The Eras Train Tour on film

I’ve discovered that I’ve missed quite a few sets of film photos but I like them and I think they show a slightly different perspective on places and on travel, especially with the fact that you don’t get to find out whether they even worked until a good few weeks later. They’ll never replace the digital photos that I just take by the 1000s, knowing that I’ve got a picture of everything from every angle but I really like to have the film ones too.

So, last August I went to see Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Warsaw and after many months of failing to plan, I realised the best way to turn it into an adventure was to go to Warsaw on the train. I ended up taking eight days to get from London to Warsaw and I stopped off for a night or two in Berlin, Poznań, Wrocław and Łódź along the way.

Slightly damp selfie in a greyish grainy 35mm film photo. I'm at the beach club by Badeschiff in central Berlin, a bright blue swimming pool in a hollowed-out barge floating in the river.

Let’s start with me! Here I am at Badeschiff, which is a swimming pool in the converted hull of a barge floating in the river, with a kind of beach club on the bank next to it. Here is a lovely grainy 35mm film selfie with the pool in the background. I’m damp because I’ve already been swimming and although the photo is mostly quite grey-brown, the pool is very bright blue.

The Badeschiff beach club. There's a lot of decking and a lot of deckchairs and behind them, you can see the pool floating in the river.

A better look at the beach club around Badeschiff. Right here in the city centre are deckchairs and sand and drinks and a floating swimming pool literally in the river.

A singular man sitting on the shelf in one end of Badeschiff, which is surrounded by the river. He looks very serene.

The pool itself is quite deep – the entire depth of the old barge’s hull – but at each end is a shallower shelf so that you can sit or sunbathe. Here in this photo is one singular man sitting on that shelf taking a break between lengths and looking very chilled. Now you can have a proper look at the way the pool is floating in the river.

Berlin Cathedral, very much looming in all its Neo-Renaissance glory.

Berlin Cathedral, a grey big heavy chunk of cathedral in the Neo-Renaissance style, which isn’t my favourite. The picture is slightly out of focus and the sky is also heavy with cloud.

A selfie in a glass-roofed boat on a canal in the middle of Berlin. It's actually raining outside which is why the glass roof has been pulled over.

Another film selfie, this time in a river boat with a retractable glass roof, which has been pulled closed because the heavy clouds from the cathedral photo have now been replaced with rain.

Berlin Cathedral seen between much more modern buildings from the boat on the river approaching the cathedral.

Berlin Cathedral again, this time from a bit more of a distance, as seen from the boat. On the left is a modern building and on the right is the view down the boat, with the roof now partly retracted because the rain has stopped.

The more modern buildings around the Hauptbahnhof as seen from the river. The glass buildings, blue sky and orange edge to the footpath above the river give it a proper 60s retro-futuristic vibe.

And another picture from the Berlin boat trip. This is down by the main station, where there are lots of glass buildings. I love how the glass, the shapes and the colours in this picture combine to give a proper mid-century retro-futuristic vibe. It was really hot by now on the boat trip because the sun came out and the glass roof just cooked us inside.

The main square in Poznan - one side of a square made up of tall, thin colourful houses.

And now we’re in Poland! This is the main square in Poznań, under a lovely blue sky and sunshine. I can’t remember if I was still awed by the beauty by now or if I was starting to feel the effects of not actually having eaten yet or if this is post chips-in-a-pavement-cafe.

There are some more modern buildings right in the central of the square with a rainbow of ribbons filling the gaps between them.

The moment I saw these rainbow streamers, I knew they were just made for a film photo. Considering how grey-brown the Berlin pictures are, I’m loving how this roll is finally starting to pick up bright colours.

The main square in Wroclaw, similar to the one in Poznan but bigger and grander.

Wrocław’s square is a lot bigger than Poznań’s and a little more colourful. There’s a big stage set in one corner ready for the weekend’s Warsaw Uprising memorial.

The cathedral island in Wroclaw as seen from the other side of the river. Most of the churches are red brick, sticking out of dark green trees against a blue sky.

Oh, Cathedral Island! So much Gothic glory in one little island! Another one where I love the effect of colour on film – the churches are already golden-orange but they’ve also got the low evening sun on them, the blue sky and the river reflecting everything.

The main square in Warsaw. It's a lot busier than either Poznan or Wroclaw but the square is also smaller and tighter.

I had a lot going on in Warsaw – I went to see Taylor Swift! – so I didn’t think to get the film camera out again until Monday, when the weather turned quite dramatically after it had been hot and dry the entire time I was in Poland. This is Warsaw’s turn at the main square – much smaller and much busier! It’s a bit grey again but the orange buildings show up nicely.

Warsaw National Stadium across the river, a kind of red wicker basket looming above the city.

That’s where I went to see Eras! That’s Warsaw’s National Stadium across the river. It looks a bit like a red wicker basket sticking out of the trees.

Warsaw's Palace of Culture & Science, a 60s yellow stone Stalinist skyscraper towering over the city.

And the last picture – Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science, an unwanted present from Stalin. Moscow has seven of these yellow stone skyscrapers and then there are a few more in Riga, Kyiv, Prague, Bucharest and right here. I personally like the style but, like everyone in a city with a tall thing, it’s said that the best views of Warsaw are from atop it because it’s the only place you can’t see the tall thing itself.