It felt strange to set off alone into the unknown after so many months with so many people and so much organised. I did experience a feeling of freedom , especially when I was able to sit and enjoy a chicken curry in Berlin. I have not had curry for a month! but as I got to Poland I also felt aittle uncomfortable not understanding a word of what was being announced. I could not even start to guess. Luckily I had very nice people in my compartment. After being alone a while from Berlin, a smiley man with long dreadlocks arrived. He was from Ethiopia and living in Warsaw. His English was excellent so we passed the time easily. As he left, two others arrived, both Polish. The older man got out an English text book and started to do his huge amount of homework. He had a talking dictionary which he used frequently. The pronunciation was dreadful, almost unrecognisable. I felt as if I should help him but didnt want to be pushy. The other young man was a real gentleman and he organised an extremely cheap taxi for me so I would not get ripped off. Only 10 zloty , about2.5 francs, for 10 minute drive. So cheap.when I asked Dennis's driver he would have charged 30!
My first impressions of the appartment were not so good , as the entrance was in a dark back alley with 4 or 5 men smoking on the step. Luckily the owner carried my bag upstairs and into the flat, which was fantastic, big and airy with a huge bedroom and lounge, both with sofa beds. Perfect. We were near lots of great restaurants and 2 minutes from main tourist area. Brilliant.
I had to wait acouple of hours and then Dennis arrived. So fabulous to see him again.
Off we went to check out the local bars. Really nice friendly places. While Dennis sampled the local beers, all different colours, i enjoyed a huge aperol spritz. There was so much to talk about till the early hours of the next morning. Wonderful😀
We spent the first day enjoying the beautiful city of Gdansk, whilst catching up on the past month - alittle! I think I could easily have spent a lot more time there but I so enjoyed every minute, not seeing everything did not matter. Sorry, but once again I was lucky with the weather. It had apparently been raining for 3 or 4 days before we arrived. Of course, perfect weather does make a difference and of course company too.
The Long Market is particularly beautiful with all its colourful Hanseatic houses . In the middle is a marvelous fountain dating back three centuries, Neptune's fountain.
Then you wander through the town gates and find yourself at the Motlawa River. It is beautiful there with all the picturesque buildings and Europe's largest harbour crane surrounded by fabulous architecture old and new.
The street I loved the most was Mariacka Street. Not only did it have fabulous homes, but also galleries and shops in their cellars and incredible gargoyles, statues and flowers. We stopped in a cafe here for a while to watch the hundreds of passers by. Most seem to be Polish. We heard little English or German. The area is renowned for its amber and of course there was a massive choice. On my last day I went back there to buy myself a momento of these wonderful days.
And this gargoyle I particularly loved with its Afro haircut ! Sadly could not take it with me?
Everything is very tasteful, very calm, very non threatening, simply stunning.
As I mentioned, there were some very special statues. You had to look up and away from the normal sightseeing spots to notice them. I like doing this. 😀
St Mary's church was fantastic. It is the largest brick church in the workd and is held up by its 27 magnificent pillars. The astronomical clock and also a sculpture of the Madonna were wonderful.
Language lesson for the day!
Good thing I did not take my suitcase in!
Dennis and I sat for quite a while outside the Pyra restaurant below our appartment before we realised that the following sign must mean 'self service' 😐
Even as linguists, we had no way of guessing. We realised we need to study further!
Sunday we decided to have a day at the beach. I needed to sort out my train journeys now that I have found out that trying to get back to Wales for Vera's funeral would be extremely costly and difficult to organise, especially away from home.
By lunchtime we were on our way to Sopot,the party centre of Gdansk apparently. Today, few parties, but thousands of all ages enjoying the brilliant weather, peace and tranquility. After a very good lunch with very pleasant service, we headed back to the pier, where before lunch there had been a massive queue waiting to pay to get on the pier - not much at all to pay, but you couldn't get on otherwise. By the time we got back there were no queues and no crowds - thankfully !
After our wander there we headed to the beach, which had also emptied out a bit! Long sandy white beaches with incredibly shallow and quite warm water. I found a good spot to go in, where it got a bit deeper, and had a heavenly dip in the Baltic Sea. Hope I can do this later on too. It was so nice to be on a beach again, especially once the sun was no longer quite so strong.
We decided to change and have a 'quick' drink at the beach bar. Several hours later Dennis and I were still there enjoying the ambiance, music, drinks and people. Was super. We ended up having to leave cos they shut about 19.30 after sunset.😏
You can see how much we enjoyed ourselves!
We ate well in Gdansk, mostly Polish and very cheaply. They eat a lot of potatoes, potato pancakes, dumplings, salads and fish. All very tasty and exceptionally filling.
I passed this beautiful building en route to the station. It reminded me of Colmar in the Alsace.
What a brilliant short stay in this gorgeous city with Dennis. It was an unforgettable experience.
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