Bartimaeus

On our last day we had to get up, pack and check out. As we had done most mornings, we had a quick coffee or tea in the room to get us going before heading out to find breakfast. All our flights were in the afternoon though so we were able to leave our backs at reception before heading out and returning to one of the bakery cafes we had seen. There seemed to be plenty of those and we had all enjoyed the unusual routine of large pastries for breakfast, and there was a great variety to choose from and we had enjoyed experimenting. I had a glass with fruit, granola and yogurt one morning. It had always been plenty to keep us going for several hours and lunches had been late. 

Well fuelled we went to check when the buses were and be sure we knew the right stop and how to work the ticket machine. There were lots of stops at the centre and tram stops too. We had a trial run with the machine, so we were confident.

Then we headed off pausing at a statue, beside the Railway station, of Kinder transport, the Jewish children sent from Germany, Austria, Poland and the Free City of Gdansk to safety in Britain. We then went under the station and started to climb the hill. This was another of our guide's recommended places to visit. The hill afforded a good view of the city.

It was a lovely clear day for a view. In fact we had got rather too hot. We were wearing more clothes than necessary - or I certainly was - so as not to overstuff the bags that had to fit under seats in the plane. Cardigans and jackets were wrapped round our waists. The temperature was well up on the previous days.

It was good to do it on the last day. It was a bit of exercise climbing up a hill, when we would be sitting a lot later and the rest of the city was pretty level. Also it was good to be recognising the sight below, the Basilica.

Butterflies were fluttering, and we were surprised to see a grasshopper or cricket leaping up, making huge jumps, as we walked around the hill top. There was a fort which had several small bunkers, which all had mannequin exhibits of the occasions when it was used defensively going through several centuries, starting with cannons and muskets. The information was mainly in Polish.

We made quick work of going round since we couldn't read the descriptions, though Marion recognised in the section where it explained about the original planner, that it was the same architect as had designed the citadel we had seen in Lille.

Some of the figures were particularly realistic. There were also some videos. I stopped by one of the second world war exhibits with a motorbike. The light had a shade for keeping it from being seen from afar but still letting them see their way a little in the dark.

I came out to see Marion and Mugs waiting in the sunshine. They weren't alone in basking in the heat, I was surprised to see a lizard moving up on to the wall, so near the Baltic coast. I pulled back the leaves to get a better view and was pleased it didn't run away, perhaps it preferred better exposure to the sun.

We made our way back to get Marion's bag and accompanied her a bit in to town. She took her leave and Mugs and I went to the amber museum shop, It has a lot of jewellery but also some other amber items. Amber comes in many shades.

Purchases made, we returned to get our bags then went for lunch on the pavement terrace at the same bakery cafe we had eaten breakfast. This time we had salads instead of bakery items, and had a leisurely lunch, until it was time to get up and go to the airport.

The ticket machine was easy to use though we got confused on the bus between the ticket stamp and the qr code scanner. We weren't the only ones and no one checked. All went smoothly at the airport and it was time to be up and away. This time I understood the very rapid safety instructions much better. I must be more tuned in. I managed to recognise the odd word in Polish, like 'thank you' and 'good bye'.