Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Gdansk

  • Gdansk – Hotel Novotel Gdańsk Centrum

    Gdansk – Hotel Novotel Gdańsk Centrum

    This is a new Accor hotel to me, the centrally located Novotel Gdansk, which has rooms at relatively low prices at the moment, around £25 per night. Given that Novotel is hardly the budget brand of Accor, that’s a very reasonable price. This is a view of the hotel’s gardens, although some imagination has to be used at the moment.

    The large foyer with its football tables and other distractions for guests, including a number of games consoles. The check-in process was efficient, although I had to wait for a staff member to arrive as if they didn’t expect many guests, although more on that later. All very welcoming though and everything seemed clean and organised.

    A functional and clean room, with a sofa and all the facilities that I would expect. There were no internal or external noise issues at all, so everything was peaceful.

    The welcome gift which I’ve had numerous times before, but I’m always pleased to see it in the room as it’s a handy snack.

    Woooo, a Nespresso machine. OK, I’m easily pleased.

    It felt only appropriate to go for the Żywiec Porter as my welcome drink on my first night back in Poland. It tasted exactly the same as it did a few weeks ago, so all to the good….

    The breakfast buffet arrangement, a very decent selection of cold meats, cheeses and the like. They also asked me if I wanted any eggs cooked and I opted for fried eggs, but I can’t recall being asked this question at an Accor hotel before other than the Sofitel in Warsaw. Which brings me to the situation that I’ve never stayed at an Accor hotel where I haven’t seen another guest, whether at check-in, in the public areas or at breakfast. That did explain the lack of noise issue in the hotel, it all felt a little odd.

    The lack of other guests meant that I had the entire breakfast selection to myself for the 40 minutes that I was there. This usually sounds a lovely thought for convenience and not being annoyed by other guests, but it did feel strange. Anyway, everything was clean and comfortable, so all to the good.

    The reviews aren’t quite as positive as I’d expected and this mostly seems to be down to the rooms being dated. I’m not sure that I understand that from my room, but it’s possible they’re started to renovate and update them and I had a newer decor.

    On a different issue, there was this 1 out of 5 review from a seemingly livid customer:

    “i delivered food to my hotel room ,two days in row,first day it was no problem,the delivery guy comes to my door,second day I order food from wolt again,and the receptionionist calls me and says my food is here,i say ok.do he deliver on my door,then she just hangs up the phone,and i think ok,they will probably come,i wait 5 minutes and still no food on my door,so i go to reception ,and there my food was , and i ask why does he not deliver on door,she say deliverer cannot deliver on room door cause he is not guest,then the whole point of food delivery is wasted.i have never had any problems with having food deliveried to my hotelroom door,and have done it many countries before.”

    On a different matter I was talking to a Deliveroo driver a few weeks ago about this issue and he mentioned that there are a minority of people in hotels who are like this and demand their driver tries to navigate around a hotel through all the security precautions. He has taken to asking everyone ordering at hotels to wait at the front of the building or in reception to collect the food, which seems a very reasonable request to me. It seems very harsh to be so rude to a hotel and attempt to mark them down for trying to keep their hotel secure. But, I’ve digressed again here.

    I had absolutely no complaints about this stay, especially at the low prices that they’re charging, and I’m back at the hotel a couple more times over the next week and perhaps it’ll be a little busier.

  • Gdansk – Just Photos….

    Gdansk – Just Photos….

    Just a few photos (of no great significance) to give an indication of what Gdansk looks like at this time of the year. Incidentally, there appear to be very few tourists about, on my past visits to Gdansk there were lots of British and Germans conversations going on, but all quiet at the moment. I’m not sure it’s ever a packed tourist city in January, but it’s still quieter than I had envisaged.

  • Wizz Air (Luton to Gdansk)

    Wizz Air (Luton to Gdansk)

    This is the delights of Luton airport at 05:45 this morning, after the ten minute walk from the nearby Holiday Inn.

    There’s the Wizz Air flight to Gdansk, with boarding information at 07:35. I didn’t fly with British Airways on this occasion as they have currently dropped the later flight to Warsaw and they’re dropped Krakow entirely. The Wizz Air flight cost a ridiculous £7.50 each way, which was another handy factor in this little arrangement.

    The boarding information didn’t ultimately come until 07:50. Incidentally, the security process at the airport was efficient and I was airside within five minutes of entering the terminal building.

    The boarding process was chaotic and ill-tempered, although I just let them get on with it. The boarding gate is on the lower level and so there is a flight of stairs between the corridor upstairs and the boarding gate, with customers waiting to join the queue. What is poor is that there are very few screens or boards to show customers that they’re in the right location as they’re going to their gate, this is in my view shoddy from Luton Airport, which feels a mismanaged set-up in general, as there were numerous confused customers about the place. I’m reminded just how well Heathrow T5 manage this.

    The set-up here is that there’s a short priority queue and so the staff member called up to ask non-priority (people like me…..) customers to come down as there was a separate waiting area. A woman rushed down the steps, barged me out of the way and announced loudly “I’m priority, let me though” to the staff member. The staff member rolled her eyes and said “I called non-priority, I was very clear” which led to lots of muttering from the annoyed customer. There’s no real reason to need to rush to board, there’s plenty of space for bags and seats are already allocated.

    There was an element of just bad planning here though, as we were in the holding area between the aircraft and the passports being checked for around thirty minutes. I found a seat and read a book on my phone, but there were no seats in the priority area, so those customers were all stuck standing up. It just felt muddled and there were three arguments between staff and customers over bags. I do like the drama to a degree, but some customers were getting quite het up. Oddly, the only customers getting het up seemed to be British, even though the vast majority of the customer on the aircraft seemed to be Polish.

    We were finally allowed out to the aircraft, around twenty minutes later than scheduled. The aircraft is HA-LVI, a nearly new Airbus A321 Neo which has been used by Wizz Air since June 2020. The aircraft had a busy day, it came from Warsaw this morning, then went to Trondheim and back after it arrived in Gdansk. It’s off to Oslo tomorrow and I’m sure it’ll have a lovely time there.

    The flight was absolutely fine. I hadn’t paid to reserve a seat and I was automatically given a window seat, but there was no-one in the middle seat as the aircraft was only about 60% occupied. The announcements from the pilots and cabin crew were polite, but broadly inaudible and the safety announcement was given way too fast to be of any use. However, the cabin crew were friendly and their service was efficient and unobtrusive, with the flight being perfectly relaxed and comfortable.

     

    I had forgotten that it was winter in Poland, so this snow and ice everywhere was a slight surprise.

    The disembarkation process was a little sluggish, with everyone taken to the main terminal by coach. I was in no rush and lingered about, which meant that I was one of the last people to get on the coach. So many people rush about and I can’t be doing with all that stress. By chance, it also meant that as I was the last to board, I was the first off the coach and I was the first person to leave the security area which was handy.

    The member of security staff at border control was helpful, although he didn’t want to see my negative test I got yesterday, but he did check my Covid pass and my locator form. Although I could have got away without paying £32 yesterday for an LFT at Luton Airport, there are two reasons that I’m glad I got it. Firstly, I would have worried all day if I didn’t have it, and secondly, it’s just best to do things properly rather than risk being fined or deported.

    And Gdansk airport terminal, safe and sound. I have to say that this was ridiculously good value for £7.50 and Wizz Air felt a safe and secure airline to travel with, with the cabin crew being friendly and the aircraft being clean. The boarding process was unnecessarily stressful for many customers, but I was quite happy with my window seat and bag near to me, all perfectly comfortable. I will no doubt travel with Wizz Air more this year, not least because of their range of destinations, but also because their flights are so often reasonably priced.

  • Gdansk – Mały Młyn

    Gdansk – Mały Młyn

    Mały Młyn means small mill, although it’s actually a former granary for the larger mill (known as the Great Mill, which has temporarily been closed to the public) which is located on the opposite. The original building here dates from around 1391 and 1407, although it was rebuilt during the fifteenth century. It was modified during the nineteenth century, but unfortunately was destroyed during the Second World War.

    The reconstructed building was completed in 1967 and it’s today used by private companies and groups, so there’s no routine public access to the interior. It’s a pretty gothic style building though.

  • Gdansk – Ibis Gdańsk Stare Miasto

    Gdansk – Ibis Gdańsk Stare Miasto

    The city’s relatively new Ibis hotel, somewhat in the shadow of its sister hotel in the background, the Mercure Gdansk. The hotel has a feeling of being modern and contemporary, in terms of its decor, atmosphere and the attitude of the staff. It also has that set-up of not really having a reception desk, the whole check-in process is managed within the public seating area of the hotel. I’m still not convinced by this, judging by the number of hotels reversing this trend, I’m not sure it’s the ideal first welcome.

    The room was the usual Ibis design, all clean and comfortable.

    The welcome gift, which were caramel peanuts and they were very lovely. There were also quite a lot more than the packaging might have suggested. They’re in a presentation box specially made for the hotel and it seemed a shame to throw it away, but I have enough things to carry about already.

    The view from the room.

    The welcome drink, which was Żywiec, poured in the continental style. As usual, it tasted as it was meant to and was at the appropriate temperature.

    The restaurant and breakfast area. I didn’t see many people dining in the restaurant, it must be a challenge given that it’s not a large hotel and there are also no shortage of nearby dining options.

    The breakfast croissants and rolls, along with apples, which at times seemed to be everywhere. On the first day there was also apple pie, which was a decent addition, although that wasn’t out on the second morning. The choice of bread and rolls also deteriorated on the second morning that I was there.

    More of the breakfast options.

    The meats, cheeses and salads. I’m not entirely convinced by the meat which Ibis use throughout Poland, it isn’t the best of quality and is bland to the point of, I think, being pointless. The hot options here looked unappealing and the bread selection was a little weak compared to normal. The butter was frustrating, it’s the first Accor hotel I’ve been at where they’ve got a huge slab of it and a knife to slice bits off, although in practical terms, it’s not ideal as the plate makes it impossible to cut from the edge, only along the top. I’d rather they did what their other hotels did and just have pre-cut sections of butter. There were dollops of mackerel in a paste which I had high hopes for, but these were riven with bones of a length that I didn’t particularly want to eat, so that went uneaten. It was all fine, but below the usual Ibis quality, although it was well presented.

    The staff here were always friendly and helpful, although the hotel didn’t feel particularly busy at any stage. There were no noise disturbances either internally or externally, although the church bells rang every hour during the evening which I rather liked. The room wasn’t fully restocked on the second day, an omission which was mildly irritating, but not exactly a problem of any particular measure.

    The cost of this room was under £30 including breakfast, which was quite marvellous given that it’s a hotel in the centre of Gdansk and just a five-minute walk from the Old Town. There was a friendly environment, a clean room and I liked the welcome gift. I’ve stayed at several hotels in Gdansk over the years and this is certainly one of the best.

  • Gdansk – Morning Photos

    Gdansk – Morning Photos

    Morning photos of Gdansk….

  • Gdansk – Forum Gdansk (with a canal…)

    Gdansk – Forum Gdansk (with a canal…)

    When I first came to Gdansk a few years ago, this shopping centre wasn’t even under construction. When I last came to Gdansk in 2018, it had just opened and it has clearly transformed this part of the city and it also confused me as I hadn’t expected it to be there, so I thought I was lost. On this visit, the shopping centre isn’t just open, but water is now running through it.

    It’s been a little bit of a local issue, as the building owners wanted to have two channels located on top of each other. I’m not a canal expert, but they wanted to not always have water running through if it was too high, as that might make their shopping centre not smell quite right. I don’t understand the whole thing, although I know a civil engineer who might, but that’s why it took a couple of years for it to get resolved.

    The water isn’t just a feature like some shopping centres such as the Venetian in Las Vegas, it’s an actual canal which goes through the centre. For various technical reasons, the water couldn’t flow through until November 2019 and I like the whole effect that it has had to the character of the building. It’s the Radunia Canal, which was originally constructed by the Teutonic Knights between 1348 and 1356. Initially this shopping centre was going to be called the Forum Radunia, but it was changed during the construction to its current name of Forum Gdansk.

    As an aside, this is an impressive shopping centre and it is of some considerable size. What I also like is that they’ve filled the units up with shops, unlike the Castle Mall in Norwich (now known as the Castle Quarter, with the local joke that it’s named this as only 25% of the units are in use) in Norwich where there has been such a mass retail exodus that they’ve been filling up units with random rubbish.

  • Gdansk – Antoni Browarczyk and Martial Law

    Gdansk – Antoni Browarczyk and Martial Law

    This eye-catching memorial commemorates the life of Antoni Browarczyk and others who died in the martial law period of Polish history. It’s hard to imagine Poland being run by the military as the communist authorities felt that this was the best way to deal with growing dissent and a call for democracy. It was a pretty dire time for the Polish people and around forty people were killed by the military during the period from December 1981 until July 1983 when martial law was in force.

    One of those who died was Antoni Browarczyk, aged just 19 when he was shot to death in a political demonstration in Gdansk just a few days after martial law was declared. His mother spoke to the local newspaper a few years ago, still upset and confused about what happened and how it was dealt with. The sculpture was installed here in 2016 and was designed by Gennady Jerszow and is made of bronze. The memorial is located here, near Forum Gdansk, as this is where Browarczyk was killed. Forum Gdansk, one of the most modern shopping centres in the country, is a symbol of the new Gdansk, with so much changing over the last forty years.

  • Gdansk – Retro Cafe

    Gdansk – Retro Cafe

    Gdansk has no shortage of cafes, but this one was well reviewed and their external signage stating that they were “a cafe with a soul” made it sound tempting.

    The cake selection, all well presented and looking not inconsiderably appetising. The service style is fairly self-evident, staff welcome customers at the door and show them to a table before returning shortly afterwards to take the order. All nice and easy to understand, I like that approach.

    I had intended to order a pistachio coffee as that seemed like something unique, but then I saw later on in the menu that they sold artisan beers and to ask the staff member. I did that and he mentioned that there was a dark beer, which I ordered. He did return to tell me that the beer had coffee in it, but this made me more interested in it than I was before, and then it arrived. Incidentally and as a side-note, I forgot about the pistachio coffee, such is the joy of beer.

    What arrived was a milk stout, my favourite of drinks, so this was a delightful choice. It’s a bottle of Barakito from Browar De Facto which is located near Torun, coincidentally my next destination when I leave the Tricity (Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot). An above average beer, a sweetness of taste with a full body and a pleasant aftertaste. The strongest taste is coffee, which is unsurprising, as the beer takes its name from barraquito, a coffee popular in the Canary Islands. This brewery seems to have a relatively limited reach across Poland, so this is a rather decent choice from the cafe.

    There’s a retro feel to the cafe, which also had some period music to add to the ambience. It was generally busy during the time that I was there, but never quite full. There’s quite a wide menu available and the cafe also has numerous vegetarian and vegan options for those looking for that. It seems to be, or at least the reviews suggest, a popular choice for those wanting breakfast and they also offer a take-away service.

    This is the coconut chia cake and I have to confess to not knowing what the hell a chia is, although a quick look on Google shows that they’re seeds which are commonly used in cakes. A biscuity base (I can’t help but think of this video when writing that) with lots of texture from the seed things and then a sweet sauce on top. I’m not usually a desserts person, but this was a light, but filling, option.

    Service was excellent, a friendly young server who was engaging and helpful, so the atmosphere was always welcoming. Given that this was a centrally located cafe in Gdansk it would be easy for the service to be more routine, but it all felt well managed with staff who seemed personable and polite. The prices were towards the upper end of the scale, but the quality was high and I was pleased with my choice of lunch location.

  • Gdansk – Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Grand Finale

    Gdansk – Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Grand Finale

    I had wondered why there were tens of collectors on the streets of Gdansk today, but I’ve realised that it’s something called the Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (or Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy in Polish, or WOSP). It’s the largest public fundraising event of its kind in the country, akin to Comic Relief in the UK, and it raises money for children’s hospitals in Poland. The sums of money raised are sizeable, donations in 2019 were 175,938,717zl, or around £35,000,000.

    This year’s event is the 28th and it’s shown live on television, as well as being celebrated around Poland and in Polish communities around the world. My photo above isn’t very clear and I should have taken my camera, but it’s a large square in Gdansk where they’re showing the live television fund raising programme. As it stands, the screens are showing that they’re raising more money than they did at the same point last year. Very lovely.