Tag: #sopot

Train ride back to Sopot from Krakow. Easy. Great trip.

April 3rd, 2023

Took today off . . . your lucky day. Had to post these three pictures though. Flash back to October and November. Toured Malbork Castle in October, took pictures from the train on our way to Toruń (similar to below) in November and passed Malbork again today. : )

UNESCO designated the “Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork” and the Malbork Castle Museum a World Heritage Site in December 1997. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region (north-central Poland), together with the “Medieval Town of Toruń “, which was founded in 1231

Malbork Castle is located in the north of Poland, on the east bank of the River Nogat. It is the most complete and elaborate example of a Gothic brick-built castle complex in the characteristic and unique style of the Teutonic Order. The style exemplified here evolved independently from those which prevailed in contemporary castles in western Europe and the Near East. This spectacular fortress bears witness to the phenomenon of the Teutonic Order state in Prussia. The state was founded in the 13th century by German communities of military monks who carried out crusades against the pagan Prussians and Lithuanians living on the south Baltic coast, as well as against the Christian Kingdom of Poland. It reached its greatest influence in the 14th century. The castle-convent embodies the drama of late medieval Christianity, straining between extremes of sanctity and violence. Following severe damage in the Second World War it was once again restored, using the detailed documentation prepared by earlier conservator.

Tomorrow we get ready to go Ireland. See you in Ireland.
Sopot! And we sprung forward today.

March 26th, 2023

Poland changed their clocks and sprung forward at 2AM today.

Weather yesterday and today was good—mid to high 40s. Mostly sunny. Not too windy. Lots of walking. Ok, the bad news, Mike just found out that he has COVID. 😷 Hoping Mike is good for traveling to Galway on April 3!🤞 Anyone want to zoom for happy hour? Your happy hour, my nightcap.

Today. Mike looking good despite COVID. Another usual coffee spot for Mike and me.

Today again. Was actually pretty nice even though in this picture the sky looks kind of ominous.

First morning, yesterday. Latte from my usual spot. Usual morning stroll on the pier—remember from my fall posts, the longest wooden pier in Europe. Opened in 1827. Stretches into the Baltic Sea from the middle of Sopot.

First morning. Nice and sunny. No wind.

AirBnB is nice. Great location again—right off the Monte Cassino pedestrian street and central square again, but on the other side of the square this visit. Two bedrooms, an office (with fold-out couch) and listing said it has one and 1/2 baths. The bath situation is a tad misleading; it really has one bathroom split into two rooms—one room has the shower, sink and laundry, second has the toilet and a sink. So again, really one bathroom split into two rooms. Am I being picky? All ok with me though since Mike stays at his apartment. Mike’s apartment is very close to my rental.

PS I like to get a rental big enough so Mike and I can hang out and cook a little. I also keep hoping that on one of my trips a sibling or niece might join me for a few days. I keep hoping.

Couches are right behind me.

Wish the little garden looked like this now!

This washing machine has words not icons. I can google this! And, I think, this machine is also a dryer. Still trying to figure this out. ; ) Laundry tomorrow.

PS the Polish people are serious about their locks!

PPS washing machine is just that, a washing machine. Darn.

Back to the drying rack.
“It is goose time in Poland.”

November 12th, 2022

so said the waiter last evening. Goose menus all over the town.

Goose and croissants (rogaliki) for St. Martin – where did these traditions come from?

November 11, yesterday, was the National Independence Day, but also, I just learned the memory of St. Martin. This day, especially in Wielkopolska, is associated with a very interesting tradition of preparing geese and baking Martinique croissants. It was customary for Saint Martin to take fat geese to the court, to the monastery and to the church, because in the late autumn the geese are the fattest and most plump. Poland is an important producer of geese. On St. Martin’s Day it is also customary to bake croissants of various sizes, stuffed with poppy seeds, marzipan, hazelnuts or jam.

National Independence Day busy! Holiday weekend.

Last evening at the Grand Hotel for dinner there was a special goose menu. Mike indulged in some. Sorry I didn’t take more pictures. I kinda stuck to fish. It’s goose time in Poland. Now we know. : )

Breakfast this morning with Mike. I made eggs and added some tasty treats from the bakery.

A couple of mini drozdzowka and a few faworki (chruściki).
My grandmother used to make faworki and we called it galani.

My grandmother’s version was lighter/thinner.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Everywhere you go . . . (they don’t have Thanksgiving to get in the way!)

I leave Sopot tomorrow and fly to Prague. Through Warsaw. The last leg of my trip. Ship sails on Wednesday, so I have a couple of days to tour Prague. I miss Mike already! I probably would have come back to Sopot for another week, but Mike is traveling to Warsaw and won’t be there.

I’ll check back in with you all on Monday.

PS I have been meaning to post this picture of the apartment’s oven. More pictures/icons I had to figure out. Thank god for google.
Two quiet days in Sopot

November 10th, 2022

Visiting with Mike, walking around, laundry and in general getting ready for the next leg of my trip which will be a Viking cruise–Prague to Berlin.

So, here are a few miscellaneous pictures from the last two days and one of me I forgot to post from Kirkenes.

Taken from the end of the wooden pier today–looking towards Sopot center, Zdrojowy Square. I’ve been trying to walk the pier every day that I am in Sopot. Legend has it that the air on pier has medicinal qualities.
They say that the concentration of iodine, in the air, at the tip of the pier is twice as high as on land.
And something about amber fragments. The iodine and amber are supposed to help us.

Sopot’s version of the Lobster House. On the wooden pier.

Taken off the end of the wooden pier today. Complete with swan.

Not many boats left in the wooden pier marina.

Cooking dinner for Mike–cod and roasted broccoli. With some gingerbread from Torun for dessert.

Billy’s American Restaurant in Sopot square. I have seen a few of these restaurants during my travels. I think they are only in northern Poland and specialize in American cuisine and our preparations. Of the three Billy’s I have seen, all have pictures of iconic Americans on the outside of the restaurants. Poland is fairly catholic, not sure if all our Americans pictured are. Thinking I should try Billy’s before I leave.

Last evening on our Hurtigruten expedition; dinner in Kirkenes, Norway with Karen. I know it’s a dumb expression.
I am not the most photogenic.
This evening was all about the music,

October 25th, 2022

and I got my hair trimmed today. I have been here so long, I am starting to do every day simple things.

Tell Betty Ann that I still love her and will be back in early December.

Can’t figure out how to add a video. I think I have to upgrade to post videos. Stay tuned.