2025 in Poland (Gdynia)
// updated 2025-11-09 14:49
On June 21, 2025, the Norwegian Dawn cruise stopped at the port of Gdynia, Poland:
This made it my:
- 1st time in Poland, excluding airport stopovers
- 1st time in Gdynia
Having only a morning (7 am - 1 pm) in Gdynia, I decided just to walk around the city, rather than have a long list of "must see"s. A convincing taxi driver took me to Gdynia's "John Paul II" boulevard for 15 euro. A high price for a 5-10 minute ride, I wanted to get to this part of town quickly, and then leisurely walk back to the ship. He had hoped to become our drive for the day but I convinced him that I did not know how long I would tour the area. I said thanks in Polish ("dziękuję") and he was quite impressed :)
So, although I had only one place (the first on the list) to visit in mind, I did visit:
- Joseph Conrad monument
- a Polish-British author (Polish name: Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski)
- Gdynia fountain
- Polish seafarers' monument
- Anchor mural (Mural morksi)
- Emigration museum
The last of which took up the most time. Not bad for 8 euro, as it featured a detailed presentation about Poles leaving Poland for greener pastures. I had never before seen such a specific theme for a museum! The museum also had a very immersive seafaring milieu:
...while also dwelling on some terrestrial matters:
Reflection
This part of Poland, at this time of the year, seemed very peaceful and calm. Virtually no noisy streets existed in Gdynia, even the main drag felt anxiety-free. Everyone I interacted with was chill and didn't treat me with any "foreigner fatigue".
Instead of going to Gdansk (a bigger and more heavily touristed city a few kilometres away), I thought staying in Gdynia might have saved the trip!