Scandinavia Trip - Day 18

Viking "Neptune" - Day 11!  After another overnight transit across the Baltic, we entered the territorial waters of Poland while I was sleeping.  I’ve been in the country before but, like today, only for a single day.  So I was very excited to see a new part of the country!  I slept until about 0600 and awoke to a feeling like a had an ear blockage (maybe it's from the swimming?).  Hope this goes away...  I spent some time reading, working on puzzles, completing Duolingo exercises and reviewing information about Stockholm in my Rick Steves book.  The ship docked near Gdansk at 0800 and I took a look at the scenery from my cabin balcony.  Apparently, our pier berth was close enough for passengers to walk into the center of the city but the crew highly discouraged such plans ("there is a lot of construction"). At 0815, I went to  breakfast in the World Cafe.  It was a quick in/out and I was back in my room pretty quickly.  I thought about going ashore (there was a shuttle bus service available) but ended up staying in my cabin until I could finish one of the books that I'd borrowed from the Viking "Neptune" library.  Meanwhile, the ship's crew worked on emergency drills.  I also spent some time organizing, posting photos on social media and keeping up with communications for my Nomad Life "Fans" (e.g., Gerard).  At 1245, I went to lunch at the Pool Grill and enjoyed a good burger & fries.  Since there was no alcohol allowed onboard ships in port, I also tried an interesting mocktail.  With my mid-day meal completed, I decided to check out the park ("Westerplatte") next to the ship.  Actually, I had no other choice by then (1310) because the shuttle schedule was in disarray from road closures and major traffic jams nearby.  That was OK with me - I wanted some steps anyway and still had an excursion scheduled for later in the afternoon.  Westerplatte featured a huge tower, which was apparently also a memorial to the intrepid defenders of Gdansk on September 1, 1939.  Even though most of the Polish military collapsed as a result of the German attack, the soldiers in this area held out for nearly a week, despite  being shelled by a huge battleship just off the coast.  There were indications that Saint/Pope John Paul II had visited this location in the early years of his Papacy and it greatly added to the national sentiment (and drive for freedom) of the people of Gdansk.  The weather at this point was overcast (temps in the 50s) but there were hints of rain.  I continued walking near the memorial and found several other historical markers, fishing boats and the entrance to a Customs area.  Before long, some noticeable precipitation began - this was the first time it rained on me in 18 days of this trip.  Fortunately, I'd brought my little umbrella and was able to weather the change in circumstances alright. I noticed that all the rest of the people nearby had scurried away so I had the park to myself.  However, I wanted to get ready for my later excursion so returned to the ship at 1400.  By then, the rain had started to get more steady.  At the bar just inside the embarkation area, I got a refreshing (non-alcoholic) drink and grabbed one of the huge Viking (red) umbrellas available nearby.  Back off the ship again by 1430, I joined my next excursion group for “City of Gdańsk on Foot” (bus/walking tour), which turned out to be an excellent tour of the historic (Hanseatic, Free, Polish, German) city center.  Our guide was a local young man named Christof and he did a great job in keeping us entertained during the long bus ride (due to the same traffic and construction that the shuttle bus had experienced).  Only then did I remember that I'd forgotten my QuietVox device (oh well).  I thought it was interesting when our guide told us that we were only about 150km from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad - would love to see that but it's probably not a good idea under the current (political) circumstances...  We crossed the John Paul II Bridge over the Vistula River and soon found ourselves in the City Center, which was apparently called "Granary Island".  As the name implies, the location used to be covered with granaries but now features the most modern hotels in Gdansk.  From the bus, we walked with Christof to the Green Bridge.  He pointed out all kinds of nearby landmarks there, including “The Crane” and the Green Gate.  The latter feature opened out into Market Street and, as we walked down this busy route, we passed the famous Neptune Statue, an amazing-looking City Hall (with tall tower that featured a king on the spire and clock that chimed loudly at times).  There were lots of signs nearby with the name "Piwo" and Christof explained that it was the local word for beer.  Other signs advertised "Lody" and we learned it meant ice cream.  In this same area, we stopped briefly at a small monument to Daniel Fahrenheit (who invented the temperature scale); he was born in the city.  From this point, we could also see the high tower of St. Mary's Church.  At the end of Market Street, we marveled at the Golden Gate, which featured elaborate Latin and German sentences on each side that belied the city's Hanseatic League past and commitment to free trade.  Just outside the gate, we saw the impressive Prison Tower.  Taking us on a side street, Christof showed us some more important landmarks, including the Armory buildings with its “puking dragons” (once used for drainage).  Soon after that, we reached the entrance to St. Mary Basilica. which we were told is largest brick church in world.  Next, we entered Mariacka Street, which was nearly covered with shops for amber dealers.  Many in our group wanted to stop to shop but Christof assured them there would soon be "free time" for that.  Meanwhile, he continued telling us the history of Gdansk.  Perhaps the most impressive thing about the day was learning that the city had basically been rubble in 1945 but the residents reconstructed it from old photos and paintings - if someone hadn’t told me that fact, I’d never have believed it...  Some of the reason for this was Russian propaganda - the Soviets hoped to erase the history of German ownership and occupation.  Instead, the Polish and independent culture and feel was (re)established.  Along the way, I could also tell that I was following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa, heroes of the local people. At about 1630, Christof dismissed us from the formal part of the tour and I went exploring.  At first, I thought I'd be alone.  However, an older couple (Jerry & Beth from Kansas), asked to accompany.  I'd indicated that I wanted to try some of the local drinks and they wanted to do that too. On the way to the bar that Christof had recommended to me, we passed a Nazi-era movie set (with active filming) on a side street - I wondered if everyone in town was aware of this mock up of something so horrific...  When we arrived at Piwnica Rajcow (a bar close to the Neptune Statue), we had trouble getting the staff to help us order drinks.  Fortunately, the three of us were persistent enough to get some local beer (Porter Baltykei).  It was good!  More importantly, though, I asked for some Goldwasser, a famous local liqueur that was reportedly filled with 22-carat gold flakes.  I was stunned to find that the stories were, in fact, true and took a photo to get the full effect of the flakes floating in my drink!  When we were finishing up our time at the pub, we noticed that Christof had arrived to get some refreshment of his own.  I think he was impressed that someone on the tour had taken his advice.  Following a bit more exploring with Jerry and Beth, we reassembled at the Green Bridge at 1730.  After walking the rest of the way to the bus together, we reboarded and made our way back towards "Neptune".  Along the way, we passed the Solidarity / Solidarnosc Museum.  There wasn't time to stop there but I asked Christof if he ever has encountered Lech Walesa - he replied that the famous Pole was often visible on the streets of the city and that he liked to meet tourists.  We took a different route back to the Westerplatte area and ended up driving through a tunnel under the Vistula River.  We arrived at the ship by 1800 and I spent some time resting and relaxing in my room.  Meanwhile, the ship departed Gdansk.  By then (1900), the weather had improved dramatically.  At 1945, I went to dinner in the World Cafe so I could take part in the port-themed menu (Viking likes to do this on their Ocean cruises). I enjoyed a great dinner that consisted of several varieties of pierogis.  One downer, though, was that I started getting work-related texts from the USA - that's the first time something like that has happened to me in years but dang...  By 2015, I was finished eating and headed back to my room for the rest of the evening.  There was time for me to complete a post excursion survey and for watching movies; with the scheduled time change, I didn't go to bed until 2200.  We’re sailing north now but I’ll never forget my visit to Gdansk!

Warsaw (Poland)

Woke up early and, after checking out of the Scandic Copenhagen, headed back to the airport. Had some problems in Copenhagen with our plane, but eventually got out of there. Flight down to Poland was interesting - I've never been in this part of Eastern Europe. When we landed, I had some time at the airport - enough to run to the Duty Free shop. They had great souvenirs - chocolate, beautifully colored eggs and boxes and more. It was difficult to understand any of the words or money here - I needed some more time in this interesting country! We flew from Warsaw over to Germany for one last passenger drop. No time for a visit to the beer store, but I hope to get that chance later... Home in Sicily by 2000.