Gdansk / Malbork, Poland, Thursday/Monday 16/20-July-2026
Table of Contents:
- All posts
- Amsterdam, Holland / Stuttgart, Germany, 08/09-July-2026
- Graz, Austria, 10/11-July-2026
- Budapest, Hungary, 11/14-July-2026
- Pardubice, Czech, 15-July
- Gdansk / Malbork, Poland, 16/20-July-2026
- Warsaw, Poland, 21-July-2026
- Vilnius, Lithuania, 22/25-July-2026
Riga, Latvia, 26/27-July-2026 CancelledTallinn, Estonia, 28/30-July-2026 CancelledHelsinki, Finland, 31-July/01-August-2026 Cancelled
Thursday 16-July-2026.
After a pleasant overnight in Pardubice the next stop was Gdansk with yet another wonderfully ornate main station. Despite being a bit off our track this was a place Mary wanted to visit for its historic significance (and a parkrun) so we planned a four night stop here.
Our Home Exchange apartment was just north of the city centre. There was a classic “desire path” cutting the corner at the end of the road.
After so much restaurant dining in the last week or so we decided to eat light by cooking in the apartment - pork with paprika and boiled potatoes.
Friday 17-July-2026.
We took a train over to Malbork for an overnight stay in Malbork to snag ”Z” for our second alphabet - “parkrun Zamek w Malborku”. Zamek means castle in Polish and there’s a clue in the name.
We dumped our bags at the Premium Bed and Breakfast very close to the parkrun and went off to explore the town starting with the castle. It is difficult to visualise how big it is.
We only looked around the outside of the castle buildings and at a good pace but it still took more than an hour. It is the largest brick building in Europe and has three concentric moats.
Some original old tiles featuring creatures, elsewhere they had been replaced with modern versions.
Evening meal was at restaurant Kamienica with an oenological first - Polish rosé!
Saturday 18-July-2026.
parkrun Zamek w Malborku, 18/06/26 31:25 [22/31]
The B&B offered a ludicrously generous breakfast unfortunately, due to our imminent parkrun, we were not able to take full advantage of the abundance.
A very soggy parkrun, possibly our wettest ever. Amongst the fellow tourists were a couple we met in Sicily at Uditore parkrun back in May - small world! Normally they have 70 to 80 participants. The rain kept most regulars away but us parkrun tourists are not put off so easily! Ten of the 31 attendees were British.
As we lined up for the start the heavens opened.
The first and second finishers were soaked but happy such is the parkrun spirit. With credit to Zbigniew Jazdzewski for the photos.
After the obligatory shower we did a suggested walk around Malbork and then it was off to the station to reverse out journey back to Gdansk for lunch. We had a lovely light lunch of antipasti at Trattoria Al Dente.
We relaxed in the afternoon then went out looking at old buildings in the town centre. Having worked up a thirst we went for a craft ale at Under Beer followed by a lovely meal at Thai Thai including a tasty spicy mango margarita for Mary.
We like Thai food but since moving out of London it is a rare treat. Penrith doesn’t run to one and Italy doesn’t really do foreign restaurant outside of the major cities.
Sunday 19-July-2026.
We took a Buggy tour to get a feel for the lay of the land. Our guide was the lively and informative Tomasz, a grandson of Lech Wałęsa! The picture he is holding is of his dad, son of Lech, between Bush and Reagan.
We visited areas of the famous shipyards including this monument to the 17 workers killed in 1970. Apparently the first monument built by the Communists for people killed by the Communists.
The plaque reads:
“Memorial of the fallen shipyard workers 1970. A token of everlasting remembrance of the slaughter victims. A warning to rulers that no social conflict in our country can be resolved by force. A sign of hope for fellow citizens that evil need not prevail.”
A light Japanese lunch at Sakamoto-Ya followed by a wander round town. These are some of the red brick buildings around Gdansk town centre. The bottom left shows how they preserve and make use of any ruins of the original buildings.
The World War 2 museum is high on the list of must-see sites in Gdansk. It takes two to three hours even at a steady pace. We learned so much from our visits to the museum and reflected on how some people and countries don't seem to be learning from the mistakes of the past. This poster was a quote describing the post war political landscape.
The birth and growth of totalitarianisms
Democracy in crisis after the First World War
“When the First World War ended, most countries in Europe were parliamentary democracies. But in many of them democracy soon came under attack. In some, including Poland in 1926, democratic governments were replaced by authoritarian regimes. In the Soviet Union, Italy and Germany, governments adhering to totalitarian ideologies - Communism, Fascism and National Socialism - came to power.
What they had in common was their leaders' drive for absolute control, the use of terror and aggressive propaganda, contempt for democracy, a drive to regulate their societies, and great-power ambitions. Their counterpart in the Far East was Japanese imperialism.”
Continuing our wandering we went down to the docks where this historic crane was originally powered by four men in a giant hamster wheel.
The evening meal was classy dining at Canis, friendly service, wonderful food and an extensive wine list in a lovely setting.
Monday 20-July-2026.
We had to have at least one meal of pierogi as I think of it as Poland’s national dish. It made a great lunch on a day devoted to sightseeing.
Gdansk-Lenin shipyard gate number two where we did the Solidarity Museum.
The evening was more craft ale with beer and meal by Brovarnia.
We do like a tasting paddle to try different beers. They only had three beers on tap at the time so we might have to come back in the autumn / winter to taste their dark beers.
The schnitzel was ludicrously large, almost as large as the plate; I couldn’t eat it all.
That evening we booked for a classical concert at the Polish Baltic Philharmonic. A solo pianist, Daniel Zimko, playing Chopin & Ravel:
- Nocturne in F major, Op. 15, No. 1,
- Ballade in F major, Op. 38,
- A cycle of Chopin's outstanding piano miniatures, the Waltzes, Op. 34.
- From Ravel's works, the pianist had chosen Le Tombeau de Couperin.
From the balcony we had a great view of his impressive fingerwork.
Tuesday 21-July-2026.
Up early for breakfast at the main station and purchase of a picnic lunch for the train trip to Warsaw.
Next stop: Warsaw
