Today I travel by train for over seven hours to move to the north of Poland.
It was just a 15 to 20 minute walk in the rain and cold to the tram stop. I had
the choice of three trams which would take me to another or Lodz's railway
stations. This was further away than the one beside the bus station where I had
arrived.
Out of the tram, down the steps through the underpass up more steps to the
station. No queue and ticket purchase was simple as I had written details down
for the ticket seller. After a 30 minute wait as I had got there early, it was
up more steps to the platform. Cold wind, bleak, so I headed for the 'glass
house'. This was a small all glass but sheltered waiting room. The metal seats
were very cold, but at least it was out of the wind. Five minutes before the
train arrived a steady flow of passengers emerged from the stairway.
I had asked the ticket seller which end the first class carriage would be and
she indicated the rear. Well it was not the first carriage on the train as it
arrived so check the back one which ended up almost in front of the glass room.
Not there – so I headed along the platform to look for it. Actually it was
closer to the middle of the train. I found a compartment with just one person
in it and sat down on the dark blue upholstered seat – head rest too. This
was a step up from any other first class compartment so far on Polish Rail.
After a few stations the fellow traveler got off and for a couple hours I was on
my own until an older man joined me the rest of the way. He actually let me know
when Gdansk was coming up so that I could get ready, as this was not the train's
final destination.
The journey was uneventful. In time the rain stopped and by Gdansk it was fine
and dry. The whole journey was across flat landscape. Lots of fields full or
yellow crops which contrasted with the dark green of grass and grain. No
livestock and no human activity seen in progress on the land,
At one station we left in reverse direction so that instead of watching where we
were heading I now watched were we had passed. That was a surprise but I had
struck this once before in Germany. Many stations we saw were old and unkempt.
But we did stop at one which had a new platform with others being constructed.
We paased through a great variety of villages to towns. Some looked pretty but
in others I just saw the industrial side. It is amazing how many red brick
factories there have been in Poland even though most now seem disused and
decaying.
I arrived at Gdansk about 6:30pm and noticed a KFC at the station entrance. I
decided that it would be chicken for dinner as I had no idea about what would
be available around the hostel. Then a kiosk to get a tram ticket, down the
steps to go under the road to reemerge at the tram stop.
It was as six stop ride to the hostel stop. The road was near by but I could not
find number 7 nor any number close. The street seemed to start at number 23.
However after wandering a bit and asking a couple people I was pointed in the
direction down a side street and there it it was. It was hidden in behind the
corner building – well in the back or the corner building actually. I still
can not see a number 7.
A small double room up just one floor was a welcome sight.
Then off out for walk along the road to see the old town area. I had spotted
this in my walking looking for the hostel. It was an attractive area which as
in other towns had been rebuilt after WW2 in the old style. A small boat
harbour reminded me of an area in Copenhagen.
On the way back to the hostel I called into a small grocery store and bought a
bottle water and another one of wine – Moldovan wine which attracted me with
its Russian language label.
Back in the hostel kitchen I got into conversation with a German guy and a
Finnish woman who now lives in Stockholm as well as a Swedish woman. We spent a
couple hours together chatting and drinking our wine although the German was on
vodka. There was a group of Spanish girls and one from Mexico who was studying
criminology in Spain. An interesting evening.
Moldovan wine is sweeter than I am used to and thinner bodied.
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