Last month I travelled with a group of friends to the beautiful city of Gdansk, in Northern Poland, with a group of friends for a weekend getaway. When my friend who organised the trip messaged me back in August to ask if I wanted to go, I automatically jumped at the chance but, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t have a clue what to expect as it was not a city that I’d heard a lot about.
We flew from Liverpool John Lennon airport on the Friday evening and it was about 11pm by the time we checked into our apartment. We then got a taxi to go out straight away. We went to a nightclub called ‘Hah’ that was just outside the city centre. They played good music, the drinks were very cheap and the venue was LGBT+ friendly.
The next morning we woke up and grabbed a coffee and pastry on the go from the local corner shop before embarking on a local walking tour of the city. Our lovely guide told us all about the history of Gdansk’s old town and showed us the city gates and the beautiful St Mary’s Church with its impressive astronomical clock which we were lucky enough to see.
After a relaxing afternoon enjoying our apartment’s spa facilities, we got ready to go out for the evening. We were originally supposed to go on a boat cruise, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the weather, so we just went for food and drinks in the Old town instead. I tried traditional Polish dumplings, known as piergoi, with a pork stuffing which was absolutely delicious. I washed them down with plenty of Aperol Spritz before we went on a bar crawl which we had prebooked. We had such a fun night where we met people from all over Europe and went to various Gdansk bars where we sang karaoke and played drinking games. Our guides eventually led us to an old World War Two bunker that had been converted into a nightclub with three different floors where we danced the night away.
We were all very hungover the next day so we had a lie-in before going into town to enjoy a burger at Max Burgers, a Swedish burger chain that we all enjoyed when we visited Stockholm back in February. They do one of the best burgers I’ve ever had and I would love it if they could come to the UK! We were very full and sleepy after we ate so my we headed back to the apartment where my friends had a nap. I wasn’t too tired so I headed back into town and checked out a couple of museums. I visited the Museum of the Polish Post Office, which told the story of the horrific attack on the staff at the city’s post office by the Nazis in 1939, and the Museum of the Second World War, which was huge. It provided a very detailed and moving account of the hardships that the Polish people endured during the war. It was very powerful and it so vitally important, now more than ever, to remember the horrors of the Second World War.
Our last night was a lot more chilled as we went for drinks in the local Irish bar and went to bed reasonably early for our flight. On the last morning I had a traditional Polish breakfast in a gorgeous little café, consisting of frankfurter sausages, scrambled eggs, celery and cucumber. We then had one last wander around Gdansk before getting a taxi to the airport.
Gdansk is a gorgeous little city, a hidden gem for travellers in Eastern Europe. It may not be a capital city, or a well known tourist destination, but it is full of history, culture and friendly locals. Definitely worth a visit should you get the chance!
Simone Reddington 
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