On the surface of it, booking an evening 3-hour bike tour that starts just about 2 hours after we got off a 3-hour train ride into town was probably not my best decision of this vacation. Felt a little pressed trying to get there for the start. But the tour itself was solid and I'm glad we did it. Covered a lot more ground than we could have just walking around. Also opened up the next day for exploration beyong the city (more posts coming on that). And our guide, whose main gig is working at one of the local museums, was knowledgeable and the right level of engaging for our energy and interests.
Met up at
Poland by Locals to select our bikes and do a little spin around the old town learning some of the history dating back centuries (relationship of the church, local businessmen, the royals, etc.).
Our next stop was
Pomnik Obrońców Poczty Polskiej w Gdańsku, which in English translates to Defenders of the Post Office, commemorating a
WW2 event I did not know. There is a
museum, as well, for those who really want to dig deep into the story.
The history tour continued, with a stop outside the
WW2 Museum, which cuts an impressive and striking figure in the landscape. Apparently you can spend anywhere from 3-7 hours to go through everything. And the theory of the design to progress from below ground (darkness) to the upper levels (light) sounds clever. Could not allocate 7 hours to visit the inside on this trip (or probably any subsequent trip, to be honest).
We pedaled onward toward the stockyards, snapping some shots of the view and a family of ducks.
Stopped at
Przestrzeń Sztuki WL4 Mleczny Piotr (no idea how to translate beyond 'art space', per google). Looked interesting and something I'd give a spin through in other circumstances. But within the scope of the broader bike tour we were on there was only time for a quick chat, views from the outside, and a few pics.
Next stop was
Ulica Elektryków, aka Electric Avenue, which of course makes me think of
Eddy Grant and also a nasty
rental house circa 1992 that was even too rough for our group of 22-year old slobs to consider. But Gdansk's Ulica Elektryków looks pretty cool. It was quiet and closed on a Sunday evening with just a few random youths enjoying a bit of BYO. But if you're young at heart and in Gdansk on a Friday or Saturday night, maybe check it out.
Right around the corner, so to speak, is the
European Solidarity Centre. Another interesting and impressive site that could be worth some time to investigate further.
Our main objective was to head up to the roof and take in some views of the shipyard. From there you can see how things have evolved and continue to 'progress'. Cranes that used to be exclusively for shipbuilding are now also bringing sharp, modern, and high-priced condo complexes.
We worked our way back to the center through a residential area west-ish of the WW2 Museum and north of the the Hilton. Interesting to pass through, including the
Bunkier Music Club, which is a converted air raid shelter. Our guide noted that you can forget about having cel service inside. Like clubbing in the 90s.
The home stretch comes down into the center along the water, with a little hop over to
Granary Island (once the bridge comes down).
Solid tour that gave us a really good orientation to the city and some useful history notes. One consistent theme is resilience of the people of Gdansk. Another might be how things are being reclaimed, both by those with more bohemian interests (e.g. the free art space and Electric Avenue) and commercial developers (all the condos, all over the place). Kind of a creative / economic tension playing itself out in how Gdansk develops into the future.
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