noplasticshowers

Poznan, Poland is a nice little town off the beaten path. To get there you have to fly on a puddle hopper. This is my first visit to Poland, and I have yet to visit its major metropolitan centers. But from where I sit now in a brand spanking new convention center, Poland appears to be trying on capitalism like a new sweater that does not quite fit. For example, taxi’s don’t take credit cards (even from the airport), and the very idea of service is something that seems more like “privilege to the customer” than commodity. Interesting.

Puddle hopper to Poznan (from Frankfurt).

I am here for an EU meeting about the Future of the Internet. At the very nice brand new hotel where I am staying, the current Internet is ironically still not completely functional. I still wonder why wireless network is not considered more like electricity or oxygen…something that just comes with your room. The main problem these days is in arcane authentication techniques that don’t persist long enough to be useful in practice.

Anyway, the Andersia Hotel is very modern and gorgeous, and the staff is friendly and helpful.

I stayed in suite 402, situated on the corner of the building with many windows and multiple rooms. Here is how the bedroom and living area are configured.

The bedroom part of the suite is connected to the bathroom with a glass wall. Very nice design.

The living area room of the suite is more generic.

The bathroom is very interesting and well designed. The shower includes a soaker head and a handheld one too.

The bathroom pod and its glass wall. Beautiful design (and no plastic).

The shower itself is very refreshing in the morning.

About the only nit in the Andersia ointment is the bar. Our bartender Marek was both knowledgeable and willing to mix new things, but the ingredients need to be plussed up. Apparently this mixology problem applies to Poland as a whole (where importing ingredients such as Amaro or great bourbon is not yet possible). We taught Marek to make a Nevada and relied on old standbys such as the Negroni and the Old Fashioned.

If you end up being assigned a trip to Poznan, I definitely recommend the Andersia. It is a five showerhead location even if it does exist in the hinterlands.