This is my third post on various flavours of this drink, which is the nectar of the Gods (well, after the Pistachio flavour) and is unavailable in the UK. Creamy goodness, the nearest we have in the UK is Frijj which isn’t as good, even though it’s now made by Müller.
Anyway, enough of this fascinating series of beverage posts. Well, for the moment. It’s like the Snack Zone on Jet Lag the Game, my favourite series on YouTube…..
Słony Spichlerz is an on-trend food outlet, although I’ve only eaten at the pizza outlet here before (Czerwony Piec). Sexy Bull is the burger option at the food court, which feels modern, clean and well managed. I’ve excelled myself with the photography as ever, but taking a photo with the signage of Sexy Bull not really visible. My defence is that at the point when I took the photo, I hadn’t decided where to go out of the Smörgåsbord of options.
The staff member spoke English (it was ever thus…..) which was handy and so the ordering process was quick and efficient. The beer selection was limited to just Corona, but I thought I’d just roll with it, I’ve had worse drinks and the slice of lime always helps. The burger was well presented, although could have been just a little hotter, but it was cooked through sufficiently and it had a bit of spice to it. It also looked impressive amidst all the lettuce shrubbery, with the chips being firm on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. It was all rather pleasant, I had a view of the Motława River and I was enjoying being back in God’s own country that is Poland.
I arrived at this hotel, which is a three minute walk from the airport terminal, at 01:04 and that’s why I decided not to find a hotel in the city centre as it didn’t seem worth the effort. The photo, some detectives amongst my two loyal blog readers might realise, was taken in the morning. I was pleased that the check-in procedure was immediate and efficient, although airport hotels are no doubt used to some odd arrival and departure times.
It was basic, but it was cheap and clean, which are always attributes that I’m keen on. It was a good night’s sleep with no internal or external noise disturbance, so that’s something of a result. It probably could have done with a couple more plug sockets, but customers needing to charge about eight devices is something of a new requirement. It’s generally well reviewed, although there have been a few bed bug complaints. As usual, I dismantled the sheet arrangement to check for this situation, but there were no little critters that caused me any concern. I had a meander through their reviews, I like reading about a bit of drama:
“After 5 minutes of staying the lady from the reception stated that I did not have a paid reservation and asked me to leave the hotel. It did not help to show all the possible fees that I had in the messages from booking.com a tragedy, the approach to the customer is disastrous”
Sub-optimal.
“Mouse in the room”.
I wouldn’t be thrilled by this one. And this is a running theme (excuse the poor pun).
“There was a rat in my room, I changed the hotel immediately. It was an absolute nightmare experience. There was absolutely nothing to like.”
Some other reviewers muttered about thin walls, but perhaps I didn’t have anyone in the room next door to me. I’d likely stay here again if I had a very late flight into Gdansk, but otherwise I think I’d head for the centre as it’s a relatively easy bus journey. It all meant that I was refreshed in the morning for my first trip to Gdansk in, well, just over a year.
This was smooth in terms of customer handling, I arrived at the gate and had a wait in the queue of only around five minutes before boarding. I almost felt as if I had purchased priority boarding with this level of efficiency.
Boarding underway.
Aircraft registration SH-WDO, I don’t think that I’ve been on this Airbus A321, but it’s only just over a year old so that’s not entirely surprising. Out of interest (to me anyway) I looked up how many aircraft that Wizz Air have had and they had 55 planes in 2015 and 120 just before Covid struck. It’s now 215 aircraft, so they’re nearly twice the size that they were four years ago. Ryanair have 605 aircraft though, so there’s some way for them to go. British Airways have 244 aircraft in their fleet, so it’s likely Wizz Air will soon catch them up.
The hopeful passenger next to me declared at this point that it looked like a quiet flight. I was privately sceptical, Wizz Air and Ryanair usually have very good occupancy and so it transpired when the second wave of passengers boarded, filling just about every seat. As with most flights, it was uneventful. The random seat Gods had given me an aisle seat and the flight was under two hours and there were no issues that I remember, so that’s just how a flight should be. It’s all very formulaic, they’ve got this really well sorted now in terms of their operation.
Safely in Gdansk. I had hoped for a smooth border control as the hotel that I was going to was so near the airport and it was late that I just wanted to get there. The not being in the EU is slowing things down somewhat, if I had been an EU citizen I would have likely left the airport within ten minutes of the flight landing. It took me 29 minutes, which is hardly a disaster, but it’s a little bit of a faff.
And finally leaving the airport. The flight cost £10, it’s hard to fault the value offered from Wizz Air. And, I have to say, it was great to be back in Poland.
Well, this is sub-optimal, I’ve got behind once again with this blog. I shall have a posting burst today to catch up. Talk about surprising and delighting my two loyal blog readers and the three people who stumble on here every now and then. I once again wasn’t confident that I’d get into My Lounge at Luton Airport, but they said there was no queue and I was welcomed in with my Priority Pass card. I found a seat at the rear of the lounge, next to one of the plentiful power points, and collected my average beer and a heap of nachos. I would personally prefer proper seating at a table than these low chairs, but each to their own and I’m sure others will differ.
Focusing on the food this time. Well, who would have thought? It’s average, I think we should point towards that and I mentioned that last week. At the end are some jacket potatoes which can go with baked beans, coleslaw and butter. It’s not decadent, this is the cheapest hot food I suspect they could think of. It might be transformed by a decent chilli or something to put on the top, but this is a weak offering for a lounge. They kept it topped up, even though I was there until nearly the closing of the lounge at 21:00.
The lounge authorities then seemed to sit and work out what the cheapest cold food option they could have was, going for nachos. I actually like these and have no complaints, but it’s not going to win many prizes on the creativity scale.
As a lounge it’s comfortable, but I wouldn’t pay for it with my own money if it wasn’t on Priority Pass, as the drinks offering is weak, the food offering is weak and it’s not actually that quiet in the lounge. One reviewer noted recently:
“Don’t waste your money unless you’re a party animal who wants a party vibe. If like me you want peace and quiet, ability to work or just relax. This one isn’t for you.”
I have some sympathy to their complaint. However, there are plenty of power points and I like those, with the snacks being entirely edible and the drinks not a disaster, but I wonder whether they could take things upmarket just a little bit here and there. Although I suspect they’re limited by the number of customers who are trying to get their money’s worth by hammering the free alcoholic drinks. It’s usually £34 to pay to go in, that feels like quite a lot of money to me.
The staff here are friendly though and the welcome at least feels authentic. They were pro-active about the closing process, a staff member went around and told everyone at 20:00 that they were closing the bars at 20:30 and then the lounge at 21:00. I like a bit of clarity in my life. There are plenty of staff going around the lounge and clearing tables, with the whole arrangement feeling clean and organised. I did wonder whether it was entirely prudent when two staff members were talking to each other about how they were hammering the lounge company for overtime money at the moment, which might explain the cost cutting that’s going on.
And far be it for me to comment on this, but the lounge promises “enjoy premium beers”. It has one beer, which is Birra Moretti, which isn’t premium. It’s like saying that Aldi own brand Jaffa Cakes are premium. I mean, they’re fine, but they’re not seen as a premium option. What the lounge could do with is a delicious pale ale, preferably a hazy one. I might be too focused on beer though, that has been commented on before by a high percentage of my two loyal blog readers. But, I digress. At this point, it was time to meander over from the lounge to the Wizz Air gate for Gdansk to get this little adventure started.
This week’s arrangement at Avalon thanks to Priority Pass. I didn’t try and buy this much, but once again the staff members suggested topping up my purchases to get the maximum benefit. I’m not sure that the scheme is designed for this, but that’s what they offer and so that’s what I had. The mango and granola thing was delicious, although veering on being slightly healthy. The BLT sandwich is quite heavy on the tomatoes and the bread gets quite soggy, it’s an interesting arrangement. There are also smoothies, coffees, cakes and toasties available at the outlet, which only has around eight tables although the turnover is quite fast.
Without going off on a tangent, I find customer behaviour quite intriguing. Avalon is one of the first food outlets that is visible airside and the number of customers I’ve seen here who say something along the lines of ‘here’s a coffee place, let’s sit here’ is much higher than I might have expected (not that I’d given it much thought in advance). My customer behaviour (when not bouncing around lounge options) is to meander around, find the best value and then check Google Reviews about the matter. I don’t think that I could live my life with the amount of jeopardy of “let’s sit here” without weighing up all the alternatives. I accept that some customers are not price conscious, are tired and don’t have time to faff about, but I’ve once again digressed into irrelevance.
Thanks to my new Priority Pass card, I started my time at Luton Airport with a visit to Big Smoke. After last week’s little debacle, I was seated at a more traditional table and the team member kindly found me one which was near a power point. I felt that the service was always efficient, but I suspected before they ordered food that they were going to have trouble with a customer who was seated nearby.
The chicken tenders, they’re a little expensive at nearly £10, but that keeps me under the £18 Priority Pass budget. Tender with a crispy flavour, they’re perfectly competent efforts, although I accept unlikely to send the venue into the Michelin Guide.
The beer is the Medicine Man from Big Smoke Brew Co, it was hoppy with a tropical edge, but the flavour didn’t much linger.
Anyway, to add to the excitement of my meal, the customer next to me got her meal and she then called a team member over as she wanted vinegar. Then she called them over again as she wanted salt. Then she called them over again as the chips were cold. Replacement chips in a bowl were brought over promptly. Then she called them over for vinegar for the new chips. Then she called them over saying they had left her with the original cold chips, so the team member said he’d bring another bowl. She then asked how she was expected to eat her meal half off a plate and half out of a bowl. The team member said he’d bring a plate. She said she didn’t want two plates. The team member asked what she did want. She wanted the manager. The manager came off and was initially beautifully direct about the situation, but then the customer told her to shove the meal and the manager thought she’d better be polite. The manager said she’d replace the whole meal. The meal came over. The customer called the team member over for vinegar. I left at this point, I had seen enough drama but could I just give a comment of great thanks to everyone working in the hospitality industry.
I like this venue, it’s clean, comfortable and fast. It’s not really the greatest value going, but airports aren’t cheap and it seemed competently delivered. I’m very pleased with my £18 dining credit with Priority Pass every time I visit, I will eventually work through most of the menu I suspect (well, the bits that won’t involve me going over £18).
I can crunch all this into one post as it’s the same route that I took last week on my little trip to Belgrade. I’ve also had a cold this week, although it’s obviously an aggressive version of it, but I’ve been very brave about it. However, I mention that not as I like telling people I’ve been brave, but just as an excuse as to why yet again I’ve got behind with posting about things.
Slightly blurry, but Liam once again drove me to Hatfield to stay at the Travelodge overnight before my onward journey. It’s always handy to get gossip fitted in on these journeys and it is quite handy getting a chauffeur driven ride straight to the hotel. Nothing much to report here about the Travelodge, the room was clean and there were no noise issues internally or externally. It seems a reliable hotel, I suspect I might be staying here a reasonable amount.
The view of Hatfield. I’m not sure that even my two loyal blog readers need to see a view of Hatfield out of a hotel window, but yet here we are.
As my flight was later on in the day, I popped to Harpsfield Hall to have several hot drinks for £1.56. Things looked problematic at first as the team member thought that the card machines were down but she said I could try, but I’d likely need to go and find cash. I wasn’t going to go and find cash, but I didn’t mention that and I was preparing to just move straight to Luton. However, to her surprise and considerable delight, the card payment went through and I went through a few hot chocolates. It reminded me that I really should restore the emergency £5 note to my wallet that I rarely remember to replace following the very occasional occurrence that I’ve had to use cash. It’s usually to get chips, but there are few places now which don’t take cards.
It’s quite metallic to say the least. I’ve visited here before, but I appear not to have ever written anything about it. I will use the history that Wetherspoons provide:
“The original Harpsfield Hall stood nearby and was approached by a long driveway, across open fields. It seems to have been built in the early 19th century, when it replaced a larger, older house of the same name, described as ‘a commodious residence with pleasure grounds’. The later hall was demolished in the 1930s to make way for the main runway of the new Hatfield Aerodrome. This pub stands at the corner of the old aerodrome site.”
This part of Hatfield is all quite modern, the old village is known as Bishop’s Hatfield, but the bulk is part of the post-war New Town programme.
Clicking on this map will make it larger and shows the difference between the 1860s and today (copyright of image to the right is the Open Streetmap project). The cursor on the left hand map is where the JD Wetherspoon outlet is today.
Given the aerodrome link, there’s an aircraft related theme to the pub and it also has Boeing 747 engine cowlings which have been turned into booths. I’ll find my old photos as I sat in one of those before, all very decadent.
Whilst I was at the pub, a customer demanded that BBC News was turned off and GB News was turned on. I was privately a little unimpressed when the team member agreed. It would never occur to me to be so annoyed at the news channel that I’d go and get it changed to make a political point. Each to their own I suppose.
Off to the 610 bus to Luton, a bargain £2 but it turned up 25 minutes late. I’m not sure that it’s the most reliable of bus services but I’m forgiving when I’m not in a rush and the service is cheap.
And off we go, passing the Galleria in Hatfield. As an aside, this is the exact point where the Hatfield and St Albans Railway used to run.
Safely in Luton, I went to the town centre this time and I’m always interested in these sort of ghost remains of buildings. I’ll have to come back to this one another time though.
Full of originality, I went to JD Wetherspoon for food and drink. This is primarily as I wanted to sit in a quiet venue and get on with typing away on my laptop, with the chain being particularly good at providing an environment where this is achievable. Again, I’ve visited before and I’ll use the chain’s history:
“In the late 19th century, the Crown & Anchor Brewery stood on the site of this Wetherspoon pub, a short walk from the site of Luton’s first brewery. Founded by Thomas Burr, in 1780, it stood next to his family home, known as The White House.”
The meal and drink cost just over £6 thanks to the Luton Wetherspoons being in the lowest price band that the chain has. And I was able to look at some books whilst I was there. Cheap, cheerful and reliable. This is one of the Wetherspoons which seems to have a queueing system, something of a throwback to Covid, which always seems slightly odd. I paid using the app, but I’m yet to get used to queues in pubs, although there is an innate fairness about them that I like.
Walking to the railway station, I passed by a Vauxhall Factory, the home of the Vauxhall Vivaro. There are around 1,500 workers here so it remains an important employer for the area.
And then by the printing works of the Daily Star. There used to be a large sign for the Daily Express and the Sunday Express, but either they’ve fallen off or they’re no longer printed here.
Here we are again, the delights of London Luton Airport. I was just five hours early for my flight, which I thought was reasonable. Excitement was certainly growing, it meant that I was returning to Poland for the first time in over a year.
This was the final day for us unfortunately, with five of us flying back from Gdansk Airport and Richard going separately from a VIP terminal somewhere else in Poland. The plan was easy, a taxi was booked for 06:45 and that would give us enough time to get to the airport before we needed to board. It was evident that Susanna and Bev especially would want to be early, given missedflightgate at the start of their trip, and so everything looked like it would go perfectly to plan.
I think this sums up the situation nicely. The time difference means that the Polish times are an hour later. It’s not for me to gossip of course, but Steve, Ross and I had a long chat about the situation and it was evident that Susanna and Bev had stayed up late with a bottle of wine and then slept through their alarm. Ross and Steve were of course livid at their incompetence, but I remained calm as is clearly evident from my messages. The group were fortunate indeed to have my calm and steady approach to dealing with the trouble makers.
Susanna and Bev stumbled out of the hotel, actually literally, only 14 minutes late which was an impressive getting ready time and shows what they’ve capable of and I will remember that for future time keeping plans. They didn’t get their cup of morning coffee, but managed to collect body, soul, mind and luggage together in some form.
As the adult of the group, I was put in charge of sitting in the front of the taxi. Bev annoyed the taxi driver by getting muddled up with the seatbelt and he turned to me, smiled and said “women” which was probably a little sexist, but I could see why he was annoyed given that he had been standing about with us waiting for them so his patience was already frayed.
Luckily the tram didn’t move from its stand….
Bev was inside the car arguing with the taxi driver, whilst Susanna desperately tried to wake up. I’ve deliberately not used photos of them looking too worse for wear, as that would be unfair and inappropriate. And I would never sink to those lows.
Bev with her two coffees, that was her way of waking up.
After a morning snack and drink, the two miscreants were feeling remorseful but were back on top form.
Boarding the Ryanair flight, which was uneventful and through which I slept most of the time. I was nervous about using Ryanair, despite not having any issues with them over my decade of using them, but their service was always fine and I have no complaints. For £50 return, I thought I received excellent value for money.
The border looked chaotic, but we were through in fifteen minutes.
Ross had rushed to get an earlier train and that’s where this blog series comes to an end. We were all back in one piece, there had been no arguments and the company was marvellous. There are lots more trips to come and I think it’s fair to say that we all had an enjoyable time, with Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot not letting me down. Plenty of craft beer, decadent food, some football, history, culture and good company. All I have to do now is hope that none of the group take legal action against me for the content of the blog and I’ll call that a result.
I stayed at the Hotel Artus last year and enjoyed the view from the window that I had then, with this year’s one night visit having an equally impressive outlook onto the Cathedral. Five of the group were staying there for our final night, with Steve being just around the corner, and it’s a central location which proved handy. The welcome at the hotel was friendly and the prices very reasonable given how conveniently located the building is.
Every time I see this I think of the Corby trouser press and Alan Partridge, but I digress…. It was a shame that I didn’t get to see the hotel for long as I got back late after accompanying Richard to a bar as he led me astray, whilst also having to get up early the next morning. The hotel supplies earplugs because of the external noise, but I very much like that sort of distraction and the sound of the bells ringing. For anyone staying, I’d recommend trying to get a view of the cathedral, it just adds to the experience for me.
