Gdańsk, Poland

 Gdańsk is a heavy industry port of 450,000 people. It became part of Poland in 970 AD. Poland was one of the first countries to elect their king and allow for religious freedom. It was absorbed Prussia in 1793, and was a free city under the protection of the League of Nations after the First World War. Germany and Russia invaded Poland in September 1939 to start World War II. Six million Poles died during the war, half of them were Jews. Ninety percent of the Old Town was destroyed. At the end of the war, the Russian army ‘saved’ Poland. Three million tons of debris had to be removed before the rebuilding the Old Town.

Neptune Fountain and Artus Court

We started our tour at the Green Gate, named for the green windows. Designed as a Royal Palace, it was never used by royalty. What look like separate buildings along Long Street are long flats that are decorated to match their former look during the Hanseatic times. Near the Neptune fountain is the Artus Court, the name derived from King Arthur’s Court. The town hall was home to the Teutonic Order, we listened to the carillon play the hour. Saint Mary is a Gothic church built with bricks between 1343 and 1502. Inside is an astronomical clock from 1467 and Last Judgement from 1472. The 1517 altar depicts the crowning of Mary.

Clock and Last Judgement

After a local lunch of pierogi, a polish dumpling, we went to the Solidarity Museum. During Soviet times in Poland, people would wait in lines for hours to buy groceries. Our guide remembered his mother waiting 3 days to buy furniture, you took whatever chair that came next off the truck. In 1970, the government raised the prices by 30% while wages were stagnant. In December 1970 shipyard workers went on strike in protest and people died in the streets.

Marital Law declared during protests

In August 1980, Anna, a crane operator, was fired for participating in a labor union, five months before her retirement. She and others turned this into a strike on bread-and-butter issues in sympathy with strikes elsewhere in Poland and issued a list of 21 demands. The shipyard workers rather than taking to the streets, stayed in the shipyard, making it harder to break up. On August 31^st the Communists recognized the union. A month later other factory organizations joined together to form Solidarity. But in December, martial law was declared. Talks between Solidarity and the government led to semi-free elections in 1989, which resulted in a Solidarity led government and in December 1990, Lech Wałęsa was elected President of Poland. Unfortunately, Poland experienced a time of anarchy and unemployment of 27%. The Communists went from ruling to owning most of the now privatized companies.

Lech Walsea addressing the crowds

Our day ended with very rough seas, only about half of us made it to dinner. I was about to order when seasickness hit me. With help from the crew, I made it to our room, but I was unable to even sit up without getting dizzy. Mary continued on at dinner, but a big wave hit and she fell to the floor, but protected her head. Meanwhile the waiters tried to save the plates from crashing in the kitchen. We went to bed early and slept soundly. The waves calmed down about 10:30.

 

Topic: The effects of the Ukrainian War in the region

Economic effects: The West thought that trade with Russia would prevent war. Russia is rich in energy resources, especially oil and gas. In Finland during the first winter of the war, people were asked to not use their saunas until alternative energy sources could be found. Many of the coal plants and nuclear plants were re-opened and the move to green sources was accelerated. Many companies ceased operation in Russia, but they sold their facilities at deep discount. Europe shut their borders to Russian tourists, though Hungary and Slovakia want to reopen the borders. European Union cities are pairing with Ukrainian cities to helping with reconstruction after the war.

Security concerns: Russia is jamming GPS signals, and hacking computer systems in many countries. NATO exercises have been intensified, recently Baltic Sea exercises and Winter exercises above the Artic Circle have been held. Many have volunteered to get military training including Darias, one our guides who is studying at the Lithuanian military academy. Many countries are worried about the loyalty of Russian minorities, especially if they only speak Russian and get their news from Russia.

People: Many countries have absorbed a lot of Ukrainian refugees. This has strained local resources, especially school resources. Most have jobs and are receiving health, and welfare benefits. Some of the refugees have returned to Ukraine even with the war, some are avoiding military service, even though other men have been on the front lines for two years.