Sometimes it’s good to feel at home

Another weekend on the road is behind us. This time instead of the mountains we went to the sea. Such is the charm of living in the center of Poland that everywhere is relatively close, so take advantage :)

This time we went to Gdansk. As is standard by now, we did not go to the Baltic Sea for beachcombing. We had a different, more developmental and social goal, which was the Blog Forum Gdansk event, held at the European Solidarity Center. But it’s not the BFG we want to focus on today, but one place we’re returning to, and one place we finally made it to.

There’s no place like home

I can’t hide the fact that we were happy when we received confirmation of getting into Blog Forum Gdansk. Participation in such events is an honor for us and an opportunity to listen to many interesting panels, presentations and meet other web developers. We did not think long about where we would stay in Gdansk, because we already had a proven place.

The truth is that we rarely go to the same place twice. In our posts you will often read: “there will be something to come back for”, but in reality the places we go back to are few and far between, because there are constantly new ideas on the horizon that we pursue at the speed of light and there is still not enough time to return (something has to be left for retirement, right? ;-)

We recently posted an interesting quote on our FB: I don’t like to feel at home when I’m abroad – George Bernard Shaw. It’s true, you don’t go away (not necessarily abroad) to have exactly the same things you have at home every day. So much so that there is no other place like it in the world. There is no place like it, where we can feel so comfortable, leave the mess, walk around in our pajamas all day, hang out the laundry in the living room, and at the same time every corner hides a mass of memories and interesting stories.

What am I getting at? There are places where we have lived for longer and shorter periods of time, and we return to them with nostalgia, eager to see how the neighborhoods where we lived are changing. However, if we were to live there for a while now, we wouldn’t call them home. It is only the stories that form there, the memories and the moments remembered that give this special character. Our home is only one and we are not looking for another.

However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t stay overnight in places that will be extremely comfortable, safe and friendly for us, that will make us homesick. Some are looking for accommodations that are similar to their apartment, while others want something new, they want to live like they would never allow themselves (or risk). Still others prefer to go somewhere proven and recommended. And it was this 3 option with us that won the draw this time ;) Looking for accommodation in Gdansk, our choice fell quickly on a hotel where we have stayed before and were very satisfied – Hotel Mercure Gdansk Old Town.

Many of you may be surprised by our choice – well, because how can we not spend the night “at the lodge”? Well, it can be done :) We increasingly value convenience and peace of mind. Even more so when we’re traveling for a specific purpose, have a busy schedule, and depend on a good location, a fresh and healthy breakfast, and service that will rescue us from a bind. Instead of combing, testing and scouring the Internet for reviews, we prefer to choose the place we have already tested ourselves. It saves a lot of time and nerves (even more so if you are an indecisive person like me).

We have already tested many hotels, we have quite a comparison, and we can in good conscience recommend this facility to you. You can read about our previous delights here. Although we are regulars, this time too we were surprised by the new changes for the better, especially when it comes to breakfast. Our hearts were stolen by the tea corner and the juicer! A truly homemade breakfast :D

And it is the hearty, delicious breakfasts that are one of the two things that captivate us most about this hotel (needless to say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day?). The second point is a breathtaking view of the Old Town and, on the other side, the shipyard. Anyway, see for yourself.

However, it is known that the trip is not limited to sitting in a hotel. In addition to the interesting panels at the BFG, there was one more place we decided to visit this weekend.

World War II Museum

We were not given the opportunity to see this museum in July this year. We wrote about our failed approach here. Learning from experience, we decided this time to nail down and prepare before the trip. We bought our tickets online about three weeks in advance of our planned visit date, and walked to the site to avoid parking adventures. The museum is about a 15-minute walk from the Mercure Hotel.

When we arrived at the site, it turned out that our preparations had been slightly exaggerated, because despite the weekend, visitors were not that many and we probably would have easily entered on the march. But it’s better to blow the whistle.

The main exhibition of the IIWW is located in the basement, and despite its unimpressive size on the outside, downstairs a veritable labyrinth awaits with alleys, one-way trails, high walls and surprising scenery. Don’t let the lobby at the beginning of the tour fool you – it’s worth looking into the smaller rooms and going all the way to the end, because just around the corner you may find that an entire street taken out of the interwar period is waiting for you.

Also a must-visit is the children’s exhibit – overlooked by adults, which is a pity, because it will make you swoon and, as you continue exploring, you’ll have a glimpse of the three rooms you’ll see here. Particularly worth listening to are the voiceovers telling the story of the…

We won’t give away too many details here, but the museum made an electrifying impression on us. It is one of the best we have ever seen. Full of symbolism, history, interesting mock-ups, poignant images and stories of individual people describing the drama they experienced.

It is a place from which one leaves full of emotions that bubble up in a person: emotion, compassion, anger, impotence, anger, but also full of thoughts. An amazing place where history is laid out in a very interesting and interesting way.

Summary

After such impressions and emotions, we quietly and calmly returned to the hotel. We appreciate that we can safely return to the hotel room, where it is warm and peaceful. Somewhere further away is our home, equally safe, familiar, full of a child’s smile and wonderful memories. It is unfortunate that we need a reminder of history to appreciate anew what we have.