GDANSK is both fascinating and beautiful.
Situated in northern Poland, on the Baltic coast, it’s been a Marine Trading centre for over a millennia. Once a member of the Hanseatic League, then part of Prussia (when t was called Danzig), it only came back to Poland at the end of WW1. After WW2 Poland, to their dismay, was assigned to the Soviet Union: only regaining their independence in 1990.
Gdansk was almost totally destroyed during WW2. Since then its magnificent Old Town has been meticulously rebuild, in all its former glory. An absolute must to visit. Ideally, get there early morning to appreciate it fully, before it gets too crowded.
The old town looking towards the Golden Gate (Image: John Waller)
It’s not a big city, and as such is a relaxing place just to wander around in. There are plenty of water-side walks along the Moltawo inlet, some with mini-tunnels into the Old Town itself. Plus parks and open spaces, interesting buildings, and numerous places to eat. And plenty of maritime history as well, including an ancient crane.
The Polish are religious people, and there are several grand churches to visit. Most significant is the towering Church of St Mary, with its 15th Century depiction of the Virgin and Child; and an astronomical clock showing the zodiac, major feast days, and the phases of the moon.
Not quite swimming in the Baltic Sea, Sopot (Image: John Waller)
And there’s plenty to do beyond the city centre. A commuter train from the main station takes you to the sister cities of Gdynia and Sopot. Gdynia is a bustling city, and its centre is some way from the sea, where some huge boats are moored. Sopot is more of a resort, with a very long pier, and an extensive beach. Despite it being the Baltic Sea, it wasn’t too cold for a dip. A row of very attractive houses suggest it’s also a retreat for the well off.
We even met two young ladies who’d cycled to the Russian border: the largely military exclave of Kaliningrad. Though they didn’t try to enter it.
Gdansk has two exceptional museums; both well worth visiting if you have even the slightest interest in recent European history. The World War Two museum starts with the end of WW1, and traces the rise of Nazi and Fascist ideologies, and how they led to outright war.
Memorial to WW2 massacred postal workers (Image: John Waller)
Each of 18 chambers leads back to the main concourse, so you can choose which sections to see. They include the sheer detailed horror of the Holocaust. Many of the notorious death camps, including Auschwitz, are in Poland. There’s reference to the Battle of Britain, and how the RAF managed to prevent invasion; but it does bring home the fact that Britain escaped most of the war largely unscathed. Certainly compared to Poland.
Then there’s the European Solidarity Centre. This is sited in the very dockyard where Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement was founded. It traces the movement’s gradual growth, starting with a dock strike.
Entrance to the Solidarity shipyard (Image: John Waller)
There were early successes, but then an official clampdown, when the movement went underground. And then the eventual victory. That movement provided the impetus for Poland, and then the rest of eastern Europe, to free itself from Soviet domination.
The Town Hall spire, with monument (Image: John Waller)
Both these museums have excellent English-language headphones, that seamlessly deliver the relevant information. Unmissable, if you have a few days in Gdansk. There’s a Maritime museum as well.
I don’t often mention hotels, but if you did choose the Q Hotel in Gdansk, you’d find the most incredible and varied breakfast imaginable.
We had five nights in Gdansk. It might be possible to get there in two train-days, but we opted to take three. Bradford to Brussels or Amsterdam, thence to Berlin, and then on to Gdansk. About eight hours train each day, giving time to enjoy an evening in each city en route.
We used the International Interrail system - Google it if you’re interested. For a fixed price per travel-day you can get from anywhere in the UK to anywhere in Europe. Including Eurostar. A small extra charge upgrades the whole trip to First Class. You do have to book trains and seats in advance: but it can halve your travel costs.
Our journey (late June this year) coincided with the worst of the heatwaves. Trains were cancelled or delayed, causing missed connections. However, railway staff were aware of the problems, and would accept tickets and booked seats for that day, even for a later train. Though it meant we often arrived for each night-stop later than we’d planned.
Of course, you can fly direct to Gdansk if you’ve only a few days to spare. But there’s value in watching the scenery and architecture gradually change as you progress across Europe. Quite apart from reducing your carbon footprint, as the heatwaves remind us we really should all be doing.