Chris' Contemplations
Sometimes mental, sometimes sane, but always what goes on in my brain.
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    • /// what3words

Moja podróż koncertowa do Gdańska

8 Minutes

This post isn’t going to be a huge one as this is my third time in Gdansk and I only really came here for an Andre Rieu concert. I was here in 2021 and 2022 (after several failed attempts in the few years previous).

You can read about my 2021 trip here.

You can read about my 2022 trip here.

I decided that since a couple of years had passed since the last concert I went to (here) it was high time that I booked another one. I really wanted to go to Maastricht again but they had no tickets available for ANY of the shows. I decided to have a look around to see where he was close by that was easy enough to get to.

I landed in Gdansk. I love Poland. I love Gdansk. I love Andre Rieu. What was there to stop me. I think when I purchased the tickets I only had a few weeks to wait for the concert. Still, it seemed to go by quite slowly.

I decided that I would stay at the same hostel I had used on my previous trips as I knew where it was and it was a really nice hostel. I booked everything else I needed: a coach ticket for the airport, and a train ticket back.

The time came to head out and I finished work the night before and had a couple of hours kip as I had to be up around 02:15 to get ready and go get the coach. The coach at 03:05 is a game-changer for early morning flights now. It isn’t as expensive as the train and I don’t have to stay at the airport overnight. Win-win-win for me.

The coach took around 90 minutes (about the same time as the train) and got me there in plenty of time. I did my usual of getting water from the free taps and paying a fortune for a BK burger.

The flight itself was nice and uneventful and I slept most of it as I was shattered.

I got to Gdansk and just headed straight for the hostel. It was mostly familiar but some of it wasn’t – especially at the airport. Weird given I have been here twice before.

I checked in at the hostel and had a rest for an hour or so before the day commenced. It was around 14:00 by this time.

  • Day 1

    After I had put my stuff down in the hostel and had a shower and a quick rest, I decided I would head out and just have a little stroll around until it was time to head to the concert. I didn’t really have anything to do beforehand and I decided to just see where my feet would take me.

    My feet took me towards the train station but then right back to the hostel as I wasn’t feeling super good at this point. I had a lie down for a couple of hours and then headed to the bus and the tram to go to the arena.

    I got there with time to spare and it’s a good job I did as they told me to go to one door and they said I was at the wrong door and to go to the door I was just at. I had them take me down as I didn’t want to have any issues as I still wasn’t feeling 100%. I was definitely going to still be coming here even if I was on my deathbed.

    I remember buying seats that were on the ground floor of the arena and I got the seat at the end of the row. What an awesome seat it was. I got to be there as part of the orchestra was entering (they split it between the two sides). It was such a rush to see them.

    • Johann Strauss Orchestra Entrance
    Load more

    I have never been this close to the orchestra entrance before and I would love to be that close again. I have looked at other concerts and the tickets at that level aren’t as cheap sadly.

    The concert was amazing. I really enjoyed being there. There is just something so magical about a classical music concert.

    I managed to catch the last tram after the concert which meant a quick trip back to the city centre instead of a slow night bus.

    I got back to the hostel and found out the next day was a public holiday – for Corpus Christi – so not a lot would be open. I had to try and figure out what I would do.

    Total steps: 14,037

    Total miles: 7.12

    Below are some pics from today

  • Day 2

    I decided to have a bit of a lie in today since there really wasn’t much to do since hardly anything was open. I left the hostel around 10:45 and headed to the store to get breakfast and a drink. I got what I needed and started to feel a little unwell again so I headed back to the hostel for an hour or so to see how I felt.

    The plan was to go to the station and head to Sopot and have a walk around there. It was only 18 minutes on the train and cost a whopping ONE HUNDRED PENNIES to get there. I sat on the platform for a while as I had a little over an hour until the next train. It was good because I was able to get some good train videos and pictures (I know, I know. I’m a geek. What can I say. I loved it though.).

    As I was waiting, there was some music and singing near the level crossing then all of a sudden a parade came around the corner. This was a parade for the Corpus Christi holiday.

    • Gdansk Corpus Christi Parade
    Load more

    I got to Sopot and it seemed somewhat familiar (I visited when I was in Gdansk in 2022). I headed out of the station and it started to look more familiar. The weather was glorious so it was naturally busy. It was cool though. Last time I was here it was freezing. I loved being there. I walked around and saw some places that I hadn’t last time. One of the things I wanted to see again was the [nslink k=”prvCVz” c=”#10000″]Crooked House[/nslink]. It is trippy. I thought I had gotten pictures of it in 2022 but it seems I didn’t. That would have been the perfect time too as there were no leaves on the trees and not a lot of people around. Oh well. I got them this time around.

    I was in Sopot for a few hours and then decided to head back to Gdansk and back to the hostel as I was tired. I got the train and sat at the station for a couple more hours doing my videoing and snapping before I headed to the park by the hostel and then back to the hostel for the night.

    Total steps: 13,441

    Total miles: 6.60

    Below are some pics from today

  • Day 3

    Today was my last full day here and, again, I didn’t have any plans. I woke up early to go to the supermarket to get some wafers to bring home for the friends I have here. After I came back I slept for another 90 minutes and then showered and went to the city centre.

    I went to look for some souvenirs in the city centre and had a walk down the quaint main street there. It was so busy for how early it was. I could see a couple of cruise ship groups so I avoided those and just enjoyed the views of the buildings and the main town hall. Gdansk is such a pretty city.

    My plan was to go tram surfing but that didn’t play out too well. I started to feel unwell on the tram so I headed back to the city centre and the shopping centre and got some food and had something to drink and then decided to get the bus towards the hostel and there was a church I wanted to see on the way back. I did have a little wander around the city centre on my way to catch the bus. It was nice to see the train station renovation almost complete too. Last year it was still being hoarding and the only place you could get to was the KFC and the underpass to the platforms.

    I got off at the stop for the church and it wasn’t open sadly. It was a nice red-coloured church outside and at the back, it had a cemetery that climbed a little hill. I stayed here for about 20 minutes and then decided I would just talk a nice slow walk in the sun back to the hostel. I walked along the canal and it was a really nice walk. I got to see more by walking the canal side than I would have on the main road. It was also quieter and more pleasant in general.

    I got back to the hostel and dropped off some bits and then went to the train station and sat there for a few hours. I didn’t want to stay out too long as I had to pack and I needed to be up at 02:00 for the bus to the airport as the flight was at 05:55.

    I really enjoyed being at the station. It’s so nice to train and people-watch. I then headed back and headed to bed ready for the super early start.

    All my train videos are found below.

    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    • Gdansk Orunia Trains (June 2023)
    Load more

    Total steps: 16,921

    Total miles: 8.20

    Below are some pics from today

I got up super early (the question I keep asking is why do I do this to myself. Haha) and headed to the bus for the airport. It was quite busy even at that time in the morning. I had to get two night buses. One to the main station and one to the airport. Both were quite busy. I am so glad that they have public transport at that time to the station.

The flight back was one where I slept most of it. I managed to get across the border in record time. I made it to the platform for the train that was due to leave at 07:27. I asked the guard if I was able to use my ticket to get on it and he kindly let me on because I asked and didn’t just assume. It saved me from waiting for an hour at the airport.

I got home and just plonked my stuff down and had a shower and a nap. It felt so good knowing I didn’t have to work the day I got home.

This was an awesome trip and I have to book to go to Gdansk again as I still haven’t done Westerplatte.

Total steps: 54,376

Total miles: 26.91

You can view all of my Gdansk pics [nslink k=”oWF7op” c=”#E10000″]here[/nslink]

You can view all of my Sopot pics [nslink k=”DTtGE1″ c=”#E10000″]here[/nslink]

 

chris | Wednesday June 14th 2023 | Travel| Andre Rieu, Concert, Europe, Gdansk, Poland, Sopot, Travel | 0 Comments

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