Memories of Poland II. – Polish North
The way I see it, the frequency of new articles for the last period is one per year. In addition to taking photos of families and couples, I only get to write, um… actually I don’t get to. 😀
And actually there was nothing to write about, since our trips were limited to cycling and, yes, also discovering new beautiful places in Záhorí, but somehow there is no room for a camera. And admit it, an article without photos would be boring. 🙂
However, countries are gradually opening up and I don’t know about you, but we would quite like to go somewhere. It doesn’t have to be far at all, we also like our neighbors or next-door neighbors.
In any case, if you are wondering where to go, I have an idea for you. North of Poland. It was the main goal of our road trip two years ago. And since after this trip I wrote an article for Denník Postoj , I won’t go into detail here and I’ll just insert it here and add a few more photos that didn’t fit in the article for Postoj. Anyway, I wish you a nice read and an even nicer personal experience if you decide to travel here. 🙂
Original text from Postoj newspaper:
After last year’s summer vacation in Sweden
Bohuslän
this year we decided to travel to the north across the sea again. This time we ran away from the heat to Poland. For a long time, Poland was only associated with the markets in Nowy Targ and Nowy Saczi, but I had too many prejudices to go there for a summer vacation. Until I went on a trip to Gdansk by myself 6 years ago. I visited western towns and came all the way north to the sea. It amazed me then with its unexpected beauty and history. Therefore, this year we decided to explore this area once again together with Jarek and Emil. We reserved two weeks for the whole trip. Poland is quite big and since we didn’t want to just drive for days, we made two stops along the way. The first was in Wroclaw and the second in Poznań. Both of these cities are beautiful and worth spending a few days in.
Gdansk
But our main goal was Gdansk and the northern coast. This city has everything you expect from a vacation. The streets are busy like in Rome, but you can also find quiet romantic places, the architecture is like something from a Nordic fairy tale, grilled fish taste better than those in Croatia and all this costs Polish prices. Only on the beach you have to get used to the wind (which the clever Poles solved by building a barrier around their blanket, we called it the Polish front garden :)) and the water is not the cleanest, because it contains less salt than the sea in the south of Europe. We spent a whole week in Gdansk, so half of our vacation. We lived right in the city center, took walks and trips to the surroundings. We almost didn’t use the car at all, because the nearest cities can be reached by intercity train, which takes less time than by car.
Gdansk was historically a rich and independent city and its port was very important. Thanks to this, it has a very nice center that can be explored all day. It was even an independent country in the interwar period.
Its historical importance is also evidenced by the fact that it was first attacked by the Nazis, and the Second World War began right here nearby in Westerplatte. It played an important role in history even 50 years later, because Lech Walesa worked in its shipyards and Solidarity (the first free trade union movement) was born here.
This year marks its 30th anniversary, and the city is commemorating it with, for example, a light projection on one of the bridges. You can learn the most about World War II in the large interactive World War II museum. It is worth ordering tickets in advance and set aside a whole day to visit it. On Tuesdays, when the entrance is free, it is almost impossible to get inside.
The city itself has beautiful squares, romantic streets, promenades along the river, many photogenic places and possibilities for boat trips.
Its typical feature is narrow tall houses, and new buildings are also built in this style, which could be inspired by other cities.
One of the most famous places is the Neptune Fountain with the nearby town hall, whose tower overlooks the entire city. Mariánska Street with shops selling amber jewelry is popular. At its end is the largest brick cathedral.
Historically significant is also the cargo crane, which in the past was powered by humans. In the big wheels, men walked like hamsters and thus lifted the cargo from the ship.
Hel
Those who have had enough of walking around the city can go on a boat trip. Either by historic sailboats to the surrounding towns or to the Hel peninsula.
On the way you will see huge docks where ships are being renovated and a bit of the new port, in front of which ships with containers from China are waiting.
Even today, Gdansk is a very important port.
We went to Hel one day. Hel is a peninsula that can also be reached by tram, but it is a bigger experience by boat. There is also a focarium, which is a small seal Zoo. After visiting her, we walked along the beach and tasted local smoked fish specialties.
Other trips include the so-called Tricity Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia. Although they are seaside destinations, they do not live only from tourism. Large companies are based here, they have good universities and a high quality of life. But each of them is completely different. You can get to them by intercity train for a few zlotys.
Sopot
Sopot is a typical seaside holiday destination. It has a beautiful promenade and beaches. Of course, there are shops with ice cream and beach nonsense everywhere, just like in Italy, Croatia or any other seaside country.
We also soaked in the water for a while and tasted some great fish, which, by the way, we fished for all week.
Gdynia
Gdynia is the complete opposite city and the largest city of Trojmestia. It was a village that grew into a large modern city. Its architecture is interesting because most of the buildings date from the 1930s.
It is less romantic here, but there are nice long beaches with promenades, parks and tasty fish. The most famous Polish Open Air festival takes place here, and during our visit there was a sailing race. In addition to the Tricity, other interesting places can be discovered in the vicinity.
Slowinski National Park
The Slowinski National Park (Slowinski park narodowy) is located by the Polish North Sea. A national park full of lakes, swamps and animals. There are many birds here, up to 260 species.
The park is included in the UNESCO list of biosphere reserves and also belongs to the list of protected areas with wetland communities. For us, however, the huge sand dunes were more interesting, which shift every year and literally eat away at the greenery.
We felt like we were in Morocco in the Sahara, only the camels were missing. Instead of them, we drove to the dunes on borrowed retro bikes.
Poles simply know how to sell everything. That place cannot be described or photographed, it must be experienced.
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Malbork
If you feel like a bit of the Crusades, I recommend visiting the largest brick castle in the world from the 13th century. The order of German knights was based here and it is an excellent trip for the whole day even with children, who will definitely enjoy it.
One of the great things about Poland is that it’s a flat country, so even small children or elderly people can comfortably enjoy walks there. What I really love about our travels is that we experience the history of a country in a much more vivid way than we ever could in a history class. Traveling through Poland, however, also teaches you a great deal about the tragic and painful history of this country — and about the history of Europe as a whole.
And of course, we should also mention the prices. Unlike many other holiday destinations, you won’t spend your last pennies here on good food and services. Well… unless you get a little carried away shopping at the markets in Nowy Sącz. 🙂