2006-07-31

One of the most pleasant experiences I've had travelling for a long time, was my 5 hour visit to Gdansk, Poland on December 20, 2002.

In December 2002 my girlfriend and I needed some relaxation, so we went on a mini-cruise from Copenhagen to Gdansk (sailing time 18 hrs.), and spent 4 hours in the city itself.

The ferry, Duke of Scandinavia (DFDS), landed at the Nowy Port (New Harbour) on the Westerplatte at 10, after having sailed through a rather narrow canal, which at some points seem to small for the ship. But eventually we got there alright.

On the left hand side of the boat, when sailing in to Westerplatte is a memorial for the fallen at the battle of Westerplatte in September 1939 (see picture) - this was actually the site of the first shootings of WW2 at all - the commander of German ship lying outside the harbour fired at the Polish garnison 2 minutes before Germany officially launched the attack which started it all. Interestingly, it was also one of the last places where German resistance ended in 1945. Apart from this, today the area is nothing more than a small outpost of the Gdansk harbour.

We got off the Duke and expected to be out and about in a few moments. Unfortunately Polish customs and passport control is excruciatingly slow and thorough. So we had to wait about 50 minutes before we could leave the terminal.

Anyway, we entered the free 'Minicruise-bus' (especially for one-day tourists leaving the same afternoon), which took us the 8km to the center of Gdansk where we were dropped off next to the central station, on the outskirts of the Old Town. At this point, some guy came up to us and asked us, in English, if we knew the way to some station - we told him we were Danish, to which he said that something to the extent of 'Oh... You seem Polish'! Okay....

We had a few maps of the city, and so went 'inside'. And this is where the Thomas Frandzen tour of Gdansk begins:

Across the road from the station, near the point where the Stare Miasto (Old Town) meets Glowne Miasto (Main Town), we walked down Karmelicka and Korzana till we reached Na Piaskach. Na Piaskach is a small road next to a canal (Kanal Raduni) which separates the old and the new town. On a small island in this canal is the Wielki Mlyn - an old water mill, which in the 14th century was one of largest sites of industrial manufacturing in Europe. Next to the mill is one of the many beautiful churces of Gdansk, the St. Catherines Church. We naturally stopped to have a look at both buildings, but as we didn't have all that much time in the city, and hadn't really got a grip of the layout of the sights yet, the stop was brief.

We then went down Podmtynska to the Pl. Dominikanski which is home to a market of florists, butchers, fishmongers, bakers and a few other shops (incl. an exclusive Adidas-boutique). We went down the market square, and continued our journey towards the center of the old town walking down Lawendowa, Szklary and Zlotnikow (which sounds like a lot, but it really is just one street, and it only takes a few minutes).

And then we were there - at the only place which we had decided to see in advance, and the only sight of the city we had actually heard about before starting the journey: St. Mary's Church between Piwna and Sw. Ducha - according to some sources the largest brick church in the world, with room for more than 25,000 simulatenous church-goers. And the churchroom itself was really quite impressing: the sheer size of the room, and the multitude of decorations, sculptures and memorials. This is a must-see of Gdansk.

We continuted on, via Kaletnicza, to Dluga and Dligu Targ - the main pedestrian street in Gdansk, going from one medieval gate to another. At that time we had decided that we needed a bit more info about the city than could be gathered from the few pages we got on the ferry. So we bought a copy of 'In Your Pocket: Gdansk' in a small kiosk and souvenir shop on Dluga. The street, by the way, is very nice - it is and long, wide pedestrian area with a lot of shops and restaurants, and it seems to have been completely restored after the bombings in WW2.

We went up the street to the 'Zlota Brama' gate, while admiring the buildings and the gate itself, and reached the Targ Weglowny square. There was a great christmas market (it may be there more often, but we thought of it as a christmas market) consisting of a lot of small stalls outside a grea tent with even more stalls inside. You can make some good deals here, whether you're interested in music, perfume, lightning chains, christmas trees made of plastic(!) or clothes. I'd say it's a typical eastern european market, but larger than most I've seen.

Having browsed the tent and the outside stalls for some time (we actually did buy a lightning chain for our own christmas tree - far cheaper than we could have bought it at home), we passed through a shopping arcade and went along Tkacka back to Dluga, to see the other end of the street. So, as can be deduced, we walked down Dluga and Dlugi Targ towards the river (Motlawa). The Gdansk riverside is a very pleasant place, although there weren't many people. I expect that there are a lot more during the summer. The riverside buildings are (as most of this part of the city) beautifully restored, even if most of them houses restaurants taylormade for the (mostly German) tourists who visit the city.

We had our lunch at Goldwasser on Dlugie Pobrzeze (the name of the riverside street). It was fairly inexpensive and consisted of freshly made pasta stuffed with meat - Pirog, I think it's called - a Polish speciality. It took some time to arrive, but it was delicious.

We relaxed at Goldwasser overlooking the river for about an hour, enjoying our food, and writing a postcard. Afterwards we continued up the riverside all the way down to Targ Rybny. The bus was due to leave for the ferry in about 30 minutes, so we just tried to walk as directly as possible to the busstop. So we walked all the way from the river up Podwale Staromiejskie, and arrived back at the Pl. Dominikanski from where we had started our walk into the Glowne Miasto. Podwale Staromiejskie is a broad street which sort of separates the two parts of the town. There are a few monuments alongside it, and some green areas, but otherwise it's pretty featureless. Still, we walked all the way up to Garncarska on which we continued until we were back at our starting point across the road from the central station.

To sum up: Gdansk is a thoroughly enjoyable city, and we couldn't be more pleased with our visit to this ancient town. We could've used a few more hours, though, but I hear that DFDS are changing their cruise time-tables so you can stay in the city for an hour or so longer. I'd like to go back to Gdansk when the grass is greener, as they say. The city is very white in winter, and I'm sure it is equally beautiful, if very different, in the summer.

A lot of people go on DFDS mini-cruises, but it is my impression that most of them are too 'confused' or overwhelmed to really see anything while there for such a short time - especially if it is their first time in the city. If you visit Gdansk for the first time, try walking the same route as we did - you really get to see a lot of the most interesting sites in the city, and it still leaves you time enough to get a decent meal for lunch.

February 20, 2004: The last DFDS cruise between Copenhagen and Gdansk took place in late november last year, as the ferry had to move to another route. This cancellation of the route was meant to be temporary, but a few weeks ago DFDS sadly announced their decision to permanently cancel the Copenhagen - Gdansk route. Gdansk is still worth a visit though - go to InYourPocket for transport information.