Szczecin, a Polish port city near the German border, has a lot to provide travelers. There’s the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle, total with an elaborate clock tower and the cell of an implicated witch who apparently cursed the castle’s owners in the 17th century. And Kasprowicza Park, whose tree-lined pathway looks picturesque at any time of the year.
But it’s tough to take on the marvel of Gacek, a portly tuxedo cat with a first-class typical score on Google. Notes from Poland reports that Gacek increased to popularity due to a viral video that regional news website wSzczecinie published in 2020. According to Marta Nowicka, a regional female talked to in the video, Gacek had actually appeared on Kaszubska Street in downtown Szczecin approximately 7 years previously. Passersby required to feeding him, and ultimately the extremely thin cat ended up being rather a chonky one.
Gacek—which equates to “long-eared bat” in Polish—resides in a roofed wood box outside a shop and kills time bearing with great deals of attention from doting travelers. Though he isn’t formally owned by anybody, the neighborhood has actually developed some guideline for visitors. A regional animal shelter put out the word that individuals shouldn’t feed him themselves; there’s likewise an indication outside his residence—potentially published by the shop’s owners, who serve as Gacek’s de facto caretakers—asking for that any edible offerings be left in sealed containers. And while it’s great to snap images of Gacek at any time, visitors must avoid cuddling him if he’s asleep.
More than 2580 Google users have actually visited him as a traveler destination and left evaluations about the experience. The bulk granted Gacek 5 star and explained their meet-and-greets in distinctly influenced methods. “As expected, he didn’t pay any attention to me which made the experience fully wholesome,” one visitor from Oslo composed. “Good cat for a nice evening or even afternoon,” another commented. One even provided Gacek 5 star on the premises that he apparently “saved my marriage and cured my sick child … saved my dear aunt from [a] burning building [and] helped me move when I lost my house due to economic depression.”
He’s been referred to as a “fantastically handsome and superb fellow,” a “free serotonin,” and “not a dog.” Another customer encapsulated Gacek’s appeal in one expressive two-word sentence: “He chomnk.”
Gacek has actually gathered a handful of one-star evaluations, the majority of which are important towards the caretaker or express concern over his weight. That said, he did obviously scratch somebody’s lower arm and take a sausage. But no one’s best.
[h/t Notes from Poland]
