to come across the sea from Sweden to Poland. It is eerie to start out of the port in the dark, to have only the blackness around you while standing on deck, and finally to arrive back in a port in the dark.

We want to go to Gdansk, but the big port is still a city further away in Gdynia. Thousands of containers are lined up there, waiting to be shipped. The ferry is not particularly full and we get ashore very quickly. Nothing is going on at the port either. Only a few taxi drivers try to get us into town for a lot of money. They do not allow themselves to be negotiated down and think of doing a good deal with us.

In the meantime, however, I have booked a driver through Uber who, under the abuse of the others, takes us into the rather desolate port city for half an hour for a much cheaper rate.

Ewelina and Andrzej are already waiting for us there with breakfast. The couple offered us their sofa via couch surfing, which we gratefully accept. We have a lot of world travel stories to share and the two of them have a lot of advice for us to take on.

While the two of them drive to their work, we use the advice for our explorations. In the evening we will have a personal tour through the old town of Gdansk.

Gdynia is an industrial city and therefore doesn’t have too much to offer. But on the way to Gdansk there are beautiful places by the sea to be seen.

One tip was, for example, the Orłowo Pier.

Lots of tourists come here – it seems like a popular destination.

You feel like you’ve been transported back to the 1920s when you walk down the white-painted wooden walkway through an avenue of classic lanterns across the shallow water.

We reach the old Hanseatic city at its beautiful train station and stroll through the alleys of the half-timbered houses into the center of the old town.

It gets dark early, but this only increases the charm and the fairytale-like character of the medieval city.

The port of Gdansk in particular is famous for its tall office buildings. An old galleon is also a museum ship on the quay.

The city is still decorated in its Christmas lights.

Our hosts keep their promise and meet us in the old town. They give us a tour of the medieval port and give us a lot of impressions of daily life in the city.

Of course, at the end of the day we have to go out to eat real pierogi; The two of them know exactly the right place for that, Pierogi Lwowskie .