Wolne Miasto

4 lipca 2012
4th of July 2012
Stany Zjednoczone urodziły się 236 lat temu!
The USA was born 236 years ago!
Dzięki temu, Ameryka to wolny kraj!
Thanks to this, America is a free country!
Happy Birthday, America!

We have finished our "familiarization trip" to Gdansk, Poland!  The purpose of this trip was to explore our new city, look for an apartment, and make contacts at the University of Gdansk.  

For those of you new to this blog, here is a quick catch up:

- Doug will be at the University of Gdansk for the next 2 years working on his doctorate in History.

- I had a successful interview last Friday with the Medical University of Gdansk.  We are trying to figure out if I can just teach full time or teach and earn a PhD. 

- We found a suitable apartment very near the heart of the oldest section of the city.  Come visit us!
These are a few terrible photos that I took with my iPhone camera (sorry! we BOTH forgot to pack our digital camera!)  I will post pictures of the apartment once we are moved in...the iPhone just does not do it justice!

Danger was very sad to see the luggage.

The Varsity. An Atlanta Institution. 

The newest one is in the new international terminal (F) at the Atlanta Airport.

As a native Georgian, I urge you to try the FO (Frosted Orange) drink. 

Whadda ya have?

Our first taste of Gdansk. HUGE super sweet raspberries.  The coin is a US quarter for scale.

The main market in the old city. Street level sold vegetables, fruit and flowers

The tall building behind the street market contains 3 indoor levels of bakers, butchers, clothing, shoes, etc.

Delicious street food at one of the many sidewalk "biergartens" 

- roasted pork knuckle, sauerkraut, roasted potatoes and lager -

This is not exclusively Polish fare. Similar foods are found in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

For most of Gdansk's existence as a city, it's inhabitants have mostly been German/Prussian. 

Poland held Gdansk before 1569 and then after 1945.

From 1920-1939 it was the Free City of Danzig, in which most of its inhabitants were German, but Poland controlled the port.

Today, the majority of tourists in Gdansk are German.  

Maybe the food reflects not only history, but the tastes of the tourists?

One of many old city gates

Beautifully restored buildings. 

Most of the city was badly damaged by the Nazis between 1939-1945.

Our hotel - a very nice boutique hotel Wolne Miasto (Free City) - the pink building in the middle

Black and red currants are currently in season  :)

Pick up after your dog!

A lovely park near the Medical University

A charming older couple out for a walk in the park with their cat.

The cat was super friendly, he greeted me with a "head-bump"

View of the medieval port crane "Zuraw" over the river Motława

ulica Długi Targ (Long Market)

Fontanna Neptuna

Many decorations for Euro 2012 - Gdansk was a host city

Polish version of Chipotle. Very good!

The altar of the Bazylika Mariacka (St. Mary's Church)

This is the largest brick church in the world. 

It took 200 years to complete! (1343-1502)

From 1577-1945 it was a Lutheran church.  Since 1945 it has been Catholic.

The huge pipe organ

The memorial chapel to the 2779 Polish priests who were murdered during WWII

Poland lost 4.9-5.7 million citizens at the hands of the Nazis alone between 1939-1945.

The beach at Stogi.  

Easy access from Gdansk by tram and costs a dollar each way.

The sun and sand were warm, but the Baltic is COLD!

Watch out for seals!

The 10 Commandments of the Beach.

To summarize:  Don't litter. Don't be obnoxious. Be a good neighbor.

She sells sea shells by the sea shore!

The Baltic Sea was formed eons ago by glaciers.  

These are some of the neat stones left behind as the glaciers moved along.

Polish vocabulary lesson:  Bursztyn = Amber.  Granity = Granite.  Piaskowce = Sandstone.

Photograph of a pretty lighthouse on the Baltic

Jetlag

The Three Crosses monument near the Gdansk shipyard - memorial to the 32 workers who were killed by communist authorities in December 1970.  The youngest victim was 15 years old.

Pomnik Trzy Krzyże 

Doug and I hanging out with Jan Paweł II

The Gdansk Shipyard - birthplace of the Solidarity Movement in the early 1980s.

Solidarność (Solidarity) still has great influence today.

Solidarity founder and former Polish President Lech Wałęsa visited Tunisian protestors in 2011

The "crooked" house in Sopot.

Krzywy Domek

Did I step through the looking-glass?

Hotel Gdansk. 

Home away from home for the Spanish soccer team during Euro 2012

Also - we got to watch the European championship game (Italy vs. Spain) during this visit.  

If you didn't follow the tournament - Spain won

Beautiful copper kettles at the Browarnia Gdansk (Gdansk Brewery)

Microbreweries are an old way of life in Gdansk. There are several in the medieval section of the city. 

Most Polish families in the countryside still make their own beer and wine at home.

In Gdansk, like in Germany, you have three choices of type of locally-brewed beer: 

- dark lager, wheat lager, light (colored) lager -

All delicious!

Smacznego!

For more information and better pictures of Gdansk:

http://www.gdansk-life.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gda%C5%84sk

http://www.ug.gda.pl/en/

http://www.gumed.edu.pl/

http://www.hotelgdansk.com.pl/

http://www.hotelwm.pl/

Many thanks to our new friend and life long resident of Gdansk, Zbigniew Zagórski, for driving us to visit the beautiful park and church in Oliwa and to the Gdansk Shipyard. 

We also enjoyed a fantastic dinner with him at a local restaurant that features delicious pierogi! 

Zbigniew (Zbyszek for short) is a friend of our Polish teacher at FSI, Krysia Sadlowska. 

Over the last few months, Zbyszek has been my email "pen-pal" in Gdansk.  

Dzięki Zbigniewowi Zagórskiemu za ładny dzien i pomoc.

Friends, family and Olmsted: Please contact Doug or I if you would like to come visit!

Our new apartment is a very easy 5 minute walk down the river to the beautiful medieval section of town. We will be able to welcome visitors in our home starting July 20, 2012!