Category: Poland

Located as far away as possible from the non-Schengen gates is the Gdansk airport lounge. My new Priority Pass card is getting a suitable workout already.

I found a table in the corner where there was that mythical beast of the modern age, a power socket so that I could remain fully charged. Electrical salvation complete, I could focus on the food and drink offering. It’s not an enormous lounge, but there was plenty of space and it all looked clean and comfortable.

A random combination of stuff that probably sums me up. Beer, a vague attempt at a healthy drink, coffee, chocolate and something with some chicken in it. The beer is the Złoto Brovarni, a hoppy beer which is locally made. There’s not a substantial range of food, more little snacks such as this, but the quality seemed high. The food area in an airport lounge can sometimes become a battleground where civilised behaviour goes to die, but it was all ordered here, although it was in a slightly compact space.

Excuse my own reflection in this photo (I tried to strike a nonchalant pose), but the beer selection here was one of the best that I’ve seen in terms of having a few to choose from and from local breweries. Some of the premium lounges in the USA have more craft cans, but there were around eight different beers here. I was surprised and delighted. Someone mentioned that I overuse that phrase, but saying that I was rapturous and bewildered or something seems a little strong here.

I thought that just one more beer would suffice me though. It’s not my favourite beer style, but it’s a clean and crisp pilsner.

The lounge would usually cost around £30 to get in as a walk-up, which might be a little steep given the limited food options. The reviews for the lounge are also a little average, perhaps some expectations were too high although some people weren’t happy at the customer service. It was a shame that the view was mostly of the car park, as lounges are often pointed at the runways, but I can’t say that I overly worried about this.

All that done, I left refreshed, my devices were refreshed and I was ready to leave the delights of Poland. Although, on the bright side, I knew that I was coming back a few days later.

As someone who likes to pre-worry about things, I rarely cut anything fine. But I was sitting in Under Beer and thinking about my flight at 21:00 before realising that actually it was departing at 19:10. This did cause a mild panic as I would only arrive three hours before my flight and that was if I left immediately. I am a smug victor against tardiness on many occasions, but I like the cushion of time just in case things go wrong. So, I rushed off to the bus stop, bought a ticket and waited.

Marvellous, it was only a four minute wait for the bus. The travel Gods were on my side.

The bus was sub-optimal if I’m being entirely honest. The vehicle was hot because there was no air conditioning, so I thought it was like some sort of mobile sauna and I’m sure I could see a heat haze when looking to the back. Passengers fanned themselves with newspapers, leaflets and any other bits of card that they could find. The bus was also stuck in traffic and I was glad that I had a seat, as many others didn’t. The bus arrived at the airport twenty minutes late, which wasn’t anyone’s fault, but if a bus is to be delayed I always hope that it’s one with air conditioning.

I arrived just 2 hours 58 minutes before my flight. Does travel get any more close-cut than that? The thrill of being early to an airport was denied to me today, but perhaps there are only so many times that I can be an intrepid explorer of the sterile delight that is airside. I’ll miss Gdansk, I’ll be back soon I hope.

There’s something about my travel style which can be a little “I’m such a creature of habit, I even have a routine for spontaneity”, but Under Beer is one of my favourite bars in Poland and I managed to go twice during my trip. This photo is from my first visit of the week, shortly after I arrived in the city. The beer is the Triple Gelato : Crunchy Berries from Funky Fluid. Smooth, juicy and as the brewer notes, liquid granola breakfast. Thank goodness for Poland was all I could think when trying this…..

I thought I’d be continental and sit outside to enjoy the sun. Well, I say enjoy the sun, I say by the bar in the shade, but it’s all relative. Anyway, I was nearly immediately confronted by an enormous wasp which I fended off, really quite bravely to be honest. They’ve put some signage up calling themselves an Irish bar and maybe that tempts people in, but their craft beer offering is the strongest element here for me. The glass is a Guinness one which I turned around for the photo. I don’t want to drone on (excuse the brilliant pun) but wasps really are striped, buzzing little sods which are the embodiment of pure, unadultered annoyance and a reminder of why I don’t like sitting outside. And they’re not that hard to fend off, it’s just the lingering sense of paranoia I have that they’ve eyeing me up for a repeat visit that I dislike.

And, my second visit was just before getting the bus back to the airport. This delicious green beer, supplied with a free little snack, is once again from my favourite brewery, Funky Fluid. It wasn’t overly sour but had lots of pear taste, it was suitably sweet and there was a little of kiwi in the taste, but even more in the colour. Is it attention seeking to be so colourful? Probably, this Gelato range is innovative and quirky, and perhaps the green rather suited the Irish Guinness glass that I tried to hide again for the photo.

The chicken burger was glorious, tender chicken and a coating which was full of flavour. This place has never left me down with its food.

I had to try another one from the range, this had a flavour of lychees with a subtle amount of pineapple and some slight sourness. I’d say it’s more green than blue, but the taste was the main thing and didn’t let me down regardless of how appetising the colour might have been.

Once again, this venue surprised and delighted me. Definitely recommended.

I was briefly worried when I saw one of my favourite craft beer bars in Gdansk appeared to have, well, disappeared. Fortunately, they’ve just moved to new premises and they’re bigger and shinier, so all to the good. As can be seen in the photo, they had fourteen or so beers on and there was a decent range of different styles and breweries. Some nicely curated options there and there was a quite a menagerie of bottles and cans in the fridges as well. I’ve written about the bar before, so won’t witter on for too long here.

The beer is Scarecrow from Browar Monsters and it was one of the creamiest IPAs that I’ve had. Some sweet, hazy goodness going on there, but I’ve never been disappointed by a beer from the brewery so it wasn’t a surprise.

The service at the bar was friendly as ever, the venue was clean, there was a welcoming atmosphere and I’m delighted that they’re still there. Well, not where they were, but where they are now.

Aaah, love locks, the rusty eyesore that plague bridges across the world. I feel sorry for the city workers that have to deal with this, trying to remove the things in some forlorn game of tetris, whilst some disgruntled pigeon looks on bemused. It must be lovely for a romantic couple to return ten years later to discover their lock is buried under a mound of rust, but they have memories of putting it there whilst fumbling with a padlock and a sharpie. As it might be guessed, I don’t think these things do much for bridge aesthetics. But I’m over 24 now, I’m allowed to be old and negative about such things, whether they’re the representation of a love story or a fleeting moment of unbridled passion.

I wasn’t quite in the mood for pierogi filled with random ingredients and served with a dish of lard, so I thought that I’d go for something more Asian based. Located on the riverside, the restaurant was well reviewed. Not so well reviewed that influencers would be holding their phones aloft like votive candles with the arrangement, but a solid and reliable option. The welcome was polite, although I did that thing I do when a staff member says “sit anywhere you like” and I then ask if I can sit at what looks like the best table with the most interesting view. She said I could, probably thinking she’d just covered that by saying that I could sit anywhere.

I sat by the window realising I couldn’t see much through the shrubbery, but it was a clean and comfortable restaurant.

I had some beer I’d never heard of because, well, I’ve got to complete Untappd haven’t I? There’s a bit of Inbetweeners style banter with Jay saying “I’ve completed Untappd, I’ve got the around the world badge”, but there we go. This is the chicken kai phad, which had a sauce of some richness and the cashew nuts added some texture. It came with lychees which I consider to be the oddest fruit, the texture doesn’t seem to quite fit, but it did add some extra flavour. I didn’t go for a noodle dish as I didn’t want to splatter sauce on me or the surrounding furniture, I can do without tangled up food. Anyway, I’m digressing once again, I liked the whole ambience and that I had a candle lit just for me.

I had a look on TripAdvisor for reviews of the restaurant. Once sifting through a couple of reviews noting that this was a hidden gem that someone has been searching for all their life, there’s some occasional and deliberate negativity such as:

“We sat in a table with 2 other customers. After we finished eating, we waited for 20minutes for the waiter to come serve us and get our dirty plates from us. While we waited, the other two customers had their dirty plates taken, taken dessert order and get their desserts while we still had our dirty plates in front of us. The waiter never came to us and finally we waived to her. The waiter was the same for us and the customers next to us. In addition, the food was mediocre and there were ants in the dining table.”

They took a photo of the solitary ant as well, but not the table next to them that they were so jealous of. Does this really warrant a one star review? The notification from TripAdvisor would have pinged on the manager’s phone, with them hoping it was another positive. And they discover that someone has complained about a single ant, although perhaps they were really just angry that another table was served a bit quicker.

Or the 1 out of 5 noting:

“Some kind of fusion between Poland and Thailand.”

I can’t imagine how that could have possibly happened with a Thai restaurant in Poland.

“Over the last decade, Thai food has been one of the core measures I use to evaluate the quality of life of every city I visit. As an itinerant cybersecurity professional, one often finds oneself in really interesting places across the globe.”

I’m saying nothing. It all seemed decent to me and the food looked well presented, so I’m pleased it makes the photo look good.