NORDIC EXPERIENCE EARNS 2023 TripAdvisor TRAVELLERS CHOICE AWARD

NORDIC EXPERIENCE has received another TripAdvisor® Travellers’ Choice Award for the 9th consecutive year for period 2014-2023. Now in our 15th year, this achievement allows us to say thank you to all of our lovely guests for trusting your vacation experience in our hands. We can´t wait to welcome you again and share this magical and dynamic culture around the Baltic Sea and in Scandinavia with you.

NORDIC EXPERIENCE PRIVATE TOURS AND SHORE EXCURSIONS IN BALTICS AND SCANDINAVIAN CRUISE PORTS

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About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world’s largest travel site**, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers, and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features, with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors***, and 350 million reviews and opinions covering 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 48 markets worldwide.

Thank you and see you soon!

Eva-Maria Egipt-Peenmaa
Managing Director
Nordic Experience
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15 Distinctively Polish Things to Buy in Gdansk

Wondering what are the best things to buy in Poland and what to bring back home from your trip? There are lots of fun and unique Polish souvenirs to buy or bring as gifts for friends and family from your visit to Gdansk. The list of the best gifts from Poland is countless, so here is our list of top souvenirs to remember your Gdansk experience by.
St. Mary’s church and Mariacka street in the old town center of Gdansk, Poland

Amber Jewelry. Also known as the Gold of the North, the Baltic amber is renowned for its beauty worldwide.  In Polish folk medicine, amber was a very popular remedy for various illnesses. The most popular gift is silver jewelry with amber. You will find the largest selection of amber products in Gdańsk. Amber is a tree resin that fossilized over tens of millions of years in the earth, where it matured under high temperature and pressure. Today, amber is extracted from rocks or collected when it is washed up onshore by the sea. Amber is a very soft material and has been used in jewelry, medicine, and perfumery since ancient times. A common classification of amber is according to its origin. Nowadays, there are two main areas where most amber is found: The Baltic region and the Dominican Republic. There are also deposits in other parts of the world, but they are relatively small compared with the ones in those two major regions.

Baltic Amber
This type of natural amber is over 40 million years old and is one of the most valuable. It can be transparent or opaque and occurs in light to dark tones of yellow. The opaque variety of Baltic amber can also be white.

Poland, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Gdansk, Old Town, Amber Jewellery display on Mariacka Street

Angels. Everybody needs a guarding angel and the simplest way to obtain one is to buy. The immensely rich and curious world of Polish legends has been captivating people for ages. Hand carved painted folk angels are very popular in Poland, also known for their unique, whimsical style. Image result for angels poland souvenir

 

Dolls. Traditional Polish Folk dolls are made completely by hand. The dolls are made using techniques that have not changed in generations. Made primarily of paper mache and cloth and certified to meet original folk costume designs. Facial features are hand painted by local artisans. Some of the dolls have additional features like buckets or fences made with natural woods and leather. These dolls are truly unique and representative of Poland’s outstanding contribution to Polish folk art and family traditions. Image result for polish doll souvenir poland

 

Linen Products. Natural linen is one of the noblest materials, as it is entirely natural and biodegradable, skin-friendly, and extremely durable. Linen products have accompanied Polish people for centuries, so consider buying beautiful napkins or tablecloth with traditional Polish pattern. Image result for polish linen table cloth

Beautiful printed linen tablecloth with one of Poland’s most popular flower, red poppies.

 

Ceramics. Bolesławiec ceramics is one of the best souvenirs from Poland you can get and Poland must-buy. It’s simply beautiful, and it works well as tableware or kitchen decor. Bolesławiec is a small town located in Lower Silesia. Ceramics have been produced there since the beginning of the 19th century, and still, every product is hand-decorated with characteristic patterns.

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Gingerbread. The original gingerbread from Toruń is baked based on a traditional 700-year old recipe. The dough is made by hand from flour, water, milk, honey, and spices in the right proportions. According to legend, the daughter of a Toruń miller, called Katarzyna, was to prepare delicious delicacies for the king’s arrival. Bees advised her to add honey to bread and cakes. The baked goods went brilliantly, and the king began to praise Toruń gingerbread throughout Europe. If you try the gingerbread from Toruń, you will understand why they are different from popular gingerbread. You can buy them in the big supermarkets, shops with local food and at the airports. Image result for polish torun gingerbread

 

Polish Sweets. Don’t leave Poland without trying their delicious sweets. The must-try is Ptasie Mleczko (bird’s milk). It is a vanilla-flavored milk froth covered with milk chocolate. If you like toffee, you will definitely enjoy krówki (fudges), a luxurious, creamy and totally decadent sweet. For hard candy lovers, we recommend kukułki (cuckoos), which are caramels with cocoa filling with a delicate hint of alcohol. Image result for polish candy krówki

Oscypek cheese. It is a hard, smoked cheese, prepared from sheep’s milk, characteristic of Polish mountains, especially Podhale.You can buy it in almost all touristic places in Poland, during Christmas Markets and regional events. If you are lucky, you can find oscypek at some polish airports. Make sure that you purchase the oscypek from the stand or shop with the certificate as there are many cheaper imitations on the market. Last but not least, it tastes great warm and with a cranberry jam. Image result for Oscypek cheese poland

 

Best way of getting around, is with your private local guide, book one here: Gdansk Private Highlights & Historic Old Town Tour.

 

For more local tips, contact us or join us on our Gdansk tours!

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Interesting & Fun Facts About Gdansk to inspire your Baltic Sea visit

Did You Know- 10 Interesting & Fun Facts About Gdansk

Looking for some inspiration for planning your visit to Gdansk, here are a few facts that might lead you on the right path of unforgettable memories made in this strikingly colorful Hanseatic port town, the incubator of the Polish trade union movement, Gdansk certainly has the most compelling history.

  1. Gdansk was once part of Germany, after World War II the city became part of Poland.
  2. Gdansk still has its historical Beer Bell that was used to announce the opening of pubs in the old times.
  3. The St. Mary’s Cathedral in Gdansk is the largest brick church in Europe, with a capacity of 25,000 people. We recommend for a guided visit to St. Mary´s Cathedral our Gdansk Private Highlights & Historic Old Town Tour.
  4. The city‘s special drink is the locally produced Golwasser liqueur with small flakes of gold floating in the bottle. It is believed that the elixir brings luck to those who drink it.
  5. Gdansk has several town halls. One of them, the Main Town Hall, is decorated with a 80-metre-tall tower housing the Red Hall that has one of the most luxurious town hall interiors in Europe.
  6. Most of the amber stones washed by the Baltic Sea are found on the Gdansk seaside. The boardwalk, bearing the name of John Paul II, is 511.5 meters long.
  7. Gdansk hosts the longest building in Poland, called Falowiec. The structure has four ten-story compounds each with four Falowiec hosts a total of 1,792 apartments.
  8. Gdansk also hosts the country‘s tallest monument dedicated to the fallen shipyard workers. Three crosses with anchors symbolize the sacrifice of the fighters against the Communist regime. Enjoy the best of Gdansk from stunning old town architecture to the triumph of freedom during a visit to the European Solidarity Center.
  9. Gdansk has many different names, known as Danzig, Kdanzk, Gyddanyzc, Danczig, Danczk, Gdąnsk, Danzc, Gdania, Danczik, Gdanzc and Danceke.
  10. The legend of Neptune Fountain. It is believed that people of Gdansk had so much money that they threw golden coins into the fountain. Want to know why, come and see us on our Gdansk tours and find out more.

 

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Top Attractions in Gdansk- Museums, Gates and Churches

Where to go and what to see in Gdansk, Poland

The beautiful city of Gdansk has a unique feel that sets it apart from other cities in Poland and connects it charmingly to the rest of Baltic Sea states. Centuries of maritime contacts and connections as a major Baltic port; the streets and museums of Gdansk carry a distinctively non-Polish architecture influenced by a united nations of wealthy medieval merchants who shaped the city’s past. The destruction brought on by WWII has added a special atmosphere that makes Gdansk an increasingly popular destination today. So, don´t miss out on the top museums and sights we have listed here below, when in Gdansk.

Museum of WWII

Opened in 2016, this striking piece of modern architecture is a bold addition to the northern end of Gdansk’s waterfront. It has rapidly become one of Gdansk’s must-visit attractions, tracing the fate of Poland during WWII. A brilliant overview of the Second World War from start to finish, covering all aspects; social, political and moral.

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European Solidarity Center

Opened in 2014, and housed in a truly awful example of 21st-century architecture (its rusty steel plates were designed to evoke ships under construction), this exhibition has quickly become one of Gdansk’s unmissable landmarks.

We recommend our Gdansk Private Highlights Tour with Old Town, Oliwa Cathedral & European Solidarity Center. During this tour we will see the permanent exhibition devoted to the history of Solidarity movement and the changes it triggered in Central and Eastern Europe. This state-of-the-art exhibition and narration by your local guide will immerse you in a historical account of the events in the most enjoyable way.

Image result for european solidarity center

St Mary’s Church

Dominating the heart of the Old Town, St Mary’s is often cited as the largest brick church in the world, its massive 78m-high tower dominating the Gdansk cityscape. Like many cities in Poland, Gdansk has more than its fair share of churches and cathedrals. However, if you visit no other place of worship during your visit to Gdansk, then choose St Mary’s. There is an eclectic mixture of sights, from the incredible astronomical clock, to more modern masterpieces such as the striking model of Christ weeping (2nd world war memorial) and, the jaw-dropping shrine of the sea with its shimmering sculptures. Well worth the visit and highly recommended. During our Gdansk Private Highlights & Historic Old Town Tour you can have a guided visit inside the St Mary`s Church.

Artus Court Museum

Rising in all its embellished grandeur behind the Neptune Fountain, the Artus Court is perhaps the single best-known house in Gdansk. The Artus Court, formerly also Junkerhof is a building in the centro of Gdansk, at Długi Targ 44, which used to be the meeting place of merchants and was true hub of social life. Today it is a point of interest of numerous visitors and a branch of the Gdansk History Museum. The name was taken from the very popular medieval legend of King Arthur – a symbol of chivalry and gallantry.

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St Bridget’s Church

Founded over 700 years ago, St Bridget’s was reduced to medieval brick dust in 1945, and until 1970 only the outer walls were left standing. This is a very interesting building which is associated with the whole solidarity movement. The altar is made completely of amber and is absolutely beautiful.

Image result for st bridget's church gdansk

National Maritime Museum

This is a sprawling exhibition covering Gdansk’s role as a Baltic seaport through the centuries. The mission of the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk includes protection of cultural and technological maritime heritage carried out by collection and preservation of historical monuments related to boat building, shipbuilding, river and sea navigation, fishery, sailing, military science and maritime education, as well as their promotion and dissemination of information on maritime history of Poland and its economy through the ages.

Oliwa Cathedral

The first surprise as you approach the cathedral is the facade, a striking composition of two slim octagonal Gothic towers with a central baroque portion wedged between them. The Oliwa cathedral as we know it today was built from the 13th to till the 18th century. With a length of 107 meters it is the longest church in Poland.

The towering Oliwa cathedral takes pride in its extraordinary organ of staggering 7896 pipes and 110 registers. The ornate interior and striking altar of 150 angels set around it are the highlights of this outstanding architectural creation.

You can admire and visit the Oliwa cathedral during our Gdansk Private City Tour with Old Town, Oliwa Cathedral & Sopot.

 

For more local tips, contact us or join us on our Gdansk tours!


sales@nordicexperience.com
www.nordicexperience.com
Private tours in Scandinavian Cruise ports with passion!

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