There are cities we have certain impressions and expectations about. And there are those that completely surprise you only once you’re there. Szczecin had been on our minds for a while, but the distance from Warsaw always won (Szczecin sits on Poland’s far north-west edge, near Germany). The long May weekend came around. We had a plan in our heads, bikes on the rack of the campervan, and a few places marked on the map, and yet reality still turned out to be surprising, in a good way. We didn’t expect to come back with the feeling we’d just discovered one of the most underrated family-friendly cities in Poland.
Because Szczecin works really well with kids. No rush. No pressure. No crowds. Wide boulevards and cycle paths, nature, water, paszteciki from a communist-era bar (deep-fried stuffed rolls Szczecin is known for), and bikes that suddenly become the best way to see the city.
O tym przeczytasz
Szczecin is best explored by bike, with kids too
From our campsite at Centrum Zeglarskie we had about 8 km to the strict centre of Szczecin. Armed with a walking map for kids published by the city, we decided we’d do one of the routes, only on bikes. The map itself doesn’t look like a typical tourist leaflet, more like an invitation to a family discovery of Szczecin step by step, with tasks, missions, and eventually a reward (at the tourist information centre).
We started near the Maritime Science Centre. Obligatory stop: the most recognisable point in Szczecin (at least for us), the crane-saurs, old port cranes painted as dinosaurs along the riverbank. Right behind them is a statue of Krzysztof Jarzyna of Szczecin (a fictional gangster from a Polish cult comedy), and a monument to the famous paprykarz, a canned fish-and-rice spread invented in Szczecin in the 1960s. A quick history lesson for the kids right out of the gate. We still haven’t managed to convince them to taste the paprykarz :).
Szczecin’s communist-era pasztecik and herring
The kids did try another Szczecin specialty though, the pasztecik. This is the thing we didn’t even know existed, and which ends up sticking in your memory. Not necessarily because of how it tastes, but because of the place where you eat it.
The interior looks frozen in 1969, the year the bar opened. Orange terrazzo on the walls, a neon sign, bar benches running down the middle, and a vintage Soviet-era machine in the corner. Is the pasztecik worth eating? Sure, worth trying, always worth trying. Would we come back? Probably not.
Since we’re on the food topic, we went hunting for Szczecin’s other less-known specialty, the bun with herring. All trails led us to the bistro at Centrum Dialogu Przelomy, a museum on Poland’s post-WWII history. One-fifth of our crew is a herring fan, so you could say we had an expert on board. Let it be our recommendation that we’ve already reproduced the recipe back in Warsaw.
Almost get to the Museum of Technology
Back to the city itself. With the kids’ map in hand, we picked the most distant point on it, the Museum of Technology and Transport. We rode at our usual slow pace. Our attention was caught by an incredibly shaped white building in Kasprowicz Park by Rusalka Lake. Right next to it, on a concrete walkway over the water, stands an installation of wind sculptures shaped like birds and fish. When the wind blows, whole rows of wings start spinning, and anyone standing nearby gets the feeling the whole structure is about to take off. Instead of checking the museum’s weekday opening hours, we enjoyed a moment of rest, because the kids on their e-bikes had decided to race each other up a big hill.
You probably already know how this story ends. The museum turned out to be already closed by the time we got there. A few years ago this would have annoyed us. Now we just said to ourselves and the kids: it happens, never mind. We already had over 15 km on the bikes by then. We pointed ourselves back toward Centrum Zeglarskie, but along the way we set our bearing for the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle.
Waiting for the Maszkaron at the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle
You get up to the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle viewing terrace by lift. The view does its job: a panorama over the Oder, the Lasztownia district, and new estates on the other side. But what stopped the kids for longer was a head built into the castle tower clock. The clock catches the eye basically from the moment you step out of the lift. That head is called the Maszkaron, or “the Swede” (the Swedes used to rule Szczecin), and at every full hour it moves its eyes and opens its mouth. If you happen to be there on the hour, we really recommend it.
The view over Szczecin is better from the castle tower itself though. No lift up there, but what’s a few flights of stairs for us. At the top we were alone, and the nice feeling of quiet was disturbed only by our and the kids’ rumbling stomachs.
Time to head back to the campervan.
Campervan among the sailboats at Centrum Zeglarskie
Our campervan travelling is usually wild. This time though, we let ourselves get talked into a city campsite. The label “city” is a simplification though, it only comes from the location inside the city. The pitch is by Lake Dabie, in a marina, surrounded by nature. From here, as we’ve already mentioned, it’s 25 minutes by bike to the strict centre of the city, and 10 minutes to a beautiful cycle route along Lake Dabie. And next to the campsite (5 minutes by bike) you’ll also find great saunas right on the shore of the lake.
The price for camping at Centrum Zeglarskie for our family (2 adults + 3 kids), the vehicle and electricity is 155 PLN (around €35) a day. What grates a bit is the extra paid shower charged by the minute. In our case this wasn’t a big deal, because we have our own shower and hot water in the campervan, and topping up the water tanks can be done without moving from the spot.
To sum up, we’re putting Szczecin on our list of favourite Polish cities.
Stick around for more!
