Our second adventure takes us to the historic and cultural smorgesbord of Gdańsk. Germans, Poles, Prussians, Teutonic Knights…you name it they’ve wanted it and taken it. It even did a stint as an autonomous Free City. All of these various influences have worked to make Gdańsk not quite German or Polish or Scandinavian…but unique. And moldy. But I’d blame the climate on that one.

Our hosts are the fantasic couple: Maciek and Ala. (Dziękuję bardzo!) They showed us the finer points in person then pointed us in the right direction to explore on our own. We strolled down Ulica Długa where the buildings look like they were pulled straight from Amsterdam. (But they pulled a bit too hard and the buildings stretched.) We peeked into Amber shops, seeing as Gdańsk is vying for the title of Amber Capital of the World. Frankly I think it’s in the bag. We oohed and ahhed at Ulica Mariacka, Radek’s favorite street in Poland, and incidentally the moldiest as well.

Outside the main town we saw the giant shipyard cranes standing as a massive memorial to the riots and strikes that led to Soldarity. Still further, we slid across Europe’s longest wooded pier in posh Sopot. We ate well, we drank well, we sightsaw well. All in all, a great experience.