Short article on Gdansk

My wife and I took a long weekend trip to Sopot and Gdynia in early May. We took the trip by car however we would recommend anyone to take the train. The public transportation is pretty good especially compared to the United States or Canada, it takes only 3.5 hours and you get there without being tired. The road trip on the other hand takes 4 hours at least and you arrive in the tricity consisting of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. There is still no freeway leading you from Warsaw to Gdansk. There is roughly 70 km of 2 lane road each way that leads your north from Warsaw. There is also a real 20 sthg km of freeway near Gdansk. There is a nice beltway that goes around tricity. There is talk that a freeway linking Warsaw and Gdansk will be finished by 2012 but as of now 75% of the way goes on one lane road each way with a shoulder lane. Driving in such conditons makes you tired. In any case - when we got into Sopot we checked into Opera hotel. This was a great choice! The hotel is situated outside of the city center of Sopot but still within walking distance to dowtown. It is located in a forest and the only noise you hear from this hotel is the sound of a wood pecker or birds chirping. The standard of the rooms was really good and rooms were very clean. We spent 2 days in Sopot. We explored the area around the hotel. There is a trail leading you from the hotel to a hill with a great view of the Sopot area and the Baltic Sea Coastline. It is a great place for a picnic. I was suprised that this area was hardly explored by tourists. My wife and I would virtually feel as if we were miles away from any bigger city. Then we strolled the beaches of Sopot and we explored the downtown. The beaches around Sopot tend to be crowded so if you are looking for some solitude you will have to drive out from the city itself. But there is a nice pier that offers you spectacular views of the coastline. The beaches have nice cliffs and the whole area is very hilly. I was pleasantly surprised. The downtown area is small but very nice with very nice buildings and beautiful architecture. We left Sopot for Gdynia after 2 days. We stayed at Hotel Gdynia. From the outside it was not so welcoming but they completely renovated the inside and it was a very good 3 star hotel. We took the room with a view of the bay and the beach. Gdynia itself is a very small town and does not have much of downtown area. The beach around the hotel was very nice and had a long boardwalk. So this was nice to stroll around the beach. Hotels in Gdynia are less expensive than in Gdansk but Gdansk is very close by. You can take a taxi, train, bus and within 15 mins you should be in Gdansk. After 1 day we decided to visit Gdansk and the old town and this was spectacular. It has been completely refurbished. You can easily spend 1 day strolling along the Old Town of Gdansk and not be bored. The churches, the history, the old architecture are all very enchanting.