We had vowed not to travel with Ryanair, as their contemptible treatment of passengers is renowned. But the boss man has tried recently to instigate a charm offensive, so could it really be that bad? The 11:40 flight time meant we could have a leisurely journey to Stansted, and this was instrumental in our choice of Gdansk for this years trip. A shock came in March when Ryanair announced a flight change to 06:45. Oh dear we had been scuppered again. Fortunatley, through devine intervention, this was revised again to 08:30, so at least a bit more reasonable.
In an attempt to avoid having to get on a Ryanair plane, certain members of our party arrived late at the airport, but unfortunately they were still in time to get on the flight.
As the result of a rare instance of over–eagerness, the Dungroamin Management had pre–booked a taxi transfer from Gdansk airport to the hotel. As we passed though the exit gate, there was a man holding up a card and we were whisked away to our hotel. This is not necessarily a good thing, however, because it removes the enjoyment of searching for the most obscure way of making the transfer, and of gaining the satisfaction (sometimes) of avoiding being ripped off!
We stayed at the Dom Muzyka Hotel which is a new building adjacent to the music college. As we walked to and from the hotel we could often hear the students playing.
Once we had checked into the hotel, we walked into the town to find the tourist information centre. From there we visited St. Mary’s Basilica.
For our evening meal we decided to try out the hotel restaurant. Once the food was served up, Alan found that he had brussel sprouts with distinctly chilled, almost icy centres. Was this a Polish tradition he wondered? A subtle nuance in the presentation of the humble brussel? When he asked the waiter if the brussels were meant to be cold, the waiter initially thought he was joking as he did not appear to consider the idea that something could leave the kitchen not cooked to perfection. When asked to feel the temperature of a brussel for himself, his face dropped as the truth dawned on him.
Well, the outcome was that he spent the rest of the evening trying to make it up to us. He gave us a free sweet and there were numerous bottles of wine that did not appear on the bill. We ended up with a three–course meal including drinks for £40 per couple. Excellent value!
We had a bit of banter with a couple of young ladies on an adjacent table who described themselves as “Irish Couch Potatoes”. At one stage during the evening, Brian disappeared outside with them. But he soon came back when he found they hadn’t brought the couch with them.
