Love, love ... Gdynia :)

These days, it is incredibly difficult for me to peel my face off the computer screen. Barely have time to get out of the house. Fortunately, a few weeks ago I did. And since it was the first time in weeks I decided I have to visit a place that is not around the corner from my house.

I heard that recently an embankment in Gdynia was opened, so I decided I had to check it out. I must say that it was worth it. 

I took us around an hour to get to our destination. I must say that three smartphones with navigation didn’t help much, and we still ended up wondering around. 

When I got to the point where I could see the sea, I was amazed. I felt I am in Greece or other South European country. Breathtaking views. As it turned out, the way down to the beach was also breathtaking. All because of a steep hill and thousands of stairs we had to conquer. 

The recently made embankment is beautiful. This area started out as a fisherman village. There are still remains of that, with rails that fisherman used to bring up the catch and colorful boats that I hope are still being used for fishing.

The embankment is pretty long - about 1,5 km. And since I had to find out where it leads to, I dragged my not-so-happy family till the end, and back (because we came by car, that we had to go back to :).

To sum up, this place became one of my favorite beaches in TriCity (although, not much beach there). I also managed to set a plan, that basically consists of me winning few millions zloty, and buying a house there. Maybe not the closest to the cliff, but in a nearby area.

The Great Mill

This particular part of Gdansk architecture hold special place in my heart. Back in '90 I earned my first money, a lot of money (according to me back then :) this is where I spend it. Back then it was the fist shopping mall in Gdansk, if you even can call it that. It was a building filled with shops so I guess it meets the criteria. But even then it was so much more than that.

It is a beautiful building, it really is. I might be my fondness of it, but I really, really like that building :) The funny thing is, that I didn't even realise what history this building holds until now. And let me tell you, there is a history.

The mill was built in 1349 by Teutonic Order. The mill is placed on man-made island. The mill was used for milling rye, wheat and also barley and oats. At its best it help 18 mill wheels. The mill was a big deal, it generated income that apparently was worth fighting for. At first opportunity Gdansk city jumped to be the owner of the mill.

There is a nice part on the side of the mill and at the back of the mill there is a restaurant, which looks nice from outside, but I never been there so cannot comment on menu :)

Also there is a internet bench there, which stream live images, so when you sit there make sure your friends are watching :)

Overall, I love this building ( I think it's kind of obvious :). In the inside you can see reminiscence of the old mill.

Which you have to go inside to see. Oh, yeah :)

Small Armoury

This place is on tourist attraction maps, but I don't believe that most tourist would be bothered to check this place out. To those tourists I say: Shame on you! :)

Small arsenal is placed outside of immediate Old Town. I think that this would be the reason people can't be bothered going there. I, myself adore this place. I like it the most at night. Also small arsenal gives me the creeps at night, but I guess I like to torture myself. Why does it give me the creeps? I'll tell you later. First a little bit of history :)

The arsenal was build in 1645 during the times of uncertainty and wars :) It was built by one architect of many names: George Strakwitz, who liked to spell his surname differently. Sometimes he signed on his designs Strakowski or Strakoffsky (maybe he was trying to disguise himself as he simply wasn't that happy with his work - who knows:)

The small armoury is of a simple, but yet beautiful design, with very few decorative accents, but with six huge gates, that allowed to move in big objects. It is part of heavy fortification of Gdansk, but was used not only to store armoury, but also other objects like decorations used to embellish route for kings and queens.

As time went by and all wars finished, armoury wasn't used for military purposes. At one point it served as headquarters of taxi company (taxis went to sleep there :). Now small armoury is where art comes to life. The building is home to Faculty of Sculpture and Intermedia of Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk.

Remember, when I told you that small armoury gives me the creeps at night? Well, here is why: a lot of the sculptures made by fine artists are stored outside and a lot of them look like people. So when I walk alone in dark around that place, which isn't very busy I feel there are people up there are observing me.

Nonetheless small armoury is beautiful place, with small part upfront. And the cool think is that the outside display changes from time to time, so in a way it is like changing exposition at a museum :) What is also nice is that not far from small armoury are bastions, which I think are a must see for absolutely everybody.