Gdansk or Dantzig - Poland

Barely two days after my way back from Prague, I should take once again the train to go back to Torp airport. This time, I started for a fourteen days travel to visit 4 countries.

So: Second Step to Gdansk.

I've never been in Poland. I heard about them that they were very poor, that they earned money mostly from their agriculture. They were alcoholic as well as barbarians and cousin with Russians. I heard also that they came into the European Union to steal the subvention of agriculture (always agriculture) and invade us with their plumbers.

Actually, the ERASMUS experience helped me to move me away of these believes but some stereotypes were still in my head. When I've met a Polish girl this semester during the boat trip and I due to bring her up until her dorm after the crossing because she was too drunk to walk, this was normal to have still some doubts ... lol

So let's back to our topic i.e. this trip. I've choosen Gdansk because this was the only opportunity to go from Norway to Finland without to pay more than hundred euros for a flight. I spent 1 day there and enough time to visit Lech Walesa's town.


It's hard to leave Gdansk without to know the fact that Walesa is not from this town !! It's a Polish caracteristic to call all airport by a famous Polish. For example: Krakow airport is called Frederic Chopin and so one.

The Historical fact is very important for Polish People. It's not in France that we could see, "this year, it's the birthday of the constitution" as an advertising poster.


After the airport, I joined downtown and I visited the place that the Polish girl from Gdansk that I know to Kristiansand adviced me (It's not the same girl that I brought up ^^).




So this was that she called "the modern downtown" in other words the current core. This is pretty nice and I didn't expect that kind of beautiful buildings. Now let's go to the "old town".





You can notice that several flags are put on the street. This was in memory of Lech Kaczynski died 15 days before in a plane crash.

After these very beautiful streets I accrossed the bridge to join my Hostel and that one was located in a popular district of Gdansk. You will see the contrast with the previous pictures.




The morning of the day after I'd visit the non-touristic Poland. I realized at this moment that there were still a gap in spite of a global and promising dynamic.





Poland is maybe still a developping country if you compare with the rest of Europe but Poles live like us. They eat delicious ice creams, receive ACDC as guest, watch movies with Gerard Depardieu and read Marx (despite their History).





However they respect always their traditions.


Sometimes they find some solutions to do both.


Or at least they tried ...


For those of you who don't know. Matriochka (poupées Russes) are not Polish but only Russian !!

To sum up, I spent a very nice day. And I know now that I must visit the rest of Poland where I guess that there are plenty interesting place to visit.