Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Podcast – Travel, Craft Beer and Bar Billiards (but mainly gossip)

As if my blog isn’t exciting enough (now that I have two loyal blog readers although I’m starting to think one of those is a bot) I’ve also decided it’d be a great idea to start a podcast with a friend. My bit will be travel, food and craft beer (mostly the beer and food elements to be honest) and he’ll be focusing on his thoughts about beer (often quite opinionated although his Untappd isn’t as curated as mine), reacting to my travel ‘excitement’ and dishing out bar billiards gossip like he’s the Hello! magazine of Norwich’s niche sporting scene (we’ll see if it becomes an agenda item at next year’s AGM).

We know we’ll get at least ten people listening to see who we’ve been rude about, and frankly, if that’s not a solid marketing strategy, I don’t know what is. The first edition of this earth-shattering audio marvel dropping soon. Buckle in. Or don’t. Either way, we’ll be talking as we’re good at that.

June 23, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 18 and City Taco

This is week 18 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich market and this is the former site of Cocina Mia which was honoured with third spot when we did this in 2023. It only closed a few weeks ago and there’s some hype about its replacement, City Taco. On this week’s ‘how many middle class people did we bump into that James knows?’ the tally was 5, including one actually at the food stand which I think is a first. At this rate, James will be hosting his own artisan networking brunch and LinkedIn masterclass by mid-July.

The menu is limited in size, but I think that’s very often a good thing. I’m not sure that there’s much here for vegetarians and I’m not sure if there are plans to expand the menu offering in the future, but everything looked tempting to me.

The service was excellent, engagement about the menu, general conversation and clear enthusiasm about the food. I think it’s really positive when there’s that excitement from the team members, it all bodes well. I did mention to James that it reminded me of the tacos that I’ve had in southern California, but reading on the stall’s social media, that’s understandable as the owner spent several years living there.

I couldn’t decide between them so I went for one carnitas taco and one beef taco, so a total of £6. James went for the same, but he’s often creatively inspired by me even if he doesn’t admit it. The pork one is on the left, the beef one on the right. The sauce in the pot is the consomme and the team member mentioned we could either use it as a dip or down it, which transpired to be a good suggestion as I tried it both ways. Both tacos had a depth of flavour to them, they were well presented and at the appropriate temperature. I enjoyed them both, but the delicate nature of the beef and dipped in the consomme was my favourite of the two.

James remembered to take a photo this time, which will save him having to draw the whole arrangement. He said something about enjoying them, being pleased about not spilling them down himself and also thinking they were a little small but still decent value. To avoid any bird attacks, we had our food whilst standing at the stall, as the neighbouring dining area shared by Toby’s Beers and formerly Cocina Mia now seems to be closed.

Although it’s a shame to have lost Cocina Mia, this seems a really quite decent replacement. The service was some of the best we’ve had yet and the food had a depth of taste and flavour. The pricing was reasonable as the food was surprisingly filling, with everything seemingly well managed. I look forwards to returning here and trying the burrito to get the full taste experience.

June 23, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 17 and Churros for the People

This is week 17 of James and I attempting to eat at every food stall at Norwich market. I visited this last time in 2023, on that occasion with Nathan, and it was a very positive experience where we thought we’d both likely visit again. I hadn’t noticed when taking the photo, but James is standing there looking studious whilst reading the menu. As usual, it took us several minutes to fend our way through all the people in Norwich who know him, nearly all of whom seem to be middle class or above. However, I don’t judge.

The menu which had plenty of choice. The prices seem reasonable for the market, there’s an inevitable cost to this sort of produce and making it fresh, but they’re not charging exorbitant prices. There’s a choice of eating in or taking away, fortunately there were seats and so we were able to dine in to get the full experience. The service was friendly and prompt, with the stall accepting cards and cash. The surfaces in the stall were clean and I noticed that they were cleaned again numerous times when we were there. The area was also a seagull free zone, which is a win for everyone. There’s talk of doing up the market, but I’d personally just like to see a few more of the food stalls have their own seating area, it adds to the experience.

The specials board (and those meatballs sound delicious), although when someone next to us tried to order they’d run out of a few things by that point. Although that is perhaps the excitement of specials, their very temporary nature. The selection available here really is quite impressive given the limited size of these stalls and the small food preparation area, but the whole process seemed efficient. Customers were always welcomed promptly, spoken to politely and their food and drink served after a reasonable period of time. It all felt like a competent set-up and I felt welcome throughout. Incidentally, they also have authentic Spanish food ingredients and drink which customers can take home with him, so it operates a bit like a deli arrangement as well.

The food arrived and looked well presented, with the chorizo having a depth of flavour and it’s always a bonus to have it served fresh from the pan. The roll tasted fresh and of a high quality, James was particularly engaged with this. It was also filling, this wasn’t one of those times I’ve left a stall after eating feeling just as hungry as when I ordered.

I wasn’t going to have a drink, but as we found a seat and we were asked nicely if we wanted one, I thought I’d have an Alhambra Reserva 1925 which was malty, light and went down well with the chorizo. There aren’t a large number of stalls where you can get beer with the meal, so it seemed sensible to take advantage of the opportunity. They were a little low on beer stock as the first two I asked for they didn’t have, but I’m ever helpful in finding a beer based solution.

The kitchen area and the whole set-up felt authentic and there were vibes of being at a Spanish market, so full marks for the atmosphere.

James forgot to take a photo of his food, so he kindly did a drawing instead. It’s this kind of professionalism that has made this blog what it is today…. As mentioned, he very much liked the roll element, so he’s focused on that in the image. I suspect that he forgot what was inside, as that element of the drawing is quite vague, although when I helpfully mentioned this, he said it’s clear that it’s chorizo but that he had forgotten the beer and that was very vague indeed.

I very much enjoyed this visit and it’s up there as being one of the best so far this year. The service was friendly, the food was freshly prepared and had a depth of flavour, with the atmosphere feeling authentic and welcoming. The menu was broad, the stall was clean and there was a choice of different beers, so all rather lovely.

June 21, 2025
Warsaw – Metro System : C18 Trocka (Visiting Every Station)

One thing I’ve done with my attempting to visit all of the metro stations in Warsaw is that I’ve started at the ends of the line, generally away from the most interesting areas in the city that the network crosses through. This meant that visiting Trocka was a little bit sub-optimal as there wasn’t a great deal of note to have a look at. So writing this is more for the sake of completion than surprising and delighting my two loyal blog readers.

It’s all residential, which is lovely, but there’s less of a story to tell. Although I’d note that this felt a safe area, I meandered around some of the tower blocks and it seemed a part of the city that it would be pleasant to live in. There’s a bus station here, although I’m not sure if that’s of enormous excitement to write about, but it’s visible in the above photo.

Tadeusz Korzon (1839-1918) was a Polish historian and he also took part in the January uprising that sought to free Poland from its Russian control. Sadly, he died a few months before the creation of the Second Polish Republic, so he didn’t live to see Poland become independent.

As an aside, Warsaw is rather good at putting benches nearly everywhere, something which must encourage people to walk if they know that there’s somewhere to stop. Back to the station, the city gave the contract to Italian firm Astaldi in March 2016 to build this extension and work started in April 2016 and it was completed in May 2019. The station opened on 15 September 2019 to the excited locals and the project was part financed by the European Union.

The Church of St. Mark the Evangelist.

Back to the station, which was designed with the intent of having clean, geometric forms and a feeling of space. The groundwater here was relatively high, which led to some considerable engineering challenges, including apparently diaphragm walls which were sunk up to 60 metres deep, but that will mean more to my civil engineer friend Liam than to me. For a while, this was the end of the line, but in September 2022, another three stations were added to extend the M2.

The decoration is plain, but functional.

The plan of the metro station.

And the next train to Bródno.

In terms of what is nearby, there is a large cemetery and some other historic structures of interest, but they’re all closer to another Metro stop. That’s also true of a nearby park, so I haven’t entirely neglected these, I’m just saving them up…..

June 21, 2025
Warsaw – Müllermilch Choco-Coco and Müllermilch Dubai Chocolate

This blog appears to be slowly transforming into a fan site for Müllermilch, so in the spirit of consistency (and mild dairy addiction), here’s another entry in what is rapidly becoming an entirely unplanned series. I bought them from Żabka and I’ve just noticed that they have 11,000 locations across Poland which explains why they seem to be just about everywhere, like a retail version of an over-enthusiastic labrador.

Anyway, back to the drink, I would have liked even more coconut, but this was a refreshing little number. I’m the same with beer when it has these same flavour combinations, I don’t want some wafting past a palm tree, I want a tropical storm.

The Müllermilch Dubai Chocolate (and they’ve got in here quickly given the international craze for it) was smooth, rich and had a rather pleasant chocolate taste to it although I thought that there could be even more pistachio punching through it. But still a very agreeable drink.

And see, I don’t just write about beer, I sometimes veer into chilled dairy beverages as well. Incidentally, they cost 70p each which I was entirely pleased about.

June 21, 2025
Gdansk – Hotel Mercure Gdańsk Stare Miasto

I’ve stayed here before and it’s one of my favourite Accor hotels in Poland, so as there was a relatively low price I thought I’d opt for here for my single night in Gdansk. Here’s the view from my hotel window as I didn’t take another photo of the hotel’s frontage. The welcome at the front desk was immediate, engaging and personable, a very positive first impression.

The rather lovely seating area on every floor. This is one of those little touches that does make a difference. Thinking of my friend Richard, who gets tired easily, having a chair to sit down whilst waiting for the lift is very useful. Incidentally, he’s now a TV star, I’ll excitedly post links when iPlayer has his appearance on.

I booked a cheap single room, but was upgraded to an executive room and I was surprised and delighted at the arrangement. Clean, comfortable and I love that window seat option.

Drinks in the minibar. I didn’t want to be greedy and so I left the lager. I’m very helpful like that.

I wasn’t sure when I stayed last time if the drinks were free, but it was clear this time.

There were also some welcome gifts, a nice postcard, badge, amber soap and some sort of coffee. A really lovely gesture. Richard very much liked my exciting ‘welcome gifts from Accor’ page when I had it, so I must update that at some point.

The view from the window and one of the free drinks from the fridge, the Złote Lwy from Browar Amber. It’s a light, malty and refreshing drink with the view adding to the whole experience.

The Gdansk shipyards are visible here, formerly known as the Lenin Shipyards and where Solidarność was founded.

The view at night and the city’s main railway station is visible on the left-hand side.

Downstairs at the bar, these were the local beers to choose from as a welcome drink. The helpful team member said I could have any and I was tempted by the Baltic Porter but it was rather strong and I didn’t want to overdo it.

I instead went for the Kozlak from Browar Amber, which was sweet with flavours of toffee and caramel. I very much like it when hotels make an effort to support a local brewery, with Browar Amber being located in Bielkówko which is a little to the south west of Gdansk.

I won’t witter on any more as I’ve already written about this hotel, but I was entirely content at this repeat stay, it felt well managed and organised. And giving me free beer is always a way to get me to write lovely things about anything…. Unless it’s Greene King and then I’m more picky.

June 21, 2025
Vilnius – Novotel

I was fortunate to get a cheap rate for this hotel as it was a Sunday night, an Accor hotel that I didn’t visit when I was last in Vilnius. It’s a very well reviewed hotel on-line and it’s located in the centre of Vilnius, it was all a little more decadent than what I’m used to.

There was a wait of a few minutes to check-in as they had a little rush of customers, but it all looked quite organised in the lobby. They wanted to see my credit card so that they could take a deposit for the mini-bar that I had no intentions of using, but this became problematic as my cards are from Chase and don’t have the number printed on them. This caused the helpful staff member some confusion as she said she hadn’t seen this, so she decided to trust me not to run off with their Cokes.

The lobby bar and this felt modern and on-trend, but it didn’t ever seem very busy. It’s an interesting space that seems under-used, perhaps they should open a craft beer bar there.

They had two beers available as my welcome drink, one of which was some lager and this was the Penki Mazgai from Brick by Brick Brewery. It was perhaps slightly thin, but it had a tropical flavour, stone fruit and was an agreeable pale ale.

The welcome gift from the hotel, cheese, crisps, olives and red wine. I don’t much drink wine, especially red wine, but I did have this the following evening in Kaunas as they didn’t offer me anything there. A lovely gesture though and I fancied a snack. Although I nearly always fancy a snack, but that’s a different matter. I did take a video of the room, but no photos, but I don’t think it’s exciting enough to share. The room was clean, functional and in the bathroom there was a bath as well as a separate shower with the room design being near identical to the Novotel which I stayed at in Athens a few weeks ago. It was an upgraded room on a higher floor, not the cheap and cheerful room that I actually booked.

The view from the window of my room.

And at night.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and it was very busy, although I took this photo during a brief period of calm, although I found a seat without too much trouble. The space here is insufficient though, they have this large hotel and they’ve got a relatively small counter which is hard to navigate with the number of customers they have. At the back is the coffee area which also isn’t really large enough and there are numerous pinchpoints with this whole arrangement.

The hot food, which I ignored.

The cold food selection at the end, which was reasonable choice although not as good as in Dortmund. I liked the choice there, not least as they had guacamole. I suppose one of the challenges is trying to offer people what they want, so sacrifices are made with the quality to offer this level of quantity. Although I would personally have them ditch all the hot stuff and replace it with guacamole, I accept that this might not be a decision that went down with universal approval.

That’ll do. I’d add I might have had another couple of plates of this and at least two litres of orange juice. They had takeaway containers for the coffee which is a helpful bonus so that I could have one for the room as well.

As mentioned, the on-line reviews are very positive although one guest went to TripAdvisor to leave a 1/5 as there was a small hole in their bed sheet. I do wonder sometimes how people cope with life, but maybe I have lower expectations. And the member of the public who wasn’t allowed to use the toilet even though they’ve stayed at an Accor hotel in another location before, so they felt the need to leave a 1/5. Not only that, but he made sure to mention the staff member to try and cause her issues, which feels rather unfair to me. The vast majority of customers were though content with their stay, I just like having a little read of the negativity.

For the price that I paid, which was around £50 for the room and breakfast, I thought that the value was excellent. I’m not sure that they made much on me given they upgraded my room, gave me a welcome wine, snacks and then a welcome drink, but I’ve left them a positive review and I’m wittering on here in a helpful manner. I’d definitely stay again, although the rack rate for this hotel is usually quite expensive, so I might have to pick a cheaper option unless it’s a cut-price Sunday again…..

June 21, 2025
Gdansk to Warsaw Rail Journey – PKP Intercity

I’ve done this rail journey before, but since I was enthused by my trip on Lithuanian trains last week, I thought I’d compare and contrast how the Poles do it. There are two main types of Intercity service in Poland, I went on the cheaper one of the two as I can’t afford to be too decadent, but that is relevant to bear in mind. The two are the Express Intercity Premium (EIP) using Pendolino trains and the more standard Intercity. I started from the rather glorious Gdańsk Główny railway station which has recently gone under a major overhaul. It was built in the early 1900s and has that glorious Neo-Renaissance look, all a bit Prussian with a touch of Hanseatic drama, like it’s trying to impress its then German parents.

The main hall has been faffed about with quite a lot, but it remains an impressive structure and numerous people were taking photos of the interior. Obviously including me.

They’ve put a lot of seating into the railway station and plenty of power points, although these departure boards weren’t working.

The tracks and the city’s coach station is nearly visible in the background. Integrated transport and all that, all very positive, especially as the trams and city buses sweep past the front of the station.

The restoration work doesn’t seem to be complete as two of the large halls are empty and the track is still fenced off at this point. I’m not quite sure what the plans are, but they’ll likely involve some more shops and eating options as there aren’t a great deal in this station as opposed to somewhere like Krakow’s main railway station.

One of the empty grand rooms. There isn’t a luxurious first class lounge here as there was in Vilnius, or at least, not one that I could use.

Also not working, but the yellow posters with all the train times were up, so that’s all that I needed.

And I found a working departure board, my train was the 15:57 to Łódź. They like to advertise the platform numbers in advance in Poland, unlike the UK where they like to keep it a secret (unless you use the third party app which tells you).

I like this system of giving a platform number, a track number and then a sector. Numbering on quite a lot of UK railway stations is confusing, somewhere like Cambridge is a case in point.

And since I’ve gone down that rabbit warren, here’s a map courtesy of Greater Anglia. Platform 1 is the same as platform 4 and the same as platform 4a, but 2 and 3 are up to the left and 4 and 5 to the right. Then platforms 7 and 8 are over the footbridge. The Polish system would be much better here, you’d have Platform 1 as everything from 1 to 6 (which are then individually numbered) and Platform 2 as both 7 and 8. They’d then be split into sectors.

Waiting on the platform, there’s lots of seating around.

Boarding in coach 10 which it stated during the ticket purchasing process would be at the front of the train, so I knew roughly where to stand.

The seats are 2*1, with every set of seats (whether a couple or individual) having its own power outlet and bin. It was all clean and tidy, not least because there were bins everywhere, it was all a delightfully neat setup that gave off strong “organised European” energy.

Settled in for the journey and Poland is another of those countries where the seat reservations just work. I witter on about this, but on nearly every UK train where people are forced to get reservations there are arguments, often quite bad arguments. Many people ignore the seat reservations and there is tension when they’ve asked to move after they’ve settled in. In Poland, everyone sits where they’re supposed to sit. Many UK rail companies have given up with seat reservations entirely, not least Greater Anglia, but they might as well all give up if they’re not going to actually make them reliable. As an aside, as a top tip, I never sit in my reserved seat in the UK, I find the carriage which has no reservations (usually marked on certain third party apps) and sit there, it’s usually nearly empty as other people are trying to sit near their reserved seat.

Crossing the river at Tczew, which I visited in 2022 because I wanted to see the bridge. We also went past the impressive Malbork Castle although no photos of that as it was on the other side.

I had opted for the single seat and it was all sufficiently spacious with plenty of leg room. There was a small victory that my fluent Polish (mainly counting from 1 to 100 so I know when they call out the order number at fast food locations and also knowing the word for Wednesday) seemed to fool the guard that I was Polish. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

And safely into Warszawa Centralna railway station which I’ve written about many times, this photo is of the train whilst I was on the travelator thing. I then discovered it was a Public Holiday (Corpus Christi) and the supermarket I planned to go to was shut. But I went to a Żabka convenience store instead and nearly broke the self-service scanner trying to buy a pistachio mullermilch.

This first class rail journey was around £17, which seems reasonable value to me. UK rail trips of the distance can be this price, but you can routinely get £17 fares on the Polish rail system for this journey even booking on the same day, which don’t require you to book three weeks in advance and go via their equivalent of Crewe (I’m not sure where that would be actually, maybe Kutno) with six split tickets. I do like the Polish network, it wasn’t quite as decadent as the train that took me from Vilnius to Kaunas, but it was still a very positive experience. Also, people on Polish trains don’t seem to feel the need to play music loudly from their phones or put their feet on seats…..

June 20, 2025
Vilnius – Alaus Biblioteka

After a few days in Dortmund, which isn’t known for its craft beer (but is known for its fine arrangement of Pilsners) it was a delight to get to Alaus Biblioteka (the Beer Library). This is a highly reviewed craft beer bar and my first impressions were positive as it looked impressive on climbing the steps to the main bar, it wasn’t too hot and there looked like a wide selection of beers were available.

The set-up, a mixture of traditional bookshelves and the shiny new Untappd screen. It’s a fine combination. The draft beer style is well curated with a range of beer types, but there’s also an equally thought through selection of bottles and cans. The team member was engaging and knowledgeable about beer, she thought I’d like the chilli beer I was looking at and she was entirely correct. The prices here are for the higher end for Vilnius, but on an international standard for an on-trend and decadent craft beer bar, I thought they were reasonable.

There are other rooms and also an external area, so it feels like there’s plenty of space. They do some meat and cheese platters for those wanting food, along with some smaller bar snacks. But, it was the beer that I was here for.

They had Lithuanian and international beers, but I tried to stick primarily to the former. I thought I deserved a flight of five beers, which came in at around £12 for the lot, and they were from left to right:

(i) Senoliu Senovinis from Su Puta brewery. A farmhouse ale which I thought was rustic, sweet and had some tastes of honey, decent.

(ii) Keptinis from Sakiskes Brewery. This had an interesting flavour, slightly herbal, a bit of shed (this is probably not an official beer term) and quite robust.

(iii) Pomegranate Lime Gose from Bear & Boar Brewery. This was tart, but balanced, there was a depth of pomegranate and the lime punched through. Very agreeable, rounded and clever.

(iv) Catch Up! Chili from Anderson’s Brewery. This was exceptional and quirky, like a Bloody Mary and something rather different. It’s a sour with a depth of flavour and lots of heat. Slightly salty and I note that the brewery approved of my Untappd check-in.

(v) The Alaus Biblioteka Bourbon Aged from the pub itself. The first couple of sips tasted of the previous chilli beer, but this was a punchy number on its own being a tough bourbon stout that acted as a palate cleanser. Chocolate flavours, slightly boozy, rather nice.

This was a delightful visit and I was pleased I headed out of my way to get here. Informal, laid-back, clean, stylish, traditional and the purveyor of fine craft beers. I’ll very likely pop in again the next time I’m in Vilnius.

June 20, 2025
Wizz Air (Warsaw to London Luton)

A quick breakfast in the lounge and I’m always delighted to have a Greek salad. I had two as I was so delighted. This is the Etiuda Lounge which is in the non-Schengen one, although I usually go to the Preludium Lounge which is in the Schengen area. My logic is that I’ve been caught at border control for quite some time on a few occasions and I now prefer to clear that bureaucratic gauntlet first, lest I be detained indefinitely while someone scrutinises my passport like a cursed manuscript. I noticed that the border control agent was being very assiduous with the stamps of the passenger in front, indeed, the English traveller said “I’ve got too many stamps” which didn’t bode well for me. Anyway, the border agent looked through my passport and looked like he didn’t have the energy to deal with it, so just stamped it.

After my starter and main course of Greek salad, along with mochas and Fanta, I had a dessert of chocolate and beer. I think there are some healthy elements to that meal.

Anyway, after a peaceful time in the lounge, it was time to board. Yet again, the process was well managed, clearly signed and efficient. They were doing numerous bag checks but they didn’t look very long at mine, the benefit of having a soft bag. It’s the firmer type bags they stop, with a few customers charged £80 or so for having bags that are too big. The moral of this story really is pack like you’re going on a short hike and not moving house.

I had a middle seat, but when I boarded there was someone in my seat and I queried it in my perfect English. The Polish guy pointed at the lady in the window seat and said “wife here, I sit here, you sit there?” pointing at the aisle seat. This to me was a win, I like an aisle seat. He did proceed to spill slightly into my seat space like an enthusiastic houseplant, but I forgave him. The aisle seat was mine, and that was victory enough. The seating Gods work in a mysterious way.

The aircraft was 9H-WDX, an Airbus A321 which has been in the Wizz Air fleet since December 2023 and yet another aircraft that I don’t think I’ve been on (this exact one, I’ve been on rather too many A321s….).

And back at London Luton. The whole process was efficient again, nothing of note to write about as the crew were friendly, the pilots were informative and the aircraft was clean. The border at Luton Airport was busy, but I was through within twenty minutes. That now means I have two hours in McDonald’s by the railway station before my train back home, but I’m sure it’ll speed on by.

June 20, 2025