Friday 30th July 2010 Gdansk
Flight W6 306 with Wizz Air from Liverpool to Gdansk, Poland. Departing at 07.55 and arriving at 11.05
We paid 3 zloty each on bus number 210 from Gdansk Airport to Gdansk Dworzec Glowny, bus indication for final stop was Orunia. Buses go every 30 minutes.
Ruth had already paid 220 zloty for one night’s accommodation as a deposit by credit card on the internet, arranged with Grand Tourist Agency at Podwale Grozkie 8 in the subway by the train station. Now she paid the balance of 880 zloty for the remaining four nights. Our accommodation was a four room apartment on the third floor overlooking Mariacka between St Mary’s Church and the river, the Vistula. The apartment was number 5 in block 21/22. Today we limited ourselves to a look around the old town to get our bearings. We meandered around the cobbled streets and noticed there was a lot of covered stalls being erected. We had stumbled on an event that starts today and lasts until the 22nd September. This is the 750 year celebration of St Dominic and we had come across it the Michael Palin way, purely by accident of course! This event really added to our stay in Gdansk. That evening we watched musicians climbing the high wall of the Town Hall on the Dlugi Targ as they struggled to get in place for playing as a group hanging on ropes from the wall. They were very late starting – it should have been 22.00 but it wasn’t until 22.45 that they finally got going. We waited at the Long Market for ¾ of an hour and almost got crushed by the patiently waiting crowd. Later there were fireworks at 23.30 but we missed that as we were back in the apartment. I went out to see them but was too late.
Supermarket over the river bridge, food for our stay in the apartment - 36.40 zloty
St Mary’s church - 3 zloty
Saturday 31st July 2010 Sopot
It was forecast a dry warm and sunny day today so we walked along to Gdansk Dworzec Glowny rail station and bought train tickets in the subway to Sopot. We walked past the crazy curved house and had a look inside but in there it’s quite normal and really only offices, health clubs and bars. We walked on to the covered stalls after walking across the open area surrounded by outdoor cafes. There’s a divided covered crescent of open shops selling jewellery and food. In the divide we walked on to the pier – 4 zloty admission each and read that this was the longest wooden pier in Europe – well it’s quite long but may not be the longest – I think Llandudno pier is. There are no amusement rides or cheapy shops along the pier unlike Llandudno – just the view looking out to sea and back to the Grand Hotel at the beach. We had a walk through the Molo – old Communist sign – and followed the path shared with a cycle-path some way but we couldn’t see the sea as there’s long grass growing from the sand dunes. We came back the same way, had an ice cream then back to the train for the trip back to Gdansk. When we got back we went into the Madison Centre near the station and I bought a pair of black toe covered sandals for work that I can’t seem to find back home having scoured Manchester shops. Later we walked the riverside some way and stopped for fish and chips from a floating boat restaurant. Later that evening we decided to try a restaurant close to our apartment that was away from the riverside on Piwna Chlebnicka. It was very good but we found somewhere even better for the other evenings following.
Sopot pier – 8 zloty
Shoe shop in Madison Centre, black sandals – 139.00 zloty (£30)
Fish and chips on the boat café – 7.20 zloty Cakes and bread from cakeshop in Madison Centre – 5.50 zloty
Evening meal at Estragon restaurant – 70.15 zloty
Train tickets return from Sopot 3.10 x 4 – 12.40 zloty
Sunday 1st August 2010 Gdynia
Today we ventured a bit further on the train to see the third town – Gdynia. We queued for the train tickets for the same blue and yellow local train and again from platform 4 for Spot again but this time continued on to Gdynia. We got off the train at the main station and walked to the end of the wide pier that’s a continuation of the main road. Along the pier on the left side are two ships – one that served in the second world war and had retreated to England in 1939 rather thabn stand the risk of being scuppered by the German fleet. The other ship was a galleon that housed part of the navy training. We walked to the end of the pier then back along the other side to walk the esplanade south to the end then up some steps over short stretch of sand and up to a car park then diagonally up through the woods to the south end of Gdynia and ovber the rise to Gdynia south station at Redlowo. From there it was back to Gdansk.
We bought some cakes to have an afternoon tea back at the apartment, and also bread for breakfast.
That evening we had a walk along the riverside then to another restaurant in Piwna Chlebnika at the other end of the street. This was much better. We enjoyed some very filling meals here.
Train tickets return from Gdynia 4.50 x 4 – 18 zloty
Cakes and bread from cakeshop in Madison Centre – 9.65 zloty
Evening meal at Kos restaurant – 71.50 zloty
Monday 2nd August 2010 Gdansk and Westerplatte
Today the weather forecast was for heavy rain so after a walk around Gdansk following the recommended tour from the book and covering all the main sites we went for the 14.00 boat , the galleon to Westerplatte. The trip took 40 minutes and there was a commentary along the way in Polish, English and German. We passed the Gdansk shipyards of Lech Walensa fame, Solidarity and the rise against Communism and got off at Westerplatte for a walk through the woods to the memorial of Polish battkes in WW2. From there back to the beach and lay on the grass for a while then back on the 16.35 boat to Gdansk on the galleon. It started raining halfway back and didn’t let up until about 22.00 after we finished our meal at the Kos restaurant.
Galleon trip to Westerplatte – 80 zloty
Evening meal at Kos restaurant - 63.00 zloty
Tuesday 3rd August 2010 Gdansk and Sopot
We took the train to Spot as the waitress in the Kos restaurant last night said it was going to be a fine day today – it wasn’t.
It was overcast to begin with and we decided to have a coffee after admiring a statue dangling on a wire over the road and another look around the curved house. We went for coffee at the Mexican restaurant to the right of the road just before the open area for the pier. While we sat and drank outside under the canopies the heavens opened. We sat there for over an hour waiting for the rain to go off – we couldn’t move anyway or risk being drenched. The waitresses at the Mexican looked so out of place in their bikinis! It would have been OK on Saturday but not today. The rain eventually eased and we walked to the crescent of shops before the pier. All we bought were some wooden flowers for our kitchen ornaments and two plastic macs for 5 zloty – they were needed! We also used them to get back to the apartment later from the train station. I had a Polish sausage on the way back. Ruth bought some dangling bells for a kitchen ornament. We had afternoon tea and a delicious fruit cake bought from near the station then went out again later to the Kos restaurant. This evening we just had pasta and a small beer each. Later a last walk down the main street
Supermarket – 9.24 zloty
Plastic macs at Sopot – 10 zloty
Wooden plants, 6 x 1.5 zloty – 9 zloty
Bell ornament for kitchen – 39 zloty
Shop for trip back tomorrow – 7.11 zloty
Train tickets return from Sopot 3.10 x 4 – 12.40 zloty
Wednesday 4th August 2010 Homeward Bound
Flight W6 305 with Wizz Air from Gdansk to Liverpool.
Departing at 06.00 and arriving at 07.25
I couldn’t sleep! I dozed, rested but was very light headed. Ruth packed the remainder of her bag with the toiletries and we had coffee, I finished the muesli and we left the apartment at 03.30 and wheeled our small cases through the streets. We were amazed to see young people hanging about outside a night club on Piwna Chlebnicka, very much awake and noisy! We were glad we didn’t go for an apartment along this road – well I was pleased with Ruth’s choice! She had found a very good place for us to stay that was central but quiet. We dropped the key off in the small metal box by the Grand-Tourist office and walked up the steps to the taxi ran. The taxi was already arranged by Melka in the office 2 days ago but we agreed a price of 50 zloty to the airport. It only took 20 minutes to get there, we arrived at 04.30. We passed through the checking I right away. I finished our bottled water then we passed through the customs search. There were no problems. We waited an hour then whisked through the gate, Wizz Air left on time. I slept all the way back with earplugs stuffed in and wearing the blindfold, oblivious to all. Ruth bought 2 coffees but I just wanted to sleep. We arrived in Liverpool on time but delayed getting off the plane because the ladder wasn’t in place. We passed through customs with no problems. Most of the passengers were Polish and many had children that had minds of their own. We were collected by the car park pick up company from Speke Boulevard and left in our car for home at 08.00, home at 09.00. I slept for a while then typed this diary on the computer later after unpacking my bag. It’s never been easier not having cases – only allowed hand luggage so we had no complications at the airports.