After visiting this city, I feel I've gained a new superpower. I'm also hooked on Upper Silesia and want to explore every nook and cranny of this region. Suggestions for other interesting towns/cities?

7:30 there is new urban eko-trend in Poland to avoid cutting lawns, so that the grass holds moisture, does not dry out and provides shelter for insects, small animals, and generally it looks more like a meadow. Also this is not always the reason for the administration's laziness ;)

I have one anecdote about Sosnowiec from my life :) I once had a morning meeting in Katowice, and right after that meeting I took a train to Warsaw. The train was from Ostrava, Czech Rep., to Warsaw. Right after I got in, the yellow-vested customs officers got in the wagon and asked all passengers to prepare a passport or ID. I'm guessing that was because some people came from Czechia, and the customs wanted to check if everyone is a legitimate traveler (despite no border controls obviously). When I was handing my ID card to the officers, I jokingly said: "Well, sir, I didn't know I crossed the border in Katowice!", and he instantly came up with this response: "Yeah, but we're approaching Sosnowiec sir" :D

7:33 I prefer when grass is not being mowed. Mowing destroys biological life. Given frequent droughts it also turns beautiful green colour of lawns and multi colour flowers into brown desert.

Sosnowiec is on a scale between nice and ugly Polish cities, it is a post-industrial city located in the Silesian agglomeration, the entire region was heavily industrialized, the entire agglomeration is inhabited by about 2.5 million people, it is a pity that you did not choose, for example, Gliwice, which is also in the Silesian agglomeration not far from Katowice, and in the Silesian Voivodeship the most beautiful cities are Bielsko Biała, Pszczyna, Cieszyn, Tarnowskie Góry, Racibórz, and a lot of small towns to be found :)

in warsaw we don't mow the grass very often recently. It is because of the small amount of rainfall. Unmown grass longer keeps moisture in the soil.

Wow, You are brave :D Post apocaliptic zombies from sosnowiec didn't ate You.Congratulations.

Cześć! I am an American who studied in Austria in the 1990s. I don't understand why Starbucks even exists in Europe considering how great the coffee is there.

What's so bad about that city? I've been to a dozen cities in the US that would make that place seem like a paradise.

Finally, the circle of meme is complete... I still hold that Sosnowiec isn't real tho.

Hi, I'm from Sosnowiec and I don't understand all these jokes about the city and that's because here in Sosnowiec we are very slow to catch jokes.

Case about Sosnowiec is, that upon Poland’s partition between Prussia, Austria and Russia in late 18th century, Sosnowiec was on Russian side (it was border town). People from Silesia are proud having rather Western midset for centuries (with complex Silesian identity being specific mix of German, Czech and Polish culture), wheres habitants of Sosnowiec are considered to be rather Eastern-minded (obviously, Russian way of living and the state itself was never appealing to Western Europe). Thus, although geographically, Sosnowiec is Upper Silesia, it is regarded as Russia (with adequate contempt) by Silesian people.

You need to know that you have visited the poorest area of Sosnowiec. You can find similar in Warsaw fx in the Praga district. There are many really lovely, green and lively areas of Sosnowiec. It's a much better place to live than most upper Silesian cities. If you want an amazing city with good transport from Warsaw go to Bielsko-Biała called little Vienna.

From Sosnowiec with love by Planet James.

You did it! :) I've never been to Sosnowiec but if I will I definitely must check Herbaciarnia, this place looks cool!

you risked the child coming from Sosnowiec 😶 it was a scary episode 😁

thank you for showing us Sosnowiec - the 5th dimension of Poland :)

After seeing Marina I think you should do a video of shopping for baby necessities very, very soon 👶

Deffinitelly visit Lower SIlesia. Its the most beatiful part of Poland, but also most abandoned. In Lower Silesia you should visit towns like Kłodzko, Świdnica or Wałbrzych.

Sosnowiec is an example of a town like many in Silesia and beyond. It is a post-mining town that has not yet found an idea for itself. There are a lot of people living there for whom the coal mine is their whole life. The mine is no longer there but the miners are still there. They live off their pensions. But Sosnowiec and other towns will soon flourish. The new generation, which will no longer have to deal with the mining industry, will revive these cities.

While in Katowice you visited only the main street in Sosnowiec you had time to walk around the city. I can assure you that you will find the same views in Katowice, Chorzów, Bytom, Siemianowice and other Silesian cities. Sosnowiec is pretty green for this part of Poland (industrialised cities). It is a pity you did not visit the parks that were developed in Środula, Zagórze and at Stawiki lake.

About parks. There is a trend in Poland now to reduce the number of times grass is cut down. It allows the grass to be more hydrated and resistant to drying, helps keep the micro-climate cooler and is great for bees and pollination. So it might be done on purpose.

That singing lady in Sosnowiec was really chilled.

lol @ 22:44 guy, he said to another "haha not even pigeons like you" wtf :D

If you want a city that you REALLY shouldn't visit, then check out Bytom. Once it was called a pearl of Silesia, nowadays its considered to be one of the ugliest cities in Poland.

"Very very interesting neighbourhood here. and we are looking for something interesting"😁 A good one👍

I like the way you can explore and find such random things like someone drying their laundry in the park. Crazy…

Ok guys from all the world, you've just seen a worse face of Poland. This is what it looks like in the bad neighborhoods we are joking about. But there was a lot of greenery anyway, cars on the street were safe. Peaceful surroundings, no gangs. Bicycle paths 😉 Communication that works very well. How do you rate it?

After seeing Sosnowiec I must admit I was wrong... Radom isn't that bad.

I'm surprised the video is in colour. I thought Sosnowiec was black and white.

17:27 I actually lived in this building as a student, second window from the top on the left :) Sosnowiec hosts a branch of the Silesian University of Katowice, located very close nearby. The Stonehenge pizzeria that you passed and Herbaciarnia Marzenie which you stopped by are popular student (and lecturer) hangouts.

After visiting Sosnowiec you should make a trip to Milanówek to see how people live in very rich town. It would be probably the biggest contrast you can make in Poland. It's not far from ochota, just 3 stations from Pruszków. This garden Town is the best place to live in mazowsze. There is also small town/village named Kleszczów. It's officially richest place in Poland. Definitelly worth to visit

We told you before

Jako osoba z centrum kraju zupełnie nie rozumiem tego natrząsania się Ślązaków z Sosnowca. Miasto jak miasto - wcale nie najgorsze! Trzymam kciuki, żeby Sosnowiec dalej się szybko rozwijał i przeganiał te poniemieckie "cuda".

To experience real Silesia you really need to visit "Familoki" - residence. Essentially houses made for mine or steel mill workers. In Katowice there is renovated place called "Nikiszowiec". Really awesome place. I am sure You will love it.

Its not true there are no chain stores in Sosnowiec :) Next to the Malachowskiego street You were walking is Sosnowiec Plaza with c&a, cinema city, mcdonalds etc There is Plejada shopping centre with reserved zara bershka And they have very good looking (with London-look alleys;) „Designer Outlet” shopping centre with calvin klein, timberland, deni cler, ecco, regatta, large nike factory store …

Sosnowiec is not in Silesia, it's in Zagłębie. You need a passport to get there from Silesia😉

time for ENERGYLANDIA

22:46 One boy says to another: - Even pigeons don't like you ... :)

Yo James, you made a mockery of the city I grew up in, I thought we were pals

I like your way of looking at urban streets, so subscribed in the hopes of seeing more like this. If you want to visit another small city that people warned against, maybe you could do a trip to Włocławek. Four years ago I got some help identifying my grandmother's old village from people on a Polish genealogy forum. I asked which city would be best to stay in for a couple of days, Włocławek or Płosk, as they were both about the same distance away. I got several comments to the effect that nobody had heard anyone say anything good about Włocławek, but Płosk was good to visit for a couple of days. In the end I decided they were right, and that Płosk might be easier for non-Polish speaking tourists. We very much enjoyed our time there. But I've wanted to go back and see Włocławek, too, just because my grandmother (who had spelled it Rätslavik, which I presume was the German version) had said it was the nearest town to her village. On our last day in Poland we were strolling around various side streets in Warsaw, somewhat like you were doing in Muranów , and I told my wife we should never come back, because it could never be this good again. I've wanted to go back anyway, but covid and other things have interfered and at our age there may not be too many more opportunities. A few weeks ago I checked on the hotels we had stayed at in Płosk and Warsaw, and it seemed they were not taking reservations all summer. I wonder if they are housing refugees from Ukraine now, which made me wonder if as tourists in Poland we would just be getting in the way. Watching your videos may be the closest I can get to seeing the things I want to see. (For several years I've wanted to visit Ukraine, too, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen anytime soon.)

One of the strangest cities in Silesia is Jastrzębie-Zdrój, before the 2WW a picturesque healing resort, where later on huge deposits of hard coal were found and where such special (and currently expensive) coal mine is located. This is the biggest city with ~80k inhabitants without any train connection, with tremendous amount of similar blocks of flats and with one of the highest suicide rates in the region. On the other hand, very green with many parks and one with the highest income per capita in the entire country 🤪

Those post-industrial cities still look like 50 years ago...everything is rusty and half-demolished... Bytom is even worse! I guess it must be similar to the US "Rust of Belt" region

No all is cotton candy and pixie dust, isn't it? So, Lower Silesia next!

Hey bro, we are gonna be in Warsaw this Saturday. Just let me know if u need anything from Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Cheers mate. Keep up the good work!

Nice :D I love this city!

I prefer if they don't cut grass too often. A bit more real, relaxing and probably better for pollinators, birds, etc.

all the towns within that metropolitan area would require many days if not weeks to properly visit and explore. I've been to Gliwice, Chorzów and Bytom, for instance, and Bytom was the most depressive, almost as apocalyptic as Sosnowiec ;) but there's a museum with decent artworks. Tarnowskie Góry has a defunct quarry/mine with great rocks to admire. And don't forget about the hałdas all across the Upper Silesia

next city to visit: Wejherowo - Sosnowiec of Pomeranian disrict ;)

Jestem rodowitym Warszawianinem i zauważyłem, że dowcipy o Sosnowcu opowiadają głównie ludzie z różnych Zielonek, Tłuszcza czy Przasnysza. Nie da się ukryć, że próbują tak odreagować kompleksy. Tak mówię szczerze. Miejsce pochodzenia oczywiście nie ma znaczenia dla tego kim się jest, ale nie udawajmy też, że nie ma czegoś takiego jak kompleks pochodzenia z małego miasta. I właśnie taki kompleks łatwo odreagować śmiejąc się z innego miasta.

I totally agree with Marina - this small park, with big pond in the center and various trees around, was also my favourite. Remove the asphalt and it would be a great place to film some scenes in a fantasy movie :) Beautiful.

You guys did it!😆👍 Wow, some interesting marketing strategy and quite a lineup of those business there... guns, security, coffins.🤦🏼‍♀️😄 Sosnowiec scores big in my book for not having the terrible Starbucks anywhere in sight. Btw, there was something charming about that tearoom and that area in general.

Im suprised people in Sosnowiec didnt think you're trying to steal their souls with that magic little box and started throwing rocks at you.

The Mayor of Sosnowiec heard that James wanna visit the city, that's why he started renovation and rebuild. It's a pity he didn't make it on time... ;)

Thanks for sharing your day off the beaten path !

Stonehenge Pub! 😃 Must be area of Żytnia St. then. We were visiting it lot, while studying English at university nearby 😊

8:09 In the building where I work in my town there's a bistro with Polish Kitchen meals for 18 zlotys or even cheaper (depend what meal) and this is something wonderful. I love it in my country. I think at 8:09 you see something similar. With such prices it's not economical to cook in home (time, electricity, water, products). I do it only in weekends, what is some kind of relax to me, unless we go to restaurants.

Everything is a balcony. Balconies are life :D. Seriously, when I look at balconies I can hear your voice in my head :P I think I overdosed youtube.

I love your heavy Ukrainian accent !

uhhh episode about Sosnowiec mhhhhmmm yummie :D haha... bless from Gliwice form Upper Silesia :) you need to check our cute, compact City :) You will love to be here...

Iam from Sosnowec near Katowice.... Katowice is very good better than Sosnowiec. they could look better but wrong people are presidents !! Lots of buildings are from ww2 or maybe before and they look scary or you could say patology living there :( in Sosnowiec you could smell too much smoke from chimneys never mind i was born there i have family in Sosnowiec since 10 years lots of changed in Sosnowiec or Katowice in some of part of sosnowiec or katowice nobody restored any buildings or roads :( I hope you enjoyed your stay :)

In fact there is a movement of people fighting for city services not to trim grass. This way it doesn't dry out and it keeps water in the soil. This makes temperature lower too! It preserves bees and other worms that are very important to the nature. So it's actually nice that they keep it long and wild. It is miserable when everything is perfect. Nature is perfect as it is, no man hand is necessary all the time, right? 😇

I lived in Sosnowiec for almost 4 months. The city's bad reputation is far worse then the city actually is. Actually I was even surprised that it has a well kept sort of historical city centre. It has several faculties of Silesian university, It has all the facilities and amenities you need, it is clean and we'll kept in general. Besides, it is mostly inexpensive. Moreover, it's very well connected with Katowice and it even has some decent night life due to the large amount of students. Bad side is ...the large amount of socially struggling people: the unemployed, the alcoholics, the addicts. So, as a result the high level of criminality, the high amount of neo Nazis. The high amount of lombards, alarm or security shops etc. gives you a hint of what you may be exposed to... Being a foreigner, not knowing Polish makes it harder to live there. Sosnowiec is among the least English proficient places I have ever seen, despite the fact that they have one of the best foreign language faculties in Poland and Europe down there. But yet again, university and local community were clearly two separate parallel world. To wrap it up, Sosnowiec really made me interested in Polish language and culture (though Sosnowiec admittedly is representative of upper Silesia) because if Sosnowiec is the worst city in Poland, as I was so often told, yet it was still better than many places in other parts of the world that are even considered to be nice, then the rest of Poland must be a paradise.

You must see Pszczyna, Pearl of Upper Silesia ❤️❤️❤️

There is a famous saying about Sosnowiec that the best thing you can encounter there is a bus to Katowice :D

It must've been a quaint city at one time. Doesn't look like much new economic growth (all the $2.50 stores!) Glad you were safe; a few streets made me a bit nervous.

Sosnowiec is NOT Upper Silesia, it's in another region called : Zagłębie (in English it would be : Basin, cuz it is a coal basin). Even though Katowice and Sosnowiec are very close to each other, circa 30 min on tram or bus, the cultures there are very different, also mentality is different, we call it sometimes "The furthest Southern district of Warsaw" ;P

did anyone made you aware that Sosnowiec is just over the border of Silesia? It's not only regional border but former country border at times. At there is a big difference about IN Silesia and OUT :). Not necessarily resentment.

Did you meet many Polish Plumbers? They were very popular in Pre-Brexit Little Britain 🇬🇧 but have returned to Poland in droves.

If you are looking for underrated cities, visit Bydgoszcz.

If you like nice parks then you should check up one in Kazimierz Gorniczy (part of Sosnowiec). No disappointment there. They even have a mini zoo - it's free. (at least it was like that in my times in Poland)

I lived few years ago in Bytom(also close to Katowice). And i agree theres huge diference from other big cities in Poland. In central area you can find a lot of seconhands, cheap shops "5zł za wszystko", cheap boots and antykwariat(used books). I actualy miss last one :( and kind of building also make huge diference. You can't find familoki(buildings for miners 10:35) in other part of Poland so you can easily recognize by them where you are.

Im glad someelse mentioned the grass in public parks being allowed to grow `wild` by not cutting the lawns.Anyway,James, great portray of this town/city. Did you come to a conclusion why this town has a negative reputation? keep safe you four

If you have been kidnapped and forced to say those things blink twice

Sosnowiec Air is different xDDDDD

Województwo śląskie dzielimy na Sosnowiec i resztę :) A tak poważnie, to Sosnowiec jest dla nas za granicą:)

I'm so glad you both survived!

Another Polish city that everyone makes fun of is Radom ;) It's really close to Warsaw, you should check it out!

Sosnowiec - an industrial city where coal mining was a king and still is to some extend. It is a Poland version of Manchester if you will But Sosnowiec and Katowice are worth seeing since they have their own entity and are still interesting.

Finally you have found some bad maintained area 😄 Łódź in many places out of touristy areas looks like Sosnowiec so I am not surprised.

It is so nice to see these streets once again ;)

okey, now its time for Radom!

We invite you to visit Bydgoszcz :)

9:45 it was poster about live show Never heard of SKA music ?

Of course we have brilliant cities and so called "back water" places. But thanks to 1990 act every community in Poland has it's own local government and budget, and only locals decide what to spend money on. Today Sosnowiec is only proverbial "mole hole". Compare to 80's the town changed beyond expectations. By the way: south of Gliwice (another Silesian city) is a settlement called Wilcze Gardło. It was designed as perfect nazi town. Absolutely worth to visit!

I see it was warm enough for Marina to take her jacket off! And I figured out that there were no seats left on the train, although I didn't get all the words.

Now that you have seen the worse city in Poland go to one of the gems. Which is Zamość. It's a really unique little town.

2nd best city in Poland, Radom, please go there xd

There is knew wave about treating the grass in the cities. The cutting is not eco friendly. We have to get used to bushes in the city. I like it.

I have to explain few things. After partitions of Poland Sosnowiec was under RuSSian occupation and the Silesia was under German occupation. Yeah Sosnowiec is not Silesia. When Poland regained its independece Sosnowiec was border town and Silesia was still in German hands. There were 3 big Silesian uprisings in 1919,1920, 1921. Headquarters of some Polish volunteers fighting in that uprisings were in Sosnowiec. Even many people of Sosnowiec and Będzin were fighting in those uprisings, including Jan Kiepura. German propaganda made the Sosnowiec enemy number one which turned into laughter after the wars.

2:00 Sosnowiec is not in upper Silesia bur near. But nice video

I highly recommend polish yt channel "Ciekawe Historie" in these film materials you can see how Poland functioned in the communist era and what is the history of large-panel gray blocks massive builded in era of Gierek (one of the main polish comunist leader in 1970s who took a loan in west countries)

to try really good ice cream you have to go to Skoczów ;)

Sosnowiec is quite cool in my opinion.

Pogoń is a Polish professional football/soccer/ club..The club was founded by Poles from Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine)

Sosnowiec - the land that time forgot

After visiting Sosnowiec, you have earned the title of "Extreme Travelers"

I love the way you said Polski kurczak, it sounded really funny xD

And tomorrow, you should visit ŚWIEBODZIN.

Well, at least the weather was nice =D