Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Poland

Wizz Air (London Luton to Gdansk)

Luton Airport doesn’t do connecting flights as they’re a point to point airport which meant I went landside after coming off my earlier flight that day and then couldn’t go airside again as it was too long before my flight. I thought about walking into the delights of Luton town centre but it was too hot and I wasn’t brave enough to risk dehydration for cultural enrichment. I instead spent some time at the Pret landside whilst wondering how early I could go through security and I think the answer is six hours. After going through I meandered to Avalon which is included in the Priority Pass card and they are always helpful in offering extras to take it up to the allowed £18 value.

I then popped to Big Smoke which I find consistently decent and they have a range of beers available. I was seated whilst the waiter went to find the Priority Pass machine and then another waiter told me that I wasn’t allowed to seat myself. As a consistent rule follower I was inwardly most put out that I looked like someone that would transgress the obvious rules of a restaurant, but my original waiter came back and shooed away the interloper.

My normal selection at Nolito is pineapple juice and calmari. For the second time over recent months, these calamari were inedible, dripping in grease and the texture was all wrong. It’s annoying from the perspective of when they get it right, they’re really rather good. I declined the offer of them making more as I thought it was time to pop to the lounge. I’ll try something different next time. The state of that laptop as well, it gets quite compressed when in my bag which makes the screen look dirty and seemingly stops four of the keys from working properly,

My Lounge said they were busy but No 1 Lounge had space, so I went there for the first time. It’s a much smaller lounge than I had expected, but it was near empty and the staff were friendly. This is the main meal of pulled chicken with potatoes, it was entirely agreeable. I’ve written before, but the value from these lounges at full-price is questionable unless you drink a lot of alcohol. They’ve over £30 to get in, so most people would be better off just sitting in a restaurant in the airport terminal. If you want a lot of drink, the lounge proposition is better. I had my usual one Birra Moretti as that’s always enough of that.

There weren’t any capacity issues in this lounge and it all feels modern, comfortable and clean. There were also plenty of power points which was handy.

It was then time, finally, to head to the boarding gate. All very efficient again from Wizz Air with the signage being clear.

The aircraft was HA-LXJ, an Airbus A321 they’ve owned since September 2016, so one of the oldest in their fleet and I don’t think I’ve been on it before.

I thought that the seating Gods had given me a middle seat and they sort of had, but there was no aisle seat as it was this crew seat which faces the other way. This was all rather fortunate, it meant that the seat was effectively an aisle seat which meant that I had the space I hoped for. The elderly gentleman in the aisle seat kept busy for the entire flight: up, down, into his bag, back again, rustling, unwrapping, standing, sitting, wandering, repacking. A one-man tribute to the art of perpetual motion. Each to their own, but I was glad that I was able to lean into the crew seat (as the crew weren’t in it other than for take-off and landing) to get some peace.

We landed slightly early and the flight was once again a delight, with the crew being efficient and helpful, with the pilots making announcements that were appropriate and interesting. Wizz Air have an ability to operate flights which are just efficient and not noteworthy, which is really just as an airline would want it.

Unfortunately, there was an issue with my passport again and I was the last person to leave border control. The staff tried to count the stamps in my passport, just hours after this happened in Kaunas, and thought I had spent too long in the EU. Three staff this time came to count the stamps and they were apologetic as they said they had to do it, but the senior staff member did a count and said the matter was fine. I’ve realised the problem here, nearly every airport stamps my passport out next to the corresponding entry stamp. However, the Romanian stamps are slightly less careful and there’s one page which makes it look like I’ve been in the EU for twelve weeks solidly. I’ll definitely be glad when this new IT system is introduced as the current situation is sub-optimal. Luckily I had booked the cheap airport hotel which was only a five minute walk, so only just after 01:00 I arrived there safely….

June 19, 2025
Wizz Air (Warsaw Chopin to Dortmund)

Today’s early morning flight was from Warsaw Chopin to Dortmund and since I was at the airport soon after the security area opened, it was certainly a quiet airside. Although I accept that’s because normal people don’t arrive at airports as early as I do……

The corridors weren’t yet bustling.

The restaurants not yet packed.

I went to inspect the gate for my flight, which was scheduled to leave at 06:05. I realised that this meant I had time for a flying lounge visit, although it only opened at 05:00 so it wasn’t going to be a lingering one.

A little queue had formed for the lounge.

The excitement of it all….

As usual, I was eyeing up the chocolates (in that basket on the right of the photo).

And a breakfast of a Greek salad, blackcurrant juice, Fanta and a hot chocolate. I soon added chocolate, a banana and two shots of espresso. It transpired that I had twenty minutes in the lounge until they called customers to go to the gate, but that was sufficient time to get enough food and drink. Fortunately, my lounge pass is unlimited as I wouldn’t have paid for such a short visit.

The boarding process was efficient, although it was a bus gate which is never entirely ideal. The seating Gods had given me a middle seat, but it’s only a short flight and I was asleep for nearly all of it anyway. The route from Warsaw to Dortmund (and back again) has only just been launched but it was a nearly full flight. This is the exciting thing for airlines such as Wizz Air and Ryanair, they can open new routes and have a near guarantee that people will want to travel between the two locations.

The aircraft was 9H-WBZ, an Airbus A321 which has been in the fleet since October 2022, which I don’t think that I’ve been on before.

Safely into Dortmund and it was a little warmer than Warsaw.

Dortmund Airport is, if I’m being honest, bloody awful. The terminal was built in 2000 and designed for many fewer passengers, so it’s struggling to cope with the current higher volumes. There aren’t enough toilets, it’s not clean and it didn’t feel very well maintained. There was limited seating, the signage was confused and the on-line reviews are appalling, they desperately need an entirely new terminal. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to flying out of the airport in a couple of days.

Anyway, it was in my eyes a successful flight as it cost me under £9, it was on time and everything seemed well managed and organised.

June 13, 2025
McDonalds Poland – Pistachio McFlurry

It seems silly to come to a country and not eat the local food so I decided to try this rather delicious sounding Pistachio McFlurry. The promotional text says:

“Discover the new McFlurry® Pistachio and be amazed by the combination of velvety vanilla ice cream, thick pistachio sauce and crunchy cookie topping. Be warned, it may mess with your head!”

If I’m being honest, this is just a little rustic and there is perhaps a need to work on the presentation of this as there are some subtle variations from the promotional photos. However, I will say that it works in terms of the taste with the pistachio sauce having some depth of flavour and the pistachios themselves adding texture. Anyway, I’d better and have some pierogi to restore the authentic Polish balance.

June 12, 2025
Warsaw – Metro System : C05 Ulrychów (Visiting Every Station)

And the next in my series of visiting every metro station on the Warsaw network. I have a backlog of these, but then again, I have a backlog of lots of many things I’m meant to be writing up.

The station is on M2, located in the Wola district along Górczewska Street and next to the Wola Park shopping centre. It was officially opened on 30 June 2022 as part of the extension of Line M2 westward from Rondo Daszyńskiego towards Bemowo. It takes its name from the Ulrich family, who established one of Warsaw’s first commercial gardening enterprises in the 19th century on this very land, with quite extensive greenhouses and nurseries. Work on the construction started in 2019, although groundbreaking work started in late 2018. Despite Covid, the project remained on schedule (this is Poland) and it officially opened on 30 June 2022.

And here’s the aforementioned Wola Park shopping centre. During the planning stage of the extension, the station was going to take the name Wola Park but perhaps they didn’t pay enough for sponsorship as in October 2018 the name was changed to Ulrychów.

Inside the shopping centre as I had to pop in. I might have accidentally tripped into the McDonald’s self-service machine and ordered myself a Jalapeño Burger as well by accident as well. At just £1, they continue to surprise and delight me.

This is Osiedle Przyjaźń, a hastily erected housing estate built in 1952 which was designed to house the thousands of Soviet workers who were building the Palace of Culture and Science in the city centre. It was composed almost entirely of prefabricated wooden dormitory pavilions for the labourers and some smaller bungalows for the more senior staff. At its peak, it could house 4,500 people and the structures were painted in either blue and white or red and white colour schemes to make them look colourful and exciting. There was a residential area here before, but that was quickly demolished although alternative accommodation was offered to those living in the area.

After the Palace was completed in May 1955, the Soviets cleared off and that left a handy campus area already constructed, which was given to the Ministry of Higher Education. The dormitories were used as student halls and the bungalows were given to academics and their families.

It’s a slightly odd area today, there are quite a few buildings which are boarded up, but evidently there are plenty of people who live here.

No-one paid much attention to my meandering around, it’s quite a peaceful area.

Some of the colourful buildings probably need a little painting.

This exploration is tiring, so I popped into the Auchan supermarket for a yoghurt based drink. I got a Mullermilch as well, but that’s getting its own post as usual.

Back to the metro station. Incidentally, the shopping centre were going to build an underground tunnel to the station, but they didn’t bother, but that’s perhaps because they were annoyed that the station wasn’t named after them.

Another packed platform, but it’s functional and clean. It was designed by a consortium of Metroprojekt and AMC Andrzej M. Chołdzyński, the same architectural team behind many other Line M2 stations, and it was designed with the expectation that the copper walls will oxidise over time, gradually changing colour and developing a natural verdigris patina. Very decadent. For anyone interested, and this is stretching the engagement of even my two loyal blog readers, the station is 120 metres long and was constructed in a 160 metres station box, all constructed using the ‘cut and cover’ method of making a big hole, putting in the station box and then resurfacing it.

The station sign and the architects noted that:

“The ceiling of the platform level is covered with coffered acoustic panels also finished in a warm copper tone. In combination with the green walls and pillars, the copper ceiling creates a feeling reminiscent of an autumnal palette.”

Nice. To be honest, this extension is a little uniform in its design, it could probably do with some exciting art installations going on to make the stations feel a little more individual. There was some controversy that the planned nearby Warszawa Górczewska rail station wasn’t constructed as an interchange with this metro station, but the designers said if they had moved it then it was no longer near where people lived, nor the shopping centre. They have a good point there and they’ve likely ignored the mocking ‘węzeł spacerowy’ or ‘walking interchange’ that some have nicknamed it.

And here comes the train, taking me back to the city centre. The network considers this to be the most copper filled of any of their stations, a fun fact I’ll try and remember although I doubt it’ll come up in any quizzes.

June 12, 2025
Warsaw – Thai Me Up

It’s an interesting name for a Thai restaurant, but I needed somewhere suitably exotic to celebrate the end of this wave of dental treatment and I also hadn’t been here before so that seemed reason enough to visit.

The food menu and for those from the UK, divide by five to get the equivalent amount in pounds.

The drinks menu which seemed suitably broad in size.

I was greeted promptly at the door and offered a choice of seats, but I liked the window seat as it meant I had a view over the restaurant and also the kitchen. I could see from my viewpoint that everything was being cooked fresh in the kitchen, it certainly seemed authentic with the woks being flung about excitedly and flames coming from pans. The aroma of the restaurant was also enticing, the open kitchen meant that the Thai flavours lingered across the interior.

The starter was the chicken satay and this is the best presented version of that meal that I’ve ever seen. The chicken was tender and generous in portion size, with what I think is called Achar which is a diced fruit and vegetable arrangement, alongside prawn crackers, the satay sauce, along with what might be mung bean sprouts but I’m unsure. I haven’t been to Thailand, but I will work out a trip there at some point.

They had some Polish beers, but adding to the Thai authenticity I went for a Singha beer. It’s a pale lager, but it seemed light and appropriate for the meal, although I suppose in that sense it’s both exotic and banal. It came in a bottle, but the team member poured it into the glass and took the bottle, which doesn’t help for Untappd photos if I’m being honest but I was there for the food rather than my Untappd feed.

The main was the chicken green curry with rice, which was mentioned to be spicy hot. It was hot in terms of the spice, although not overly so, but was certainly piping hot in the temperature sense. The chicken was tender, the curry was rich in flavour and it had all those vegetable things that I think are meant to be good for you. The jasmine rice was light, although in an ideal world I would have rather have had a bit more of that because of how large the green curry sauce portion was.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was laid-back and informal with an authentic feel only diminished slightly by the customer with a loud Glaswegian accent. It does get rather confusing at times, planning a trip to another country whilst being Poland, eating a Thai cuisine and listening to customers speaking in English (well, Glaswegian, but they have similar roots). They had a side room and downstairs area, so they could cope with very large numbers here, but it was still moderately busy for a Wednesday evening.

The pricing was reasonable, especially for an on-trend city centre restaurant in the capital, with the service being polite and attentive. The food and drink all met or exceeded my expectations in terms of the taste, temperature and presentation, with the portion size being larger than I had expected. At the end of the meal, it wasn’t quite as easy as I would have liked to get the bill, but I wasn’t in a rush and I could have forced the issue if I had wanted with my passive aggressive look. And it just gave more time for people watching, so I remained happy and would merrily recommend this restaurant to others.

June 12, 2025
Wizz Air (London Luton to Warsaw Chopin)

And a flight to Warsaw for my last week of dental work and I’ve been very brave by all accounts. For completeness, I thought I’d include the photos of the lounge visits from my Priority Pass card before the flight, as I’m like that….. I received a notification that the aircraft was running around thirty minutes late, which allowed a little extra time for these visits. This is Big Smoke and the chicken tenders and Electric Eye beer which was hazy, hoppy and a bit tropical.

The Calamari and pineapple juice at Nolito, primarily as they’d run out of orange juice.

And the My Lounge, which was full when I first went but I joined the on-line queue and headed to Nolito instead. Thirty minutes later I received a message saying that I could check-in. The cutlery here was filthy as usual, but everything else felt clean and organised. The staff were friendly and the beer, Birra Moretti, was generic and dull.

Anyway, I digress.

This is the first Wizz Air flight that I can remember where the boarding process was unclear. The priority (not me) and non-priority (me) queues weren’t very clear and a staff member came down after some time to try and resolve the confusion. The gates are poorly marked here rather than it being a Wizz Air issue, but fortunately I arrived early enough to work the whole arrangement out, but I noticed some stressed customers after me.

There we go, confirmation that I was in the right queue…..

It felt a longer wait than usual to board the aircraft, but nothing unreasonable, and all of the staff seemed helpful if not one that seemed a little frazzled by customers. The aircraft was HA-LVE, which I don’t think that I’ve been on before, an Airbus A321 which has been in the Wizz Air fleet since July 2019.

The seating Gods had given me an aisle seat towards the rear of the aircraft, which I felt was very agreeable. Two other customers had been barging past other customers and I just let them past me, they seemed to have an issue with personal space and numerous other customers just let them go by. It transpired that they were sitting next to me on the aircraft, so it was efficient that they had gone ahead of me given that I had the aisle seat. The flight was without issue once again, with the pilot making regular announcements. I think I was asleep for most of the flight, I get easily tired now that I’m 30.

And safely into a rainy Warsaw around an hour after the original expected arrival time. As the flight had cost me under £9 with Multi Pass, I was happy with the whole arrangement. The border control was efficient and more personable than I’ve experienced recently, some others ahead me in the queue were being asked the purpose of their visit, but I just got “welcome back to Poland” so perhaps they’ve got fed up with asking.

June 11, 2025
Grudziądz

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

That’s the end of my time in Grudziądz, having now left for a trip to Gdansk, which is a little to the north of the city. It’s a rather understated and delightful place, although I didn’t see much evidence of tourists in the city during my three days there.

It’s relatively accessible from Bydogoscz and Gdansk, although probably not for a day trip. There seem to be an increasing number of restaurants catering for different tastes, with the prices being reasonable given the off the beaten track location of the city. Hotel provision seems sufficient, with the prices again being reasonable.

The level of English spoken is one of the lowest I’ve experienced in Poland, which isn’t a complaint, just an observation of how few tourists they might be getting. As is usual, the younger generation speak much better English, and the signage at the museums was usually available in English.

There’s been a large amount of European Union investment in the city, which has helped to repair some of the neglected historic monuments. Unfortunately, the railway station seems to have missed either regional or EU funding, and is need of some considerable investment.

But as a location to visit in Poland, there’s plenty of history, and the bridge which covers the Vistula River makes for a particular impressive river scene. The city’s former fortifications are also partly in place, with some offering extensive views of the surrounding area.

On that note, I’m now off to Gdansk for a return visit….

Grudziądz Index:

Railway Station

Ibis Styles

Rynek

Grudziadz Museum

Klimek Tower

Solidarity Memorial

American Burger

Level Restaurant

Wall Art

Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

St. Francis Xavier Church

Banks of the River Vistula

Bronislaw Malinowski Bridge

May 31, 2025
Grudziądz – Railway Station

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but reposted it in May 2025 to fix some broken image links. As an aside, I’m pleased to hear that recently work has started on improving this railway station]

The whole city of Grudziądz is really rather pleasant, but if there’s one part that needs investment, it’s the railway station. Google has numerous negative reviews of the railway station, mainly about the issue of homelessness in the building. That might perhaps be true, but the state of the building itself is also clearly an issue, and it needs replacing or modernising.

The building’s exterior.

The interior is just as delightful.

This is the main concourse. It’s not exactly London Waterloo.

This feels like it was constructed in a Soviet style in about the 1960s, and I’m not sure that it has received much investment since. There’s a large supermarket in the building, and two small shops, but not much else.

The lady at the ticket desk was helpful, although her trying to communicate that the next train wasn’t for two hours did take a longer than was ideal given the language barrier.

The station didn’t have any screens indicating the next train, and the clock was perhaps in need of some attention…..

The station platforms, which are better maintained.

I did find the entire ticket purchasing, and working out when the train left and where to connect, rather confusing. The information at the railway station seemed to differ from what there was on-line. However, fortunately there was a young English speaking conductor on the first train and he was able to explain everything, and show me to my train when I connected.

May 31, 2025
Grudziądz – Ibis Styles

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

The Ibis Styles in Grudziądz, a modern looking building, which is part of the Accor chain. It’s about a ten-minute walk for the railway station and around a five-minute walk from the city centre.

Ibis Styles certainly go for some interesting themes in their hotels. My Ibis Styles in Bremen was themed around space, this hotel seemed to themed around medieval knights.

The theming continued in the room, although I couldn’t help but feel that they gave it an impression of being a children’s room.

Breakfast in the morning exceeded my expectations in terms of the choice and quality of the food and drink. I particularly liked the tubs of Greek salad and the rolls, which were unusually large. The hotel did though seem to have a problem with flies in the breakfast area….

However, the service in the hotel was always friendly, the prices low (a night including breakfast was around £28) and there were no noise issues, either internally or externally.

May 31, 2025
Grudziądz – Rynek

[I originally posted this in June 2018, but I’ve reposted it to fix some broken image links]

There’s an attractive market square in Grudziądz and I particularly liked the water feature which made the area cooler, as it was otherwise too hot….

It seemed sensible just to quickly test the quality of the beer served in one of the stalls around the market place…… I was initially confused to discover that it wasn’t table service, but fortunately I noticed someone else ordering so my British confusion wasn’t observed by anyone.

Tyskie, it’s a little generic, but it sufficed my needs. There was a premium cost for beer at the beating heart of Grudziądz, so this cost around £1.10.

May 31, 2025