Visiting Malbork Castle (Poland), Part I: The approach

I gave Judy a morning off from the sightseeing this day (May 27) and ventured off to Malbork Castle on a solo DIY mission. It's about 30 minutes by train. By this time in the trip I was very comfortable with the Koleo site and app for managing my tickets. So off I went. Got on the 7:52 train out of Gdansk with a gameplan of being done with everything and back in Gdansk by noon.

The castle is a good 20-minute walk from the train station.

First maybe 5-6 minutes of that is pretty generic fringe suburb scenery. There's this manufacturing plant across from train station. Think it's this place (well reviewed, btw).

Then you make your way across the roundabout.

It gets somewhat more interesting as you enter the center of town via its main drag (Tadeusza Kosciuszki). I was here at 8:30 am on a Tuesday, so not a lot going on. But a cute stretch of donut shops, a cafe, a bakery, as well as general things people need day-to-day, such as a pharmacy, a butcher, etc.

I wouldn't say that you need to allocate extra time to soak in the charms of downtown Malbork. But if you find yourself with extra time, there a few places to pop into.

Further west along the main drag you pull up on the statue for good king Kazimierz and it becomes clear you're on the right track to the castle.

When you hit this pizza chalet, bang a soft left and you're right there.

Shots from our evening cruise in Gdansk, Poland

After our quick meal at Montownia we headed over to the meeting spot for our "Sunset Cruise on a Historic Polish Boat". Getting there could have been easier if they shared more than just an address as the meeting point. We were given "Dokowa 1, 80-863 Gdańsk, Poland". It was only a 5 minute walk from Montownia. But street numbers are not really a thing I could discern in the old shipyard (if they exist). Turned out the meeting point was essentially the Yard Cafe, which has a pretty large and visible sign. Sharing that detail could have been helpful.

We learned on the 'cruise' that the Galar boats were used by traders in the 18th century. Kind of a heavy-duty raft that could carry whatever you needed to carry up the Vistula river to sell in the bigger markets of Poland. These vessels are a modern version designed for exactly the type of light recreation we had scheduled for the evening.

You can fit something like 12-15 people on the boat. We got our seats up front, grabbed a couple of their courtesy fleece blankets, and settled in for the experience. While I genuinely enjoyed the ride, I have to say my expectations were not managed by the tite of the tour: "Sunset Cruise". Not really. The first 5 minutes maybe of the cruise occur around sunset, which you glimpse from a pretty good distance off on the horizon behind the cranes and various other elements of the industrial shipyard landscape. Not particulary romantic or awe-inspiring. A catamaran ride in the Santorini caldera this was not.

After a little loop in the area up near the launch point accompanied by story time about both the area's history and its contemporary evolution (e.g., turns out the resources and people adept at shipbuilding are also rather useful in the manufacturing of windmill turbines), we ambled down toward the city center. Below are a variety of shots I snapped on the way. New condos, historic buildings, waterside restaurants, etc. Nice little ride if you don't come in hoping for a 'wow' sunset viewing. The crew consisted of one captain driving and the guide, well, guiding. They shared some interesting tidbits, both historical and contemporary (e.g., the fact that locals refer to one of the islands as 'booking.com' since it's all holiday apartments). Some of it came off a bit scripted and forced. But definitely worth the modest price they charge for the time.

Quick Review: Montownia Food Hall (Gdansk, Poland)

So Montownia Food Hall has only been around since 2023 but if you're checking YouTube, blogs, etc., about what to do in Gdansk this place pops up. I've had mixed experience with food halls. Over the past 10-15 years they seem to be popping up everywhere. I remember Mercado Roma was a sensation when it opened in 2014. There was even a satellite location in a semi-random spot on Miguel Ángel Quevedo in Coyoacán for a few years before that inevitably closed. My sense is these places can feel templated, food-hall-by-numbers type of experiences where you're paying a premium for the trend / buzz factor. I guess that's true for a lot of restaurants, though, isn't it? Anyway, I wasn't planning to go out of my way to visit Montownia. And its location is a bit out of the way, up near the shipyard. But as it happened we had an evening boat tour leaving from the shipyard around 8:30. The Montownia Food Hall was on the way from our Airbnb to the boat tour's meeting point. So stars aligned and we decided to check it out.

First thing you notice is that it's part of a sharp, new development that includes condos, light retail, even a loft-style hotel.

The location has an interesting history which I encourage you to read. In addition to the restaurants there are also art installations contributing to the overall atmosphere. I'm a sucker for posters, so this room caught my eye.

We did the customary lap around to see what's what and decide what to order.

Landed on Dim Sum Ramen (yes, our commitment to eating Asian food across Poland continued), where we got a basket of dim sum that were delicious. We paired that with an order of spicy Korean fried chicken from Chix. Also delicous. While waiting for our food I moseyed over to Tap Bar to peruse the selection. Nice try before you buy philosophy they had there. And the barkeep put me into a tasty IPA. (Wish I remember exactly what it was. Craft beer in Poland was consistently good.)

Net: glad we went, would recommend. If you're going to be up in this part of the city visiting the sights you could do far worse than popping in here for a meal and a beverage.