Gdansk, Sopot, and Gdynia - Exploring the Tri-City on Our Own (traveling with the AIDAmar)

This morning we had to get up early, as our ship was supposed to dock in Gdynia at 8 AM. From there, we took a bus and train to Gdansk, which went smoothly.

At first, we strolled alone through the Old Town, where only a few buildings were rebuilt after the destruction of World War II.

We saw constellation paintings on some houses.

They were located at Hevelius Square, named after the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, who operated his observatory in the Gdansk Old Town in the 17th century.

It was still too early for a visit to the Amber Altar in St. Bridget's Church, so we continued our walk to the harbor.

There we saw Gdansk's landmark, the Crane Gate at the Motlawa promenade, which was currently surrounded by a construction site.

We walked through Long Market and Long Street to the Golden Gate, where the meeting point for the guided city tour we had booked was located.

From Gdansk's magnificent Main City, where we now found ourselves, hardly anything had survived after World War II.

As our guide told us, the houses lay in rubble and ashes for several years before it was decided that they should be restored to their original appearance.

Thus, at least the facades were rebuilt according to the old model, even though large apartment blocks with worker housing were located behind them.

The guide showed us magnificent buildings and beautiful alleys while telling us about Gdansk's tumultuous history.

We also visited St. Mary's Church, the largest brick Gothic church in the world.

At noon, the figurines of the astronomical clock began to move accompanied by organ music.

Following the four evangelists and twelve apostles, death made its round before the clock, until Adam and Eve rang in the hour from above.

At the end of the tour, we saw the Women's Alley with many amber shops and the old beischlägen, the raised entrances of the merchant houses.

After so much information and walking, we took a small break at a small local place (“Bar”) where mainly locals ate. After a few translation difficulties, we were served warm soup.

To conclude, we headed to Warehouse Island. The district is modernly designed and houses the most expensive apartments in Gdansk.

We walked back to the train station through Long Street and the Old Town.

In Sopot, we got off the train once more to take a look at Poland's most elegant seaside resort.

We walked through the pedestrian zone to the beach.

In Sopot is Europe's longest wooden pier, although we did not walk the full 512 meters.

Instead, we strolled a bit along the promenade before walking back through the city and past beautiful villas to the train station.

We took the train to Gdynia, but we opted out of the bus for the return trip to look around the place a bit more.

The once fishing village became Poland's most important port after World War I, but it has fewer beautiful buildings compared to the other Tri-City locations.

After many impressions and steps, we finally arrived back at the harbor area and looked forward to a relaxing evening.