it.
I really enjoyed this video Scott. You expressed exactly the words I've been searching for since my return to London this past September ('22). I hadn't been there since the early 90's when I was just a youngster of 35. And all the the visuals and feelings that I had stored away were just itching to be revived. And as you made so clear, should you return? Well I did and It was different. It felt different. I felt different. Even the little town of Blackheath that I ached to return to didn't feel the same. Did I enjoy it? Sure, but not as much as I was hoping I would.
Was it me now with a lifetime of experience and an older head? Maybe.
Thanks for the wisdom.
There was a 10 year gap between my visits to Edinburgh and while the city hadn't changed much - they were working at the new tram network - all my favourite shops had gone, from Menzies and Bargain Books in Princes Street to all sorts of second hand (book)shops in the Old Town. It's been almost 20 years since that last visit and now the people I knew there are also gone. I considered it a "farewell tour" and that's what it became.
The building of the tram line was a nightmare for shopowners along the route, but if they survived the upheaval, they would reap the benefits. Then Covid came along. Edinburgh was close to losing their UNESCO heritage listing because of modern building plans. As far as I know they have been watered down. However, a few years ago, there was an almighty hoo-haa about felling some of the trees in the Princes Street Gardens. This was to do with 'progress' and the city plans to have more useable event space there, so some trees had to go. It's still a lovely place although the crowds (understandably) are a challenge at times. Some things never change.
Great video as always. Poland was next on my list.
Thanks for taking us to glamorous places, I too like the industrial architecture.
Excellent video as always. I think I spotted you at around 1915 on 21/10 at Gretna Service station. I was going to say hello, but it appeared you were with your good lady and was having some issues with the KFC ordering terminal system. 👍🏼
Yes that was me. Sue was double charged for her meal. If you ever spot me again, please come over and say hello.
Great Vlog Scott keep the epic nonsense coming!
I have an unlimited supply of nonsense, although to be honest, that was one of the more 'deeper' and philosophical videos I have made. Don't worry - normal service has since resumed. Thanks for your comment.
I know the feeling Scott.
I lived in central London in the 70s and 80s, look at it now. Soul less.
I lived for a few years in Berlin, look at it now.
Hahaha, super. I love my city 😁
Nice that you visited us. We invite you again ✌️
You didn't have enough time to see everything. And there is still much to see. 🇵🇱
Really enjoyed that one, especially because it was a city I had not heard of. Keep them coming
Scott, you should come back to Szczecin and let me show you my city again, so you can fall in love with it once more! I strongly recommend late spring, the city center is blooming with magnolias (it is Szczecin's siignature flower/tree) and it is just delightful. Let me know when you coming back and let me give you a tour with born and raised Szczecin person 😅 xx
I grew up in Chicago Illinois USA, I lived there for 44 years. I moved away to Colorado USA in 2004. I always loved Chicago and I enjoy visiting it, but it isn't the same city that I grew up in and I always am a bit nostalgic for the old Chicago. Things are so cleaned up, gentrified and neatened, and in that process has lost some of the character and adventure of the old Chicago. So, I understand what you mean.
I would love to visit Poland, definitely on our list. Thanks for the great video!
Returning always runs the risk of change but finding something that brought previously good memories is fab. As a football fan, I was hoping you went near Pogon Szczecin FC
Hi Richard, seeing Pogon was an afterthought, and when I looked at match schedules before leaving the UK, I realised I had timed things very badly.
I found the same with Berlin. I absolutely loved the place when I first visited, not long after the wall came down. There was so much change on subsequent visits. Last time, 2002 ish, I got completely lost driving through the city - so much had changed.
I'll be there this year for the first time. I know it's new to me, but I'm hoping that I enjoy it as much as my expectations.
Great video Scott. Like you we are members of the Accor club and stayed in many good Ibis in Europe. I grew up in Manchester but lived in Parramatta from 1988 to 2017. It was great place in those times but has changed a lot over the past few years. We are now In New Zealand which is a nicer pace of live. Look forward to your next video. Debbie
Thanks Debbie. When I worked for Air NZ I would pop across the water whenever I could, and always thought New Zealand was a much more laid back country. It seemed to have the best of both worlds - the best of Australia and the best of the UK. I remember back in the 1980's the then PM of NZ commented on the movement of people from NZ to Australia. He said something like the population movement helped raise the IQ of both nations! I miss the trans-Tasman banter. :-)
An off-the-beaten-path city that hasn't turned Disney....yet. Glad you saw it a 2nd time and glad that I saw it once.
A lot has changed since 2014 🏴
My mum was born in Warsaw and she moved to London in the early 1960s. In 1976, when I was 9 yrs old she took me to visit my grandparents in Warsaw. The country was of course still under the communist regime. My memories are very good though, the streets were so clean, it was forbidden to throw you litter on the pavement. I loved the red trams. The shops were mostly empty though. I recall visiting a lido and at lunchtime on our way to the restaurant I was imagining beefburgers and chips, instead I got boiled cabbage! I did visit a few more times during the next decade, but never after the fall of communism. I don't want to spoil my childhood memories...
Hi Scott. I am a subscriber just catching up on your recent videos. I was intrigued in earlier videos of yours when you talk about growing up in Sydney. So now you have divulged a bit more info about that, we were almost neighbours. I grew up in Beecroft. My father was the only one in his family who was born in Australia. His father & two uncles came to Australia, to Port Pirie, in the 1920's. They were from Motherwell. My grandfather & one of his brothers returned to Scotland & then brought their families back to Sydney. I now live in Adelaide. Anyway, I enjoy you videos. Keep up the good work.
Hi Richard, yes we were almost neighbours. I lived in Dundas, went to school and worked in Eastwood - just down the line from Beecroft.
So how long were you living in Australia before you decided to move back to Scotland? And why? Just interested. I have been to Scotland three times during summer & winter. I couldn't imagine living there...
9:15 beautiful building - needs some careful and loving restoration ASAP
Another great video Scott this video is quite thought provoking I remember of places that I really loved but I've not returned this video got me thinking about revisting places I loved and I have some good memories of I am currently thinking about trips in the next year I may end up revisting some of those places. Because of this video
Thanks for your kind comment Shane. Returning to a loved destination has it's fair share of danger. It's strange, but there are a few locations around Scotland which I can remember from decades ago, and then switch to a memory made just this year. Fortunately the brain doesn't delete or write-over old memories. They live in separate filing cabinets.
Love your videos ! Maybe you should think of buying a microphone Scott. It's sometimes hard to hear you when you're walking on the street. :)
Hi Andoni, thanks for the comment. It's something I'm looking at this year. The camcorder I use doesn't have an external mic jack, and I realise the sound quality is poor at times. I also need a wind muff, as my camera picks up the slightest breeze.
I have to agree, that there is a lot of construction going on in Szczecin, so I'm not surprised that you boarded a tram in the wrong direction. As I local I get often confused too.
Thanks Rafal, I don't feel so bad now!
What a very good point Scott we never really think about when returning everywhere changes and when we all return we all get suporosed one way or other great street at I can't even draw a matchstick man g8 video look forward too next
Great video, Scott. I spent a day there last summer, 2021, meeting an interior designer to plan my new apartment so apart from the river where the river cruise boats are moored and the restaurants are, I saw little. The drive in from the north east coast where I was staying was suffering from horrendous traffic, and there were roadworks everywhere. TBH I found it a bit soul-less on that short vist, but I'd like to go back for a better look sometime.
Did a day trip by rail from Berlin there a few years ago, the rail service to Berlin is very slow and I remember the last few miles were by a bus replacement. The first thing I saw on the border was a huge Amazon depot. Nice city to walk around and there was a nice mall with a Costa Coffee and Zara, worth a visit.
I was in the port of Szczecin in the early 90's on a bulk carrier loading steel for the Far East. A strange port indeed being 30 miles inland from the Baltic sea, access being via a long straight canal that cut through the Polish countryside. Poland had just started the transition from Communism to Capitalism and everything was in a state of confusion. A heady mixture of old and new systems. To buy something in a department store you first had to pay at the cash desk after describing what you wanted to buy. Not knowing a word of Polish but with lots of hand gestures I finally got my ping pong bat and balls!!
i think this video is brilliant Scott, and yes and how the heartbeat of life really changes and how we forget other towns will certainly develop as much as our own one does, whether we witness it or not. us mortals experience the same with bars and eateries i think. but it is a shame really that beautiful old industrial building will eventually give way to a concrete and glass monstrosity. they will blame costings of course and claim a new build to be cheaper for the future of the town and cheaper to build rather than modernise and repurpose. got to love your pendulum comment, i actually ( once ) new a geeza who believed in flat earth, his head was fubar.
There are hundreds of renovated old manufacture/factory buildings in Poland, which are now luxury apartments/hotels or very modern (inside) shopping malls.
Loved London then, Scott, not so sure now.
I’m originally from Szczecin, after 20 years in the UK I finally returned home. I will say the same thing you said at the end. It’s ok. City is definitely less Polish but roads are getting better. I love Szczecin in the summer and not so much in the winter.
Great Video 💙💙
Nice TH-cam channel! Keep posting!
Thank you for the great feedback. :-)
I totally agree with you about Sydney, Even in the past 10 years I haven’t lived in Sydney and the lower blue mountains since 2012 it’s massively changed (Penrith was my main stomping ground for the first 25 years of my life now on the NSW Mid North Coast). But I went to Sydney on the 4 - 6 of October 2022 having not been there for over 2 years since Pre COVID, Although it looked and smelt familiar it just didn’t feel the same almost like it had lost part of its soul. As You should see what they’ve been doing to Central Station, Sure it’s nice to modernise but at the moment it looks like they’ve slapped lipstick on a pig and that’s saying it nicely. There’s no way I’d be able to live back there again, Visit yeah but live there again definitely not.
Have to agree, we moved up to Lake Macquarie 6 years ago, we visit Sydney, but couldn't live there again.
@@paulninnis14 Awesome, Funnily enough I’m a bit further up in Port Macquarie so about another 2 and a half hours drive north of you.
A few months ago I was having a look on Google Satellite, and was amazed at Sydney's western suburbs sprawl since the 1990s. OK, it's been a few decades, but the place has just taken over the Cumberland Plain. Then I looked at the Central Coast region. What happened there? It's almost continuous urban sprawl all the way to Newcastle. I used to drive up to Tuggerah Lake and Wyong for the day because these places were out in the country. Now it's just suburbia and the great Australian dream.
As a fellow Scotsman my favorite city in Poland is Bydgoszcz.
Friends always ask why?? but I just have special memories visiting there.
Somewhere that has changed a lot since my last visit is Kraków.
Thanks for your comment. The general concensus with the comments is that things have been booming in Poland recently, and all of the larger cities have seen a ton of investment and changes to their skylines.
I went back to Camp de Mar in Mallorca after 20 years. It's still a pretty resort but two restaurants I loved were either closed or turned into an expensive seafood place. A favourite isolated beach couldn't be got to because the path was degraded and an easy path which took you to Paguera had been made more difficult because a new golf course had been built.
Stayed at Ibis Belfast in 2013 for a week. Great hotel and location. Now my favorite hotel chain.
I go to Eastwood every weekend for shopping. The granny smith festival was held there last weekend. Property prices have gone through the roof. I live quite close by.
In July 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landing on the moon, I emailed the headmaster of Eastwood Primary school. I mentioned I was possibly the only person who could remember being there on the 21st July 1969! The moon landing broadcast was played all around the school play areas. I mentioned to her how much Eastwood had changed, and she couldn't agree more. She said I wouldn't recognise the place. I guess property prices have gone nuts because the influx of Chinese (I'm guessing from Hong Kong) and their level of affluence has had an effect on the property market. That's one of my philosophies of life - nothing stays the same for ever.
Nostalgia is a strange beast. We can only make use of it 3 maybe 4 years max after initially visiting it. Leave it more than that, it becomes a foreign country.
Very true, although I think it depends on where you are. I don't think the centre of Paris has changed much since the ugly Centre Pompidou was built in 1977 or the Louvre Pyramid was opened in 1989. Most of the changes are over at the La Defense business district. Paris is the same old Paris in most places.
This year I returned on holiday to North Yorkshire, an area which I loved pretty much and this time it was no different. Barely anything has changed but found out new places to explore over there
Some places are timeless, and North Yorkshire is an absolute gem.
It’s a yes from me 👍
Places are never the same, especially if you really enjoyed it, I think that you have probably changed and a bit of nostalgia has got involved? That's my idea anyway.
Hi Scott, I love watching this channel but I do miss Rusty nails, anything in the pipeline for your other channel?
Safe travels, love Julie x
Hi Julie. Rusty Nails is in semi-retirement at the moment.I haven't broadcasted this to anyone, but not having a car means I have to travel further and further with public transport. This isn't always ideal when carrying a shovel or metal detector or when covered in stinking mud or dirt. The channel was always great fun, and I had a super fan base, so I guess it's a case of never say never. There is one place I really need to explore, and should I go there this spring, Rusty Nails will be there too!
Google Maps is sometimes off. It told me once to get off a station that was still under construction and closed for public. Of course the train did not stop there instead pulled through to the next stop.
those yellow tatra trams are old berlin trams
Yep, I had the pleasure of riding the Berlin trams back in the day. OST Berlin
The new ones are very pleasant. The old ones with only a central boggie ride like crap.
I'm surprised no one has corrected you, its pronounced 'Stettin' and if you look at translations and how locals talk about the place. By the way I have visited and worked here on numerous occasions over 30 years, I like the place
It can definitely be a shock when you visit a place for the first time in many years. I visited Barcelona several times before life got in the way and I didn't get to visit it at all between 2008 and 2019. When I went back it just wasn't the same, and I don't think the changes were for the better. It definitely didn't feel as friendly. I don't blame the Catalans for the changes though - overtourism is the main problem I fear.
One of my favourite authors is Paul Theroux, and he once wrote something like - it's only with age can you look back and recognise decay.
Szczecin is more save than Berlin. Clean railway station and no drug dealer in the Park
Life is too short for visiting the same place again.
I always found Szczecin a bit dull. I was always confused about the platform numbers too at the station. But the food was pretty good I thought.
It took me a while to get my head around a 'peron' and a 'track'. Sometimes the departure boards tell you the peron, but your train could leave from either side of the platform. I agree, Polish food is definately up there with the best. There's no chance of going hungry in Poland.
Have You been in Krakow?
Only to change from a train to a plane. I will definitely return and explore the city, hopefully in 2023.
It's much easier to call it Stettin . It may be in Poland but it's a German city at heart . I have been a few times and loved every minute I was there , warm hearted and super friendly Polish people , but can't change the fact that , like Danzig , its not Polish
Change is the constant is what applies to most places. However in the case of certain places which were built around industries which died out , the towns or cities themselves either followed into oblivion or were gutted and shrunk in size. With globalization many towns and cities are being gentrified and are acquiring an international flavour whether for good or bad . Szczecin looks very beautiful and charming ; just hope they don't take a hammer to the old historical landmarks.
Hi Scott. Like you i first visited Poland in 2014 and i too fell in love with the place. Szczecin was my first stop as we travelled there via Berlin by bus and then it was a 30min train journey to Stargard which is about10-15 miles from Szczecin(thats where my Polish pals are from) I have now been 7 times since and i plan another trip next summer 👍 Loving your uploads Scott cheers for making the effort. peter :)))
I recently revisted a city break but i had already seen everything and i just ended up going to bars. Was a bit of a waste really. I wouldnt go back to most of my city breaks now.
This city was part of Germany until 1945, when it was given to Poland by the Allies in the redrawing of the borders. The German residents of Stettin were forcibly removed and the city was repopulated with Poles.
At the very beginning of this video, you can still see the German language inscription on the Hakenterrasse.
Remember that Szczecin was founded by Poles, at the beginning this area was Polish, in around 1200 it was conquered by the Germans, then the Swedes, the French, and now it is Poland again :)
Would you like Szczecin to be German once again?
@@doughszynk6143 Not me. I love the complete lack of diversity, unlike Germanistan
On the beginning entire east Germany wasn't germans just u can see on old mams what people lived there
It's a bit like photography, if what you see impresses you, take a picture now, because you will never see it again !
I will bet you a crisp Zloty that if you take me back to Poznan I will still bloody love the place. This whole area just seemed to be trying too hard, and really didn't have the attractive city centre my Poznan does.
Hi May.... Poznan is on my 'to do' list for Poland. I really hope to return in 2023 and explore some new cities including Poznan.
It seems you are unaware about the origin of Szczecin. Up until the end of WWII it was the German City of Stettin. This is where my German ancestors are from in Pommerania. I have wanted to visit for some time as it is not that far from where I currently live in Leipzig. It is sad that nobody mentions it was a German City, and most of the old Architecture is German, not Polish. I do not blame the Poles for erasing it's history. However I do find it a bit sad, that they appear to have erased it's true history. By the way, I currently live in Germany, but I was born and raised in the USA.
The city's name is not that hard to pronounce, just say like Churchill in the "Iron curtain" speech. Or the proper Polish way: [Shh-te]-[shh-tin] in two syllables
Sketchy area...be careful. Perhaps the owner of the old building wants too much money. Cheaper to have new construction. Everything has to change and its not always good.
It’s actually called Stettin and is part of the lost German lands.
History.
@@mortenpoulsen1496 Only for now
And it was Polish before it became German.
@@alfredroyal3473 You want Poland to start claiming its former sphere of influence over Spandów/Kopanica aka Berlin and talking about the old German-Slavic border at the Elbe and Saale rivers?
@@ChillDudelD Maybe the Teutonic Knights could settle that dispute.
Nice clean chest Scott 👌, keep up the good work
LOOKS A RIGHT DUMP
Are you describing your bedroom in your mom's basement?
The beautiful young girl you once loved is now old,fat,married with 4 kids.
Don't go back,only forward.
And still can’t pronounce Szczecin!