Elbląg is situated very close to the Tricity of Poland - a large
metropolitan area of Poland made up of three cities: Gdansk, Gydinia,
and Sopot. I was told each of these cities are worth visiting, and
considering how close and easy they are to get to, I plan on doing so!
In fact, last Saturday, I crossed off one on city off the list when I visited
Gdansk for the day.
 |
| Gdansk, the riverside city |
Gdansk is situated right on the river, which
makes it a big industrial center and a historic seaport. Like
Elbląg, a lot of Gdansk was destroyed in the WWII. However, unlike in
Elbląg, when rebuilding took place in the 1950s, the Poles' aim was to
get rid of German influences in the city rather than restore what had
been there before. As a result, most of the new architecture is Italian or
French or Dutch, and not the original German style.
I hopped on a
bus in the morning and spent the day wandering around the city. I
visited the old churches, including St. Mary's Church, which happens to
be the largest brick church in the world. I also walked up and down the
Long Lane (Ulica Długa in Polish) which stretches between Gdansk's two
historic gates - the Golden Gate and the Green Gate (neither of which is
golden or green, oddly enough). The Long Lane is filled with
restaurants and vendors which extend beyond the Golden Gate and wrap
around along the riverside. The rest of the lane is framed by rows
beautiful buildings with elaborate pastel facades. According to an
English tour guide that I eavesdropped on, the buildings along the Long
Lane used to house the headquarters of the city's various guilds, and
they all tried to out-do one another by making their headquarters the
most grand and spectacular looking.
 |
| St. Mary's Church |
 |
| The largest brick building that won't fit into one entire picture |
 |
| Some Dutch-style architecture |
 |
| Neptune's Fountain |
 |
| The Golden Gate (okay it's a little golden) |
I also made a visit to the Solidarity Museum in Gdansk. The museum is
pretty new and extremely nice. It's full of artifacts and videos from
the Solidarity Movement which began in Gdansk in 1980. I got a free
audio guide and toured my way around the museum in the afternoon.
 |
| The Solidarity Museum |
 |
| The cross and anchor symbol of the Solidarity Movement |
Before I left to return to Elbląg, I grabbed a coffee for the road. I
am a pro at ordering coffee in Polish. Although the three or four words
I use to do so make up about 25% of my Polish vocabulary at this point,
so perhaps I shouldn't brag just yet.
All in all I really
enjoyed my Gdansk visit. Seeing as the city's so easy and cheap to get
to, I definitely think I will be back to visit again in the future!
