Gdansk, Poland

John and I, and our best friends, the Morans, just returned from a fantastic two-day trip to Gdansk, Poland. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced in Europe (in amazing ways and in not-so-amazing ways).

We arrived late in the afternoon. When we have visited any country in Europe before, I don't feel too intimidated because between all of us, someone can usually understand the language. However, flying into Poland, none of us could even READ the language, let alone speak it. We didn't even know the basics (hello, thank you, do you speak English?).

We headed to our wonderful bed and breakfast, Villa Angela, got checked in and headed out for dinner. I have to mention a few details about our bed and breakfast. This place was seriously an oasis in a desert.It was beautiful and decorated to the hilt. Berta, our receptionist, was a timid little thing, but sweet as could be. There was even a host cat who would greet the guests and beg for food in the mornings when he wasn't sleeping in his cat bed. Two of our members want me to mention here that one of the travel websites listed our place as "gay friendly" and we had images of very strange things happening, but not one gay sighting during the entire stay :-)

We got directions from Berta to an authentic Polish restaurant in the old part of the city. We had no problem finding it, and as we got out of the car, three policemen called John over and proceeded to tell him that he needed to pay 50 zloty (the currency of Poland). When he asked "why", they took all of his documents (license, registration, and passport) and told him again that he had to pay 50 zloty. One hour in Poland and this was happening. We were standing in the cold and couldn't understand what was happening. One of the policemen spoke some German, so again we asked what was happening. No response. When we refused to pay (we didn't even HAVE any zloty), they proceeded to pull a "boot" out of their truck and booted our car. 50 zloty to take it off. Finally, Jared headed to the bank, withdrew the money, came back and paid them, they wrote us a ticket, took off the boot and left. It was all VERY scary. I couldn't appreciate it at the time because I hadn't done my history research, but the corruption from the times of Soviet rule were still in full force. It was all a scam to get money. Not a great way to start the trip.

We couldn't think through it at the time but 50 zloty is less than $20. Next time, we'll know to just pay it and be done with it.

During our dinner at our Polish restaurant, we enjoyed several different flavors of perogis and tried to forget what had just happened, but really our entire conversation centered around that crazy experience.

Next morning, bad experience out of the mind, and we were off again. Breakfast was the weirdest combinations of food. Fish, ham, potato salad, rotten honey, yogurt and stale Cocoa Puffs. Honestly, we weren't surprised as it closely resembled all German breakfasts we've seen, and Jared was grateful that he had packed his Pop-Tarts. This time, we steered clear of the old city and found well-marked parking spots. The Amber Museum was first and taught us all about amber which washes up on the shore of the city. Beautiful, amazing things created through the last few centuries.

Our next task was to sample imbiss Polish food. Fried potatoes, kielbasa, pork.I was told that it smells heavenly. A homeless man there was more than happy to take the leftovers on our plate and sit down and eat them. Very sad.

We wandered through the old city and tripped upon a candy store with a SHOW! Yes, these three hunking Polish dudes were making hard candy with incredible designs. As soon as we forked over our zloty for some candy to take home, they gave us piece after piece from the mound they were working on. It was still warm in our hands but cooled quickly. Seriously, Sarah's was gone by the time we had walked down to the end of the street--I don't know how she did that. Mine is still in my purse, almost as big as when I got it.

Walking along the river, we stumbled upon a 4-5 story medieval crane that was used as early as 1455. John and Jared, being the adventurous men they are, wondered if we could go in it. Yes! We wandered in and climbed higher and higher through different maritime displays. All of sudden the men disappear with John finding me and saying "you've got to come and see this!" Sarah and I climbed a narrow flight of stairs to see these two HUGE wooden wheels. In older times, the crane was operated by men who would run on the wheels (like hamsters on a wheel) to operate the rope that would lift or drop cargo on and off ships. Well, of course, John and

Jared were ON the wheels, moving them. Not being allowed to take photos in the whole building, I turned off the flash and took a contraband photo of Jared. I told the boys to GET OFF! and we headed back downstairs. Jared then asked the man in charge if we could climb on them, and surprise, surprise, he said "yes". No fear of litigation in Poland! Everybody got photos on the wheels.

We also shopped for amber jewelry (somebody HAS to do it, I guess) and I found a ring that has always wanted to be on my finger. It fit perfectly, like a glove :-)

Since three hours had passed since our last food adventure, we took a break from the cold and plopped ourselves down in a backarei. We ordered hot chocolate and Jared proceeded to bring over a number of different breads and cakes. We actually ate "babka" (any Seinfeld junkies out there?) and some nasty chocolate tort with raisins. All in the name of experiencing the culture!

That night was spades for a couple of hours and then we walked to a local pizza joint. I liked the pizza a lot, but I couldn't taste it. From what I heard from everyone else, it was VERY different. Lack of taste comes in handy at times!


This morning, we were off again (still, a strange breakfast) to see the "Road to Freedom" exhibit about Poland and the Solidarity Movement. It was fascinating and it made me appreciate how young the current country of Poland is. Just 20 years ago the entire country was under Soviet rule as a result of the Warsaw Pact after WWII. What amazing people who could change the government and cause a domino effect for the other communist countries who were in the same situation.

Lunch? Of course, because if you can't tell already, this trip was 50% about seeing the sights and 50% about FOOD. We stopped at a Turkish restaurant. Kebaps are a staple here in Europe and always a safe bet. This restaurant, however, was having nothing to do with imbiss kebaps. Instead, the most delicious kebap meat ever was served over french fries. Seriously, can life get any better than that? I ate far more than I should have, but I couldn't stop. Hmmm...my mouth is watering right now.

As we drove to the Westerplatte memorial which honors the 182 men who fought offthe German navy for over a week, we saw the "real" Poland, the Poland that was built by communists. Tenements that resemble "the projects" in the States. No fire escapes, no personality in the buildings. Just tall building, after tall building, after tall building. No decoration. No landscaping. Building after tall building in the middle of nowhere. Torn down or abandoned factories. Despair everywhere. Even along the beach, rebar and cement slabs of destroyed buildings covering the shore. Evidently, Poland has a long way to go to recover from 50 years of communism.

I was surprisingly sad to leave the place. I think it's been too long since I've been challenged with a new culture and a new language, and I loved every minute of it, even the whole police saga. A sad way to end the trip through the Polish "projects" and the post but such a reminder of the blessing it is to be born in a country like the United States.