Gdańsk Poland

We're still trying hard to pronounce it way the Poles do - think of putting the word "dine" into the middle of it, i.e. G'dinsk.

We'd arranged a private tour in advance with some other folks on the same cruise through the Cruise Critic website. Gdansk (Danzig during German rule) is known as the birthplace of the Solidarity Movement, so it was fitting that our pleasant young guide took us first to the Solidarity Monument.

On the way, though, we passed some particularly artistic Polish tagging and couldn't resist a quick picture.

The monument is obviously an important place to the local citizens.

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There had recently been an annual remembrance ceremony.

Democracy is flourishing, as evidenced by an anti-European Union banner displayed at the monument.

Later that morning we drove by Lech Walesa's house, but couldn't see too much except for a high wall and security cameras.

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We took a walking tour of the Old Town, which consists largely of one long street. If we understood our guide correctly, the Soviets largely destroyed German-controlled Gdansk on Stalin's orders toward the end of WW II, and the Soviets were largely responsible for the recreation of the Old Town that we viewed, built out of the rubble twenty or more years after the war.

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Eventually we reached the water. Gdansk has long been an important port city.

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We also visited a couple of churches and heard a brief organ recital, as well as stopping by a sandy beach. The highlight of our visit, though, was listening to our 34-year-old guide tell us she remembers standing in line with her grandmother for food, as we wandered through this prosperous-looking city, part of the "New Europe" that is flourishing, especially compared to the "old days" when it was a Soviet satellite state.