Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Poland & Berlin: Part 2 - Day 2: Westerplatte and Brzezno beach

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 2.

22/7 Day 2: We arrived Gdansk at 12pm. Went to Westerplatte. Went to Brzezno Beach. Took a dip in Baltic sea.

Costs
(A) Food
(1) Lunch at Lee Chinese - Shared wan tan steamed dumplings PLN22, duck panko PLN47, korean-style beef PLN47, gong bao chicken PLN38, 1 alcohol free Bavaria PLN12, 2 local beer PLN14. Total PLN194 / SEK506,55.
(2) 300ml beer by the beach PLN14 / SEK36,54
(3) Dinner at Manekin - Crepe with salmon and spinach fillings with dill and yoghurt sauce PLN32, Honey polish beer (Perla Miodowa) PLN13. Total PLN45 / SEK117,45

(B) Transport and accommodation
(4) 2 bus tickets + 1 tram ticket - PLN4.80 per one-way ticket x 3 = PLN14,40 / SEK37,58
(5) 2 nights at Airbnb Zakosy 38, Pomorskie for 3 persons - SEK2240,29 including cleaning fee SEK129,54 and service fee SEK336,06. SEK373,38 per person per night. 

The Story
22072023: We got very excited when we saw Gdansk port appearing in sight. I am glad that the ferry trip went well. I managed to sleep despite the waves. I think I sleep better on a moving vehicle. 



Here, I am in front of the building that states - Gdansk port. Proof I am in Poland!


As Westerplatte is located very close to Gdansk port, we decided to visit the monument before we take the bus into town. We walked along a short trail surrounded by tree to the monument. 



The Westerplatte Monument, also known as the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast is a war memorial located in Gdańsk, Poland, on the Westerplatte Peninsula in the Gdańsk harbour channel constructed between 1964–1966 to commemorate the Polish defenders of the Military Transit Depot in the Battle of Westerplatte, one of the first battles in Germany's invasion of Poland, which marked the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Source from Wikipedia

The monument is located on top of a small hill. One can sit here and enjoy the sea breeze. 




We walked back to the building of Port Gdansk where there is a bus stop. My friend downloaded the public transport application and he bought three tickets for us. So, he scanned the tickets and we boarded the bus. Very easy! The tickets are only valid for one-way. This is different from the public transport ticket in Stockholm that is valid for 75 minutes. Still, the public transport return ticket in Gdansk (PLN4.80 x 2 = PLN9.60 / SEK25) in still way cheaper than in Stockholm (SEK39 for a ticket in 2023 that is valid for 75 minutes).  



We disembarked in town and we walked to a lunch place (Bar Turystyczny) that we had seen on Google. It had a queue so we went to the next place (Mandu that sells many types of dumplings) which had a queue also! We could not believe our eyes at the long queue. Ridiculous how one is so committed to wait in line. 



So, we gave up and decided to walk to the Airbnb and stopped for lunch along the way. There were no Polish restaurants along the way, so our first meal in Poland was Chinese food at Lees Chinese. Haha! The restaurant was full and we got a table by the gate, which was quite near the pavement. I guess Polish people loves to enjoy their summer outdoors. 





We enjoyed our steamed dumplings, duck, beef and chicken. I think we were really hungry and were just happy to be able to find a place to sit down and eat.




After lunch, we walked to our Airbnb. We were pleasantly surprised to see our apartment. It was neat, cosy, and the host had prepared a jug of cold water for us in the fridge. There was also a small coffee machine where we could make coffee. The bathroom has a washing machine inside and a towel rail to dry our clothes. We had the door to the balcony open at night and we slept well. Since our trip to Bolzano in 2022 where the nights were so warm and stuffy, I was very careful to check that our accommodation includes air-conditioning.







After checking in our backpacks, we took the tram to the nearest beach - Brzezno Beach. My friends love to find a beach to take a dip. There were lots of people on the beach. One thing I noticed about the beach is that there is a set-up to change our clothes. It is so convenient and I did not need to struggle to change in and out of my swimwear. 




The set-up that I was referring to. No door. Just a little maze. One can see if it is occupied by seeing the hanging clothes or legs. 






My friend recommended a restaurant that serves delicious crepe called Manekin and we decided to walk there to save on a ticket. We did not realise that it will take us 1 hour to get there! It was 9pm when we arrived at the restaurant, and thankfully, it was still open. My crepe was yummy! 





We managed to finish our dinner in time to catch the bus home at 10.32pm. We got back at the Airbnb by 11pm!

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