Gdansk, Poland

On Sun., Sept. 10, we visited the port city of Gdansk, Poland. Gdansk has a population of 450,000 and is the fourth largest city in Poland. On our ride on the bus from the ship into town, we passed by the shipyard where Lech Walesa worked, and basically was the birthplace of solidarity that played a pivotal role in bringing an end to communism in Poland. We also passed by a suspension bridge that was dedicated to St. John Paul II. When he was pope, John Paul II visited Gdansk a couple of times, and according to our local tour guide, Christoff, he brought great hope to the people of Poland at a time when they were under government oppression. He was very popular, and 500,000 people turned out to see him.

We learned from Christoff that Poland was one of the first countries to introduce democracy in Europe. Poland is located between Germany and a small part of Russia known as Kaliningrad. Christoff informed us that it is never boring in this location - between Germany and Russia. He told us a couple of stories. He said that his great grandfather was killed by Germans in a "death camp" about 1 hour away, and his great grandmother still preferred Germans to Russians. He said they always say that they are not sure what is worse, to be attacked by Germany or to be saved by Russia. During Gdansk's history, there were periods of Polish rule, German rule, and self-rule when Gdansk was actually autonomous.

Our visit to Gdansk mainly consisted of a visit to "Old Town". You enter Old Town by going through the "Green Gate". The gate is not actually green, but that is the name of the gated archway entrance into the city. The main street in Old Town is called Long Street. This part of Gdansk was reconstructed after World War II, and contains many buildings with colorful facades - blue, yellow, green. There are lots of apartment buildings, some restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and a few shops most of which predominantly sell Amber. Gdansk is the center for the world's Amber trade.

On Long Street, there was a monument which looked like a thermometer, and was a tribute to Daniel Fahrenheit, who was born in Gdansk, and who invented the mercury thermometer and the Fahrenheit temperature scale. It was controversial at the time because of the use of the poisonous substance, mercury.

There are two carillons (church bells) in the town of Gdansk - one at St. Mary's Basilica and one at St. Catherine's. There is a carillon festival in the summer. St. Mary Street in Gdansk is a preserved Medieval street, with a cobblestone surface and Medieval facades, with many dragon heads adorning wrought iron hand rails.

We walked by St. Mary's Basilica, a Catholic Church. Poland is 90% Catholic, and 30% of polish people attend services regularly. St. Mary's Basilica is the largest brick church in the world. It was built in the 1300s and seats 25,000 people. It is beautiful Gothic style with a large exterior tower. After our guided walking tour of Old Town, we stopped to sample some local pastries at a bakery. I have no idea what we were eating, but whatever it was, it was delicious!

As in most of the countries we visit, English is spoken fluidly by just about everyone. In Poland, kids start learning 2 languages in first grade. The most popular languages the children study are English, Spanish, German, and French. English is so popular, in fact, that most songs on the radio are in English. And the movies are in English with Polish subtitles.

The people of Poland have a good sense of humor. They know all about the Polish jokes, they laugh at the jokes themselves, and they have a few jokes of their own. Here's one that Christoff told us. He said that when Poland was under Communist rule, it was very hard to purchase a new car in Poland, that there was about a ten year wait. So the joke goes that a man made a new car purchase, and the dealer told him to come back in ten years to pick it up. The man asked, "Morning or afternoon?" The dealer replied, "Why do you ask?" The man said because the plumber is coming in the morning. Christoff also joked about a reputation about polish thieves, especially automobile theivery. He said they could advertise tourism by saying, "Come to Poland, your car is already here."

Christoff informed us that according to some groups, Poland is one of the safest destinations in Europe to travel to. As we ended our tour, Christoff left us with the optimistic outlook of the Polish people. He said that though they are facing challenges, they enjoy being a free country!