I took a train to Poznan this morning. The journey was about 3 hours through undramatic scenery; mostly rolling farmland.
As well as being a convenient place to stop on my gradual way home, I was keen to see the enigma museum. This had timed entry slots (I’m not sure why; it wasn’t busy), and I’d got a bit of time before my slot.
I had a wander through town and then up to the citadel park. The history of the park is interesting (see link) and it had some interesting sculptures
There was also a military armaments museum (which I wasn’t expecting), as well as a number of war graves.
I then headed over to the Enigma museum. This started with an introduction to various types of codes and cyphers, before moving onto the Enigma and its cracking.
There were a lot of interactive (both computer and hands on) exhibits, but rather fewer actual historical artefacts. This gave it a somewhat sterile air. I hadn’t appreciated how early the Poles had cracked the (commercial) version of the Enigma (1932), or how quickly (about 3 months), or how much it had helped Bletchly Park. I found the narrative a bit confusing in places. I think this was a combination of them having (understandably) having skipped over some of the technical details, the layout of the museum not being that clear, and the audio guide. Having just read the Wikipedia explanation of the process, things are much clearer to me. At the end there was a 3d “grab the codebook from the sinking submarine” game, which felt a bit incongruous and then it jumped to some 80s computers (with a couple you could play games on)
I’m glad I went; it just wasn’t as good as I was hoping.
After that I wasn’t too sure what to do, so I visited the castle next door. It has had a complex history; I learned it was planned to be Hitler’s “eastern” office (though he never actually visited). It is now an arty cinema and exhibition space, but also has the offices for a number of arts institutions in it. After the somewhat mixed experience with the audio guide in the Enigma Museum, I went for the (cheaper) paper map option, and had a wander. Some of the rooms are very impressive. They’re almost all empty – the furniture having previously been destroyed – which gave the place a somewhat eerie feel. You could also wander down the office corridors, which was a little odd.
The cinema end seemed very pleasant, with a modern atrium, coffee shop and bookshop:
The castle end was rather strange though; although people work there, the empty rooms and its history gave it a somewhat eerie feel.
Then I had a wander round the (mostly old) town. The centre reminds me of Krakow and Wroclaw’s (seen on a previous trip) squares.
Tomorrow I’m heading back to Germany; the train is quite early, so having an early night tonight.