Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Poland

  • Wizz Air (Gdansk to Luton Airport)

    Wizz Air (Gdansk to Luton Airport)

    And it was time to come back to the UK, departing from Lech Wałęsa airport in Gdansk. As an aside, it must feel odd for Lech Wałęsa when he uses this airport to know that the entire place is named after him. I’m always slightly saddened to leave Poland, but I’ll be back in a few weeks and so can look forwards to that.

    Usually I’d just download my boarding pass on my phone and go straight through security, but Wizz Air don’t have any on-line processes in place to check the documents of travellers, so everyone is directed to the check-in desks first. It’s positive that they’re checking the UK’s Locator Form, although to be fair they’re legally obliged to, but a shame they don’t have a set-up similar to that BA have with VeriFLY.

    I tried to get through a little earlier, but the friendly member of staff at check-in said they would only open the boarding desk for my flight two hours before the flight departed. She also helpfully mentioned that my mask wouldn’t be accepted by Wizz Air on any of their flights, although I did silently think it had been accepted on the Wizz Air flight out to Gdansk. But, I wasn’t sure on their policy and had a spare mask, so that was all fine. I was told to check the boarding screens around 150 minutes before the flight, which transpired to be useful advice, as that’s when the check-in desk for my flight opened. I was fortunate to be nearly at the front of the queue, as it snaked back to the entrance to the terminal within a few minutes. The member of check-in staff quickly checked that I had a passenger locator form confirmation and then my boarding pass was printed, which is a free service when customers can’t check-in on-line.

    Safely through security (where I was praised by the security staff for my efficiency, which I lapped up willingly) and into the lounge (more on which in another post) it was time to trek to the corner of the airport and Gate 1, located in the non-Schengen zone. There was a queue, but there’s always a queue with Wizz Air…..

    This process is the same with Wizz Air and Ryanair, they call passengers forwards to wait before the aircraft is ready for boarding. Which means a wait on the steps down to the tarmac, which is fine for me leaning against a wall reading a book on my phone, but less so for those who don’t feel quite as comfortable standing on steps for twenty minutes.

    And it started to rain quite heavily, but it was only a short walk to the aircraft. Wizz Air rarely use airbridges, which has the advantage of meaning that I can take photos of the aircraft.

    The aircraft was registration HA-LXS, an Airbus A321, which has been in the Wizz Air fleet since June 2017.

    I boarded via the back of the aircraft and the flight was clearly busy, and I think just about full.

    I had the middle seat, which is the first time I’ve had this in years, although the other passengers on each side were ideally behave which makes things easier. The leg room on Wizz Air really isn’t ideal, but the flight was only for two hours and so is bearable. The crew were friendly and helpful, although I couldn’t work out where they were from as their ability so speak so many different languages is really quite impressive. The pilot announcements were hard to hear, but we landed on time although the wind made the landing quite bumpy. Well, very bumpy actually, but it added to the excitement, although the babies on board decided at this moment that they really didn’t like what was happening.

    It’s also fair to add here that this flight cost me £7.50, so it’s hard to fault Wizz Air for anything given that. The service ran as expected, the aircraft was clean, the flight was on time and everything was as comfortable as could be expected. The arriving into Luton Airport on time was fortunate as my friend Liam was there to pick me up, so he didn’t have to wait for endless amounts of time in an industrial park in Luton. Anyway, based on this flight I’d happily fly with Wizz Air again, they fly to a wide number of destinations that I want to visit and although I can’t claim the flight was luxurious, it’d be ridiculous to complain at the price that they charged.

  • Gdansk – Czerwony Piec (Słony Spichlerz)

    Gdansk – Czerwony Piec (Słony Spichlerz)

    This is the pizza option at the Słony Spichlerz food court in Gdansk. There were plenty of food venues to choose from, but I do like pizza…..

    There’s the English menu, the pizzas cost between £4 and £6. They give you a buzzer so you know when to go and collect the pizza, which is handy if the nearest seat that you can find is a little bit of a way from the counter. The staff member was helpful and friendly, with the ordering process being easy to understand.

    I went for the N’Duja pizza and it was really rather lovely, with generous toppings, a reasonably large size and lots of delicious spicy sausage. The pizza base was thin and crispy, the tomato sauce was rich and actually quite decadent, with the cheese not being too overpowering. It’s prepared in the wood fired oven and that gives it some nice blackening, and the base they used seems to be of a good quality.

    There were a selection of beers available as well, which were fine for my needs, nothing exceptional but there were some options that I haven’t tried before and so that interested me. The surroundings are clean and comfortable, with the whole set-up feeling organised and well managed. A rather decent final lunch in Gdansk, which is handy as I had saved a visit here until last as a little farewell treat…..

  • Gdansk – Słony Spichlerz (Food Court)

    Gdansk – Słony Spichlerz (Food Court)

    Słony Spichlerz has opened relatively recently and it’s a food court which has a bar and several restaurant options. This whole set-up is becoming more common now and if done well it can be quite effective and on-trend. There are nine different restaurants here which cover a variety of cuisines, with a common seating area between them. That’s a handy option for groups that want to eat different styles of food, as they can all sit together.

    This photo didn’t come out quite as clearly as I would have liked, but it’s one of the rooms with three dining options visible, Bang!Kuk Thai, Sexy Bull Burgers and MexEat Tacos & Burritos.

    This was the option that I went for, the pizza from Czerwony Piec, with the option to the left being Ramen & Sushi and the option to the right (not in the photo) being Great Greek.

    The Pasta Miasta option. All of these outlets looked interesting, so there’s plenty for me to come back to if I come to Gdansk again, which is fairly likely.

    There’s a bar on the first floor, which is Salty Bar, but the beer choices were rather unexciting, so I gave that a miss. This strikes me as unusual as well, the decadent food courts I’ve been to before across Europe tend to have an on trend bar with the latest drinks, whereas here they’ve settled for generic options mainly based around cocktails. I have nothing against Guinness (indeed, I very much like Guinness), but that’s really not the dark beer option that any decent bar should have when there are so many excellent Polish breweries creating marvellous porters and stouts. At least they’ve made the effort to put their menus all around the venue though, which is helpful.

    Anyway, this was an interesting location and I liked the set-up here. I went on a Sunday lunchtime shortly after opening and it was getting quite busy, so it seems to be a popular venue. There’s not a vast amount of seating, so it might take a little waiting for be able to find a table during the summer months. Recommended though, and there should be a dining option for most tastes.

  • Gdansk – Cukiernia Sowa (Ulica Długa)

    Gdansk – Cukiernia Sowa (Ulica Długa)

    This is the first day in Poland on this trip that I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel, so I thought that I’d pop to my favourite Polish chain that is Cukiernia Sowa. This is a substantial sized shop on Ulica Długa, the city’s main street, and it stretches across numerous properties.

    Just as I thought I knew Cukiernia Sowa and their set-up, I realised (well, was told by a polite staff member) that there was table service offered and the counter service was for take-away customers only. I was reassured though to note that from a few on-line reviews and customers in the shop that others were also confused. The usual tempting display of cakes is visible though, all looking beautiful and well presented.

    I had a pleasant seat by the window. The staff member took a few minutes to come over but he was helpful, although seemed moderately surprised that my order was limited to a hot chocolate. They do more substantial meals here to an extent that I haven’t seen before in this chain, the cheese and meat platters looked interesting, but I was saving myself for my lunchtime pizza that I had been planning elsewhere.

    And here’s the entirety of my order, the hot chocolate. I might have been tempted (as I set the bar quite low here on being tempted by an eclair or something) to get a pastry with it if ordering at the counter, but I couldn’t be faffing with that for table service. It’s a rich hot chocolate that you can stand a spoon up in, always a delight, and it costs around £1.70, which I think is a bargain for such decadence.

    As usual, the environment here is calm and comfortable, quite a cosy little arrangement. It took me a few minutes to get the staff member’s attention to get the bill, but it wasn’t an excessive wait. I can see why they’ve switched to table service here, as most customers probably want something a little more substantial and that’s more difficult for the staff members to deal with at the counter in a busy environment. I’m sure one day that will be replaced with ordering via an app, which is always a handy option for me. Anyway, I recommend the hot chocolates here, very delightful.

  • Gdansk – Kobza Haus

    Gdansk – Kobza Haus

    For the first time I’ve been here, Gdansk feels busy and that’s also noticeable with the increased hotel prices. Some of this seems to be couples coming to the city a week early for Valentine’s Day, and I’ve heard now several English speaking couples, the first I’ve noticed after my few weeks here. Despite the increased room rates, I was able to get a single room at the centrally located Kobza Haus for £25, which I thought was reasonable. The single rooms are often the last to go, which makes them quite price competitive. I decided not to pay extra for the breakfast on this occasion, as it was around £10 which seemed a little excessive to me.

    The bed is wider than the photo suggests, as indeed was the room in general. This room is on the top floor, so high up that the lift doesn’t even reach there. It was clean and comfortable (the room, not the lift), with the wi-fi being fast, which is handy for my photo back-up to the Cloud that I’ve got behind on. The window arrangement was odd as it took all of my six foot of height to be able to open one of the windows, although perhaps they didn’t want guests fiddling with their set-up.

    This seems mean-spirited to me, although didn’t impact me as I was only there for one night. This reminds me to comment that I’m not sure that I entirely understand the decision of hotel chains such as Accor who are currently offering £8 off every stay. That means if I stay for one night I’ll get £8 off, a free welcome drink and a welcome gift, whereas if I stay for five nights I’ll get exactly the same. I would have been disappointed to have been promised tea and coffee facilities during a stay which actually meant “tea and coffee just for the first night”. Anyway, my annoyance is for other customers on this occasion.

    There were a few minor internal noise disturbances, but nothing from outside, so all was well. In terms of location this is ideal for anyone visiting Gdansk, and it’s a clean and comfortable option with friendly staff. But buy your own tea and coffee……

  • Sopot – La Crema d’Italia Cafe

    Sopot – La Crema d’Italia Cafe

    After my little meander to Sopot, this is where I thought that I’d pop for lunch, which I think is the best rated cafe in the city, La Crema d’Italia Cafe.

    It was empty when I came in, although numerous customers came in afterwards so I didn’t feel entirely alone. The staff member put some music on to add a little to the atmosphere as it did feel quite quiet and the ambience was all rather pleasant. There’s nothing wrong particularly with the interior decor, but it didn’t feel quite as warm and cosy as some other cafes.

    The latte and a cannoli, nicely presented with the little garnish of orange. I thought that both elements were entirely decent, but there wasn’t quite the depth of flavour that I was expecting from either the pastry or from the coffee. The exterior of the cannoli was soft rather than crispy, which isn’t how I’ve usually experienced it, and the filling didn’t have quite the decadent edge that I hoped for. There was some Lavazza branding all over the place and it’s perhaps this that made me think that the coffee tasted the same as it does in JD Wetherspoons. Nonetheless, it was all pleasant enough and was a comfortable environment.

    Price-wise, this is towards the higher end of the scale, but the service was friendly and attentive throughout. The downstairs toilet isn’t shall we say accessible by anyone who doesn’t like tight circular staircases and the lock on the door didn’t work either. Fortunately, since I was the only customer in the cafe at the time, this wasn’t a concern, but it’s not an ideal arrangement. I’d put this cafe in the category of being perfectly reasonable, but it didn’t surprise and delight me beyond that.

  • Gdansk – Max Burger (Forum Gdansk)

    Gdansk – Max Burger (Forum Gdansk)

    One of the advantages in my having been to Gdansk numerous times before is that I’ve visited just about all the museums and historic sites, so my stay is now much more leisurely without rushing around trying to complete the cultural opportunities. I’m running out of independent cafes and restaurants to visit now as well, although I’m pleased to see Gdansk’s vibrancy means that more are opening up. And with that spare time from not rushing about, I decided to try another chain that has been growing in popularity in Poland, but which I haven’t visited before. It’s located within the Forum shopping centre and the above photo is the view from their outside area.

    It’s a Swedish chain which was founded in 1968 and which started to expand to other countries over the last decade. There are currently 16 Max Burger outlets in Poland and more of them are planned.

    The set-up inside, with numerous self-service machines to the left just out of my photo and the counter ordering and pick-up visible above. It’s a large outlet, all bright and clean with plenty of space to wait and not get in the way of other customers.

    The relatively extensive views of Gdansk from the windows, they’ve got a prime position here within the shopping centre. Opposite the frontage of this burger restaurant is the rest of the food court which has shared seating, so I imagine this set-up is quite an expensive one for the company.

    This photo isn’t really of the huge pillar, although I accept that is in the centre….. I just liked the variety of seating types that they have inside, including the raised tables. During my visit at least it was a quiet environment which didn’t feel rushed or stressed. They’ve also got power points dotted around the place, which is another sign of a restaurant that doesn’t feel the need to have the sort of Five Guys set-up where the harsh design of the interior almost feels designed to get customers out as quickly as possible.

    And the meal itself, I just went for their classic burger set and the cost of this is about the same as a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s, so they’re quite price competitive. The burger was meaty and juicy, the onion and gherkin adding texture and taste, with the cheese hard to notice but I’m sure contributed to the flavour. The drink was just Fanta, but the star of this little show was definitely the fries. These were better than those from their main rivals of Burger King and McDonald’s, thin, crispy and with quite a pleasant bite to them.

    The venue is fairly well reviewed on-line, it seems that most of the negatives relate to the waiting times, although my food was ready within three minutes. It seemingly gets busy usually, although on the Saturday lunchtime that I visited it was fairly quiet. Given that the price point is competitive with McDonald’s, I can see that this chain will become more popular given that it’s something different and I’d say the standard is high and the restaurant seemed clean and organised. Admittedly it’s not fine dining (well, I think it is, but I accept no-one else does), but I’m pleased that I popped in……

  • Gdansk – Ibis Gdańsk Stare Miasto (2022 Visits)

    Gdansk – Ibis Gdańsk Stare Miasto (2022 Visits)

    I stayed in this hotel a couple of years ago when I last visited Gdansk, but am posting again as I thought that my two visits on this trip were particularly positive. And when things go right, I may as well write about them……

    As is perhaps evident from these photos, I was given the same room on both my stays. I think they have a few with Espresso machines and the like, so the chances of getting the same room is higher than it might appear. Anyway, the rooms were spotlessly clean and everything was as expected.

    There was no welcome gift on my first stay, but that’s not surprising as it’s not the brand standard for Ibis to offer anything. On the second visit though things improved somewhat, with a mini bottle of red wine. I’m not really a red wine drinker, but I’m not going to refuse any hospitality and my uneducated wine palate decided it tasted quite pleasant. There was a handwritten welcome letter as well which was a kind touch.

    And the welcome drink of my choice, which was the Żywiec APA. Accor hotels in Poland do a much better job in my view than in any other country, they have a consistency to them which can perhaps only be obtained by having one company (in this case Orbis) running every hotel in the country.

    And photos of the breakfast arrangement. Some of the rolls on my second visit tasted like they’d been there a bit too long, but there was some rather delicious apple pie and there were sufficient options available. Everything is neatly arranged and the  breakfast area was clean and organised. They had pierogi, three different sausage options, beans and eggs as well for those who wanted some hot options.

    The staff here are helpful, including them being very accommodating when I needed to be on a Zoom meeting at lunch-time, with the late checkout being willingly offered for free. The hotel is located near to the city’s main railway station and about a five minute walk from the centre of the Old Town area, so all rather convenient. I don’t need to worry about parking a car, but I noticed that cost 50zl per night for anyone who needed to. There were no noise issues, either internally or externally, on either stay, with the prices being towards the lower end of the scale again. So, once again, all rather lovely.

    There’s further information about the hotel here.

  • Gdansk – Hotel Novotel Gdańsk Centrum (Repeat Visits)

    Gdansk – Hotel Novotel Gdańsk Centrum (Repeat Visits)

    I wrote about the Novotel Gdansk Centrum a couple of weeks ago after my first stay, but I made several repeat visits and it’s fair to say that I think it’s a very well run hotel. It seemed very quiet on my first visit, but things have picked up somewhat now which I’m pleased to see.

    I’ve been given a series of different rooms, one of them was a themed Japanese room.

    I’m not sure of the functionality of this themed room, especially since they took the sofa out to fit everything else in, but I do like it when hotels have an quirky element. Especially when they’re built as corporate hotels which have a brand standard, some variety added to the mix seems useful to me.

    That’s what the standard room looks like. On every occasion the room was clean and tidy, with no noise issues internally or externally on any night. I also appreciated the Nespresso coffee machine, even though I’m trying to cut my coffee consumption.

    I’ve gone through a range of welcome drinks as well, including Żywiec Porter, Żywiec APA and Żywiec IPA.

    And the assorted welcome gifts, which I always very much appreciate. In one case the manager came to the room to hand the gift over, which I was I suspect as I was given the wrong room at check-in, but whatever way, this makes me feel very welcome. The honey roasted peanuts and those truffles really are delightful.

    In case the hotel wondered where its salami and gherkins kept going, there’s the answer.

    The staff here have been friendly throughout, to the point where the helpful man who works endlessly hard judging by how often he’s at reception, now recognises me. As a hotel, it seems impeccably managed to me, there have been no problems during any of my stays and I think that it represents excellent value for money given that the prices have been so low recently. All very lovely. There’s more information about the hotel here.

  • Gdansk – Three Best Craft Beer Bars

    Gdansk – Three Best Craft Beer Bars

    I write frequently about craft beer and its growth around the world (well, it stops me from posting frequently about Greggs or something….), not just in countries such as the United States and the UK, but also countries such as Poland where new breweries and bars are opening at some considerable pace. This is a marvellous trend and it’s noticeable at https://ontap.pl/ not just how many bars are opening, but also the breadth of the beers that they sell.

    In central Gdansk, I’ve found what I consider to be the best three craft beer bars, Pułapka, Under Beer and Labeerynt. Any visitor coming to the city who appreciates the delights of craft beer should absolutely visit all three as far as I’m concerned….

    PUŁAPKA

    I first visited here in January 2020, and it was one of my favourite pubs of that year, although of course a few weeks after I visited the world changed somewhat. A well balanced variety of beer options with friendly staff who were knowledgeable about what was available. The bar has been open for several years and seems to be popular with locals and visitors, with the atmosphere being laid-back and informal. It’s in the Old Town of Gdansk although visitors to the city probably wouldn’t just stumble across the bar, it’s something of a destination venue. The bar’s name meaning ‘trap’ in English, which is a good way to describe many craft beer bars, albeit welcome traps that I’m happy not to get released from too quickly. They offer basic food such as sandwiches and the like, along with a few bar snacks.

     

    LABEERYNT

    I visited here a couple of weeks ago, adding that it was the first time that I had been to this cellar bar. However, I noticed that an early post on my blog shows that I have been before a few years ago, which was actually half the reason that I started this blog, as I get muddled up with where I’ve been. Anyway, that confusion aside, there’s a very acceptable range of beers available across a wide variety of styles, all cleared marked up on the blackboard. The staff member was friendly and helpful, with the bar being clean, albeit it slightly dark because of its cellar arrangement.

     

    UNDER BEER

    And my favourite craft beer bar of them all is Under Beer, an understated and quite charming arrangement. They are relying on their cans and bottles which are in the fridges, but the selection is excellent and I like that the set-up almost requires them to engage with the customer. This adds to the whole warmth of the venue and so it feels more welcoming. I was so surprised and delighted with the range of beer options that I took some away with me as well, something that I can’t recall doing for some years, but I’ve discovered just how good Funky Fluid are now. The bagel I bought was also much better than I expected, it was served as a large portion and tasted quite delicious. A comfortable environment, excellent beer and welcoming staff, all really rather lovely.

     

    And thanks to Untappd’s app for helping me find these venues, I think an absolutely essential craft beer finding tool. My account is at https://untappd.com/user/julwhite.