I've learned a lot about myself, my generation, my shifting perspective during this trip. I'd say it was the most "educational" of those I've taken recently. It's a rare privilege to get this closeup peak into your past, for an extended set of days. You could say -- well, Nina, had you stayed, like your friends, your sister, your nephew stayed, you would have had this window into your past constantly open for a lifetime of insights and introspection. But the thing is, when you are here, you don't see a lot that's before your eyes. I'm helped by my distance from it all. (I've always been helped by my constant movement between Poland and the U.S.. I could not have written Like a Swallow in the way I did, had I not stepped back from it all and considered Poland and my life there while sitting on the farmette porch.)
I thrive on change, even that which seems disruptive and harsh. Maybe we all do, no?
* * *
History would have it that many people living outside of Poland know about the Polish city of Gdańsk. At a little over half a million, it's only the sixth largest city here. But its economic worth has been significant: a town that's over 1000 years old, it is the principal seaport, and Poland's shipbuilding hub. It's also the world center for amber trade. Perhaps you've heard of it by its German name, Danzig? Under Prussian rule, it was populated by Germans. After World War I, Germany ceded much of its territories back to Poland. However, the German presence in the then Danzig was problematic: displacing these people would have been troublesome. The compromise? Danzig between the wars was a free city, giving Poland access to the Sea, while at the same time allowing the Germans to remain there. Did you know that? Maybe what you do know about Gdańsk (once Danzig) is that here, in the Gdańsk Shipyard, the Polish Solidarity movement was born. Solidarity was, of course, the democratic anti-authoritarian social movement that ultimately lead to the toppling of the communist government in Poland.
A heck of a lot of history and that's only the last 100 years!
Famous Gdańsk people: Fahrenheit was born here, Lech Walesa is of course from here, Copernicus worked here for a while.
* * *
This morning, breakfast was hurried. And the same. It's easier that way.
I am to meet Bee and her husband at the Central Station for an 8:25 train to Gdańsk.
(in the elevator, going down)
(walking to the Central Station)
The train is modern and speedy! 340 kilometers (210 miles), two and a half hours. No stops. Great views of rural Poland. Positively bucolic.
* * *
Because it is my last day with Bee, I pay attention to her as my friend. I worry a lot about our meetups going forward. Increasingly, in old age, I would like to be there for her more in the every day stuff that hits you as you get even more senior! She is four months older than me, so I expect we will grow older at the same speed, but what if we don't?
The question will always be there for me: when will be my next visit here? It's always so complicated to step into my Warsaw life that I can't just buy a ticket and fly over. I have to be ready for all that assails me when I step out onto the streets of Warsaw.
* * *
Gdańsk. It's a brilliant summer day once again. Somewhat cooler up here, at the northern edge of Poland, but still, the sunshine is stunning! There is, of course a lot to see here, but let's start with the basics.
You know how Minneapolis is forever linked to St Paul and together they form the Twin Cities? Gdańsk is forever linked to Sopot, immediately to its left (or northwest) and after that to Gdynia (further along the coast, also to the northwest). But Gdańsk has been around ever since there were fishing colonies here in the 7th century. Sopot was established hundreds of years later -- as a spa town, and it remains that today. Gdynia was built at the will of the Polish government in the 1920s as a port city of Poland. A Tri-city was born. (Sopot was then part of the free city of Danzig, but a Polish corridor was built through it so that Poland could have a direct link to Gdynia in the years it was separated from Gdańsk. Polish history is very complicated!)
Bee and her husband know Gdańsk fairly well and so they are my guides today. Superb guides I might add. The city, to me, is a total surprise. I was last here in the 1960s. Once, and for maybe one day. Do you know how it looked then? Here's a picture of Gdańsk from 1960.
If you think it's rather drab, you have to understand that just fifteen years earlier it was one heap of rubble.
Gdańsk today is glorious. Some would argue that it is Poland's prettiest city. I can see it! The architectural style here is uniquely different: you'll think these buildings were modeled after those in Amsterdam, but I'm told that it's actually the other way around. Gdańsk was once wealthy and it introduced this house style before the Netherlands picked it up. Okay, let's take a look at what's there (and please understand, it's a tough city to photograph. It's summer. Lots of visitors. Narrow spaces, tall buildings. I'm just hoping to give you an idea.)
(Neptune is the symbol of Gdańsk, much like the mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw.)
We look at amber: Poland is the world's largest producer of it and Gdańsk is the epicenter of it all.
Mostly, we just walk.
(What my grandkids would like in the city of Gdańsk...)
(a city of water and towers...)
(The fairly recent museum of World War II, closed today, but fascinating even from just the outside)
(colorful!)
We eat lunch at a restaurant called Manna 68. It's vegan, and it is excellent. I ordered botwinka again (my sister had made it for me earlier -- it's cold beet soup) and I mused about the specific Polish palate. No way could I talk my American family or Ed into this dish! Maybe two out of the ten of them would possibly like it. The ones with the Nordic tastes for food. The rest? Maybe not.
Gdańsk has lots of gothic style churches. All made of the red brick so common to this region. We visited three but for me, one especially stands out. It's not that I find it especially attractive, it's just... unusual. It's this one:
... and it has an alter made of amber. And they keep adding more amber pieces to it, so that it looks like one big amber mess.
We buy Krowki at the market! My grandkids know all about these: "Little Cows." (Fudge like candies.)
(Like Amsterdam!)
(They love paper maps way more than google maps)
(the little mill)
*. *. *.
We leave Gdańsk at 6:30 and I'm back at the hotel by 9:30. It's immensely sad to say goodbye to Bee (and her husband -- my oldest friend from the Group!), but we are travelers and Zoomers and I'm sure I'll see her again in one place or another soon. One can hope...
with so much love...
