Szczecin, Poland - A Beautiful Vibrant City, Part I
Szczecin Ducal Castle
Last September I had the most wonderful fortnight in western Poland with concerts in Szczecin and Wrocław. After the wettest weekend in Berlin that I have ever experienced, made more miserable by Lufthansa losing my luggage, I set off by train to Szczecin, which is only about an hour and half north east of the German capital. Almost as soon as I left, the sun came out and I was lucky that my suitcase arrived about ten minutes before I checked out of my Berlin hotel. My gloomy mood lightened with every mile along the way!
Szczecin is only a few miles over the border and for most of its history, it was a German or Swedish city, the capital of Pomerania but since WWII it has been part of Poland. I had little idea what to expect and I must confess that I was delighted to be in a beautiful vibrant city with a wonderful concert hall.
I had heard of Szczecin, or rather Stettin as I knew of it, for two reasons: it was the birthplace of Empress Catherine of Russia and that outside the city had been the home of Elizabeth von Arnim (1866-1941). She was an Australian-born British author who was married to a somewhat grim German count. Their house was in the Pomeranian village of Nassenheide (now Rzędziny in Poland) just to the west of the Stettin. Their house sadly no longer exists but she describes it brilliantly in one of her early books, Elizabeth and her German Garden. I read it just after I left university and found it a total delight.
Nassenheide and Elizabeth Von Arnim
She certainly led a colourful life. After the death of the Count von Arnim in 1910, she left Germany and became the mistress of H. G Wells. In 1916 she married Earl Russell, the elder brother of the philosopher Bertrand Russell. She died in Charleston, South Carolina in 1941. She was a prolific writer and among her later books Enchanted April is a standout. It has been made into a play and of course a very successful film. How I wish that even one corner of her house has survived its destruction in WWII. I am sorry to say that it was British bombers that reduced it to rubble.
Szeczin lies on the west bank of the River Oder. The castle is magnificent and next time I visit, I hope to tour it.
But the finest building of all is the Philharmonic Hall, which is where I spent a week rehearsing and giving a concert. It was completed in 2014 and has already won many international architectural prizes. Frankly, it is one of the very finest places I have ever seen or worked. The exterior is reminiscent of houses in the old town, reimagined in glass. During the day it is white but at night the colour can change chameleon-like as these photos show:
Inside, the building is equally glorious. The main concert hall is all gold and the acoustics are terrific.
In addition, there is a chamber music hall which is perhaps even more perfect.
The orchestra is truly wonderful, and we had a terrific time playing Bach and Mozart. I am thrilled to have been invited back. I can hardly wait!
Of course, I did my best to try the local cuisine. Western Poland has had a very turbulent history, not least since 1945. As a result, a great many of the present Polish population of Pomerania and Silesia have only lived there when they were forcibly moved by the Russians from the eastern provinces. So, it is a little tricky to define what ‘local’ means here. I will choose two recipes that are perhaps more German Pomeranian than Polish.
First a fish dish which I had, made not with eel but with regular fish, cod I think. But I imagine it would work very well with monkfish.
Eel in Dill Sauce
Ingredients:
1 kg fresh eel1 carrot1 parsley root1 onion1/2 cup white wine vinegar2 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons flourlemon juicepeppersugar3 tablespoons dill, chopped2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Preparation:
Thoroughly wash the eel in warm water. Cut into pieces and rub with salt.
Wash and slice the carrot and parsley root. Peel the onion and quarter them. Bring 4 ¼ cups of water, vinegar, and salt to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add eel pieces, allowing them to marinate for about 20 minutes.
Melt butter in a bowl. Mix in the flour. Add 2 cups of the eel water, lemon juice, pepper, and sugar to taste.
Add the chopped dill, parsley, and eel pieces. Allow eel to marinate for another 5 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes.
All over north Germany, there is a dessert that I adore, Rote Grütze, which is very popular in the summer. It is simple to make, and one can even have it for breakfast!
Rote Grütze
Ingredients
2 lb selection of summer berries strawberries, raspberries, red currants, blueberries, pitted cherries
6 oz superfine sugar
grated zest of 1 orange or 1 lemon
3 tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot
Instructions
Prepare the berries. Hull the strawberries and if necessary cut in half. Strip the red currants from the stalks with a fork.
Mix with the other fruits of your choice in a bowl with the sugar and grated zest. Cover. Leave for at least 6-8 hours in the fridge to steep until the juices run out.
Strain into a small saucepan. Mix the arrowroot or corn starch with 3 tablespoons water. Bring the juices to the boil then stir briskly into the corn starch. Return to the pan and simmer, stirring, until thickened.
Mix the juices with the fruits, then divide between 6-8 dessert dishes. Chill until ready to serve. It can be eaten with ice-cream of a vanilla sauce.
After a delightful week in Szczecin I took the train down to Wrocław in Silesia.
and that city will be the subject of my next posting.
Smacznego!