I have had my eye on Malbork for a while.
The castle is a UNESCO heritage site, and the town is easy to access from Gdańsk. It is 30 minutes away on the inter city trains. For that reason I reckon most folks will visit as a day trip from the city.
I chose to stay there overnight. It was a good choice.
My decision was influenced by the town having its own Parkrun – the Zamek w Malborku course. Why not?
It all turned out to be a little surreal. My hotel was convenient – the Centrum – and it was amazing. A real relic from the 1990s, but immaculate. It cost me £50 for the night, without breakfast (more on that shortly). Had I known how good it was I would have stayed another night.
The hotel starts breakfast at 8am and that is no use if you are going to run 5k at 9am. I went to the McDonalds across the street! It is a long, long time since I had a sausage and egg McMuffin and the first time for something like that before a Parkrun.
The Parkrun course is wonderful, alongside the River Nogat and underneath the castle. Even if I had run badly I would have enjoyed that course. I would love to go back.
I did the official tour of the castle over lunchtime. I wore the headphones. I listened. Really… me! I never do that.
Anyway, it lives up to the UNESCO tag in no uncertain terms. Highly recommended.
You do need to be quite agile to get up and down some of the narrow stairs – not so easy at my age after running 5k in the morning.
After my castle tour it was time to drag my suitcase onto another PKP train, and head northwards again.
©️ iain taylor, 2025
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