"Gdańsk" a Gdansk Travel Page by betako3

Gdańsk is one of the most beautiful cities in Poland, a must, if you are thinking about visiting Poland. The best time to come is in summer, at the time of the Dominican fair. Then the city offers a really wide range of attractions.
I've been to Grańsk a few times and it has never disappointed me in any way. There are two moments I treasure most:
The first was summer of 1997. The south of Poland, where I live, was experiencing one of the worst floods ever, it was a stage of national drama, in the focus of media attention for a few frightening weeks. I remember watching scarry live reports mixed with weather forecasts, every time hoping that the rain would stop. And that frustrating desire for the sun, which kept shining all along over the northern parts of Poland on the forecasts map. One day I decided I had had enough of the rain, I persuaded my brother to take a trip to the seaside with me, we packed a small backpack and caught a train to Gdańsk. There we relished a couple of days full of sun and completely free of media flood frenzy. We strolled through the Old Town, watched the street performers, listened to a classical concert in the open air in the Long Market, we simply absorbed the atmosphere of the place. Unfortunately, that bliss of Gdańsk was soon shattered in Sopot, a small seaside resort not far from Gdańsk, where we followed from there, and where we were attacked on the beach at night by two junkies. Fortunately nothing really bad happened.
The other memory I have of Gdańsk is from another short, last minute trip I took to the Polish seaside in 2003. And it features Gdańsk and Sopot again, but this time in a reverse order. I traveled with my friend and we started from Kołobrzeg, where it rained for most of the time we spent there. We followed to Sopot, which I wanted to give a chance to rehabilitate. No luck again, this time I escaped physical violence but lost all luggage, which was stolen while I was admiring the sunrise on the beach. I lost my documents, my return ticket, and personal items including my favourite rain jacket and glasses. Luckily, I had some money and a credit card left in my pocket. So after a compulsory visit at the police station we headed for Gdańsk. There, in a small, cosy cafe in the Long Market, sampling exotically named, fabulously tasting and smelling coffees I managed to regain my equilibrium. And I authentically enjoyed the rest of that day in Gdańsk.
As for Sopot, I don't think I'll go there again in the foreseeable future.