Hi Everyone! Only a few days left :)
We started our morning in Gdansk. Adam decided to take a 5am stroll to see the city without any people. I opted for sleep. He told me it was nice out. After his return, I got ready and we went into the city to get some breakfast. We stopped at a cafeteria-like place (milk bar) and ordered a bunch of little entrees. There were waffles, sausage, eggs, toast, and even broccoli. It was very yummy and incredibly inexpensive.
We meandered through the city for a bit before heading over to the Town Hall. The Town Hall was almost completely destroyed after WWII, but rebuilt in the same style with many of the most valuable pieces saved. Inside there are exhibitions paying homage to the free city of Danzig. Gdansk (or Danzig in German) was a free city in between the two world wars. They had mostly German citizens during that time. After seeing the museum, we knew our trip would not be complete without the hike to the tower, so off we went! The views were wonderful and the city was bustling below us.
After the Town Hall, we walked back to our Airbnb to regroup and then head off to the Solidarity Museum. There were many floors inside detailing the events that happened in Poland (Gdansk shipyards specifically) from the 1980s until the end of the USSR. The workers in the Gdansk shipyards protested against working conditions imposed by the Soviets. They eventually formed the first independent labor union, Solidarnosc (solidarity) headed by Lech Walesa, that gave rise to the anti-communist movement in Poland. Many events occurred including semi-free elections and marital law leading up to the fall of the USSR. We had another audio guide that led the way. There was so much information and so many exhibits that I'm sure we missed something, but overall, we left feeling very well educated.
Next on our list was Westerplatte. Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdansk that was the site where the first shots of WWII were fired and where the first battle of the war took place. A German battleship opened fire on Westerplatte on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army battled for 7 days before finally surrendering after they ran out of ammunition and supplies. If you walk along the path you can see several bunkers and ammunition supply buildings. Where the lighthouse once stood is a large monument commemorating the battle and the brave men who fought there. It was a very cool thing to see up close. We even had a chance to catch a glimpse of the Baltic Sea.
By this time we were very hungry, so it was back to the old town to find some food. We stopped at a little cafe and refueled. Adam had zurek, and I went with chicken tenders and fries :) Then it was back to the Airbnb for some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately the power was off on our side of the street. We relaxed for a little bit and tried to do as much as we could without electricity. By 7pm there was still no power, so we went back into the city for last minute sightseeing and dinner.
We returned to our lunch spot from yesterday, Dominanska. Adam kept it simple with fish soup and I went for the schnitzel, Vienna style. We were stuffed by the end of it and had just enough energy to walk back to our apartment and crawl into bed. Thankfully, the power had been restored, so we were able to charge everything up for tomorrow! We're heading to our last city, Warsaw, in the morning!
Steps: 16,478
Miles: 7
Stairs: 26 flights
We started our morning in Gdansk. Adam decided to take a 5am stroll to see the city without any people. I opted for sleep. He told me it was nice out. After his return, I got ready and we went into the city to get some breakfast. We stopped at a cafeteria-like place (milk bar) and ordered a bunch of little entrees. There were waffles, sausage, eggs, toast, and even broccoli. It was very yummy and incredibly inexpensive.
We meandered through the city for a bit before heading over to the Town Hall. The Town Hall was almost completely destroyed after WWII, but rebuilt in the same style with many of the most valuable pieces saved. Inside there are exhibitions paying homage to the free city of Danzig. Gdansk (or Danzig in German) was a free city in between the two world wars. They had mostly German citizens during that time. After seeing the museum, we knew our trip would not be complete without the hike to the tower, so off we went! The views were wonderful and the city was bustling below us.
After the Town Hall, we walked back to our Airbnb to regroup and then head off to the Solidarity Museum. There were many floors inside detailing the events that happened in Poland (Gdansk shipyards specifically) from the 1980s until the end of the USSR. The workers in the Gdansk shipyards protested against working conditions imposed by the Soviets. They eventually formed the first independent labor union, Solidarnosc (solidarity) headed by Lech Walesa, that gave rise to the anti-communist movement in Poland. Many events occurred including semi-free elections and marital law leading up to the fall of the USSR. We had another audio guide that led the way. There was so much information and so many exhibits that I'm sure we missed something, but overall, we left feeling very well educated.
Next on our list was Westerplatte. Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdansk that was the site where the first shots of WWII were fired and where the first battle of the war took place. A German battleship opened fire on Westerplatte on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army battled for 7 days before finally surrendering after they ran out of ammunition and supplies. If you walk along the path you can see several bunkers and ammunition supply buildings. Where the lighthouse once stood is a large monument commemorating the battle and the brave men who fought there. It was a very cool thing to see up close. We even had a chance to catch a glimpse of the Baltic Sea.
By this time we were very hungry, so it was back to the old town to find some food. We stopped at a little cafe and refueled. Adam had zurek, and I went with chicken tenders and fries :) Then it was back to the Airbnb for some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately the power was off on our side of the street. We relaxed for a little bit and tried to do as much as we could without electricity. By 7pm there was still no power, so we went back into the city for last minute sightseeing and dinner.
We returned to our lunch spot from yesterday, Dominanska. Adam kept it simple with fish soup and I went for the schnitzel, Vienna style. We were stuffed by the end of it and had just enough energy to walk back to our apartment and crawl into bed. Thankfully, the power had been restored, so we were able to charge everything up for tomorrow! We're heading to our last city, Warsaw, in the morning!
Steps: 16,478
Miles: 7
Stairs: 26 flights
Comments
Post a Comment