Gdansk and the Museum of the Second World War


Our morning started by heading to Warszawa Centralna train station,
entertained by our uber driver who chose to rock our car with loud dance music at 8am on a Sunday morning. We were catching a train to Gdansk, our destination for the next two nights. Another Polish city entirely destroyed during World War II, connected to Germany and along the Baltic Coast, Gdansk is actually where the war began. It seemed only fitting to start here with the Museum of the Second World War. The largest war museum in Europe since its opening in 2017, it covers the events that led up to WWII and the impact the war had on Poland.

But first, pizza. The boys split the "Sexy Calzone"

Museum of the Second World War: The building itself – inside, its bare concrete painted black and grey – creates a heavy, somber atmosphere.

A visit to the Museum of the Second World War is in-depth and intense, its powerful story leaves you visibly dazed.

The exhibits of the Museum of the Second World War immerse you in the experience. This is a typical pre-war street in Poland.

The life-like exhibits choke you with the atrocities and crimes of the Second World War

It was time to explore the happier side of Gdansk: its historic Dlugi Targ (Long Market) is Gdansk's main thoroughfare.

Gdansk's Dlugi Targ: "Oh this is cool. How pretty!" said Jeannette, who appreciates every experience.

Gdansk's Fountain of Neptune. Europe likes its Neptune fountains, but I've never seen one like this - with a trident that sprays water!

Gdansk has a couple of towers you can climb for a panoramic view over the area and we chose the Town Hall tower. 

Scott counted all of the 281 steps to the top of the Town Hall tower

A bird's-eye view over Gdansk's narrow and long buildings remind you of Amsterdam - because they also were taxed based on frontage.

Relaxing at a cafe on Dlugi Targ

Scott was on a roll with his food and drink theme today. He couldn't pass up the
"Pornstar Martini". For some reason, Greg questioned my choice: a Yard of Ale. Maybe he was just wondering why I wanted to split it?

What you don't realize until it's too late, drinking out of a Yard of Ale glass, is that its shape sets challenges. While you are trying to tip it at the right angle to get a sip, all of a sudden a wave of beers comes gushing furiously at you. You're caught in a moment of gulping for your life!

On our second round, we all chose the safer Pornstar Martini

For dinner we had reservations at Pan Kotowski. Definitely go here to enjoy a Ukrainian restaurant with outstanding food.

We ordered exceptional chicken Kiev, cabbage rolls, schnitzel, and potato pancakes.

After dinner we strolled along the Motława River.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is a Vacation, Really?

Image
  As we prepare for the final bits of our upcoming trip — and describe to friends and family what we are doing — it becomes clear that there’s a disconnect between the traditional definition of ‘vacation’ vs. what we are about to go do. If you’ve read any of our previous blog posts, you’ve probably noticed that our idea of a vacation doesn’t usually involve lounging on a beach with a cocktail in hand. Don’t get me wrong — we enjoy a beautiful beach as much as anyone. But think about it: that kind of trip doesn’t leave much to say, does it?   When you picture a classic beach vacation — white sand, turquoise water, palm trees swaying in the breeze — it really is the perfect scene. One photo says it all. Case in point: beyond sharing a single stunning image, what’s left to write about? A vacation is any intentional break from daily routines that gives us space to reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the world in a new way. While this trip includes a physically demandin...
Read more

Malbork Castle to Zakopane - and a Surprise Stop

Image
We woke up to the most beautiful sky of our trip so far. It was incredibly deceiving of the weather we had in store. "I don't know what kind of rain you're talking about," commented Scott. I was being a nervous Nelly. Duped by the blue sky, we were convinced the forecast from the Meteorological Forecast Center in Warsaw couldn't possibly be accurate. Planned months before the weather forecast, today we picked up a car to drive eight hours to Zakopane, Poland's premier ski destination at the southern border above Slovakia. An hour into our drive, we stopped at Malbork Castle - built in 1274 as the headquarters of the Teutonic Knights, a military religious order of German knights supporting the spread of Christianity through the Holy Land. Though originally invited to protect Poland, the Teutonic knights turned and began conquering Poland. The Polish people believed the knights were ruthless fighters and symbols of war and destruction. The Castle of th...
Read more

24 Hours in Warsaw

Image
We arrived to Warsaw, Poland at 11pm and quickly ubered to the Old Town's Castle Square to join up with Scott and Jeannette for a celebratory beer.  We are spending the next 7 days traveling through Poland before we change countries. Cheers! Let the trip begin! After only two and a half hours of sleep, I woke up at 3:30am, not anywhere near rested, yet anxious to get outside and explore - because the birds were chirping and calling to me, as they do when the sky begins to lighten and prepare for dawn. Fortunately I was able to convince my body to get more sleep before going out for coffee and starting our day. View of the Royal Castle from our window - at 3:54am Walking the quiet, cobblestoned streets of Warsaw's Stare Miasto Our apartment is in the yellow building facing Warsaw's Castle Square  Starting with coffee at a cafe on an empty  Nowy Świat, Warsaw's Royal Route Up next on our itinerary was a 3 hour bike tour around the area near Warsaw's Old Town. We a...
Read more