I’m sitting on a park bench in Gdansk, Poland right now, leeching someone’s wireless signal. This is a little out of order, and I’ll write later about Estonia.
Gdansk is the main port city for Poland. The shipyard was huge. The cruise ship tied up next to the naval shipyard, where I saw lots of military ships and even a submarine.
Gdansk was almost completely destroyed in WWII. They have rebuilt most of it, and done their best to rebuild the ancient parts to be just like they were before the war. It’s nice, but you feel like you are not really seeing the original. Kind of like looking at a replica of a great painting. You can appreciate the original, but know you’re not really seeing it.
I’ve seen the first beggers of the trip here, in the touristy areas. I also saw a little girl (8?) standing in the square hacking out the same simple melody on an accordian, over and over again, with a small can in front of her. I was sitting in a cafe nearby, and was almost ready to give her some money to stop playing.
Back on the ship tonight, then two days to Oslo, Norway.
Time to go.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Donna // Jun 26, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I went to Poland in 1994. We saw the same thing in Warsaw where the beautiful downtown city area had been totally destroyed during the war and rebuilt since. Kind of sad, but also nice that they restored it to its former beauty and cultural significance.
Looking forward to seeing your pictures when you get home. When is that again? I forgot.
2 Mom // Jun 26, 2008 at 7:56 pm
It seems to me that this would be the best way to decide what countries you would really like to visit, then maybe just go on your own to a couple. I think that I would choose Norway and Sweden. So many of the residents here are from those two countries, or have ancestors who came from there. The countries all sound unique; I can imagine that you would have favorites.
3 Dianna // Jun 27, 2008 at 10:19 am
You must be nearing the end of your cruise. 🙁 What wonderful, historic sites you’ve been able to visit, even if briefly.
The Scandinavian countries have never interested me, personally. I would love to spend some time in the Mediterranean. There’s certainly enough of this marvelous world for us all to find places we enjoy!
4 Daryl // Jun 29, 2008 at 9:38 pm
One thing I forgot to mention about Poland. Lech Walesa is the big national hero. On the tour, it seemed that almost every other location we visited was where Walesa lives now, or where his office is, or where he organized the dock workers. The guide mentioned the previous Pope, John Paul II, who was also from Poland, but it was almost an afterthought. He was just the Pope, but Lech Walesa was God!