We had originally planned to visit Poland back in 2022 as part of our Finland trip, but had to change our plans due to covid restrictions. With the geopolitical situation in that part of the world, we decided to go ahead and visit Poland and the Baltic countries this year while it is still relatively safe and stable, and also to check off few more countries in Europe on our bucket list.
10D9N in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia
22-23 May 2024 (Wed-Thurs): US - Gdańsk; Malaysia - Gdańsk
Over the past 3 years, I've been able to tag on an extended home trip with a vacation with hubby (2021-Maldives, 2022-Finland, 2023-Japan), but my home trips had all been on the back-end of our vacation so we usually parted ways at the end of our trip. For this year, our vacation was planned after my home trip so we decided to 'meet-me-halfway' in Gdansk. It had been quite a while since our last 'meet-me-halfway' trip, and the last one was on our Europe trip back in 2015.
Hubby departed from the US about 12 hours ahead of me. His flew United and Lufthansa from Huntsville - Washington Dulles - Frankfurt - Gdańsk, with long transits in Dulles and Frankfurt. Thankfully, he was able to use the Capital One Lounge in Dulles and the Primeclass lounge in Frankfurt. We booked this flight for 30,000 United miles + $44.50.
In the meantime, I flew Cathay Pacific and Finnair from Penang - Hong Kong - Helsinki - Gdańsk. Booked my flights with 35,000 AA miles + $60.90. After enjoying my long transit lounge-hopping in Hong Kong, I flew Finnair long haul for the first time on the 8.35pm flight from Hong Kong to Helsinki.
My seat selection strategy was a success as I got an empty row of 3 to myself for this 14-hour flight. =) I decided to sit in the middle seat upon boarding (even though my seat was the aisle seat) to avoid anyone sitting in my row. =P Finnair is very minimalist, only blanket was provided, no pillows. My Oneworld Emerald status was recognized by Finnair as a flight attendance came over to welcome me onboard personally. I slept surprisingly well on my economy 'lie-flat' sea throughout this flight...at least a solid 8 hours for sure.
We sat for about an hour on the tarmac before taking off at 9.35pm.
I like the way Finnair clearly shows when each meal will be served throughout the flight, and the menu was also shown on the inflight entertainment system. Finnair's inflight meal looks very 'sustainable' with cardboard box and wooden cutleries. They also limit only one complimentary alcoholic drink, but not limits on non-alcoholic drinks. I tried the famous Finnair blueberry juice and it was pretty good!
24 May 2024 (Fri): Gdańsk
Arrived Helsinki 10 minutes behind schedule at 5.55am with 1hr 10min to make my connection. I still had to go through passport control as this was my first entry point into Schengen. Thanks for the clear gate info for everyone with short connections, and of course my gate was on the other end of the airport. =.= It was a long walk but thankfully the lines at the passport control wasn't too bad (and I stupidly went to the wrong line or group travelers initially). I had to run a bit and managed to make a quick stop at the Aspire Lounge near gate 13 to grab a quick drink and some snacks to-go.
Made it to the gate at 6.35am (30 min after getting off the previous flight) and boarded this propeller flight from Helsinki - Gdansk at 7am. I didn't know that this flight boards from the back, and my original seat was in the front. Lucky me the flight attendant had to move people to the back to balance the weight. Since I was the last to board, I conveniently agreed to move to the last row.
Hello Poland...country #47! Finally made it to Gdansk 15 minutes behind schedule at 8.25am after traveling for 30 hours. Finally reunited with hubby afer 1 month! Hubby walked over from the hotel to meet me at the airport and helped with my backpack. =)
Hubby arrived a day earlier and spent the night at Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Airport, which was conveniently located right next to the airport. Booked this 1-night stay for 20,000 Hilton points. We made a quick stop at the hotel for me to shower and freshen up before heading into the city.
Made it to the hotel in time for the complimentary breakfast before checking out at 10pm.
Bought the ticket from the ticket machine next to the airport bus stop and took bus #210 scheduled for 10am. The bus ride took about 40 minutes and we were standing the whole time but it didn't feel long for me coz I was on the call with the credit card company the entire bus ride trying to get my cc replaced...lol! Our hotel was a short 6 minutes walk from the Hucisko 03 bus stop. P.S. We were staying in different hotels every night on this trip so a backpack was essential.
We stayed at FAMA Residence, conveniently located on the main street of Gdansk Old Town. We booked this hotel for $118 using my $300 Capital One Venture X travel credit.
The room was pretty basic but it had everything we needed for a short stay. The convenient location was the main reason we chose this hotel.
Our hotel was located on Dluga Street/Royal Way. This pedestrian street has beautiful historic buildings on both sides, some of them dating back to the 14th century.
One of the main landmarks on Dluga Street is the Main Town Hall.
Next to the Town Hall was Neptune’s Fountain.
Spotted this random building which was a museum. For some reason, our travel timing seems to always coincide with local school field trips... from Japan last year to Poland this year. We saw soooo many school groups everywhere during this trip.
The Green Gate is situated between Dluga Street and River Motlawa. This city reminds me of Copenhagen with the cute buildings by the water.
This waterfront area is cool with historic buildings on one side and modern buildings on the other.
Stary zuraw portowy - an enormous crane that was used several centuries ago to load cargo into ships, a symbol of Gdansk’s trading history. I'm not into video game but hubby recognized this wooden medieval Crane instantly which was featured in the video game - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Brief history of this city... Gdansk is a perfectly preserved medieval port city on Poland's Baltic coast. Gdansk was once a semi-independent city state known as The Free City of Danzig, until it was annexed by the Nazis during World War II.
Mariacka Street...a cute pedestrian street in Old Town with beautiful old houses. This city would have been even prettier without all the construction blocking the views and random tractors on the street.
I didn't know this before this trip but the Baltic nations (including Poland) are well-knnown for amber, which is found along Mariacka Street.
Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption - The largest brick church in the world.
Royal Chapel - Restored Catholic chapel built in the 17th century, known for its baroque design.
There is a pirate ship cruise that goes between old town and Westerplatte. Gotta take photos with the Gdansk sign across the river.
After spending 2 hours exploring Gdansk Old Town, it was time for some history lesson. Bought our tickets online for PLN29/$7.50 per person. The exhibits in this museum were pretty extensive, covering events leading up to the war and its effects on the country.
Even though I'm not big into history, it is a good reminder that the freedom, peace, and prosperity that we are enjoying today did not come easy, and we are very fortunate to be born in the generation we were born in. WWII may seem like a distant history but there are still people who are alive today, like my grandma, who had experienced the horrors of the war.
Here's a video of grandma & grandaunt sharing stories from WWII.
An exhibit of a family's home before, during, and after the war.
Germany's attack on Poland (Westerplatte) on 1 September 1939 set off the Second World War. According to Hitler's orders, the objective of the attack was to obliterate Polish statehood.
WWII was the most tragic conflict in the history of humanity. It was launched by the totalitarian regimes of Germany and the Soviet Union, which cooperated with each other. Poland found itself in the eye of the storm between Soviet Communism and German Nazism, attacked by Germany on 1 September 1939 and attacked by the Soviet Red Army on 17 September 1939.
Before and after the war
From a European war to a world war... In 1939 - 1941, Germany was able to overrun most of Europe. The war begun to engulf other continents. In September 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina. In a matter of months, the Japanese invaded vast areas of Asia and Oceania, including Malaya.
The war's experience remains meaningful today, as it can affect the most important choices we make individually and collectively. Now, just as then, freedom, dignity and life, for which millions of people made sacrifices in 1939 - 1945, are universal values.
We spent 3.5 hours in this museum and had to rush through the last few exhibits before the museum closes at 6pm.
Our original plan was to take an Uber to Westerplatte, which is a historic place where the first shots were fired in WWII. However, when we saw that it was going to be a 20 minutes wait for an Uber, we decided to drop the plan and head back for dinner at restaurant Rupublika on the waterfront. The outdoor heater was necessary for me as it was still quite chilly for me.
We ordered the traditional Polish soup with egg and sausage, and the traditional pork chop served wih potatoes. Also tried the local beers. The total cost for this meal was PLN 121.80 ($31).
Wrapped up our day at 8pm with a beautiful sunset. Lots of people out and about on a Friday evening.
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