Where have you been?

After a brief visit to the Sopot pier we headed into old town Gdańsk. As with other towns in Poland Gdańsk has passed from one set of hands to the next from over the ages. For a long time it was a free city but it has also been German, Prussian, and Russian. It is commonly known (to Germans) as Danzig.


As you can see from these photos it is very beautiful but I was having an off day with my camera. Something weird about sunlight, cloud cover, and the high, red toned walls. Oh well, everyone has an off day.


The city is really beautiful though. It is rumored to be a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage list but has to wait its turn.


The photos here are all of the old town and harbor areas.

We had a very nice Christmas here in Warsaw and I hope all of you had the same where ever you were. We are both really tired, like the two pictured above, so I hope you excuse the slight delay in posting the next batch of photos. This photo shows my mom and nephew resting in our pension in Sopot after a long day walking around the city.

The shipyards were important well before the founding of Solidarność. They had been the setting for peaceful protests against various Communist policies for over ten years before the Solidarity movement. In 1970, for example, there was a protest that was harshly put down by the Communist authorities which resulted in the death of at least 42 people and many, many injuries.



A monument was erected in 1980 to the fallen shipyard workers which was the first monument to Communist victims in a Communist country. Above top you can see three huge crosses for the victims. Above you can see list of some of the fallen. Please notice the age of the victims (listed on the right - "Lat32" for example) range from fifteen to sixty one.


There are markers in several languages explaining whats what about the monument. And of course there is something dedicated to the Solidarity movement (below) because of the prominent role they played in the whole saga.


It is interesting to note that Reagan took office in 1981, after the monument was constructed. It has been humbling for me to live in Europe (especially Poland) for the last four years and learn if not the "true history" at least another, fuller version of it. I don't think my mother or nephew fully understood why we visited the shipyards, in fact I think they thought it was odd considering the other places we visited. Perhaps upon reflection they will begin to grasp the pivotal role Poland has played in shaping modern Europe and appreciate the things they saw all the more.

I defy any Reagan Conservative to tell me who or what Solidarność and Lech Wałęsa are. To my Polish (and in general European) audience this challenge might not make sense but, you see, Americans are taught that not only were American's the reason "we" won WWII but President Reagan was the reason Communism fell. I am sure Nobel Laureate and the first President of a free Poland Lech Wałęsa and his buddies in Solidarność might have something to say about that.


These pictures of Gdańsk Shipyards are where the beginning of the end started. If you click on the Wikipedia link you can see a fabulous photo of people protesting in 1980 just outside the shipyards exactly where I took the top photo.

Sopot's history, like much of history in Poland, is hit and miss with the city changing function and ownership throughout time. It is currently a Spa town and a popular summer resort for both Poles and Germans alike. It is quite small, and, with the exception of the pubs on the main street Monte Cassino and the beach, there is not much to do.



There is a pier, however, which was sort of neat to go look around on. The weather was not so cooperative but the rain was light and the clouds eventually burned off while we were in the more interesting city of Gdańsk.

A few more for good measure. From Toruń we drove to Sopot where we had a lovely apartment waiting for us. We used Sopot as a base to visit two other wonderful UNESCO sites.

Here is a great view of Toruń showing just how classic it is.


And another photo of the Nicolaus Copernicus statue.

After a few days of rest to get over what little jet lag our guest had, we set out to Sopot/Gdańsk via Toruń. Toruń is another Polish UNESCO World Heritage site and is said to have not changed for the past 700 years.


The old city was absolutely amazing. Cobble stone streets. Small alleyways. Large Market squares. Toruń is the archetypical medieval European city.


It is also the birth place of Nicolaus Copernicus who as you all know was the modern astronomer who postulated the heliocentric nature of our universe. This scientifically-based epiphany is credited with sparking the modern Scientific Revolution.

Hum, where to start on this one? After looking at the trees, bushes, and well, basically everything, we still had one and a half hours to wait until our tickets were valid. We decided to grab a bit to eat at what looked to be a posh restaurant just outside the Palace.


We figure one and a half hours is a bit long to waste eating but we have nothing else to do so why not. After finding a table and setting down we waited about fifteen minutes to order drinks. Another twenty minutes and they finally came. We complained and ordered right then and there.


Another half an hour wait and finally our food came. It as okay except the pork I ordered was raw. Not undercooked. Just raw. We only had a few minutes to wait so after yelling at the guy again he "rushed" my pig and I was able to eat most of it before we had to run. Naturally there was no tip...

The overall problem with the Palace was that it is simply not finished. The main building looks good, as does the inside which you actually can't take photos of, but the grounds are generally left "wild". Only immediately behind the Palace has any effort been put into the outside areas. Much of the outside is "in progress" but I would say it will not be completed until perhaps 2011 or later.


In the top photo you can see a nice garden while below we get a closer view of some of the flowers.

The "backyard" is quite large complete with a small lake as mentioned before. It is somewhat picturesque but not that much. I was lucky to get a few good pictures especially because the weather was hit and miss.


There are a number of animals on the property including this little red squirrel.


This is by far my favorite photos from the day.

Here is a nice family portrait in front of one of the many statues on the property.


What Palace is complete without its own boat house? The lake is small and not connected to any river but that's not the point now is it. You simply can't have a Palace without a boat house, period.

Like all good Palaces Wilanów has its share of statues. Here we can see two of them.


The are located along the front walls of the palace in small alcoves. You can notice them is the panoramic pictures already posted.

The building itself was pretty interesting. The color was nice (IMHO) and I was drawn to the spire.


As you can see there is nothing special about it. I just liked it!

The main activity for the day was to see Palace Wilanów. We were able to see everything, including the somewhat boring inside, but it ended up taking all day!


You see, we went on Sunday when the tickets to the inside are free. The trick is that each ticket has an entrance time. We arrived at 11AM but our entrance time was not until 4PM! After wandering around the front of the Palace (the photos here) we paid to walk through the gardens.


The gardens were okay, as you will see in future posts, but not enough to kill five hours. We decided to eat lunch as well and that was quite an experience. But you will have to wait for those pictures to hear the story.

After a good night sleep we attacked Day Three. There were plans to visit multiple sites around Warsaw but things don't always work out as planned.


On our way to site number one we ran across this church and tomb. The tomb houses a old Polish Duke (I think).

Naturally no trip to Poland would be complete with out a huge dinner at the family-in-laws' house so after wandering the streets of Old Town Warsaw we headed to Bemowo to eat. It was the standard Polish fare complete with vodka and lots of family. My mother-in-law is a fantastic cook so naturally everything was delicious.


It was a very enjoyable afternoon as everyone got to know everyone else. The conversation was fun and exciting but rather slow as everything had to be translated by either my wife (at a normal pace) or by myself (at a snail's pace)! In the end my mom and nephew were sort of surprised that Polish people know so much about American politics - many questions were focused on the Presidential campaign which was in full swing at the time.