TRAINS BACK TO SANITY

The waterfront in Gdansk

The two days in Torun were plenty for me. Hopes that this small, normally pleasant, town would be a place to relax were of course dashed by the presence of the so called football supporters. I tried an evening wander around the town but that was not a good move as it coincided with the end of whatever game they'd been watching on mega LCD screens, sending me straight back to the hostel. The Irish contingent who returned in the early hours seemed bent on having a fight amongst themselves before they could settle down into an alcohol induced coma. 
When I returned here in Plzen yesterday evening I thought I'd take a look at the news, and not a pretty sight. Poznan was one of my stops on the way to Wroclaw and there on the internet I saw the nasty scenes taking place in the historic centre. Hundreds of Croation fans were attacking a small group of police while they were trying to arrest one of the fans. It struck me as funny to see a lone green clad Irish supporter escaping from the turmoil and holding his arms up in surrender, implying that all that aggression was not of his making. 

The Irish off to Poznan from Torun station

Wroclaw was showing all the signs of being in the grip of this insanity so it was just as well that I managed to cancel the second night there. And so it was that yesterday morning I was on my way back to the comparative peace of the Czech Republic. 

Wroclaw station has been having a revamp. When I was there a year ago it was almost impossible to find the temporary booking hall at the back of the station.

The orange reflective clad students, wearing Union Jack badges are there to help the passengers.

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So thats the end of a rather ill timed trip which makes me think I should take more notice of what is going on in the world of football. There were 5 trains in all from Wroclaw to Plzen. It went amazingly smoothly with waits of no longer than 15 minutes between trains. Home in 8 hours. 

Heading to the Czech border

How about Warsaw tonight? No? Dont blame you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18409776

Cheers D

TORUN, THEN WROCLAW

The waterfront at Torun looks, and is, pleasant enough. But the atmosphere inside the town was sadly blighted by the various tribes from the balmy armies chanting monosyllabic football anthems. I think, hope that most of the Irish contingent are moving on today to inflict themselves on Poznan, west of here. At first I thought the ones in the dormitory were pretty civilized but after two days of almost continuous drinking, their moods changed. About 5 o'clock this morning when they returned from wherever they had been, a fight nearly broke out between two of them. Glad this lot has gone. Only one more night and I head for Wroclaw. Got some misgivings about that but I am almost sure that the hostel there only has a maximum of 4 in each room and I'm only there for 2 nights. However, I had heard of these supporters wandering like displaced armies and they really seem to behave like armies. Dress code seemed of great importance while they decided, jeans versus shorts, and all that to go out and trash themselves in some of the many bars in this small town. 


I cant honestly say this experience has come as a revelation but it certainly confirmed my suspicions. 

This massive bridge to the station is about a kilometre long

Not many locks but they're here too!

Just had a thought, think I might try to cancel the second night in Wroclaw. D 

LITTLE IRELAND

Surprisingly, the train to Torun arrived perfectly on time with no hitches. My Polish train experiences have led me to expect the unexpected so maybe they're not all bad. The vintage loco below is for sure going no where.

Writing this blog to the lilting tones of a bunch of Irishmen singing some of there favourite songs from back home. It seems the Irish football fans have chosen Torun as a base. Maybe its been a bad move to come to Poland at such a time in the world of sport. Suppose its lucky that Ukranians haven't decided to invade. 


Anyway, its such a small place that I used a street map board to find my way to the hostel. 

Walking up Rozana street, infamous Nicolaus (Copernicus) stares down from his platform. He is of course the 'was here' celebrity for Torun.

Torun is much the same as a lot of places here in Poland and appears to be a little off the tourist trail. However, met a threesome from England in a restaurant - Martin, his wife and mother in law. It was interesting that this late middle aged man was made redundant in 2008 and has since been doing a paper round, plus another sideline, to keep some money coming in. Seemed odd to me because I always think of school kids doing that, like I used to.


The time has come to finish so hopefully the Irish affliction, contagion, or whatever to call it wont be too painful. The guys already here dont seem to be such a bad bunch. Perhaps I'll join 'em for Guinness.

Overcast, over the  massive  iron bridge, over the River Wisle. It links the station with the town.

ON THE BEACH

Its my last day here in Gdansk. Feeling rather lazy, I decided to limit my activity to a stroll along the beach which lies about 20 minutes from the hostel. I have been to a Baltic beach before, when in Riga, and this one here is no different. Lots of good quality golden sand at the edge of a flat landscape. Even the coast here reminded me of what I remember of the Jurmala area, near Riga, with houses and cafes set in the woods behind the beach. I suspect the smooth cycling track passing behind the low wooded sand dunes goes for miles, from Kaliningrad to who knows where. Easy biking.

Gdansk shipyard cranes in the distance

Anyway, the stroll turned into a three hour hike as far as Sopot and back through a large park that begins just up the road from the hostel. I may have explained before that the Tricity comprises of Gdansk, Sopot and Gydnia, which is a port, and Sopot, a popular holiday destination with people from Warsaw. 

Looking towards Sopot

Nothing spectacular but a relaxing place where you can escape the crowds so I recorded this while I was wondering which way to go next.

Mumbling By The Sea

To finish this blog, here's a couple of pictures along the way. D