Gdańsk: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

WWladekmariaalicenicols · Apr 13, 2010Read

Moscow is an amazing place, but just as dirty. You can feel the imperial ambitions of its architects and inhabitants, which is understandable, as Russia is, strictly speaking, an Empire (with a capital letter, and, so to speak, the cradle of the East), and Moscow is the center of this largest and richest country in the world. The large number of high-rise buildings, cigarette butts, and the small number of trash cans are striking. But the buildings are a separate topic; they hang over you like domes, like stone blocks grown from underground, making you feel small (it seems you are tiny compared to this world)—that is the most amazing thing! I am often in Warsaw and love that city, but in Warsaw, you feel cozy and comfortable, while in Moscow... ah, in Moscow you don't feel like a cog or a screw in the system, but rather a speck of dust in a big city. Yes, that's it... An unforgettable feeling!!! I was surprised that cigarette prices are roughly comparable to the price of a single metro ride!!! This is truly incomprehensible, since in Warsaw the cheapest cigarettes cost 9 zlotych (the very, very cheapest), which is about $3, while a metro ride costs about $1—that is, the metro prices are roughly equal, but the difference in cigarette prices is quite noticeable. I won't talk about Belarus, since the metro in Minsk costs approx. $0.3, and cigarettes are about the same as in Moscow, but the quality of cigarettes is much higher in Moscow than in Belarus, so I smoked to my heart's content. I was so happy I smoked two packs. There are many Poles in Moscow; they are good, nice people. I even talked to one Polish woman: - Pszepraszam, czy ma pani zapalniczke? [Excuse me, do you have a lighter?] - Tak, prosze :))) [Yes, please] - Dzienki [Thanks] - Jakie masz pochodzenie? [What is your origin?] - Jestem Bialorusinem [I am Belarusian] (and here such pride and a smile from ear to ear :D), mieszkam w Brzesciu, to jest bardzo ladne miasto. A Pani? [I am Belarusian, I live in Brest, Brest is a very beautiful city. And you?] - haha, wiem to miasto, jestem z Gdanska, ale dobrze mówiesz po polsku (here I am convinced once again that Poles are good diplomats, which is why they make such arguments, although my Polish is very bad) [I know that city, I am from Gdansk, but you speak Polish well] - O, dziekuje bardzo, no tak troche znam tego jezyka, bardzo czesto bywam w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, oprócz tego chetnie zwiedzam ten kraj. [Oh, thank you very much, well yes, I know this language a little, I am very often in the Republic of Poland, besides that, I gladly visit this country] Here a kind of brotherhood occurred, we talked about topics like “Powazam Palaków, Powazam Bialorusinów”, but I had to urgently run to look for the Konsulat, brrr... J)) US Consulate: - Milo mi bylo pania poznac, ale trzeba isc do Ambassady Stanów Zjednoczonych. Do widzenia Pani! [It was nice to meet you, but I need to go to the US Embassy. Goodbye!] - Do widzenia Panu [Goodbye] Well, it was good to practice Polish at the same time... I go out onto a long street, as I understood it was part of the Garden Ring, interesting!!! Where to go? I asked a passing girl (not a local, you can see it immediately), it turned out she was looking for it herself... It became even more interesting... I saw a couple, a guy and a girl, and immediately a reflex – Belarusians, brothers!!! These definitely know: - Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to... - Oh, we are not locals... - ... (I continue) the US Embassy? - Oh, you need to go there, along that street, you will see the building there. - Oh, how did you know that we knew where the US Embassy was here? (with such surprised eyes 8)) Oooh??? - It's written on your faces that you are from Belarus (And I think to myself: “Yes, we are like that – responsive, bright, and generally nice people in all respects J))) I walked there and again didn't understand where to go... (I start turning on my brain... “beep”... turned on) I asked a guy