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| Unloading coal from ships into train cars |
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| Wonderful pirogies in Gdansk |
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We took cab from
Gdynia to Gdańsk |
Wednesday - we spent a short day in Gdansk - Poland. It is on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. At one time it was declared a free city - now it is a major shipping port of Poland.
My teacher friend - Jim Szczecina - was Polish. His name is hard to spell in America - but it is a common name here - even a city is named so. Jim was a fun guy to work with - the kids loved him. He used to always say - it is hard being Polish.
Our cruise ship pulled up right next to a pier that was used as a major coal loading and unloading break of bulk point. We even got a little coal dirt on our shoes as we embarked for Gdansk. We were actually in a smaller city - Gydnia - Gdansk was about 25 miles down the coast. We got a slow start - many of the other cruise passengers had gotten off at 7 AM - we did not get moving until 10. We decided to take a cab to downtown. We were not thinking properly or we would have used an uber car. Our upscaled taxi cost $110.
Poland still uses coal to make 75% of their energy. Coal is an inexpensive and efficient fuel - except that it is the worst carbon dioxide polluter.
During World War II - Gdansk was invaded 3 times. The Soviet Union came from the east - the German Nazis came from the west - and finally the Allies came from the north. Poland ended up losing many people during the war - and being a satellite of the Soviet Union. Then around 1989 - labor unrest in the Gdansk shipyards started a revolution that help destroy the Soviet Union. Today Ukraine - with the help of the Poland and the USA - is trying to push the Russian army out of Ukraine.
In Gdansk - we enjoyed a traditional lunch of perogies at a street restaurant. We had to rush back to the ship around 3 PM. We hired an uber car - and the fare to the ship was $19. Yes - $110 in one direction and $19 in the other. We must learn always to check uber first.
Thursday was spent all day cruising. Friday morning we left the ship in Copenhagen. We flew to London - and spent Friday night in our London Airbnb apartment.
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| This was from our ship balcony |
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| We walked down that alley to town. |
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| Some museum posters |
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| Hitler youth |
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| Polish WWII Museum |
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| Downtown Gdańsk |
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| A veyr nice local meal |
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| This was a golf car that sat 12 |
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