We drove out to the Westerplate, which is a peninsula that juts out into the Baltic Sea. It was where on September 1, 1939, the Germans blockaded the port of Gdansk and started shelling the little military installation there. Now it has a tall monument that stands where the Poles held them off for almost two weeks before they eventually fell to the larger invading force.
We then drove to Oliwa cathedral, where I was treated to an organ concert. The interesting thing about this organ is that its pipes are contained in the wooden base, but carved into the wood were figures of angles and cherubim and stars and two huge suns. The angles were holding trumpets, that move as do their heads. The cherubim were holding small bells, that made noise as they moved their arms. And the stars and suns would spin at certain points. So essentially, it was an organ with all sorts of moving parts, carved in baroque style. Very interesting and the concert was quite enjoyable.
After the concert, we walked along in the French gardens that surrounded the church. Very relaxing and so pretty with all the flowers in bloom!
We then drove to the Solidarity Monument, which was located at the No. 2 gate of the steelworks formerly known as the Lenin steelworks. During the 80s some major uprisings and strikes against the communist government in power (placed there by the USSR). The leader eventually won a Nobel peace prize and it was the beginning of the end of communism in Poland and of the USSR.
It wasn't quite as simple as that, though, as I learned in our next stop, which was the solidarity museum. The first strikes in 1980 led to capitulation by the powers that be, but in 1981, the government declared martial law for nearly three years where people were detained and sent to live in exile in Siberia. How I ha never learned of this was a bit of a shock to me... Anyway, more strikes at the hands of the Solidarity party/movement eventually led to free elections, the end of communism in Poland, and within three years, the USSR had broken up, the Berlin Wall had fallen, and the other former Soviet States had declared independence from the USSR (minus the Ukraine, which wouldn't declare its independence until 2004). The museum was very informative, as I've never heard anything about this before, I'm ashamed to say. Apparently there were also uprisings in Budapest and Prague. Never heard of them either, but I have vowed to read up on the subject.
After this, it was time for a lunch break and I had an hour to grab a bite to eat. I then met back up with my guide for a walking tour of the old city. We walked all over, first visiting Arthur's Court, which was kind of like an old guild for wealthy craftsmen and merchants back in the 14 & 1500s. It had been almost completely destroyed (as had most of Gdansk) by the Soviets towards the end of WWII. They had done an amazing job restoring the inside and out.
We then continued our tour, checking out the old gates/entrances to town an viewing what was left of the city wall (there wasn't much left...). We kept walking to St. Mary's Cathedral, which is the largest church in Europe made of brick. It, too, was almost completely destroyed by the Soviets in 1945, but they have done a great job restoring it. Inside there were lots of interesting pieces of art, and a fantastic organ that if I understood correctly came from another church but was moved there during the restoration process.
After the church, we kept walking along the canal to the former site of the Teutonic knights' castle that used to be on the outskirts of the town. It was dismantled and used for building materials like 500 years ago, just after the decline of the order of Teutonic knights.
It ha been a long, informative day, and I was glad when the guide said we were done, because I was honestly beat and didn't know if I could have taken too much more. We said our goodbyes, I walked around a little more before heading back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner. I walked around and finally found a place to have my last taste of Polish peirogis, which have become my favorite Polish food. After a leisurely dinner, I headed back to the hotel to pack up and sleep, as I have to be checked out of the hotel in time to meet my ride to the airport at 5am tomorrow (that's gonna hurt...).
I have had a great time in Poland, and will definitely have to come back as there is so much more in this region to see.
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