All Aboard for Gdańsk!

It's Tuesday morning and farewell to the Ibis hotel. Everything there was excellent other than the flaky wi-fi in the room. The lobby had some nice quiet areas where it worked perfectly however. The tram got us down to the town centre in minutes and from there, it's a short walk to the central train station.
The message board said the train would be five minutes late. On the platform, a young woman in town to pick up her Canadian visa, told us that the announcement said it would be 15 minutes late. It was 20 minutes late. (nice feature - the display monitors told you at which part of the platform you should wait). We splurged on first class (6 to  compartment rather than 8 in 2nd class) and had the whole compartment to ourselves.

Seen from the train window: a rabbit, several pheasants, windmills, fields being plowed and fertilized. one field being sowed by hand, planted forests for harvesting, train cars full of logs, trees full of parasitic mistletoe, little yellow track fixers (like the ones in Shortline), an old widget to deliver water to steam trains, an ibis, and construction of highways, new train lines, and buildings everywhere.

In Kanto, a young couple returning from Thailand assured us that we had changed to the correct platform. Because of the late start, our half-hour wait to change trains was conveniently reduced to a few minutes. This time, we shared the compartment, but only to Bydgoszcz. There were numerous delays on the way but we pulled into Gdańsk right on time. The train station:

The Wolne Miasto Hotel was an easy 500 metre walk. Check-in was smooth and the room is lovely. Photos from 1894 on the wall, a huge wooden wardrobe (with safe), bathroom with a soaker tub, a tiny TV, and excellent wi-fi. (btw, there are free wi-fi spots all over Warszawa and  Gdańsk).


There is an incredible number of cafes and bars and restaurants and after looking at too many, we settle at the Pierogarnia u Dzika or Dumpling in the Wild. The walls are decorated with the heads of wild boar and deer. There is a stuffed boar at the entrance. This might not be the place to bring your vegetarian friends. This time the żurek (11 PLN) comes in a bowl made from a hollowed out round loaf of rye bread. Clarisse liked her borscht (4) but liked my sour soup also. We ordered two plates of perogies - one with traditional pork (17); the other with wild mushrooms (25). Half-litres of Tyksie beer were 8 each for a total of 85 zlotych including a generous tip. (Prices include 8% tax on food and 23% tax on beer).

Once again, no room for dessert as we waddled back to the hotel. Gdańsk is overwhelmingly decorated. Every building has artwork, bas relief, gargoyles, statues, wrought iron, etc. Look!