Tricity and its surroundings for the weekend (Ready for Poland)

Who doesn’t like long weekends? We each try to make the most of it. Today just about such a weekend in and around the Tri-City, because it’s been a long time since Poland :)

When planning the November weekend we wanted a place where we could get there in a maximum of 4 hours, the places we want to see are in close proximity, and on the other hand there are several interesting places in the area where it is worth a drive.

The choice fell on the Tri-City. Very good access from the center of Poland makes it possible to set off quietly on Friday after work, 3 hours and we are there. Due to the long weekend, we set off on Thursday, and Friday, Friday was already there. Of course, the whole process of getting ready and packing took us longer than we anticipated ;)

Of course, this was not our first visit to the Tri-City, although somehow strangely enough we usually end up here in autumn or winter (although there are exceptions that prove the rule, but that’s on the occasion of other events such as See Bloggers). We are not drawn here in the summer, preferring quieter, without crowds, and cheaper on occasion. Unfortunately, long weekends (or maybe not just long weekends) have their own rules here, so we still ended up with queues and a lack of free tables in cafes and restaurants…, but more about that later.

Also, to our surprise, we encountered a very large number of foreign tourists. Once dominated by Germans, and this time in the hotel, we heard mainly English and languages of the Baltic countries (although about the latter we are not 100% sure ;-)).

Our goal for this trip was to take a slow, lazy stroll through the old city of Gdansk, discovering new, off-the-beaten-path places, getting to Hel to capture the sunset, and going to the beach (no beachcombing, of course). We had no pressure to get as much, as fast as possible. We like to discover Poland in batches, to dose ourselves with attractions in order to leave something for the next time, because we will certainly come here many times again.

Despite several ideas for the weekend, we took a flexible approach – depending on the weather, our strength, and most importantly, our Princess’ mood, we will either go for long walks, museum visits, or car rides.

In the end, a mix came out; although we were looking specifically for indoor venues where exhibits and interiors can be enjoyed in the warmth, we actually focused on outdoor attractions.

The choice of accommodation fell on the center of Gdansk – here we stayed for 3 nights at the Mercure Gdansk Old Town Hotel. At the reception we were informed that we had a room for 15. floor with a beautiful view – we took your word for it, because when we arrived it was already completely dark ;-) The room itself, however, turned out to be very pleasant.

Unfortunately, first thing in the morning, all we saw outside the windows was fog and rain – not a very optimistic start to the weekend. A little demotivated, we went down to breakfast, where through the window we could look at groups of people, with flags and scarves going to the Independence Parade. Our breakfast got longer, as usual lately, but with that we came up with a new five hundred ways to keep Olive interested in everything around her, so that she wouldn’t accidentally get bored.

Really, we were in no hurry to get back to the room, so we did a tour of the hotel, and when we got back to the room it turned out that luck was in our favor and there was a glimmer of hope (literally!). From the windows we saw the tall cranes and the famous gate to the shipyard, so we decided that’s where we would go to start. Then the old town – but at ease, calmly, as much as Olive will let us :)

So on the first day, we set our sights on walking, walking and more walking. We probably walked the length and breadth of Gdańsk ;) The weather turned fabulous, almost cloudless sky, the only thing is, it could be a little warmer, but let’s not be too demanding.

Unfortunately, when it came to warming up, going in somewhere to rest for a while then the stairs began, because in cafes and restaurants there were either not enough seats, or it was too cramped to bring the stroller in, or it was monstrously noisy and bustling inside, so we knew that this would only involve additional stress, not relaxation.

Fortunately, we were able to find a certain Warsaw chain store that was particularly friendly to families with children, even though there was neither a changing table nor any children’s corner. It was quieter, there was space, and it was easy to enter the restroom with a stroller. Maybe a little by accident, but it worked out for them, because next to us, there was also a family with a similar beaver, with identical needs :)

No, Olive doesn’t eat French fries ;)

The second day was spent mobile, in the car. We wanted to go more off-road to see how the hybrid Toyota RAV4 would perform on roads less straight and wide than the highway ;) And although we did not have plans to drive on gravel roads, our Polish roads provided us with enough excitement ;)

First we went to Rewa, and more precisely to the Reva Headland – a short walk in the cold, a little iodine and immediately a person feels tempered ;) This was Olivia’s first time on the beach, her first at the Polish seaside.

We then headed toward the Hel Peninsula. While the road here was straight and empty, we had before our eyes what must be going on here during the season. Fortunately, we had the comfort of being able to calmly stop everywhere, we could go slower or faster according to our vision ;)

The last day, or rather half of it, was for us to discover an unfamiliar face of Gdansk – first the murals on the Zaspa housing estate, and then Oliwski Park. While the second was limited to only a short walk, after the estate with murals we could walk and walk with our heads poked high up in the air :)

It was a really successful weekend. It was important for us that in the evenings we returned to the room, where we had plenty of space and could fully focus and devote time to Olive, who has increasing demands for the space she occupies :) From now on, the need to separate the space on which our little traveler will roam and play in the evenings ;)

Also for us there was a moment of rest, well maybe just for me ;-)

This unusual, somewhat lifestyle post is an encouragement to visit the Tri-City and its surroundings, and in the next post we will present you with a list of specific places we visited during just a weekend trip :)

Zobacz galerię zdjęć z Trójmiasta i okolic >>>