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Blog of that guy who’s wandering around. 📸

  • OFF Piotrkowska

    I accidentally discovered the Surindustrialle café-gallery, but unfortunately haven’t been inside yet

    I accidentally discovered the Surindustrialle café-gallery, but unfortunately haven’t been inside yet

    About an hour before this photowalk, I was at the dentist because almost my entire lower wisdom tooth crumbled in the most annoying way, leaving behind a shard of enamel that was stabbing my gum like a spear. I got numbed in two places, he did a filling and cut out a piece of the gum. It’s only a temporary fix — I’m supposed to come back in a while to get the tooth completely removed. I thought it would be hard to focus on the walk, but it really wasn’t — I had a nice time wandering around aimlessly.

    There are a ton of those little faces in Łódź (like in the pic below, top right corner). They seem really simple, but they’re super distinctive and eye-catching. I’m really curious who’s behind them, and if they can be found anywhere outside Łódź.

    Now this one’s easy. I mean the image below, top right corner again — the guy with the “broken” nose. The black-and-white comic style of Krik Kong, a street artist from Gdańsk, is easy to recognize.

    You can find a lot of posters around Łódź by Kacper Ogień. I really like his style — those thick painted lines, expressive and bold, combined with slogans that make you stop and think.

    I had no idea this place even existed. I came from Plac Wolności (Freedom Square), walked into ul. Legionów (Legions Street), and turned into some courtyard, where I saw a bunch of plants and sculptures made out of metal.

    On the sign, I read that it’s a combo of a teahouse, café, and art gallery called Surindustrialle. I started taking pictures of everything that’s set up in the courtyard outside the entrance to the place. There’s so much stuff there, it took me a moment to take it all in.

    While I was taking photos, a guy came out of the place, so I started chatting with him and found out two things. First, that there used to be even more stuff in the courtyard, but they had to move some of it because of renovation works happening in the neighboring library building. And second, the café used to be open all week, but now it’s only open on weekends (Friday 4:00 PM–10:00 PM, Saturday 12:00 PM–10:00 PM, Sunday 2:00 PM–9:00 PM). Sadly, it was Tuesday when I was there, so it was closed, and I still haven’t seen the inside.

    I did some snooping on Surindustrialle’s Facebook and found out a few things: you might run into a duck and a goose there, they serve lemonades, waffles, chocolates, and teas, and they’re completely alcohol-free. Also — sadly — they’re going through another rough patch in their history. I really hope this place survives, because cities need these kinds of initiatives. I’m planning to swing by this weekend, grab some tea, and snap a few photos of the interior.

    There’s a beautiful piece near Pasaż Róży (Róża’s Passage), a sphere made of hands. Sadly, I don’t know who made it, so I can’t link anything, but it blows me away every time I see it.

    And another poster by Kacper Ogień (above, bottom right corner).

    That guy walking with the dog (below) — we talked for a bit, about his husky girl and our husky boy, Zefir.

    Over a week ago I wrote that I still hadn’t caught Maniak Pizza open — that food truck with those weird pizzas that come with cone handles. Well, on this walk I finally did! I love those pizzas!

  • OFF Piotrkowska

    I picked up a new smartphone grip — Ulanzi CG02 — from the paczkomat (parcel locker). Took it out for a photo walk around Bałuty and Śródmieście in Łódź

    I picked up a new smartphone grip — Ulanzi CG02 — from the paczkomat (parcel locker). Took it out for a photo walk around Bałuty and Śródmieście in Łódź

    That day I wasn’t planning on going for a walk, but InPost surprised me in the best way — they delivered a package on Friday that I wasn’t expecting in the paczkomat (parcel locker) until after the weekend. Inside was the Ulanzi CG02 smartphone grip. My photo walks can last anywhere from four to eight hours, and holding a phone up for that long makes my fingers go numb.

    This particular walk wasn’t the longest, but definitely not short either. I started shooting at 5:42 PM and wrapped up at 11:55 PM — so a little over six hours. I’m not gonna lie and say there was zero discomfort — holding onto anything in one position for that long will get to you — but it was way more comfortable than trying to grip a phone awkwardly for hours. The price-to-quality ratio of the Ulanzi CG02 is seriously great. The handle part is made of slightly rubberized plastic — feels nice to the touch. The part that touches the phone is super soft and rubbery, and the clamps are strong and rubber-coated too, so your phone sits in there solid and safe.

    The shutter button is right where it would be on a real camera, which is so much better than poking at the screen all the time to take a photo. And bonus: the shutter button is detachable — it sticks on magnetically — so you can use it as a wireless remote. Super handy, since the grip has a flat bottom you can set down somewhere, or you can screw it onto a tripod (it’s got a standard 1/4″ mount on the bottom). It also has a cold shoe on top, so you can attach accessories like a mic or extra light (in case the built-in LED with its 1000mAh battery doesn’t cut it).

    If it were up to me, my dream grip would have an even chunkier handle — maybe even more rubbery — but honestly, this is a fantastic purchase that’s seriously leveled up my photowalk experience.

    While walking, I passed by Galeria Bałucka (art gallery) near Stary Rynek (Old Market Square), which had just closed — need to remember to check it out sometime.

    Łódź is freaking amazing. The longer I live near it and visit it, the more convinced I am. But it’s really important to me to show the real face of Łódź — with all the views you can get here: from amazing museums to one of the most beautiful parks in Europe. From the most modern train station I’ve seen (Łódź Fabryczna) to old tenement houses and wooden add-ons. From polished tourist spots to crumbling buildings just around the corner. From a huge number of awesome bars, street art, and art projects to windows stacked with empty “małpki” (small vodka bottles). I honestly believe you don’t need to sugarcoat anything to show what makes this city special.

    I’ve seen that phrase floating around online — “Łódź to stan umysłu” (“Łódź is a state of mind”) — and I totally agree with it. Though I take it differently than most — not as a diss, but as the highest compliment. Łódź is that state of mind you have when you look at a rundown tenement and see a cozy bar that — with a bit of love — could turn into a place people adore. Łódź is that state of mind when you see a crumbling wall and imagine a gorgeous piece of street art. When you look at an abandoned factory and see a modern shopping center with restaurants. When you see an old palace and imagine a museum dedicated to one of the things this city is known for — cinematography.

    At the very end of my walk, somewhere on ul. Piotrkowska, I spotted a sign pointing down an alley to a craft beer bar I hadn’t heard of before. So I turned in, and found this little gazebo thing lit up with red glowing strips. The lit-up sign with the name — Rademenes — was also red, making for a really cohesive and eye-catching vibe.

    When I saw the Rademenes sign, I had a hunch the name was a reference to something — so when I got home I looked it up on DuckDuckGo, and turns out Rademenes was the name of the talking cat from “Siedem życzeń” (“Seven Wishes”) — a Polish teen series from 1984.

    Stills from the series “Siedem życzeń” (1984, dir. Janusz Dymek, written by Andrzej Kotkowski and Maciej Zembaty)

    When I walked in, I saw a guy behind the bar with a black cat on his lap. (Later found out from an article that the cat is also named… Rademenes.) The place was totally empty — later a couple girls came in, but still, pretty deserted for a Friday night right off Piotrkowska. I ordered a Blackcyl from Trzech Kumpli — one of my all-time favorite black IPAs — and kinda couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between the two girls and the bar owner.

    Craft beer bars in Poland usually have a certain aesthetic — sure, every place has its own twist, but you can bet on a few things: white walls, lots of wood (either raw or “sloppily” painted in some artsy way), a bunch of plants, some visual art (paintings or minimalist prints), maybe a neon sign or weird lighting.

    Rademenes looks like a generic 90s Polish beer bar — tiled walls, tacky lamps, random artwork totally clashing with the vibe. Being there — the decor, the emptiness, the sight of the owner doing something on his laptop behind the bar, the sound of his mouse clicking — it all felt like a scene from some surreal arthouse film. That said, I’m definitely going back.

  • OFF Piotrkowska

    Źródliska Park + Łódź Palm House + Planszówkowi Astronauci + Spaleni Słońcem

    Źródliska Park + Łódź Palm House + Planszówkowi Astronauci + Spaleni Słońcem

    I don’t usually take this type of photos, like the one above, but I’m glad I did, because it’s a fun little memory for me—trying to change from shorts to long pants in Park Źródliska II without getting spotted by any passing women and mistaken for some kind of park perv…

    When I left home that morning, it was sunny and warm, so I was wearing short sleeves and shorts. But since I’m no rookie when it comes to Polish weather, I had long pants and a hoodie in my backpack. I hung out on a bench under a big tree that gave me some shelter from the rain. Surprisingly, quite a few people were walking through the park, considering the weather.

    At one point, a young guy walked by and with him, a female lab or golden retriever (don’t remember which, but one of those “family dog” breeds). Right as they passed me, he pulled out a ball, said something in an excited tone, and rolled it down the cobblestone path. The dog (a bit on the chubby side) gave it a look, like it was a mildly interesting object that didn’t concern her at all. His enthusiasm went unanswered, echoing sadly through the park. He picked up the ball and they wandered off deeper into the trees.

    Worth noting this wasn’t a separate outing but just a continuation of the previous one—I had just left the Museum of Cinematography and discovered it was raining pretty hard. My original plan for the day was to visit Źródliska II Park, Źródliska I Park, and the Łódź Palm House (Palmiarnia Łódzka) in the latter. The museum stop was a spontaneous detour—I saw online that they had props from the movie Kingsajz.

    Both parts of Źródliska Park are worth checking out—there’s a great vibe. These are the oldest parks in Łódź; originally, they were one park called the Walking Garden (Ogród Spacerowy), but in the late 1850s, they were split in half, and the western side was bought by the “Cotton King” factory owner Karol Scheibler. Tons of trees grow there, including 300-year-old oaks that are natural monuments. The park has collected quite a few titles—designated as a natural monument, a historical monument, listed as a heritage site, and even named the most beautiful park in Poland and fifth most beautiful in Europe by the gardening company Briggs & Stratton.

    In the park you’ll find walking paths, gazebos, sculptures, swampy spots, ponds (one with its own little island), and of course the Palm House. There’s also a flower garden and a grotto that looks like an AT-AT Imperial Walker from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

    Between parts I and II, right on the edge of the park near Fabryczna Street, there used to be a gasworks and carriage house owned by K. Scheibler—now it’s just a full-on ruin.

    Last time I was in Park Źródliska, back in March 2025, I also stopped by the Tubajka café, but the line was so long I gave up. This time I got a seat, recharged my phone, had a drink and something to eat. The inside is lovely, and being located in such a beautiful park adds to the charm. I ordered asparagus ravioli—delicious and nicely presented, though the portion was so small I basically left still hungry.

    The Łódź Palm House, my original destination that day, is just over 100 meters from Tubajka. And I have to say, as someone born in Gdańsk who really appreciates the Palm House in Oliwa—Łódź’s is bigger, more impressive, and more lush (though Oliwa’s building has cooler architecture!).

    I’m totally obsessed with plants; I could wander among them for hours! Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long because, thanks to that spontaneous museum visit, I only had 40 minutes until closing time at 6:00 PM.

    After leaving the Palm House, I decided to walk to Piotrkowska Street to grab something more after that ravioli.

    On the way, I snapped a photo of the abandoned Central Office Building (Biurowiec Centralu). What a shame about that building! Iconic brutalist architecture in the heart of the city—you could turn that into something super creative, like an OFF Piotrkowska-style space. A hub for cool restaurants, artist studios, galleries, little shops. But nope—it just stands there being a billboard.

    Right now, on a building on Piotrkowska Street, you can see a piece by Maciej Polak, made as part of the promo campaign for the Andor series. He mixed Star Wars themes with the motif of the EC1 Planetarium in Łódź, kind of like how Marcin Wolski mashed up Gdańsk’s crane.

    I popped briefly into the friendly little spot Planszówkowi Astronauci (Board Game Astronauts in Polish), since the stairs leading to it (it’s in a basement) are right under Polak’s mural.

    Near the stairs, they’ve got these framed blurbs about what to expect in this RPG-and-board-game-style bar. Always makes me smile when I see I’m in two of the RPG session photos—once as a Game Master, once as a player.

    Back in the day, I ran quite a few sessions for their guests in a few systems: Monster of the Week, Broken Compass, Into the Odd, Warlock, Shadow of the Demon Lord. I’ve been on a bit of a break lately, but—even though I haven’t told Marcin and Martyna yet—I’d like to come back and run a few more. Monster of the Week is a sure thing, because I’ve got some new ideas for stories set in modern-day Łódź with supernatural elements. Into the Odd might make a comeback too, I still feel like I haven’t played enough of that one. Maybe even Broken Compass again, since I love the mechanics and still have unrealized plans for a “Łódź-style Broken Sword” story.

    There’s this food truck (well, technically a “food trailer”) at OFF Piotrkowska—Maniak Pizza. They do pizza, but weird: the slices have these cheesy “grip cones” at the bottom you hold onto, filled with cheese. I absolutely love their pies, but it’s like I’m cursed—can never seem to catch them when they’re open. And the one time recently I did catch them open, I had just stuffed myself 10 minutes earlier somewhere else.

    I finally managed to actually eat something more substantial that evening at Otwarte Drzwi (“Open Doors”), an Italian cuisine restaurant. Beautiful interior and fantastic service. I had a delicious cinque formaggi pizza (mozzarella, mozzarella di Bufala, Gorgonzola, Taleggio, Grana Padano chips, basil).