Last Christmas shopping in Gliwice, Poland 🇵🇱

Friday, 22nd of December 2023 [107]

My last 3 posts were rather serious and full of reflections. I got some stuff off my chest and I increased my physical activity to give my myself a well needed enegry boost. Starting each Friday with a run has become that one habit I keep onto no matter what. It really sets the mood for that day and keeps my energy up at a nice level.

I had a nice, healthy breakfast and then ventured out to a nearby town - Gliwice. I had some errands to run with a bank, which I postponed for days, but today was the day to sort that out.

My first stop was at the Kantor - Currency Exchange. I’ve already spent most of my cash that I exchanged when I arrived in Poland and today I went there to exchange whatever I had left and spoil myself a little, cause why not? I’ve also made sure to take tons of pictures for #MarketFriday by @dswigle

The price for GBP was not as good as a few days ago, so I was happy that I exchange most of my money then, as I got better value for my Pounds.

Next to the Kantor was that one cafe which I remember from 20-30 years ago. I’m happy it was still there after all those years. I love seeing all the new nice buildings and more workplaces for Polish people which I notice upon each of my visit back home, but coming back to some old places that have ‘always’ been there is also nice.

The dessert display is also there, as it always has been. Full of colourful traits that temp people walking by.

Flowers outside the cafe were slightly sad after the recent freezing temperatures I guess, but today’s sunny day brought them back to life a little. Cause you know… #alwaysaflower 😉

Looking to the other side of the road I was the comic store which I discovered during my last visit in Poland. I remember purchasing one part of the comic, which I read the same evening and came back to get another 4 parts of it. I think I read one more part once I got back home and then I forgot all about them. So no more buying comic books until I read that first lot till the end!

‘Raj’ was the next shop I walked past. In English it would say ‘Heaven’ which is supposed to be a heaven for bag lovers. There are tons of bags there for sure, but from the 2 visits inside I learned that in such bag overload I can never decide which one I like or want and these days I practice ‘less is more’ attitude which is great for my wallet 😁

I took loads of pictures of this beautiful town, which I will most like show in another post, but here, under the excuse of showing a few more shops you can see the beauty of the old buildings in Gliwice. They’re as tall inside as outside, which makes shopping in them feel like you’re on the ball.

At the bottom of one of them is Rossman. A beaty products chain store. One of the first chains that show up in Poland and you can find one of those almost in every single town/city in Poland. I used to go there a lot, but recently I found a unique little store which I prefer, as I can often find products there which I can’t see elsewhere.

‘Outlet kosmetyczny’ is the name of it and as every year in the past 2-3 years I left it with a bag full of supplies for the next year. The prices there as the name suggest are very reasonable.

Another shop I discovered this time round is a second hand shop that I’ve never seen before. The sign outside said ‘be green, shop second hand’. I nearly walked past it as I don’t often buy clothes in second hand shops, but then I rememebered that my friend Laleh always finds some gems in those. I’ve already visited many shopping centres and stilk didn’t find a new jumpsuit for NYE.

Lo and behold! In that very shop I have found a really nice jumpsuit. Not sure I’ll wear it for NYE per se, but I’ll wear it for many dance parties for sure! I might drop another 2 kg first as it’s a bit tights around my arms.

Of course most shops were already decorated for Christmas. Just 2 more days left till Christmas eve. Not much to look at in this shop, but I loved the reflection of the building on the other side of the street I managed to catch on this picture.

Bakery had a full on decorations too! Not sure if it’s for Christmas or rather NYE with all those baloons, but I had to cross the street to take a closer look at it.

My Godess! The smells coming out of it were divine, but I was brave and decisive about keeping to my healthy habits. I ate way too much bread while in Poland and I suspect it being the main culprit for the comeback of hives on my body. I had to take a quick picture and go away fast!

Next window had white and blue xmas tree.

And one of many ‘Lombard’s on that road was tempting shoppers to buy some second habd items and/or come it to get some money in exchange for some valuable items they might want to sell.

GCH - Gliwickie Centrum Handlowe was once the only shopping centre in town. I spent many hours of my youth there, looking for some nice clothes. On the other side of the road was a much cheaper street market. That one is no longer there, but GCH added another level in the basement, where many of those sellers from the repurposed street market found a place for their stalls.

I decided not to stop there on this occassion. I had to go to the bank first, which btw turned out to be closed for redecoration and I had to find another branch which coincidentally was located in another shopping centre. What a bad luck, hey 😉

Before I left the main street of Gliwice, a lady selling pretzels was tempting me with one of my favourite treats, but no, no more bread for me.

In Forum Shopping Centre the first 2 shops that welcomed me from the C entrance were 2 of my favourite shops. How could I rush to the bank and walk past them? Although I’m not sure what it is with my old favourites that I can’t find anything I like in them 🤷🏻‍♀️ Ok, ok, I already bought a shirt in Sinsey yesterday and I liked a jacket in Mohito, but they didn’t have a size I’d like.

Apart was once a jewellery shop I could spent long time in and either dream or buy stuff, but these days I rarely wear any jewellery, apart from my one favourite necklace.

I’ve already visited empik yesterday. I’d gladly go again, but that would be another hour lost staring at the books, magazines and pretty notebooks!

Christmas deco was all around. Here a few trees before I drop some big bombs on you later. I mean… baubles 😉

Or wings… what do you think about those wings? I think the look utterly amazing 🤩 And placed next to another shop I used to like, yet didn’t find anything nice in this time round.

Nail products are a must here in Poland. The pressure for always looking amazing is high in this side of Europe. Booking a visit at hairdressers or nail technicians has to be weeks if not months in advance. Hence why I only managed to get my nails beautified in the first week of my arrival and I’m walking with grey hair despite contacting my usual hairdresser 1.5 months in advance. Every Polish lady has to look beautiful for Christmass!

Even the nail stations in this shopping centre were fully occupied. I didn’t even ask if there were any appointments. My nails are still perfect for now.

Speaking of all the ladies being beautiful… something under the clothes 😁

Before we move to the children section full of all sizes, shapes and colours of entertainment for the little ones, including mystery packs.

Bouble Tea made its way to Poland too! Not that I want to try 😉

But there are other things I wouldn’t mind trying. Like loads of things here, but no, I am not willing to give in to the temptation.

Mouth watering yet? Mine sure was! Better let’s take a break from food and check out some other Christmas decorations. Huge ones I may add!

Just after passing these decorations I found a gold mine! I love TKMax, but this time round I found nothing there. This however is something like Polish version of tkmax - Half Price. Just like in Tkmax there were tons lf branded clothes and other products are reasonable prices. Finally in this shop I found what I wS looking for. Enough variety of leggins and sport bras that I had to pick and choose as I couldn’t take them all! Most in my (now much smaller) size.

After this very succesful visit in Half Price I’d still stop and take pictures, but I had shopping overload and almost empty wallet 😂

Cinema City looked tempting too. We used to come here a lot with my ex husband when this shopping Centre was first opened.

Not this time though! Now I was starving and Food City looked much more tempting to me. The amazing smells coming from here were not helping!

I run quickly past McDonalds, KFC and kebab place, until I found these 2 food places at the end of the valley. Both served food which you could pick and choose whatever you like and then pay by the weight of the dish.

Out of the two one was Thai style and the other Polish. I decided for the latter and fill up my plate. I wish I captured what was on the plate, but I was way too hungry for that.

The morning run made me energetic, but by around 4-5pm there was not much of it left unless I ate something fast. I picked a healthy option with nice meat, lots of veggies and small amount of carbs, including buckwheet and cheese balls.

Food was delicious, prepared according to Polish traditions, which as you may suspect I miss while living abroad. It sure wasn’t as cheap as it looked at first. Maybe they added the huge plate to the weight 😂

After filling up my stomach with this delicious food, I was ready for the last lot of pictures, as well as my drive back home, including a stop and detour from the fuel station. Yeah, I still get confused driving on the right side of the road at times 😉

Back home I was very pleased and took some pictured of my haul for my besties that I will see on NYE and NYE eve! Laleh gave me orders to renew my wardrobe for my now snaller size and I think she’ll be pleased to see me in some of these 😁