Onion River Exploration Project: Poland

Sunrise at Poland

Day 17 (8/17/2010) Day 10 Baltic Sea Adventure

Today we went to Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk, Poland. We originally had decided that we weren’t going to take another tour today. To be honest, we are getting a little tired of tours. But we received a note on our bed, when we got back to our room from Tallinn, that they were going to pressure wash all the balconies on the ship today. We figured that it might be better if we were out of the room and off the ship so we booked yet another tour. It turned out that perhaps we should have taken our chances with staying on the ship. Although there were some high points, much of the tour was quite hectic. It was an hour ride through the three cities which, it turns out are all connected. Since there is no express way it was all stop and go traffic. Everywhere you went everything was covered by Graffiti. The guide assured us that it was not gang related but rather mischief. Apparently, some of the graffiti is promoted and certain areas are designated for graffiti art. Once we got to the old part of Gdansk it was very scenic and interesting but there was a festival going on and it was almost impossible to go anywhere much less try to keep track of our guide. Again I was amazed with the beauty of the architecture. If I understood correctly though, most of it had to be rebuilt after World War II because the city of Gdansk was leveled. In spite of the long ride and hassles associated with the tour Gdansk was beautiful and there were many interesting tidbits of history. For example I was not aware that at the time of World War II the city of Gdansk was known as Danzig and the site of the start of the war. The shipyards of Gdansk are also where Lech Walesa started the solidarity movement which many people feel led to the fall of the Soviet Union. We went past Lech Walesa's house but unfortunately it was somwhat obscured by trees. It is interesting how you can tell what the people in the country are proud of by what they show you on the tours. In Poland it is definitely their revolutions and struggles to stay free. Stay free Poland.