Solidarnosc and a beautiful city (Gdansk)

Member Name: mancsoulsister

Product:	Gdansk
Date:	28/07/00 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A wonderfully restored old town

Disadvantages: Not many people speak English - so some Polish is essential

If you are like me and grew up in the 70s and 80s, then you probably have the same distorted view of Gdánsk as I did. I associated the place with huge ship-building plants and Solidarity. So when somebody suggested going to Gdánsk for a long weekend I was a bit dubious.

We travelled over by car from Germany. The border crossing was a bit hairy as we didn't have the right car insurance papers. If you are going to Poland by car make sure you have a valid 'green card' insurance policy before you leave. It costs a lot more on the border and they won't let you into the country without one.

We had booked into the 'Grand Hotel' in Sopot, which is about 10 minutes away from central Gdánsk. The hotel is lovely: a 4* hotel at hostel prices! The rooms are very spacious and overlook the private beach. There goes another preconception. The Baltic does not have icebergs floating along it all year round and is actually quite warm and safe to swim in. The water isn't very salty either. The hotel also has a nice restaurant which serves standard Polish fayre. The only problem was the menu was all in Polish and none of the waiters spoke either English or German. This was a problem we encountered everywhere in Gdánsk- so a phrase book is essential.

The outskirts of Gdánsk are just how I had imagined - large run-down Communist high rises with lots of people in cheap Eastern European cars. The centre of town was a big shock to the system though. The old town has many old and restored buildings, many beautiful churches and a very vibrant central market place. This proved even more astounding after our visit to the history museum dedicated to the history of Gdánsk. Apparently 80% of the city was destroyed during the war as Danzig (the former name for Gdánsk) was a strategic German port. After the war the Poles spent a lot of time, energy and expense restoring the city and the results are amazing.

The whole of the old town
area is like a living, breathing architectural museum. I was particularly impressed by the exquisitely restored Town Hall and the lovely St Mary's Church. Poland is a strongly Catholic country so most churches are closed for public viewing during mass. The Maritime museum is also worth a visit as it is housed in a 15th Century wooden crane construction (Zuraw). We spent a whole weekend exploring the city and shops.

Shopping is a cheap experience in Gdánsk for Westerners. The thing to buy is amber which has been worked into some fine jewelery. The amber is abundant in the Baltic and the best examples can be found in the shops along the river front. Eating out was also very cheap for us despite not always knowing what we were going to be eating before it arrived!! For some reason all menus tell you the exact weight of the meat content of your dish. We spent a long time wondering what the extra numbers were until somebody explained this to us.

Gdánsk is a lovely city and well worth a visit. The Poles were helpful despite the language barrier and there are lots of things to see and do. I'm sure you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

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