Lazy Day to Sopot Seaside Resort

With a latitude of (52°14'N), Gdansk is not high enough to observe the phenomenon of the white nights - but it does make for an early sunrise! Which means I was up and out the door to explore by 4:00am.

A quiet walk down Dlugi Targ

The Fountain of Neptune, a beloved symbol of the city, was taken down and hidden during the war to keep it safe.


Mariacka Street (more below)

Located just outside Gdansk's Old Town and above the train station, Gradowa Hill offers a viewpoint over the city. I decided to give it a go. Once the largest city on the Baltic seaboard, Gdansk (Danzig) still has one of the largest ports in the area. Gradowa Hill offers a clear view of Gdansk's massive shipyard.

One of the most visible monuments in Gdańsk – the Millennium Cross on Gradowa Hill

The arches of the Golden Gate, a 16th century main entrance to the walled city, perfectly frame Dlugi Targ

Today we don't have a whole heck of a lot planned other than enjoying Gdansk's food and atmosphere. It afforded a 10:30am start time, the latest to ever make it on a Webber itinerary!

We started with a scrumptious breakfast at Chleb i Wino Chmielna

Not excited about the nothing sort of day I had planned in a town full of tourist groups, at breakfast I mentioned a nearby beach town and Jeannette was game to go! "Yeah we could see a new place" - Jeannette is my kind of travel buddy!

On our way to the train station, we made a couple of detours. Mariacka Street – with ornate facades, elaborate porches and fantastical gargoyles – is claimed to be one of the most beautiful streets in Gdansk. It is nicknamed Amber Street for all the Amber shops along it. Amber ("bursztyn" in Polish) is fossilized tree sap that dates back 40 million years. It comes from all around the world, but the highest quality and richest deposits are found around the the Baltic city of Gdansk, Poland.

Mariacka Street, and Gdansk in general, is lined with case after case of amber jewelry. Almost 75% of the world's amber is mined in northern Poland.

For being the largest brick church in the world, St. Mary's Church is well-blended into the Old Town. Squished by its surroundings, there really is no good way to get a picture of its monstrous size except from overhead. At 269 feet, it has the highest tower that you can climb (Scott would have to count higher than 281); however, its platform has a chest-high solid railing blocking most of the view.

Sopot is an easy 15-minute train ride from Gdansk. We walked from the train station to the beach on touristy Monte Cassino Street, lined with cafes and a few shops. The seaside escape reminds me a bit like Coronado in Southern California.

I found it rather unusual that you have to pay to go onto Sopot's pier...maybe they charge admission because it's the longest wooden pier in Europe.


Like clockwork and as forecasted, at 4:00pm it started to rain - just as we were stepping off the pier and headed to touch the golden Polish sand. (It feels just like California beach sand.). We succumbed to waiting out the storm under a cafe umbrella with a beer to console us.

By the time we made it back to Gdansk, it was perfect timing to stop for gourmet pierogis at Pierogarnia Mandu, the foodie hotspot in Gdansk. The well-traveled creators, inspired by international cuisine and South Korea's mandu dumplings, create tantalizing pockets of yumminess.

Internationally inspired Mandu pierogis

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