Category: Flemming cafe

(Note to self, don’t trust smart phones to be smart enough to auto-save posts as you write them… had to learn the hard way… let’s try this again shall we)

It was negative 2 degrees Celsius today, a perfect crisp day for a brisk walk through the park, as the metaphor states. The sun had finally decided to show itself after hiding away for over a week. It has only been a week since I returned from a wonderful trip to England to spend Christmas and New Years with my Girlfriend. The sun however, was as shy in England as it was in Poland. All the more reason to soak in the sunshine. I currently “live” in the Oliwa part of Gdansk, Poland. A part of the city several train stops from downtown, but a quiet little semi-suburban area nonetheless. I say “live” as i have pretty much been couch-surfing for the past few months, on this semi-gap year of university. A hop, skip and a walk under a railway away, lies the Oliwa park. A quaint little place. Perhaps not so little in the literal sense, but it’s distance from the hubbub of downtown Gdansk, makes it feel a world apart.

Oliwa Park

(Summer Time)

The park itself is a sweet place, complete with duck infested ponds. The green headed mallards bobbing in and out of the water. The flock is joined by the high and mighty swans, who prefer instead of bask in their glory as families with children “ooed and awwed” – the white knights of the bird world. Adjacent to the feeding frenzy are signs prohibiting the feeding of the local birds. The sign was promptly pooed on by seagulls, pigeons and ducks, the swans at least kept their etiquette. The park maintained rows of towering trees, that were cut to look like a vertical wall of hedges that continued along one length of the park. A literal wall of green. To the side of it, were smaller, albeit older trees that were cultivated to create a canopy over park goers. The canopy of course, passed every year with autumn. leaving gaps and holes in the would be branchy blanket over you, creating a pattern of sunlight that tattooed the pavement, such an artsy display that I almost felt bad for walking over it… Almost.

Next to these corridors of trees stood an elder house of Poland, more a small mansion than a large house. Named Abbot’s Palace (although i consider it too small to be a palace). The building itself, looked more Victorian than Polish. My knowledge of architecture being as wide as my knowledge for modern fashion, that being said, very limited. Adding to this Victorian-esque feeling, is the English style garden that was kept neatly trimmed in front of the would be Victorian/Polish mansion. The trimmed hedges perforated by twisting and turning pavements that were incorporated around flower beds that would bloom in the spring. For Spring always comes…. that doesn’t sound as ominous as i had hoped. —- A little research, on my part, shows that the Palace was built in the 15th Century, and later expanded upon. The style is specifically “Rococo or Late Baroque.” That however, is as far as my curiosity for architecture goes. Any readers, feel free to correct me or expand on that in the Comments. 

A stone’s throw away and you can visit the Oliwa church, famous for its monumental organs. The musical kind, not mammalian. When the organs play, you feel them in your soul, mostly because the bass would vibrate your body if you stood too close. The church is adorn with all the golden and wooden beauty that comes with most older churches in Poland. Depictions of Jesus, various saints and angels. All of which are brilliantly hand crafted/painted/sculpted. Adding to the authentic/fatalistic value of the church are the names in various plots in the floor, highlighting the last resting place of more recognized citizen’s of Poland past. Recognized by others, not myself. It is always sad when history passes and few are there to remember it. Fewer still who might be willing to teach it. To swing back onto the positive note however, the organs are a must see, if you ever find yourself in the area of Gdansk and more specifically, Oliwa.

A frosted day.

The latest attachment to the park however, (since i last visited months before) is the Japanese style garden. How Japanese you might ask? If you didn’t, i am telling you anyways. Japanese in the manor of placing spacious back-less wooden benches and a standing, i assume to be a birdhouse, with a flared roofing to it, symbolic of feudal Japan’s architecture. Regardless of the name, this section, although new, was off the beaten path and was perhaps the quietest section of the park. On aforementioned benches, was still a layer of frost that was refusing to melt, despite the onslaught of sunny rays that assaulted the ice crystals. 

Beyond this, there lies an indoor botanical greenhouse, open all year round and temperature controlled. Inside lives infamous tropical plants, including the banana plant, complete with purple bud. Cactus of various kinds, bromeliads, ficuses and other species of plant life that I have forgotten to name. It is a cute sight to see, having grown up around most of these plants, living my life in the United Arab Emirates, but variety is always lovely to see. Next to that are streams of running water, the sounds of which drown out the chatter of walking couples and families. Few things calm the mind as much as running water. All that is a quick synopsis of the park, a park worth seeing, a park I will visit again, before i depart from Poland.

Reviews 
Moving on. After the park, I scouted the area for a cafe. The result of which showed 3 cafes right across the road from the park. The first being Flemming cafe (http://www.flemming-cafe.pl/) Hopefully named after Ian Fleming, but I doubt that. Of course, this cafe was closed on this Sunday. So there goes that review for now.

Kardamon Cafe

Further down the road, is a small little place “Kardamon” (http://cafekardamon.pl/). The sweet name alone brought me inside, it brought nostalgic memories of living in the Middle East, and my feet carried me inside. It is a small little place, sweet because of it. The purple theme made it warm but authentic, unique in my opinion. The seating and tables were comfortable and strong. Meaning that anybody could sit down without worry of breaking the chairs. The bar is also nicely presented and one could sit there comfortably, if you want to make chit chat with the barista of course, or if you are like me, you choose to find your own little corner to hide away from everything. The atmosphere was almost quiet, if not for the television playing Taylor Swift and other pop stars i couldn’t care to name. The music took away from the feel, but i believe that is more because the barista, no older than I, was left pretty much alone and bored in an empty cafe. Not a diamond in the rough but a hidden gem, this cafe was a lovely place to have a really good espresso.

I don’t consider myself an expert on coffee or espressos, but having spent time in Italy, working in an Italian restaurant, Vecchio Mulino (http://www.vecchiomulino.eu/), I know a good coffee from a crap one. Kardamon cafe near Oliwa park, has some really good stuff. Highly recommended.

Kafe Delfin

Since however, I was in an experimental mood, for coffee… nothing else you dirty minded fool, I decided to head into the last cafe on the street. Kafe Delfin (http://www.kafedelfin.pl/) Or the Dolphin Cafe in English… (I wasn’t aware of this translation until I looked up the website for the cafe, I, at first attributed the name to Delphine from Greek mythology) Is it a cafe about the sea, full of pictures about dolphins and other sea life? Nope. The cafe instead takes to heart, the subject matter of old-school films. Ancient theater projectors and film reels are scattered through the premises, and the walls are dotted with black and white pictures of actors, remembered, dead, alive and forgotten. A unique idea, but the red walls felt a bit hostile to me and made me feel more like I had to take the coffee and leave, rather than sit and spend the day talking. Regardless, I had two espressos here. Both very decent as well. Whilst having my first however, I came to the conclusion, at the same time as my girlfriend (as we texted), that I should take upon myself, to be a bit more out going, and enjoy more coffees in various cafes, as I travel Gdansk, Poland and the world. Whilst sharing my experience with all of you, out there, who apparently read blogs.

That is what this shall be. The first installment of a semi-autobiographical, semi-review and semi-self promoting blog. As i travel the world, I will share my experiences, worthy of note, as I quest for the best “HOLY ESPRESSO”….. The term was coined by my girlfriend, who politely asked me not to use it. So use that as a loose title until I come up with a better on in due time. Updates will be randomly frequent with periods of nothingness. In between which, I will post updates about my novels… whenever I get to writing them. Find more at http://holyespresso.blogspot.com/

That’s all for now.

See ya.