Part 1 of 2 weeks in East Europe!
29 March: Flying from Sweden to G'dansk, Poland by Ryanair!
This is us on the bus to skavsta airport where ryanair flights fly from. The problem with staying in Linkoping is that the silly airport is a 1.5hr bus ride away from here and it costs 199sek for a return trip which is already more than our air tickets. i miss changi airport! =( 
And here are our trusty backpacks! Holding our clothes and stuff needed for the 2 weeks trip!
29 March - 30 March: G'dansk!
G'dansk was actually not on our plans. I've never even heard of G'dansk prior to this trip. We ended up flying to G'dansk 'coz of the cheap ryanair tickets which was about 60sgd for a return trip + 1 check in luggage between the two of us. That's like one of the good things about Europe -- the abundance of budget airlines.
Here's the happy boy upon our arrival at G'dansk airport which is a very small airport and it is their international airport. We had to take a bus out to the city and with the help of the very kind ladies at the tourist information, we were in town in no time!
Happy people on the way into G'dansk city!
Anyway, G'dansk is in Poland. G'dansk is also where WWII started but the city has been restored since then. For those who want to learn more about G'dansk, click here! G'dansk was a pleasant surprise and a good start to our tour. It was surprisingly beautiful and the things were much much cheaper than in Sweden. We stayed at this hostel which was simply named HOSTEL. haha. HOSTEL's location was super. It was right in the corner of old town where all the sights are situated in. 
That's HOSTEL over there. It's an old building which the friendly owner transformed into a hostel. We stayed in a 13 bed room in the basement but were the only people there. The owner of the hostel was super friendly and insisted we each take a shot of the local vodka when were were using the internet in the evening. He said that his idea to open a hostel actually stemmed from a visit to Singapore where he stayed in a hostel along beach road. Interesting huh? 
This is the main street of G'dansk old town, Dluga street which means Long street. It's a very picturesque street with colourful old houses. The building with the tower is the town hall. The inside of the town hall is really intricate. We only managed to peek at the ceiling through the windows but it was enough to put us in awe. 
In old town was also this huge cathedral of St. Mary Magdelene. and by huge i really mean huge. It's supposed to be able to hold more than 10000 people and the whole building was built in gothic style. It may not be as intricate as the ones that we see in the other countries but it certainly is impressive. The stained glass just below the organ is absolutely breathtaking. That's the 2nd one in the left column. 
Here's another church which is more decorated on the inside and more fancy. I can't remember the name but it's one of the most adorned churches i have seen thus far, with all the paintings and a very ornate organ. 
You must have been wondering when the food photos will come in. Here they are! we had some vegetarian food for lunch without knowing that it's vegetarian food but it was cheap. the cheapest food we've had since we've gotten here. that's the one at the right. It was actually quite delicious! The piece of cake i was so eagerly eating was damn nice! it's like the royal chocolate cake at coffee bean but better, with nuts and chocolates and cream. i want more! the other photo is of the pork knuckle that bb loves. 
And this is the beautiful Dluga street by night. We were really glad that the place was relatively safe with police patrolling the streets at night so that we could have beer at one of the pubs where bb had his pork knuckle. And the streets weren't too deserted. There were still lots of tourists walking around and enjoying the night scene. And this wraps it up for G'dansk. I would recommend visiting G'dansk if anyone's planning to go to Poland. Just take a day trip there. It's worth it.
Here's another church which is more decorated on the inside and more fancy. I can't remember the name but it's one of the most adorned churches i have seen thus far, with all the paintings and a very ornate organ. You must have been wondering when the food photos will come in. Here they are! we had some vegetarian food for lunch without knowing that it's vegetarian food but it was cheap. the cheapest food we've had since we've gotten here. that's the one at the right. It was actually quite delicious! The piece of cake i was so eagerly eating was damn nice! it's like the royal chocolate cake at coffee bean but better, with nuts and chocolates and cream. i want more! the other photo is of the pork knuckle that bb loves. And this is the beautiful Dluga street by night. We were really glad that the place was relatively safe with police patrolling the streets at night so that we could have beer at one of the pubs where bb had his pork knuckle. And the streets weren't too deserted. There were still lots of tourists walking around and enjoying the night scene. And this wraps it up for G'dansk. I would recommend visiting G'dansk if anyone's planning to go to Poland. Just take a day trip there. It's worth it. 30th March: Malbork
We took a detour to Malbork on our way to Warsaw. Malbork is about an hour's train ride away from Gdansk and on the way. The owner of G'dansk Hostel suggested we go to Malbork to check out the castle. Suggest is too mild a word. haha..since we didn't have anything to lose and the train to warsaw had to pass by malbork anyway, we went! so what's so great about Malbork? 
This is what. The biggest brick castle in Europe built in the medieval times. And it really is very very big. It is actually a couple of castles combined into one but the size of it is amazing and it really is all built of red bricks. And as always, those who want to know more, here you go. 
We didn't go into the castle as we had limited time and the admission fees was quite high. But the outside and the surroundings of the castle was impressive enough and it really brought you back to the medieval times where knights walked along the very streets we walked on. It's really incredible how they could concieve and build such a place without the cranes and modern technology. 
On our way rushing back to the train station to catch our train to warsaw, we passed by this super cute doggy. haha. it looks like some cartoon doggy with its forlorn eyes and the way it was sitting there so cutely.
And this is it for now..part 2 featuring Warsaw and Prague will be up soon!
posted by jL-yZ @ 11:15 AM
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