We are continually blessed to find ourselves in unique and memorable accommodation. Granted we do a lot of research, but you never know.
Villa Stratus lives up to its reviews. The owner is a retired drummer from a very successful Polish rock band, ANO. When he retired, he took on the venture of building and running this Pension. As someone who had stayed in a lot of hotels while performing, , he created a place that provides what travellers want. Well run, great staff, good food, tea/coffee and cold beverages available all the time, a frig, privacy, a big terrace, and most importantly a comfortable bed with 2 excellent pillows each. Even the best places have had the same type of flat, square pillow.
Breakfast is amazing. No buffet...instead you are served individually and fresh eggs, etc are prepared for you as you like.
How lucky are we? In each country that we have visited so far, we have managed through sheer luck to have been in the right place at the right time. We were in Holland for the King’s Day, Germany for Tag der Arbeit (May 1st Labour Day) and Spring Festivals and now Poland for Solidarity Day...and to add to our good fortune, we are in Gdansk where it all began and came to fruition. This is a day of great pride and passion for the people of Gdansk.
Gdansk is s very busy place today due to the celebrations for the 30th Anniversary of Solidarity. We both clearly remember the day 30 years ago and the remarkable movement led by Lech Walesa.
Neptune's Fountain was dismantled and hidden during WWII and moved to Parchau. It was restored and put back in operation in 1957. In 1988, as part of a huge renovation, Neptune’s genitals were covered with a fig leaf.
PTTK is a long established non-profit, Polish Tourist And Sightseeing Society. It was created in 1873 and is the oldest Tourism Society in Europe. On our first trip to Poland, we were introduced to this organization and the booklet you can buy where you record each day’s travel by bicycle, and get a stamp from each place you visit in Poland . We use it to keep a memento of each hotel/place where we stay. It makes for an interesting souvenir.
This is our current PTTK book that we will fill up by the end of our trip. Time to get more!
It is often hard to find the PTTK Office as they are often in an obscure location without signage and in a back office. This PTTK office is unusual as it is in a prominent location yet they had no books, so Barry had to run a few blocks to get there before they closed. Barry persevered and finally found the office down a back road and up a flight of stairs in a nondescript building. He bought three, so we’re good for the next 3 trips!
Gdansk is a city of waterways and canals which adds to its beauty as well as being functional. The large building with the wooden structure at the top was a crane and it houses the National Maritime Museum.
Well, this is exciting -our first Bar Mleczny (Milk Bar) of the trip. We loved eating at these inexpensive cafeteria style eateries which offer excellent, traditional Polish Food. Cabbage rolls, potatoes and beet salad -so tasty
Milk Bars have a historical importance as they were created during the Soviet Era as a way to use surplus milk. It evolved into a cheap way for locals to get a hot meal and they are always busy.
As the Communist Regime rolled into Poland, most expensive restaurants bore the name of a Capitalist and were shut down. As a result, Milk Bars were the main source of food for workers who did not have canteens. In those days, only vegetarian meals were served as meat was strictly rationed. It was not uncommon for cutlery to be chained to the table to prevent theft. After Communism ended here and the economy improved, Milk Bars mostly closed down. From 40,000 Bars, only several hundred remain today.
While travelling in Poland, we always keep a lookout for the name, Bar Mleczny so that we can go in and enjoy a meal. It is a challenge we embrace, to try to understand the Menu on the wall, completely in Polish. English is not usually spoken in such a place. We point at the board and say yes to whatever they say. It is always interesting to see what you end up with.
The Anniversary of Solidarity is such a special day. Locals easily outnumbered the tourists and as well, an incredible number of large school groups were here for the day.
Meanwhile, this little guy was not so much interested in the music or festivities, as he was in our bike. I caught him looking at Barry and Seavo in slack jawed curiosity.
We came upon a side street that specialized in shops selling Amber. Such beautiful shops and buildings. It was just a block away from the Main Street, Dlugi Targ, and it was so quiet.
St Mary’s Basilica is the largest red brick church in the world. It was badly damaged in 1945 by the Soviets. The complete roof was destroyed by fire and the bricks melted in the upper parts of the tower. The temperatures were so hot from the fire that some of the bells melted. The floor of the church containing priceless gravestone slabs, were torn apart by the Red Army attempting to look the corpses beneath.
This Basilica can hold up to 25,000 people, which was useful during the period of Martial Law between 1981 and 1983 when members of the Solidarity Movement took refuge here.
The initial impression upon entering this massive church is one of stark emptiness due to the immense size and white washed walls. We found out later that the original frescoes on the walls were so damaged during WWII, that the walls were painted white. As you walk through however, and take in the countless priceless relics and paintings, as well as the 30 small chapels, the simplicity of the white walls offset the beauty.
The impressive Astromomical Clock in St Mary’s Basilica dates back to 1464.
According to legend, the clock maker had his eyes gouged out so that he would never make another clock that could rival this one. We have heard this same legend about every astronomical clock we have seen it Europe. It makes you wonder why anyone would choose to be a clockmaker.
The dials show the time and date, phases of the moon and the position of the moon in relation to zodiac signs.
An interesting tidbit. The story is that the sculptor affixed his son-in-law to a cross and used him as a model to create a realistic image for the crucifixion.
Some people aspire to climb the Seven Summits, but Barry aspires to climb every bell tower he can. The climb here at St Mary’s had many types of stairs from the traditional claustrophobic circular staircase to wide planks like this. Very interesting.
It is the end of a wonderful, hot day in Gdansk, so we celebrated by visiting a Lody shop for ice cream. Mary Ellen had gooseberry and chocolate, Barry had mango and orange.
A sensible way to cope with a hot night when you live in an apt - step out on your deck for beer and a cigarette. If you don’t have a deck, leaning out the window also does the trick.
Our hotel is close to Gdansk central, about 1.5 km. However as we have learned in Poland, that when you leave a main area, the conditions deteriorate. Arriving yesterday presented challenges, so we are trying a different way tonight. It was a challenge as well.
We sighed when we left the road to find a steep gradient of cobbles, which then changed to stairs For about 100m leading to an overpass (more stairs). So,we took a detour which didn’t have stairs but steep, winding cobbles. We finally made it over the highway.
Good always happens and erases the frustrations of,the day. We met this Dutch couple, Djurre and Janko, at our Hotel and had a great visit with them on the terrace.
4 years ago