Blogs from Poland, Europe - page 10

We awoke to a bright blue sky. The low clouds of yesterday blown away in the sudden downpour after returning from Stadion Energa. The breakfast in the Hotel Farenheit was top rate. The only minor drawback was the speed at which the coffee machine dispensed it’s latte. We sent the Main in the Middle off in an advance party to prepare the beverages. The other two are always keen on a boat trip, so when I suggested a gentle meander along the river towards the sea they were both up for it. The target was the peninsula at Westerplatte. Westerplatte was the site of minor Polish military fortifications in 1939 that had been sanctioned in the Free City by the Treaty of Versailles, as the world stumbled to another major conflict. It was here that the ... read more

It had been a stressful few months, unexpected health issues were quite alarming and we were still in the midst of tests to find out exactly what was going on. Thankfully the Dr's authorised me to go and have a few days break to Poland so off we went...?Because of the flight times etc we opted to fly out of East Midlands and back into Luton. Public transport was quite costly to get back from Luton so Andrew drove the car down on the day so it was ready for our return. 1 x train ticket and parking was a better option than 3 x train tickets and of course it gave us more reassurance than relying on public transport to get back. So on the day, Andrew was busy with the car and myself and ... read more

The Man in the Middle was back in the crew for this trip. He had a surplus of holiday days to use before the end of 2018, so the motor trade was going to have to survive without him for a short while. He provided the usual practice for the security staff, as they deemed him Public Enemy Number 1. The beanie hat is always worthy of good scrutiny and he was given the full rub down and body massage before being allowed safe passage to a foreign land. We were in the minority of tourists on the large capacity Wizzair Boeing 737, the majority being Polish nationals on their way back the homeland for a holiday or maybe because they had tired of watching the Brexit circus unfold and had decided to vacate the country ... read more

Morning sightseeing saw us boarding he coach for a drive out to the Novy Port and Westerplatte sections, at the mouth of the Vistula (Wisła) River, Here, the river that unites Poland north to south empties into the Baltic Sea. It was at the Weserplatte on 1 September 1939 that Germany began its invasion of Poland. Although Danzig was considered a free city, support for Germany ran high. Poland had earlier established military transit depot on the Westerplatte and this facility was besieged for seven days. Shipbuilding has been a major Gdasńk industry since 1856. The current Gdasńk Shipyard traces its history to the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig that built ships and submarines for the Imperial German Navy. After World War II, it was known as the Lenin Shipyard. It was here in 1980 that workers went ... read more

What a surprise was in store at Gdańsk. I knew something of Gdańsk and its history as the former Danzig. My impression had been of a heavily industrialized and port city. It was where the Solidarność movement had started among the shipyard workers in 1980. Our hotel, the Radisson Blue, was situated right on the Długi Targ, the Lange Markt elongated market square of medieval Gdańsk. The Gdańsk of the medieval and Hanseatic eras has been exceptionally well preserved and restored. The Medieval historic center was heavily damaged during World War II, but was rebuilt in the years after. After checking in, the group assembled for a walking tour of the Long Market. It begins at the Green Gate (Zielona Brama) leading from the Green Bridge over the Motława ... read more

It was an interesting drive north from Poznań to Toruń, passing through Paczkowo with its rustic railway station, Gniezno with its twin towered church, and then Pierzyska for a highway rest stop. A Polish Army airfield appeared at Inowrocław. Upon crossing the Vistula (Wisła) River we arrived in Toruń around 4:30 p.m. The Hotel Bulwar was a renovated and modernized 19th century Prussian military barracks (Kaserne). (Toruń was under German dominion from the Second Partition in 1793 to 1918.) Directly across from the hotel were the remains of the the town walls. The 14th century Leaning Tower (Krzywa Wieża) loomed over the parking lot. Toruń was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Toruń has been famous as a center for making gingerbread, or piernik, since the 13th century. An attraction in town is ... read more