G'day Gdansk

Thanks to Valli, I got to watch the last quarter of the Seahawks game with Betty last night, just like a normal away game.  Skype is a great thing!  Julia Child isn't quite sure what to make of it, but it's fun to see her......we're both missing her.

As we drove into Gdansk yesterday, we came through Gydinia, which seemed about 10 miles long as we drove through it.  Pretty high density housing, and I'm wondering what all these people do for a living?  My answer came today.  We took a cruise (on a pirate ship) with an English speaking guide.  The history of this city is amazing-----the size of the harbor is immense.  Thousands of cranes as far as you can see, building ships or repairing them.  When I say ships----I mean SHIPS.  the largest one we saw was an oil tanker, over a thousand feet long.  As it was empty, it sat probably twenty stories above the water.  Huge ferries, freighters, and even sailboats.  As the guide said, if you want a cheap ship, go to China.  if you want the best, come here.  It certainly brings light to what the Solidarity movement was about.  There's not a lot else to do here than work in that industry, and most of the jobs now are good paying respectable jobs thanks to Lech Walensa.

The old town has incredible charm.  the architecture is spectacular.  Amber shops are everywhere.  The main church is the seventh largest in th world and completely made of brick.  The gates of the old walls lead to a walkway along the water filled with charming restaraunts.  We went to the main square for lunch.   Donna had a "polish dumpling with Chicken and Mushroom".  Imagine a kninish filled with chicken and mushrooms in a bechamel sauce and you have it.    I had bigos with potatoes, which was described as sour cabbage with meat and sausage.  Both were incredible.  Can't wait to try them when we get back.  We're cooking in tonite--tenderloin smothered in mushrooms.  We bought the mushrooms on the way here---one pound of golden chantrelles for five bucks.  We'll eat well tonite.  Tomorrow we're going to see a couple of museums that were closed today (monday) and drive out to another town called Sopot, which is reported to be a resort town.  While we don't have exactly resort weather, we're anxious to see it.

We both would reccomend this city to anyone that will be near it.  It is a pain in the ass to get to, but well worth the experience.