Travel /
What is your opinion of Gorzów Wielkopolski? [11]
I have family there. I visited first in the early nineties. My first impressions were that the town seemed a mass of dull, grey concrete with a few old German buildings not in great repair offering some architectural contrast. There was a Russian soldier standing in the market selling whatever he had on him, stripping off as people offered to buy a belt, or his boots etc. The shops in the town centre were mostly old government stores midway through the process of transforming themselves into private businesses and tended to sell everything and anything judging by what was crammed into their windows. I also remember going into a small supermarket that sort of resembled a primitive Aldi. It had soft drinks in all sorts of colours unimaginable back home - blues and greys and even opaque brown - all unrelated to the supposed flavours. A triumph of science over nature.
The overall impression I had of the town was tatty, poor and neglected. I sort of liked it.
The thing that really stood out was amid all the drab local shops stood a branch of Benetton. Prices for their unremarkable knitwear was the same as in the west, i.e. upwards of £100 for a jumper. Ridiculous considering the average wage at the time. I doubt it sold a single item ever as the few Poles who could afford one would not be seen dead in Gorzów considering how close Poznan is relatively speaking.
More recently, the town featured in a TV programme in the UK about the rise of right-wing thugs in Europe. It seemed that there were large numbers of skinheads targeting ethnic minorities, whether immigrants or homegrown and particularly those in the company of local girls.
