Our train car already held three passengers - a woman who was just coming back from three months of missionary work in Russia, a man who was a Fulbrighter in California, and an old man who spent two years in America, working in Washington state, picking apples (and discovering new strains of apples). So, there was quite a bit of English spoken after the old man saw that Lola was reading a book in English.
The old man was a hoot and a half. He kept saying racist things (which isn't funny), and we weren't quite sure if he understood that he was being racist. Other than using the N word and calling Asians "yellow people," he also asked us if we were frightened to have Obama be our president because black people might take over. I wish I could remember the exact words. I assured him that it was OK because Obama was only half-black (tongue in cheek) while Lola remained at a loss for words. Luckily, Lola recovered and proceeded to explain that white people don't need to fear minorities in the presidency.
Upon arrival to Gdansk, we walked from our hostel to the Old Town. Old Town is gorgeous. We were so hungry from our 8 hour (local) train ride. So we went to a pierogarnia. They had a sweet option where you could try four varieties of pierogi. So I had blueberry pierogi, raisin, nut, and peach pierogi, wild game pierogi, and spinach and tomato pierogi. They were all so good.
We walked around the Old Town after that. It was only 8 pm, so we didn't want to go straight back to the hostel. So, we decided to see a movie. The only option was The Skin I Live In - a Spanish language film with Polish subtitles. (For the record, Mom and Dad - do not rent this movie. I promise you that you will hate it.) The movie - what we understood of it - was really weird. It's about a plastic surgeon, revenge, murder, sexuality, and all sorts of dark themes. We wikipediaed the film when we returned to the hostel, and it turns out that we understood most of the plot with only a few, minor aspects.
The next morning, we woke up early to follow Rick Steves's walks (a "Royal Route" walk and a Solidarity walk). Nothing in Gdansk really opens until 10, so it was nice wandering the streets at 8:30-ish.
We went to Mariacka Street, the street by the Church of St. Mary. It's the most beautiful street in Gdansk. It also hosts many amber shops. Which means that around 10 o'clock the streets are full of display cases.
Also on Mariacka Street is the house that Nikolai Koperniki's lover lived. Now, if I remember my history correctly, Copernicus never married nor had children. But the Gotyk House makes a big deal about how his lover lived there. So she may have been a serious girlfriend.
The best thing on Mariacka Street (other than Nicolaus Copernicus's lover's house) was the following. So if anyone wants to send me 6,000 zloty, I can have my roommate pick it up next time she's in Gdansk.
Since we were on Mariacka Street, it only made sense to go to the Church of St. Mary. This is by far the most important Church in Gdansk (though St. Brigitte - the home parish of Lech Walesa would also be a cool church visit for Lola and I later this weekend). This church has a very tall tower. 406 steps tall. So we climbed it. Not only did we climb 406 steps, but we paid 5 zl to climb 406 steps. I thought I was going to die. The nice German ladies who were climbing with us commiserated.
Next, we went to the Amber Museum. This museum was totally worth it for one single awesome reason: the building it's in used to be a prison. This is more obvious from the below photograph. That heavy wooden door hides a cell that is maybe 8 feet by 6 feet. If I'm being generous. I am so glad I was not a criminal back in the 1300s (or 1500s - I need to break out my Rick Steves to double fact check).
Other cool things about the museum included two entire rooms devoted to the history of imprisonment and torture, including great background "music" (the sounds of people being tortured). It was delightfully kitschy. There was also the following photograph. Which was completely without context.
Next, we did the Solidarity walk. Which was basically just a walk to the Solidarity Museum with very little of historical interest on the way.
We realized we arrived when we saw the first political statement - a piece of the Berlin wall across from a piece of the shipyard wall. Poland is very adamant about the fact that Solidarity began a domino effect that ended Communism. I would argue that they're correct, but I imagine people could argue otherwise. After all, Solidarity wasn't the only factor weakening the Communist stronghold at the time.
That's the real life pen that Lech Walesa used to sign agreements - I believe during the Round Table talks. It's entirely legit and GIANT. It's one of those pens that's probably as long as my forearm. You can buy replicas for 15 zl. I kind of want one. It's also a Pope Pen for those who can't see the face very well. As in JPII. Legit.
Then we saw the monument to the dock workers - primarily those who died during the 1970 massacre, but also those who fought for freedom during the 1980 strike.
Finally, I made Lola walk all over Gdansk with me so that we could see Lech Walesa's church. The same church that holds a memorial to Jerzy Popieluszko. Popieluszko was a priest who was brutally murdered by three thugs in an attempt by the Communist government to stop Jerzy's involvement in the Solidarity movement. He was pretty BA. He's officially recognized as a martyr and has been beatified.
So, that's the first two days. Two more days to go! But that will have to wait for another day.
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