Travel stories continue. This year I have already visited the fifth country, but certainly not the last. Moreover, we took the trip to Poland for the second time (see Travel diary Krakow). Why does Poland attract me so much? Flights almost for free, the possibility of switching off for a few days in a nice place where there is still a lot to discover. And the Poles and the terminals? I’d rather be silent.
You can find flights to a liter for Gdansk, or really anywhere in Poland. That’s almost for free, right? Add accommodation for less than 4k and you have 4 days in Gdansk by the sea, which will cost you less than in Prague.
After the Wednesday afternoon arrival, we wanted to take a taxi. But we didn’t feel like waiting 20 minutes for Bolt, so we ran to the almost departing train. Fortunately, the tickets could be bought even inside, which couldn’t be said about the connecting tram. There, the driver showed us a QR code that we should download the app. Well, which one or what with it, he didn’t say, the terminal for tickets also didn’t work, so we tried Bolt again and it worked, fortunately.
We checked in, and then we set out to find a place to eat something. What else to start with in Poland than pirogi. Well, and since we were flying to the (Baltic) sea in October, we moved to the apartment after a short walk and chilled out.
On Thursday, we went for breakfast to Chleb i Wino, and damn, I haven’t had such a good breakfast in a long time. So I definitely recommend it. Just be careful, it’s quite crowded, so you might want to make a reservation. Then again a walk through the city – the old town, where there is really a lot to see. Gdansk is exactly one of those places where you can set out into the city without a goal and still have plenty to look at.
Monuments, museums, parks, but the shopping mall Forum?! This is the first time I’ve praised a shopping mall. Can it look like this even with us, please? Would you recognize from the outside that it’s a shopping mall?
Then we set out for a walk to the sea, well, it was almost an hour-long walk. Again we had a problem finding tickets for the tram. No vending machines anywhere and the installed terminals in the trams were still covered with foil, so non-functional. Well, I was already preparing how I would argue with a Polish ticket inspector that I couldn’t buy it anywhere. And an app that wants all my details, including blood type, hair sample and maiden name of my great-grandmother, I really don’t want to have on my phone.
For dinner, we found a great Polish soup in bread, remember our trip to Krakow? Here it was more easy, Polpietro.
On Friday, we had pretty nasty weather. It was raining and the wind was blowing like crazy (October, well). In any case, that doesn’t mean we stayed at home. We headed to the nearby Museum of the Second World War. The entrance was for 25 PLN, so nothing terrible. Anyway, the building from the outside is again beautiful. Only the museum is in the basement and the upper floors are offices and a restaurant right at the top, which was closed that day. We went through the museum in about 2 hours and again the Polish nature pissed us off – they push you, don’t give way, don’t apologize, nothing… Just the same as when we were in Krakow.
After visiting the museum, we wanted to go eat, Jan Just recommended a pizzeria that was ranked in the top 50 European pizzerias. Anyway, we didn’t feel like waiting in line for 30 people. Want to know which pizzeria it was? You’ll find out at the end. So we headed to the Chinese, then a quick visit to the Forum shopping mall. Well, in the drugstore, the Poles again showed their true colors – the terminal didn’t work and they didn’t have any change. But why would they stress about it when there were only about another 40 people in line… Cheap grocery shopping and back to the apartment.
On Saturday, just before the flight, we headed to the European Solidarity Center, which is again a beautiful building with a museum inside, the journey there was a bit of a struggle, but it was doable. Well, after a 15-minute wait in a line of about 50 people for one cash register, we gave up to catch the plane.
But we went to Ostro. The pizzeria I mentioned above. Really great pizza and a piece of Italy in Gdansk. We really recommend it! Then we took a walk through the old town and went looking for a ticket vending machine again. And look, on the second try, the machine worked. Finally, we knew we wouldn’t ride for free. Hurray!
If you haven’t been to Gdansk yet, fix that. I’ve put together a few tips on what to do in Gdansk in any weather – that means even in October. Cheap flights, accommodation is also cheap, the food is fine. You just have to get used to more inconsiderate people – or did we just have bad luck again? It can still be done before winter. For winter wanderings, it’s more for the hardened.
