My Vagabond Year: Gdansk, Poland

After a very brief stay in Estonia (we pulled away from the dock about 1:00 p.m.) the ship headed for Poland, arriving there about 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Poland is a country about the size of Arizona. Its only language is Polish, and it is 95% Roman Catholic. The sunflower is the symbol of Poland, Toyota is the most popular car (gas is $8.00/gallon), dumplings and sausage are their favorite food, and 70% of their young people have advanced degrees. The capital is Warsaw.

We docked in Gdynia but our visit included Gdansk (the Gd at the beginning of the names means a very wet place) and Sopot, which is one of Europe’s favorite summer vacation places. It does have beautiful, sandy beaches and a magnificent appearing (didn’t see the inside) Hotel Sofitel, formerly The Grand Hotel.

It’s hard to decide what to write about Poland as it has such a complicated history. From the 10^th through the 18^th centuries they were ruled by kings. From the mid 18^th century to 1800 something (another one of those things I have to Google when I get home) they did not exist as a country at all, having been taken over by Russia and Germany. They celebrate November 11, 1918, as their Independence Day. World War II began when the German Navy bombarded the Polish harbor. During the course of the war 90% of Gdansk was destroyed, so it’s amazing to see the condition of the city today having been reduced to rubble in 1944. It’s so hard to understand and appreciate the conflicted histories of these countries when I have only lived in a United States with no wars on its soil my entire life. What a blessing that has been.