A walk along ul. Biskupia into the Biskupia Góra district is a brief but poignant trip to Danzig's pre-war past. Cobblestones and traces of German lettering remain in the steep winding streets lined with random staircases and gardens. Although there is little to see, and the area is renowned for its hostile natives, this is nonetheless a must see for those wanting a trip back in time. [...]

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You have absolutely no reason to visit the district of Przymorze apart from to marvel at the longest residential building in Europe. Known as Falowiec (The Wave), the communist-era residential block stretches for over one kilometre, boasts three kilometres of drainpipes, and has three separate bus stops to service its estimated 7.000 residents. Constructed between 1970 and 1973, the monstrosity was originally four separate ten-storey tower blocks. Possibly to alleviate housing shortages, more likely in a moment of madness, city planners decided to go hell for leather and link each building together. For whatever reason the link-up work did not run in a straight line and the completed structure runs in a meandering line, hence its nickname. All this a far cry from the 1950s, when Przymorze had no asphalt roads and was little more than a few potato fields. If you’re curious to see for yourself head up to ul. Obrońców Wybrzeża. [...]

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These granaries - no more than a skeletal set of ruined brick walls today - were the most important source of income for Gdańsk in the 16th century, contributing to its status as the largest Baltic harbour and one of Europe's richest cities. In the 14th century over 300 granaries operated on Wyspa Spichrzów; only one survived WWII, following which 20 were rebuilt. A moat was built around the area in case of fires. The granaries had names like Gloria and Bear Dance and serviced over 200 ships a day, supplying 300,000 tonnes of grain a year. Plans to restore the ruined granaries have repeatedly stalled, and they remain a moving reminder of the devastation of WWII and make for a nice walk - providing you don't run into any urinating vagrants. [...]

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Built by the Teutonic Knights in 1350, this magnificent edifice with its rising tiled roof is the grandest civil construction in Gdańsk. Until 1356 when the Radunia Canal was built, the mill was powered by slaves turning 18 huge wheels. It was the largest industrial plant in Europe during [...]

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A fascinating delve into Gdańsk‘s maritime history, the city‘s Nowy Port Lighthouse was inspired by a long-lost lighthouse built in 1871 in Cleveland, Ohio, in the USA. This one in front of you was built in 1893, the 28-metre tower functioned as a lighthouse, harbour pilot’s tower and time-ball station until it was finally decommissioned in 1984. Its principal claim to fame is its use by German soldiers in September 1939, and it was from the upper floors that a machine gun emplacement fired the very first shots of WWII. The machine gun nest was destroyed in the exchange that followed, quite possibly making the Germans manning it the first casualties of a war which would claim over seventy million lives. Painstakingly restored by an amiable Polish Canadian the centrepiece of the lighthouse is a time ball, unveiled on May 21, 2008. During its former life it was synchronised to the Royal Astronomical Observatory in Berlin but today it takes its signal from Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig which is broadcast as a DCF77 long-wave radio signal by the European Time Centre in Mainflingen, Germany. Time-balls were originally designed to allow ships’ captains out at sea to sychronise their on-board clocks exactly before they headed back out, the dropping of the ball being the signal to mark the hour. This would allow them to calculate longitude resulting in more accurate navigation. Although made redundant by technological advances, the skipper of the Polferries ferry Scandinavia, which docks close by, has taken to waiting for the time-ball to drop before moving the ferry’s machine telegraph handle to ‘slow ahead’ to begin the cruise to Stockholm. The lighthouse is closed from the beginning of October until the end of April, but still very much worth a walk around on account of its unlikely place in world history.
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Over thirty classic Volkswagen’s ranging from camper vans to beetles to rather dashing sporty efforts. The exhibition is the fruit of four decades of collecting, and the premises includes homely lodgings, a campsite and of course, the opportunity to rent a VW – check out the cool lookin [...]

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