By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
Known as “nestors,” Al and Sue Mink spent three months in Krakow in 2017. They recently returned to Poland, living for three months in Gdansk.
“People often ask me where are favorite nests were, and after 16 nests, Krakow. nwas still one of my top three. When we were in Krakow, people we met there suggested that if we liked Krakow, we should go to Gdansk, north of the Baltic Sea, formerly known as Danzig. So we did,” said Sue. She now rates Gdansk high on her list, rivaling Krakow for one of the top three spots of favorite cities.
She describes it as a beautiful, elegant city full of history and culture.
“Travel writer Rick Steves said that it was the undiscovered city in Central Europe. I would strongly recommend Poland as my top choice for a European vacation, especially because it’s still got Eastern European prices.”
The center of Baltic trade in the 1600s, Gdansk was a very wealthy city. It’s a city rich with history and exceptional architecture, blending seamlessly past and present. She explained the city is one of the Hanseatic League cities, which was a Germanic trade organization that dominated trade in the region from the 13-17th centuries. It was home to the Templar Knights of Crusades, and because of the Knights, it has the largest brick castle in the world located south of the city.
Gdansk was actually an independent, free city between the World Wars, not part of any country. It was where the first shots of WWII were fired, and you can still find bunkers and anti-aircraft gunnery sites just walking through the neighborhoods,” she said. “It is also the home of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement in the 1980s that spelled the beginning of the end of communism.” She added that the people of Gdansk are friendly, funny, and rightly proud of their beautiful city and its place in history.
Gdansk, being a port town, Sue said, was quite different from Krakow. She described
It as made up of canals and islands, while Krakow has only one river running through its center. Krakow also has the largest city square in Europe, while Gdansk’s activity focused on its riverfronts.
“At one time, Poland was divided into three sections: Austrian, German, and Russian, and each area reflects the culture of who ruled them. Krakow was Austrian, so the architecture is different from the Germanic feel of Gdansk.” This diversity is also reflected in their foods. “Gdansk is home to pierogis, which are made by hand for you when you order, so they take a while to make. You’ll also find hearty stews, schnitzels, and other German foods like roulades, and of course, fish. You can easily get a wonderful meal in one of the top restaurants in Gdansk for $15-$20.” She said one of the classic pairings in Gdansk is vodka and herring, and there are shops that sell 20-30 different varieties of pickled herring. “It’s almost a religion there.”
There are several “must-see” things in Gdansk. Towards the top of the Mink’s list was the fascinating and inspiring Solidarity museum. Built on the site of the labor strikes in the
1980s, it tells the story of the workers and the people in the city who had the courage to stand up to communism and established a workers’ union while Poland was still under
Soviet rule. While the museum is fascinating, the shipyards themselves have recently been purchased and opened for people to explore.
“There’s still a lot of development to do there, but it’s inspiring to walk the streets that Lech Walesa led his strikers through in the early ‘80s. Solidarity is an incredible story that describes the character of the Polish people. Their faith and national pride are a strong part of Poland today,” she said. “More than any other place we visited, the people in Gdansk wanted to know what we thought of the city and were fiercely proud of how the city has recovered from the scars of war.”
She adds that everyone had their own story of how they or their family survived. As a reflection of this, you will almost never see litter or graffiti in the city. Homes are meticulously cared for. The streets are safe and crime-free. They welcome tourists. They want you to love the city as much as they do.”
Gdansk is a town of culture. Their philharmonic seats 800 people, and they also have an opera hall, where the Minks scored first row tickets to Madame Butterfly for $35. A little further from Gdansk is the town of Sopot, a spa town where the rich and famous came to play. A little further from Sopot is Gdynia, which is now the deep-water port of the area.
“It’s where the tour ships dock that do Baltic tours. Gdynia boasts an emigration museum that tells the stories of those who left Poland to live in other lands. It’s located in the emigration building, the last building that many people ever occupied in Poland. If your family history has Polish roots, leaving after WWII, almost certainly your ancestors went through Gdynia.
Gdansk also has a world-class WWII museum.
“Because of Gdansk’s complex history as a free city leading up to WWII, it shows a piece of history we were not at all familiar with, even with all our travels. Of course, it also has a maritime museum and you can climb through the iconic crane that lifted the goods onto trading ships, run by giant human- powered hamster wheels inside. You can also take the touristy, but fun, pirate ship to Westerplatte, the site of the first shots of WWII.”
She says just walking the streets is a wonderful thing to do. Charming coffee shops, lots of regional restaurants and many amber shops line the streets. The Baltic Sea around Gdansk is where 85 percent of the world’s amber is found, and it’s the main souvenir brought home from Gdansk.
“Several churches and the town hall in Gdansk have carillon bells, and every hour on the hour you’ll be treated to a beautiful concert from their towers.” The last day they were in Gdansk, they walked through the city, listening to the bells, waving to the tourists on the pirate ships, and stopping in at a favorite coffee shop. “I’m missing the town. I really recommend a trip to Poland for anyone wondering where their next adventure should take them.”
