Johanna K Photography: January 2016

This charming port town is located in the northern Poland. The population number was around 460 000 in 2012. Tourists usually stay at the old town because pretty much all of the sights are located here. I too would recommend staying in the old town because of it’s charm and medieval feel.

Our hotel was located away from the central old town which was good choice. We visited Gdansk in the spring and it is at the moment a very popular destination so the noise levels on the streets can get pretty high in the evenings. Our hotel, Hotel Hanza, was a quality hotel and you can get a good deal if you book early. The flights from Finland are the cheapest from Turku so that’s why we decided to fly from there. You can also find really cheap bus tickets from Helsinki to Turku so you’ll still end up saving money even if you have to travel to get to the right city and airport. Wizz air is the low-cost airline company that flies this route. But be mindful with their luggage rules or you might be in for a nasty surprise. They have different sizes for cabin bags and also different prices and the smallest cabin bag size is pretty much equivalent to a backpack. So when you book your flights be sure of your bag size. If you are planning to stay in Gdansk for longer than a nice weekend then just put your bag in the hold. Simple as that. That way you avoid the stress of ”is my bag too big and heavy”. These low-cost airlines tend to be more precise with the luggage because let’s face it - they make money on extra charges.

The flight from Turku to Gdansk doesn’t take long, about an hour and a half. So pretty much once you are in the air you already start descending. Gdansk is fairly cheap and taking a taxi from the airport didn’t cost too much. The currency in Poland is called zloty and 1€ = about 4 zloty (it’s a bit more but you get the idea). A taxi is in my opinion the easiest way to get to the old town from the airport and we traveled to Sopot as well (a city right next to Gdansk) by taxi and the price was ok. So do not be afraid to use cabs. We fond them to be reliable. Of course it’s always smart to check from your hotel what a trip to somewhere normally costs so you have some idea. People do speak English in Gdansk, but maybe not so fluently so be patient and even better if you have a dictionary with you. People are friendly and willing to help if you need any. And we found the younger people are more fluent in English and maybe braver to speak the language as well.

We only stayed in Gdansk for a few days and in my opinion Gdansk is a great place for a mini-vacation. The old town holds all the essential sights and it’s really not that big so a long weekend for instance is quite enough time to see them all. However Gdansk is a city that can hold up its interest for several visits. It’s affordable and especially in the spring and summer the weather is very nice. I could imagine Gdansk being a romantic city for couples but also a nice place for history enthusiasts to visit. For example the official year of the founding of the city is 997 but the fort in Gdansk is built in 980. Because of the city’s location it has always been an important place for merchants. One of the things that really sticks out in Gdansk is the amount of shops and jewelers that sell amber. So that made me think it must of been one the most important sales items in the past possibly. And of course one of the main industries still today is shipbuilding alongside technology and pharmacology.

So what to see while in Gdansk? There are these pirate ship looking boats that sail along the river so you might like to take a ride, the fountain of Neptune, Dlugi Targ square, Bazylika Mariacka (loose translation The Church of Mary) and many other things. The Gdansk Bay holds 33 kilometers of sunny beaches so there’s something for those who like to worship the sun too.

For a vegetarian, especially if you are vegan, Gdansk can be a bit of a challenge. I suggest you use the Happy Cow app to find suitable places to avoid trying to desperately find something to eat. Sometimes that can be exhausting. But I’ve found Happy Cow to be an excellent helper. Pierogis are a traditional thing in Poland and you can get them with vegetarian filling so I would urge you to try them. I really liked them. Pierogis are like dumplings that they’ve filled with potato, sauerkraut or even fruit. So it can be either a salty or a sweet dish. The polish seem to like their meat and naturally when you are in a port city you can find a lot of fish options. Like I said, for a vegetarian a bit of a challenge but not mission impossible.

All in all I found Gdansk to charming and a lovely place to visit and I would definitely visit it again with pleasure.

Below you will find some photos I took in Gdansk. If you wish see them bigger just click on the first one and a "roll of pictures" will appear. Same applies naturally for all other entries as well. So it's also easy to skip my ramblings if you are not that interested in reading about the trip and cities. :)