Yesterday we had visited the last of the Baltic states, Klaipėda in Lithuania. Today we were in Poland docking in Gdynia and taking a trip to Gdansk and the resort of Sopot.
I was awake in in the night and saw this view at 4 am as we made our way into Gdynia.
Day 14: Tuesday 11th July 2023: Gdynia,Poland
To save time we had ordered breakfast in our cabin.
The group met on the quay after we had left the ship at 8:30 am. As a group we made our way past the warehouses and car parks to the ferry terminal. Our Canadian companion from earlier had already met her Polish relations in the car park as we passed.
Our minibus was an old Ford Transit, but we had no complaints as the seats were comfortable and our driver was a really pleasant guy. He explained, about the possible traffic jams that we would meet on the local roads at the end of the day. This meant that we had to be on our way mid afternoon on our way back to the ship.
Day 14: Tuesday 11th July 2023: Gdansk, Poland
In Gdansk we were dropped off by a hotel.
We walked along side the river passing extensive buildings works that were restoring the old buildings. After passing many gateways we stopped and went through one that led into the side streets. This had a guided tour taking place. We stopped and learned about the buildings and their entrances. This street in particular was one of the ones that had not had its original entrances removed.
Up the river we walked up the wide pedestrian Street that lead from the Ziolony Bridge. This was very busy and had bars and restaurants on both sides. We stopped in one of the restaurants for a rest and welcome drink.
Back up the river, we crossed over one of the pedestrian bridges. This side had lots of shops and very little of the historic heritage buildings that we had passed on the other side. After crossing back, we walked past the hotel and sat and watched the tourist ships leaving at noon.
Everyone was on time for the departure from Gdansk.
Solidarity Monument
The driver stopped outside the Gdansk shipyard so that we could see the Solidarity memorial.
Day 14: Tuesday 11th July 2023: Sopot, Poland
On our way back to Gdynia our driver stopped at Sopot – a famous Polish seaside resort. We walked around the very large hotel until we reached the area around the pier. The queues for the ticket machines for the pier were very long. Instead instead, we went to a café at the end of the pier for lunch.
As we walk back to the pickup point, we stopped for a welcome ice cream.
The traffic had indeed built up, but our driver had us back to the port in plenty of time.
Back on Island Princess
The evening was a formal evening. Over dinner we learned from, others at the table that 1,600 out of the 1,900 guests would be leaving in Copenhagen. Our suspicions about the marketing of this cruise from a 28 day to two separate 14 day cruises was definitely confirmed.
Max Himmelreichs “The Rock Tenor”
Max Himmelreichs was in the theatre and we went to the second later show – “the rock tenor is back.”
