19-20/09/2023

We stayed in our shopping centre car park for 3 nights. Not the quietest of places at night as one store was having a refit, and they worked into the small hours. And of course, large expanses of tarmac just invite wheelies!  But it had a huge Auchan and a 30 min bus into the city centre. Oh, and it was free!  We would normally park further out or use campsite when visiting cities. But Poland just feels safer than most countries.

We caught the bus on visit 1 by the skin of our teeth. Expected to be able to buy the ticket from the driver. No, he wafted his hand over to the other side of the road to the ticket machine. Grr … it’s 30 mins till the next bus and he wasn’t going to hold the bus for us.  A passenger rummaged and offered us one of his tickets … 3 passengers helping with translations and checking J was free.  I recently read a post about Glimmer moments. When you are unexpectedly pleased, happy, grateful etc. This was a glimmer moment.   The next day had no glimmer. We missed bus 1. Got evicted from bus 2 as the jobsworth driver told us we needed a muzzle for Corrie. Not had to use one so far this trip. I fetched the torture apparatus just in time for bus No. 3! 

We were wowed by Tallinn. More so by Gdasnk. The mediaeval centre was largely bombed and burned in WW2 … the target being the ship yards. Instead of rebuilding as was, they went for Belguim / Dutch style.  And the buildings in the centre are taller than we’ve seen … 5 storeys. Making them more elegant and imposing. 

And detail also sets Gdansk apart. Detail in building decoration and structural.

Day 2 was a Shipyard free tour.

We rewalked the long market street, just as it is so beautiful. Then, we joined a free (tip based) walking tour of the Gdansk Shipyard.  The guide covered 2 main topics. This history of the ship yard and how the unions contributed to independence.

We saw where Dreadnaughts had been built, followed by groundbreaking turbine engine U-boats. It was the production of these that drew the Allies bombs. The shipyards had been Imperial German, Russian and stripped of all their technology by the Russians. So when independence came, production stopped. The main market, post war, had been merchant ships for Russia.  An attempt was made to revive the ship building, but now the site is largely derelict with small scale yacht building.

We heard how small local unions had been repressed. How after the 1950s, people stopped armed resistance.  How many people were either paid or blackmailed to work for the secret service. How in 1971, the government tried to put up food prices overnight by 20%. 1971, the government tried to put up food prices overnight by 20%. How rationing was reintroduced in 1981 due to food and transportation inefficiencies.   How if you were caught for being a member of a union, you were sacked, and there was no state support. How various uprisings were crushed with oversized force. How in 1980 Solidarity was born in Gdansk, but their demands were for the whole country.  This led to Solidarity being the first legal union. But then, having identified the union members, a year later Solidarity had to go underground and many members were imprisoned, certainly sacked.
A fascinating tour, especially given it is recent history.

So Gdasnk is definitely our top recommendation for a city break, followed by Tallinn. And it’s the main Amber centre … would have been a shame not to … yes, I’ve a fabulous new necklace. Always sweetened by a 50% for cash discount. Leave you to guess who played good cop and who played bad cop!