Back in November 2018, we wanted to experiment with our 3rd row car with my parents and had decided on Świnoujście Poland as it was only about 3 hours drive and could be accommodated with minimal luggage. Fast forward, we wanted to do a city break during the many (many) spring holidays in Germany and thought let’s try again. Now becoming a Hilton devotee (thanks to my credit card perks), we switched from the Radisson. The hotels are in fact almost identical, just that the Hilton is a little shorter and 100 meters further towards the beach.
Unfortunately, Chika was working but our favorite houseboat driver Kunal and his son Linus were up for the game. We ended up getting a late start, so needed to skip the lunch in Sczechin and still only arrived at the hotel around 4pm. It was fully booked out so we didn’t get upgraded and had to improvise parking. At least I had called in advanced to book ourselves at the asian restaurant. The weather for the weekend wasn’t promising, but at least the kids got to check out the large indoor aquapark before dinner. We ordered a massive feast — shrimp/vegetable tempura, tuna tartar and a few miso soups for starters, followed by some teppanyaki, udon, and a giant sushi/sashimi plate for me and Kai. We were hoping that the pool table in the downstairs lounge would be open after dinner, but it has been taken over by the disco (it was Saturday night) and we decided to turn in after a long day.
The following morning, Kunal and I decided to be ambitous and go for a swim in the Baltic — just an incredible way to start the day. My Italian friend Nicolo (who now lives in Poland) had recommended a pizza joint 10 minutes away and we decided to check it out for lunch (all except for Teo who had devoured an omlette, 3 pieces of eggs benedikt and a few waffles for breakfast). It was a pleasant spot with decent food, but as we were about to leave it started pouring rain. An espresso later, it had calmed down so we could hit the arcade on the way back to the hotel.
We then all decided to hit the waterpark. It’s quite a nice complex, with one slide (the red one) that is probably too fast for my generation. But in addition, they had a great sauna complex which was almost too relaxing. We had booked a fish restaurant for dinner and all dined well — even though there were a few schnitzels on the table. The waitress decided to gift us 3 shots at the end of the meal (2 being maddog/Polish espresso — vodka, raspberry syrup, and tabasco) and as Kunal wasn’t drinking I ended up having 2 (3 was just too many).
Back at the hotel, the Nations League Football (European) championship was on between Spain and Portugal. Was was supposed to be a short stop turned into an epic match down to the penalties. Truly an amazing game.
The last day the boys hit the waterpark one last time and then we headed off for a late lunch in Szechin. Kunal picked a great spot — I loved my beef short ribs — and then it was time to face the music and head back home. Another successful trip complete, even in bad weather — maybe this should be an annual thing?
