Gdańsk

Today I started my cycling holiday of the Warmiński-Masuri region in North-East Poland. I caught the 8.05 train from Berlin Gesundbrunnen to Szczecin where the 12 minute change-over to the 10 o'clock train to Gdańsk worked perfectly. On the train I met two German fellow cyclists who were also going to start their tour from Gdańsk the next morning, but taking a different route along Zalew Wiślany, Vistula Lagoon or Frisches Haff, whichever you want to call it.

During the more than 5h journey to Gdańsk I noticed that the people on the train seemed happy, relaxed and child-friendly. We arrived on time at 15.30. To celebrate my arrival, the city of Gdańsk had put on the jarmark dominikański, providing a great first opportunity to sample some local cuisine.

On the market, the tip boxes on most of the stalls had a particular purpose written on them indicating for what the proceeds would be used, for example »a new bike«, »trip to Italy« or »go to university«. I also noticed the same in other shops on my trip.

After making my way through the crowds across Old Town, I cycled out to Kemping Stogi nr 218 to put up my camp.

In many places in Gdańsk, the cycle paths for both directions run along one side of the road, saving space compared to Germany where there is usually a separate cycle lane in each direction on both sides of the road. This was also the case in most of the towns and cities I visited on my trip.

While cycling through the eastern suburbs of Gdańsk on the way to the camp site, the buildings in some areas were in a curious mix of post-communist decay and super modern refurbishment.

A traffic safety poster on the way back to the centre advised motorists that it was bad etiquette to ignore people on pedestrian crossings.

I had dinner at the jarmark and took some more photos of old town.

Before bed, I visited Stogi beach where a karaoke bar provided an opportunity for teenagers to sing Polish versions of 80s pop songs.