Picturesque Polish Port

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Gdańsk, Poland

A 1,000 year-old port city on the Baltic coast of Poland, Gdańsk is part of a bustling metropolitan area with a historic center that was nearly destroyed in WWII, but has been carefully reconstructed since. Our tour of the Baltic has given us a better grasp of the terrible toll of the war, the Soviet Union’s and Nazi aggression. We admire the resilience and quest for freedom of the proud people in this part of Europe who have repulsed communism’s insidious consequences.

Gdańsk is the home of Lech Walesa, famous for the “Solidarity Movement” of the 1980s which helped topple the Soviet Union. Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize for his fearless leadership, rising from the shipyards to global notoriety.

We have long respected the Polish culinary art of pierogi making, having dear friends with a Polish heritage. Jerry has had a hand in crafting thousands of the dough-wrapped savory and sweet treats at the annual Krol Pierogi Fest, so we eliminated a Pierogi making workshop here! The Polish apple pancakes for breakfast were a hit however.