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Published: June 19th 2008
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Sopok
One of the huge hotels being built along the beach. It’s always a bit of a shock when the alarm goes off at 6.00 when one is on holiday. Having said that, I bounded out of bed this morning and threw open the curtains of my room. For the first time ever, I was behind the Iron Curtain and I wanted to see what it looked like. So far, it looked like every other port I have ever been to - with one significant difference. The docks were lined with people who had come out at that ungodly hour of the morning to see the ship. Not only were we coming in, but a German boat called the Aida was coming in as well. I would say that those people got their zlotys worth this morning. What is a zloty, I hear you asking? It is the Polish currency - four of which are worth a pound.
We were off the ship and onto our coach before 8.00 this morning and driving through the port town of Gdynia. My first impression was that everything I had ever heard was true. The buildings were all square, made of concrete and covered in graffiti - bleak. Coming from the West, I have
Sopok
The beach. One can see the attraction. always wondered how much of what happened in the East was exaggerated for effect. This morning, I actually began to believe that I hadn’t even gotten close to the full story.
Then, things began to change. We drove into the town of Sopot. A beach town, it is in the process of turning itself into a tourist destination. In fact, the cheap flights from the UK have already begun. The old villas are being restored and new, luxury hotels are being built. The beach is huge and sandy - one can see the attraction. Lovely little town that has managed to shake off any semblance of its recent past.
Sopot has a long history of attracting tourists. Back during the time when Napoleon was “returning” from Moscow, he was passing through. Noticing that his soldiers were healing rather quickly, he decided that the waters had medicinal properties and set up a spa for his guys. It quickly caught on and was finally put on the map by a chap called Jan Haffner. It was a tourist destination until after the First World War, at which point it began to fade into oblivion.
The other cool thing about
Gdansk
The market -- they've caught on to the idea of tourists! this town? It has the largest block of flats in the world. The building (obviously built after the war) stretches forever. It contains 7,000 flats and has three bus stops just for it. Right by it, is a park where John Paul II said Mass the first time he came to Poland after becoming Pope. Being a native son, he garnered a lot of attention. In fact, 800,000 came out to hear the mass, or nearly the entire populations of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk. Wow!
We drove on into Gdansk, made famous in my lifetime by the Solidarity movement in the 70s and 80s. I remember watching the strikes and the resulting Soviet responses on TV at the time and not knowing, nor much caring, where Gdansk, Poland was. This is one of the main, if not the main, reason I travel. All of a sudden, something that seemed so remote and outside of my sphere becomes very real. To stand in a place where so much has happened takes my breath away.
Gdansk is an interesting city. It was, quite literally, bombed to the ground during the war. 90% of the city was left in ruins. To
the credit of the town fathers, they have re-built it in such a way that one still gets the feel of what it must have felt like long before the Germans and then the Soviets were running the place. There is the largest brick church in the world, called St. Mary’s Basilica. The tower is 80 meters high and the inside is stunning. Much of the art was saved by forward-looking townspeople who hid it during the war, so although the building itself is relatively new, the art is old. The juxtaposition of the two is very interesting.
Not far from the church is the Kings Road. It was re-built over 40 years in much the same style as it had been. What was really interesting is that as the workers and the artisans found artefacts and old parts of the buildings in the rubble, they incorporated those things into the new buildings. The facades, therefore, do not look as though they were built in the past fifty years.
The highlight of the tour, however, was the Solidarity Museum. In it was the story of the dockworkers strikes and the resulting Soviet response. To see film of Russian
St Mary's Basilica
The interior. I loved how clean it looked. tanks moving down the same streets on which we had just stood, firing water cannons and bullets, was moving to say the least. I am always in awe of people who face enormous challenges to stand up for what they believe. In my lifetime, this group of people took on their ruling party and, not only managed to create their country again, but started a domino effect that can still be felt to this day. One film showed the Berlin Wall coming down. I actually got tears in my eyes.
Nothing is ever perfect, however. During the first strike, the strikers tried to burn down the Communist headquarters. They failed to take into account the fact that it is made of stone. Ooops.
The other result of the Soviets leaving, however, is capitalism. Everywhere we looked was evidence of American influence. KFC stands next to the building where the first meetings were held between the Soviets and the strikers. The first McDonalds in Poland is in the old militia headquarters. The cinema was showing the new Indiana Jones film. Pop music is all the rage. The Police played there in April and Celine Dion and Eric Clapton are
The Kings Road
Looks a lot older than it actually is. playing this summer.
But, the people are no longer standing in bread lines, they are riding bikes and driving cars, they are welcoming tourism and they have a fabulous café society (we had coffee in the Café Oranzeria). All in all? I think the strikers had the right idea.
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