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Our first stop of the day was at St. Mary’s Church, which is the co-cathedral for the area along with Oliwa Cathedral. I’ve written about this building before, but it’s a magnificent and grand structure. I’m always quite taken by the height of the aisles, but the history of it bouncing between the Catholic and Lutheran traditions for centuries is fascinating and it has only been Catholic once again since 1945. Many of the artworks from the church were in the care of the National Museum in Warsaw and were only returned back here in the 1990s.

This is new since my last visit, the burial place of Paweł Adamowicz who served as the Mayor of Gdansk between 1998 and 2019 when he was assassinated. He was killed at a charity event by a man with mental health issues, a tragedy that I remember sent shockwaves throughout Poland and beyond.

Steve found a leaflet about the Polish camino, he’s done numerous of these long walks in Spain and so he was surprised and delighted by this. My next problem was getting Bev and Susanna out of the building as we’re returning later in the weekend if possible to climb the tower, but fortunately they eventually noticed my passive aggressive hints they needed to leave for the moment.

Anyway, more about this building in later posts, although I’ve written before about the Astronomical Clock and the story that Soviet troops smashed their way into vaults of the building.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep up on this blog given how much I forced the group to pack into yesterday, but let’s see how we go. As we woke up on the third day of this trip, we had Steve in a Gdansk airport hotel, Richard in a Warsaw hotel and then Bev and Susanna in their city centre Gdansk hotel sobering up after their missing the flight the previous day.

I had been woken at 06:00 by the church bells, but I considered this as a good thing, generations of people have been woken up by them and it all adds to the authenticity of a visit. Someone might complain in the future and they’ll be silenced, but for now, they can ring freely. I couldn’t actually see the church from my window, but I could see the tower of the Mercure Gdansk, so my two loyal readers can look at a photo of that. I’m not sure how I haven’t managed to stay there, maybe next time.

Steve, ever calm and professional, managed to make it to the hotel where Ross and I were staying, before we went to walk to see Bev and Susanna. Susanna was there, calm and unflustered, whilst Bev had gone to get a coffee in a desperate attempt to wake up. Our day was to consist of a visit to the Cathedral, a visit to the Solidarity Museum, lunch at a decadent food court, a boat trip on a galleon, a bar and then an evening meal. Fortunately, this did work out, and as a spoiler for the next few posts I’m pleased to say that everyone was well behaved, Bev was only slightly sluggish in getting around and Richard only had one sneezing fit which caught the attention of the entire restaurant. History, culture, beer and politics, a fine combination. The only slight limitation with this whole arrangement is that it’s too hot in Gdansk.

I’ve visited Pułapka before and won’t add much to my previous post on it, but it’s another one of my favourite bars in Gdansk. I accept that I have quite a lot of favourite bars here…..

I do want to quickly write here about the Girbik from the Ziemia Obiecana brewery, and I’ve had several beers from them in the past and they’ve all been excellent. This is a 7.2% DIPA but the alcohol strength isn’t easily noticeable, it’s too smooth a beer. Hoppy, fruity and a suitably decadent way to end the evening.

Oh, and the covered over stairs to the basement, who knows what secrets lie down there….

It’s fairly likely that I’ll drag the rest of the group back here over the weekend, I’ve noticed some bottles on their Untappd list that I’ve taken quite a fancy to. Incidentally, Ross and I were in this bar when we discovered that Susanna and Bev had successfully caught their flight to Gdansk, so the weekend really will be starting soon!

I’ve been to this bar before and won’t add substantially to what I wrote following my last visit, but I like recording blackboards with beer lists.

This cellar bar is one of my favourite locations and I’ll be bringing the rest of the group here later on during this little adventure.

As I’ve frequently mentioned, I adore Funky Fluid beers and this was a competent wheat beer. I didn’t get the fishy notes that some people reviewing the beer found, but there was some element of banana going on and it all felt suitably rustic to me.

The Strawberry Mochi from Piwne Podziemie was delightful, a sour with a strong aroma of strawberries and an almost smoothie taste of them. Maybe there was just a slight artificial edge to the flavour, but it was smooth and I was sufficiently surprised and delighted by the richness of the taste. I’ve had eight beers from this brewery over the years, it’s an agreeable and reliable option for anyone who sees their beers.

I’ll definitely be back, this is a wonderful bar and the service was welcoming as ever. Oh, and for completion, Ross had the Pils which I think he rather liked.

Long ago I had a policy of always having an Indian meal in every city that I visited and I can’t recall having done that in Gdansk, so we decided to go to the best reviewed Indian restaurant that we could find.

I’d never heard of the Kamasutra beer, so I fearlessly opted for that one.

Some free pre-meal snacks. The surroundings were suitably under-stated, sometimes the internal decor of Indian restaurants can become just a bit too exotic for my liking with flashing lights, brightly coloured fountains and a seemingly random arrangement of stuffed tigers. This restaurant was clean, functional and the tables weren’t overly packed into the space that they had.

The Kamasutra transpired to be a slightly generic lager of the kind that Ross likes drinking, but it proved sufficient for my needs.

We had tried to order the same starter and I don’t think the server was very impressed at Ross’s lack of originality in copying my correct choice, so we were corralled into having different starters. In fairness, this was probably quite a good idea, here’s the first wave of chicken.

And more chicken, I’m not sure that it’s quite what we ordered, but it was still most agreeable although those sauces were a little too watery for my taste.

And the main event, chicken madras, peshwari naan and lemon rice. The latter was delicious, suitably packed with lemon flavour. The peshwari naan didn’t have the depth of flavour that I would have ideally liked, but it did feel more authentic than the versions that are served in British Indian restaurants. The chicken madras curry was fine, but again lacked a depth of flavour in the sauce, was devoid of heat-adding spice and the chicken was a little overcooked so it wasn’t as tender as it could have been. It gave me the impression that they were using a limited range of base sauces and were just throwing the chicken in at the last minute, as it hadn’t really picked up any flavour from the curry in which it sat.

However, although I wouldn’t say that the meal was exceptional, it was filling and was still an enjoyable experience. The service was attentive, polite and conversational with the staff speaking fluent English, which was not entirely surprising as most of the customers were either British or speaking English. I’d still say it’s worth a visit for anyone wanting an Indian meal in Gdansk, but probably worth booking a table on weekend evenings.

Located at ul. Młyńska 15, this is a bar that I haven’t been to before and it specialises in beer and burgers, a combination that I find most agreeable. As we were walking towards the bar, I can’t say that it initially appeared to be the most appealing visually. But first impressions can be deceptive and the on-line reviews were very positive.

The beer list was chalked up on the board on the right and the burger menu in the centre. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect given the exterior, it had been referred to as a nightclub in some places on-line, but it transpired to be an open, inviting and comfortable bar.

I have to admit that we were tempted by this, but at the time we were waiting for Bev and Susanna to arrive later in the evening and we were dining with them. It transpired they managed to miss their flight so didn’t end up arriving until after midnight, but let’s not dwell on that. Well, maybe for a few more days actually. I had a look at the photos on-line of their burgers and I don’t think that we would have been disappointed with them.

I went for the ‘May the Sun Shine’ from the formidable PINTA brewery, a nice citrus flavoured pale ale. It’s quite hot here in Gdansk at the moment, not that I’ve complained about that much, so this made the drink feel even more refreshing. Ross went for the Holba pils, which I think is Czech, which he seemed to find entirely agreeable.

The old cinema seats added to the whole ambience. The Heineken branding a little less so.

This was a much more intriguing bar than I had expected it to be, the food menu was keenly priced and as I mentioned earlier, the venue itself is very well reviewed on-line. I liked the slightly quirky edge to the arrangements here and the service was immediate and engaging, with everything feeling clean and organised. I’d happily return here and it seems that they change the beer line-up on a regular basis.

Inspired by the video we’re mentioned in, but refused to star in, we too decided to go to the football ground of Lechia Gdańsk today for a tour.

We had to wait a couple of hours for the tour as the players were training and they could see that I was a football expert, so didn’t want me critiquing their tactics. I discovered there was a McDonald’s nearby, so I was tempted into having a quick jalapeno burger whilst we waited.

The 45 minute tour costs just over £4, which seems excellent value for money to me.

The stadium is designed to be the shape of amber, which Gdansk is known for.

Our first look at the pitch.

The football stadium isn’t far from the docks and the tour guide mentioned the interior was designed with a note towards the cranes which are part of the shipyards.

That’s where the home fans sit. I hadn’t realised, but in Poland the fans are allowed to drink alcohol in the stadium.

The executive box, which costs around £2,000 for a match. This is the sort of thing that Richard would hire out for the day so that he could watch football in great comfort.

Barcelona played here in July 2013 and the players signed a flag. Barcelona played Lionel Messi and debuted Neymar, with the final score being 2-2.

The away changing room.

The showers for the away team.

The recovery room, which is something that I needed after a five a side a couple of weeks ago.

The stadium was built in just three years, which doesn’t surprise me given Polish efficiency, for the Euros in 2012. They were asked to put a chapel into the stadium and they have kept it here, even though the home team don’t really much use it.

Onto the pitch, which is a mixture of artificial and natural grass. I prodded about at the grass and it seemed normal enough to me.

I think that I’d be a rather good football manager.

The goalkeeper’s view. It’s quite like our five a side pitch in many ways.

Trying some of the seats out.

I enjoyed the tour and there were just four of us on it, all British which meant that it given in English. The tour guide apologised for her English, but it was entirely fluent. The tour guide was interesting and I don’t often get to see behind the scenes in a football stadium. It also made for a healthy day out as we walked to and from the centre of Gdansk which is about 45 minutes each way. Definitely recommended, they usually operate throughout the day on the hour from 11:00 onwards.

It’s day two and Richard, Steve, Bev and Susanna are making their way to Poland today. Ross and I have had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and will wait for updates of how the others are getting on. For anyone that’s interested, although I can guess the number, I’ve caught up on sleep after our overnight stay at Stansted Airport yesterday. I’m also pleased to hear that the bar billiards team I’m on had a victorious night yesterday, something that I think will happen quite a lot when I’m not there.

Steve sent this photo, he’s currently stuck in traffic in Norwich. Steve arrives in Gdansk later tonight and we’ll see him tomorrow morning (Friday). Richard has just boarded the British Airways flight to Warsaw after enjoying a morning in the lounge at Heathrow binge drinking Bell’s whisky and eating crisps. We’ll also see Richard tomorrow as he is having a specialist evening in Warsaw before getting the train to Gdansk in the morning. He’s planning to get some vodka to drink on the train, so I hope he doesn’t upset the local commuters.

Bev is spending the morning taking the rubbish out and then doing her headstands as she’s heard that it’ll help her back, whilst Susanna is looking like a Princess without needing to even try. They both get the Ryanair flight early this evening and hopefully we’ll see those two tonight. It’s all coming together now….