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Blog of that guy who’s wandering around. 📸

  • Krik Kong

    I accidentally discovered the Surindustrialle café-gallery, but unfortunately haven’t been inside yet

    I accidentally discovered the Surindustrialle café-gallery, but unfortunately haven’t been inside yet

    About an hour before this photowalk, I was at the dentist because almost my entire lower wisdom tooth crumbled in the most annoying way, leaving behind a shard of enamel that was stabbing my gum like a spear. I got numbed in two places, he did a filling and cut out a piece of the gum. It’s only a temporary fix — I’m supposed to come back in a while to get the tooth completely removed. I thought it would be hard to focus on the walk, but it really wasn’t — I had a nice time wandering around aimlessly.

    There are a ton of those little faces in Łódź (like in the pic below, top right corner). They seem really simple, but they’re super distinctive and eye-catching. I’m really curious who’s behind them, and if they can be found anywhere outside Łódź.

    Now this one’s easy. I mean the image below, top right corner again — the guy with the “broken” nose. The black-and-white comic style of Krik Kong, a street artist from Gdańsk, is easy to recognize.

    You can find a lot of posters around Łódź by Kacper Ogień. I really like his style — those thick painted lines, expressive and bold, combined with slogans that make you stop and think.

    I had no idea this place even existed. I came from Plac Wolności (Freedom Square), walked into ul. Legionów (Legions Street), and turned into some courtyard, where I saw a bunch of plants and sculptures made out of metal.

    On the sign, I read that it’s a combo of a teahouse, café, and art gallery called Surindustrialle. I started taking pictures of everything that’s set up in the courtyard outside the entrance to the place. There’s so much stuff there, it took me a moment to take it all in.

    While I was taking photos, a guy came out of the place, so I started chatting with him and found out two things. First, that there used to be even more stuff in the courtyard, but they had to move some of it because of renovation works happening in the neighboring library building. And second, the café used to be open all week, but now it’s only open on weekends (Friday 4:00 PM–10:00 PM, Saturday 12:00 PM–10:00 PM, Sunday 2:00 PM–9:00 PM). Sadly, it was Tuesday when I was there, so it was closed, and I still haven’t seen the inside.

    I did some snooping on Surindustrialle’s Facebook and found out a few things: you might run into a duck and a goose there, they serve lemonades, waffles, chocolates, and teas, and they’re completely alcohol-free. Also — sadly — they’re going through another rough patch in their history. I really hope this place survives, because cities need these kinds of initiatives. I’m planning to swing by this weekend, grab some tea, and snap a few photos of the interior.

    There’s a beautiful piece near Pasaż Róży (Róża’s Passage), a sphere made of hands. Sadly, I don’t know who made it, so I can’t link anything, but it blows me away every time I see it.

    And another poster by Kacper Ogień (above, bottom right corner).

    That guy walking with the dog (below) — we talked for a bit, about his husky girl and our husky boy, Zefir.

    Over a week ago I wrote that I still hadn’t caught Maniak Pizza open — that food truck with those weird pizzas that come with cone handles. Well, on this walk I finally did! I love those pizzas!

  • Krik Kong

    Eight-Hour Walk Around Gdańsk: Shipyard Area, Góra Gradowa, and the City Center

    Eight-Hour Walk Around Gdańsk: Shipyard Area, Góra Gradowa, and the City Center

    Since Gdańsk has a Paper Concept store (unlike Łódź, unfortunately), I popped in to grab a few more nib types for my dip pen. Nibs are definitely one of those things you want to pick out in person, when you can take your time and really look at them. I snagged a few nice ones. While I was there, I also checked out some watercolor sets, palettes, and brushes, but didn’t buy anything—already got some good ones at home. And since the shop’s in the Madison shopping center, right in the city center, I decided to just stick around that area for my wanderings.

    I started with the old shipyard area, where I spotted a mural by Marcin Wolski on the wall—it was done as part of a collab with Disney. The artwork blends the Gdańsk crane (aka that building from The Witcher 3) with a scene from Andor, the Star Wars series.

    There’s a Żabka (convenience store extremely popular in Poland) there that has literal train tracks running into it. I chatted for a minute with a guy who lives nearby. Apparently, the local heritage conservator banned removing that bit of track; it’s from back when separate rail lines used to run into lots of the shipyard buildings.

    Then I headed up Góra Gradowa (a hill in Gdańsk, 46 meters/151 feet above sea level)—a place I’d never been before, which is kind of wild considering I grew up in Gdańsk and spent the first thirty years of my life there.

    Since my Samsung S21 Ultra has a nice zoom, I took a few modest shots of the city from that height of 46 meters above sea level, while shyly standing next to some young Asian guy taking photos with a DSLR and a telephoto lens.

    What made me want to check out Góra Gradowa was something Szymik, my buddy Rafael’s girlfriend, told me a while ago. She said a tour guide once told them that J.R.R. Tolkien visited Gdańsk as a kid, and that the little houses built into the hill there inspired him to create the Shire. There’s a good chance she was totally messing with me, testing how gullible I am—but even if she was, I’m not giving up on that lovely idea.

    Up on the hill I also took a selfie using a selfie stick I bought not too long ago—something totally new for me if you know me at all. By the way, it’s called the Ulanzi MA09, and I totally recommend it. Folded up, it’s compact enough to live in your backpack, but it offers three modes: regular selfie stick, kinda like a mini gimbal, and a full-on tripod that extends to nearly 180 cm (5.9 feet). It comes with a Bluetooth remote too, which can either stay in the handle or be removed and used wirelessly (like from your pocket or behind your back). Of course, with such a compact design, it’s not gonna be as stable as one of those heavy-duty tripods at full height, but the size-to-performance ratio is solid.

    After that I aimlessly wandered around the city center. My feet took me to a few spots I’d never been before.

    One of them was a random stretch of the Old Motława River where there’s a kayak rental spot—I had no idea that even existed.

    It was really nice just chilling on the little steps by the river, munching on my beloved smoked cheese. Would be even nicer to hang out there someday with someone.

    I also discovered Pasibus that day. I randomly stumbled into the spot at 27 Stągiewna Street while looking for something to eat. The inside’s got a bit of a McDonald’s vibe (even the self-order screens), but it’s actually a Polish fast food brand from Wrocław. The burgers are way better than McD’s, plus there are three different vegetarian options for plant-eaters. I had the Cheese Boss Wege—sooo good!