We were warmly welcomed and we stayed for some supper at their house. It was exciting for Loren to meet her new extended family, and she was particularly exciting to meet her new niece! Sonia is learning English at school, so she read to Loren in English from one of her books. Loren, in return, practised some of her newly learnt Polish words. After dinner, we drove to the chocolate factory that Artur's brother owns, as they had a furnished apartment above their office there. We were surprised by how big it was, we were very comfortable!
Hel Peninsula
The next morning, Konrad came to work - beneath our appartment - and brought some goodies for breakfast. Our feast included our favorite 'Danio', which is like yoghurt but thicker. The french call it 'fromage blanc' - white cheese, so I don't think it is actually yoghurt.
The next morning, Konrad came to work - beneath our appartment - and brought some goodies for breakfast. Our feast included our favorite 'Danio', which is like yoghurt but thicker. The french call it 'fromage blanc' - white cheese, so I don't think it is actually yoghurt.
After breakfast, we set off for a windsurfing trip on the 'Hel' peninsula. Unfortunately, the wind wasn't on our side. We checked out several beaches, but there was no wind anywhere. Eventually we decided it wasn't worth hiring the gear when there was no wind, so we went to check out the Old Fish Town. This area used to be off-limits to normal people, as it was a military base, but now anyone can go there. The port was quite beautiful, and we saw a paraglider with a motor attached, buzzing around above us. We think he was taking pictures of the port. We also saw lots of boats of tourists, taking speedboat rides around the bay.
Fokarium
After walking along the beach for a while, we reached the 'Fokarium' (Yes, that was the name!). 'Fok' actually means 'seal', so it was a seal enclosure. Loren loved it, and could have watched the seals for hours. There were some very unusual looking seals. They were quite large and bulbous. Artur didn't enjoy it so much, because there were so many people and crowds of kids who had just finished school for the year.
That evening, Sonia was at a friends house, so the rest of us went to the park. Artur and Konrad played basketball together. It's always a big match when they get together. Unfortunately, Artur had to give the glory to his older brother this time. In the meantime, Gosia and Loren went a littlege pub that was in the gardens, and had some cocktails. It was a great chance to know each other, and escape from the heat. By the time the girls got back, the boys were extremely hot, sweaty and bruised.Dinner at Monciak
For dinner we went to the pedestrian zone street - Monciak, which is completely packed with people at this time of year. The street is filled with great bars, restaurants and cafes. We even saw a few guys on their bucks nights, fulfilling their list of tasks. One was holding a sign that requested money for viagra. We were also fascinated by the statues on the street. There were sculptures of people positioned on high wires, and all over the place.
After a good look around the street, they took us to a great sushi train bar, which had a fresh bird-of-paradise flower attached to each plate that went around. We were a little confused at first though, as the sushi trains usually have lots of dishes cooked and travelling around for you to choose from, however this one seemed to be for ordering only. There was a couple of things floating around, but if you wanted to satiate your hunger, you had to order. After dinner we tried the fabulous Polish 'gofry', which is a fresh waffle! Loren tried sour cherries and chocolate sauce on top, Artur had strawberries and cream. They were both absolutely delicious! You can always tell where they are being sold, from the fabulous smell that wafts around you.
Wedding at the Gardens
The next morning, we awoke to the delicious smell of the chocolate factory again, then we headed off to the big park in the middle of the Tri-Cities. We were going there to attend a wedding with Gosia and Konrad. It was the wedding of some parents at Sonia's school, who they are friends with. Loren is in the research phase for our wedding, so she was thrilled to see this wedding and all the other brides that had come to the park for their photos. There wasn't much wedding finery at this wedding though, as it was their second wedding and the bride just wore a normal dress.
The next morning, we awoke to the delicious smell of the chocolate factory again, then we headed off to the big park in the middle of the Tri-Cities. We were going there to attend a wedding with Gosia and Konrad. It was the wedding of some parents at Sonia's school, who they are friends with. Loren is in the research phase for our wedding, so she was thrilled to see this wedding and all the other brides that had come to the park for their photos. There wasn't much wedding finery at this wedding though, as it was their second wedding and the bride just wore a normal dress.
It was a nice reception outside in the park though. It wasn't the official reception, but just something to welcome the guests and entertain them. The reception was set up in a few little marquee tents on wooden floors. Champagne was being served on trays by waiters, and there was an opera singer and a violinist playing.
After the reception, we went visit the biggest Cathedral in Poland - Oliwa Cathedral, which is located in the centre of the park. It was spectacular, and it had a huge and famous organ there. We were about to leave when the organs started playing, so we decided to stay and check it out. It was so beautiful and soothing, Loren was thrilled that we got to stay and listen.
New House
We took a quick drive out of the city, so that we could check out the house that Konrad and Gosia were having built for them. The structure of the house was complete, and they were just beginning to tile and finish the surfaces in the house. All of the houses in the street were very similar, but they made some architectural changes to their own taste. Just nearby, there is a huge forest, which each house owns a part of, and has access to through a private entrance.
After seeing the house, we dropped off a birthday present for one of Sonia's friends who was having her party at an adventure park. Sonia was there already and was playing with her friends and checking out the play equipment. The kids had access to riding Quads, jumping on the trampoline, ropes courses, playground, rock climbing etc. We stayed around for a while, and Gosia and Konrad caught up with other parents.Orlowo, Gdynia
Soon we headed off to the seaside in Orlowo, where we had lunch. The restaurant was on a deck above the water, and the view was great. After we finished, we went to explore the shoreline, while Gosia read on the beach. There were lots of newlyweds at the beach having photos taken, but we wandered further to watch the games happening on the beach-volleyball courts. We went to watch the girls first, but they weren't that great at playing, so then we watched the guys. The guys were better players and the game was much faster, but I think the guys enjoyed watching the girls more :)
We went to pick up Sonia from the party and watch her ride the Quads. After the party activities were over, they offered a bonfire with Polish sausages on sticks. It was the first time that Loren had tried these kind of sausages.Sopot Pier
Konrad dropped us off at the house, then took Gosia to the airport, because she had a big party in Warsaw with her skiing friends. In the meantime, we took Sonia for a walk to the Sopot pier. Sonia had just gotten a push scooter for 'Children's day', so she rode alongside us. We tried it out ourselves a few times as well. On our way to the pier, we saw a little sunflower sprinkler that moved like crazy! The head part of the flower flew around and around, throwing itself from side to side as it watered the lawn.
We saw the impressive Grand Hotel that was facing the pier with beautiful lawns and flowers. The pier itself was really big. It's wider than the St Kilda Pier, but it's about the same length. When we got to the restaurant at the other end, there was a machine that blew bubbles, so we stayed and played with that for a while. Loren tried to pop bubbles by kissing them. The sun was setting while we were on the pier, so it was absolutely beautiful.
Monciak
Soon after, we went to meet Konrad in a restaurant near Monciak. There were a lot of people in the restaurant, and a very hyped atmosphere, because the big game between Poland and Germany was happening the next day. After dinner, we separated from Konrad and Sonia, and went to meet one of Artur's high school friends - Binio. It was great for Loren to meet one of Artur's Polish friends for the first time. Binio is a fire fighter and has lived in Gdansk for 10 years. He's thinking about moving to Australia for a change of scene though, so maybe we'll see him there!
We headed off together to meet some of his other friends, then go to a bar that they liked. We walked across the beach behind the bar, in order to try and sneak in, but unfortunately we were spotted. One of the girls broke her ankle strap on the way, and the rest of the girls had to struggle across in their high heels. We made it round to the front again, and managed to get around the door bitch and into the club. It was very busy inside and hard to walk through, but we finally found a free section of the bar where we could order some drinks.
We took our drinks outside into the freezing cold and hoped that the alcohol would warm us up. Some shots of cherry vodka did the trick for a while. However we all came inside for the occasional dance when we got too cold. The bar was a bit of a pick-up joint, so it was weird to be there and be attached already. But we really had a great time, and it was so great to catch up with friends.Gdansk City and Hills
The next day we had a slow start, sleeping in as long as possible. However, after we got up, Artur and Konrad went mountain-biking together. They had a great time, but were pretty tired afterwards. Konrad had planned out the route for the two of them, using his favorite parts of the mountain biking trails and his favorite downhill parts.
After the mountain biking trip, we all left to go sightseeing in Gdansk. The first thing that we saw was the tower, where they had a museum all about Amber. There were some beautiful pieces of work here, including dresses made out of amber! The most delicate and intricate looking pieces were the jewelry boxes. They used so many different types of amber, making the boxes very colourful as well.
The tower was standing just in front of the Gold Gate to Gdansk, and it used to be a prison and torture facility in the middle ages. We toured through the parts of the tower that were dedicated to its history. They showed some of the cells with their chains and different instruments of torture. A soundtrack with scary sounds of torture was playing in the background, so the whole place was a bit spooky.
There was a cool story about a guy who lost his head twice! He was the jail keeper, and he was accused of helping one of the prisoners to escape. As punishment, he was guillotined. They found out afterwards, that the guy that escaped was the lover of the jail keeper's daughter, and she had helped him to escape. As reparation for killing the innocent jail keeper, they erected a stone carving of the jail keeper's head on the tower. Unfortunately, the head ended up becoming disattached and falling from the building. So the jail keeper lost his head for the second time.
Ulica Dluga
After seeing the tower, we walked under the Gold Gate, and down the main street called 'Ulica Dluga', which means 'long street', very original :) This street was really beautiful, as it is lined with really tall and skinny old houses. The pedestrian zone in the middle was filled with people selling balloons, and especially Polish flags, t-shirts and scarves, ready for the big Germany vs Poland game that night.We also checked out the huge Neptune fountain in the street, which was pretty spectacular.
Kosciol Mariacki
We went to see the huge Kosciol Mariacki - which is St Mary's Church, and the biggest church in Poland. The ceiling, the stained glass windows and the enormous chandeliers were very impressive. We climbed the tower, which of course is a compulsory task for Artur, who has an obsession with tall buildings. Konrad and Sonia left us to our task, and went for a walk in the main street.
The tower was 300 steps, and was quite a climb. On our way to the top, the staircase opened into a huge rooms where the church bells hang. We were thrilled with the view when we got to the top. The houses and buildings all around had similar roofs, and stretched as far as we could see. Loren was so impressed with the size and the old style of the city, that she decided it would be a nice place to live.
While we were at the top of the tower, we saw a procession of football (soccer) supporters parading down the main street. They were chanting, singing and playing drums. It was very loud from we were, but when the actual procession came past, it didn't look as big as we expected. It was exciting though, and it created a great atmosphere. We ended up being the last two people on the tower, and we decided to share a kiss to celebrate our great climb. We got kicked off the tower in the middle of it though, because the guard showed up and wanted to close up for the day.
We all met up again, and then went to a fabulous restaurant for lunch, called Zeppelin, because it served that fabulous potato dish by the same name. Loren had enjoyed the one from Suprasl so much, and was very much looking forward to trying it again. It was exceptional, and is well on its way to becoming one of her favorite meals.
Euro Cup!
On our way back to the car, we bought a Polish flag and scarf, in preparation for the game that night. Cars everywhere in the Tri-Cities had huge flags attached, and nearly every house was displaying their patriotism with a flag. On the way home, Loren proudly stuck the little flag out the window, with as much pride as if it was one of the big ones. If she saw someone on the side of the road, out would pop the flag. If we passed another car with a flag, out would come the flag. Artur found it very amusing.
That night we watched the game at Konrad's house, and we were on the edge of our seats with our scarfs and flags ready. Unfortunately, it was not a very successful game for Poland, and they lost 2-0. It was a bitter loss, but everyone took comfort from the fact that the guy that scored the goals, was actually born in Poland and spoke Polish.
Baltyk Chocolate Factory
Today was our second chance to go windsurfing, but first we joined Konrad for a tour of his chocolate factory - 'Baltyk'. We saw some of the new chocolates that he was producing, and we were very glad to sample them and offer our expert opinions :) They were really nice, individually wrapped chocolates. The one that we saw being made, was a chocolate with a layer of raspberry jelly and a white creamy layer, inside a coating of milk chocolate.
We also saw how the Galaretko chocolates are made. This was pretty cool, because the moulds for the chocolates are made from flour! They have a thick layer of flour which gets imprinted with holes, then they fill the holes with jelly. Once the jelly was set, each piece was coated in chocolate, very cool!
We saw some handmade candies being made here too, in the same way as they had at Artur's dad's factory. There were big vats of chocolate here too, and we saw praline fillings being made. It reminded Loren of when she worked at the cheesecake shop, because they used a lot of huge mixers like they did in her shop, and there were huge sacks of ingredients too. 
After our tour, we visited the wholesale shop at the front of the factory. It is very popular with the locals, and the retired residents in the area, who love to stock up on the fresh chocolate they sell there. It would be hard not to buy from there, with the smell of chocolate floating around you all day long.
Windsurfing in Hel!
Soon we left in the car for the beach, but Konrad had to stay at work, because it was a busy day. We arrived at the 'Chalupy Campsite' where we hired some windsurfing equipment. Artur hired a 5m sail, and Loren got a 3.3m sail. It had been 5 years since Artur had last last windsurfed, and it was Loren's second time. Thankfully, the weather lived up to the forecast, and the wind was pretty strong. This was a little challenging for Loren, but she managed to get better by the end of the day. Artur regained his skills quickly, and enjoyed the strong wind. He was shooting up and back across the water. He had borrowed a harness from Konrad, so he was able to take the weight of the sail on his body, not his arms.
The only problem with the beach was how shallow the water was. We had to walk at least 500m or more, until we could get deep enough not to be dragging the blade under the board in the sand. It was also difficult to get back, as Loren wasn't confident enough to try and sail back against the wind. Instead she had to wade through the shallow water, dragging her sail and board behind her. Artur managed to sail back, but it took quite some time.
Sopot
After we finished, we had some fresh fish at the Campsite restaurant, then headed back to Sopot. We picked up Binio on the way, and we all went to watch the Italy vs Netherlands game in a bar on Monciak. Some drunk guys watching the screen from the park benches near the bar kept approaching Binio and asking for cigarettes. He gave them some for the first few times, but eventually had to tell them no. One of the guys had such a smokers voice, it was hard to hear what he was saying. His voice would easily put Janice Joplin to shame. On the way home, we saw Binio's old fire station, which was very close to the Baltyk factory.
Solidarity Monument
On our last day in Gdansk, we decided to do some thorough sightseeing of the city. We were extremely fortunate, as it was a Tuesday, and all the musuems are free of charge on Tuesdays! The first thing we saw was the square opposite the Gdansk shipyard. This is the place where lots of strikes happened in 1970, and consequently where some Polish dock workers were killed by the Polish militia. In 1980, another wave of strikes followed. This movement is referred to as the 'Solidarnosc' or 'Solidarity' movement. Lech Walesa was a key figure in this movement, and was involved in discussions at the Round Table. He later became the first democratic president of Poland, and is also thought responsible for downfall of communism in Poland.
In this square, there a monument dedicated to the people involved in or killed in the strikes. The monument is made of three crosses with anchors attached. There is also a wall next to it, which commemorates events, and shows a list of the demands of the workers in the strikes, and their unions.
Gdansk Old Town
After this, we visited the old town, which isn't actually that old, because in World War II, the city was damaged about as badly as Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb. 90% of its buildings were completely flattened. After the war, they reconstructed the city to look just like it did before the war. So the look of the town, and its history, is much older than its actual date of construction.
We entered the city under the Gold Gate again, and then walked along the 'Ulica Dluga'.
We entered the city under the Gold Gate again, and then walked along the 'Ulica Dluga'.
Town Hall
The first thing we stopped to see was the Town Hall with its famous Red Room and allegoric pitures which depict the power of the Gdansk city. The Red Room was quite impressive, its ceiling was covered in beautiful paintings. There was one big painting in the centre, and lots of smaller ones checkered around the big one. We spent a long time craning our necks to look at the ceiling, but it was worth it. It would be nice if they had reclining chairs or futons in those rooms, so you could just lie back and enjoy the view on the ceiling.
The town hall also had a great display of black and white photos of Gdansk, just after the destruction of WWII. We spent a long time admiring the difference between the destruction and the impressive buildings that you see today. They did an excellent job of reconstructing everything.
We went to the Neptune fountain next, where absolutely every tourist was getting their photo taken. While we were there, the 'Panienka z Okienka' (little lady in the window), appeared much to the excitement of the tourists. The Panienka z Okienka is a little moving statue that appears from behind her window, every day at 12pm.
Zuraw
Next we decided to visit the 'Zuraw', which sounds kind of like 'Giraffe', and which Loren thinks would also be an appropriate reference to its height. The Zuraw is the old wooden crane that was used to lift goods from merchant ships. It is the hallmark of Gdansk, and its big wooden wheels were able to lift 1200kg! There was a museum in the same building as the crane, which showed little models on how the crane was used in the olden days. They also showed us what the inside of the crane looks like from all angles. There was also a lot of information on the workers that operated it, life during that time, and the different equipment that they used for working in the storage warehouses and on the crane itself. We got to see the actual old wheels that were used to move the crane. They were absolutely enormous!
We also saw the Maritime Musuem, which had a huge display of boats from all over the world. It was quite interesting to see how the sails on little boats are so different all over the world. Everyone uses a different method for sailing, but ultimately, everyone had the same concept, to catch the wind and be carried along by it.
Dwor Artusa
Next we saw the 'Dwor Artusa' - Artus Courtyard. This was the old building where merchants held their meetings in the 16th century. It has an 11m high stove in the corner of the main hall, pretty tall! Loren was fascinated by the main hall of this building, where the walls were covered in beautiful and enormous paintings. She spent a long time absorbing every inch of it.
This building is where Artur's brother holds a yearly chocolate festival. People display amazing sculptures of chocolate here, definitely something worth checking out, tasty and beautiful!
Our final sightseeing stop was the House of the Impomagens Family (or something like that). This house was filled with beautiful furniture and decor, from the time that the Impomagens family lived here. There were beautiful chandeliers and paintings of the walls. Basically, the house is on display to help you see how rich families lived in this era.
Next we saw the 'Dwor Artusa' - Artus Courtyard. This was the old building where merchants held their meetings in the 16th century. It has an 11m high stove in the corner of the main hall, pretty tall! Loren was fascinated by the main hall of this building, where the walls were covered in beautiful and enormous paintings. She spent a long time absorbing every inch of it.
This building is where Artur's brother holds a yearly chocolate festival. People display amazing sculptures of chocolate here, definitely something worth checking out, tasty and beautiful!Our final sightseeing stop was the House of the Impomagens Family (or something like that). This house was filled with beautiful furniture and decor, from the time that the Impomagens family lived here. There were beautiful chandeliers and paintings of the walls. Basically, the house is on display to help you see how rich families lived in this era.
Amber Shopping
After our long day of sightseeing, we searched a few stores for some pretty amber jewelry for Loren. We found a few nice things, but eventually we settled on a pretty pair of amber earrings, with dangly pieces set in a modern square shape. Before heading back to Wloclawek, we decided to make the most of the fabulous food at the Zeppelin restaurant again.
Speeding in Poland
Unfortunately, on our long drive to Wloclawek, we got caught speeding. It's pretty frustrating to drive in Poland, because the speed limits change very frequently, and if a sign shows that you've entered a town, even if there are no houses or buildings, you have to drive 50km/h. Between towns, you can go 90km/h, and on highways, it's 130km/h. The only problem is there are so few highways, that you are forced to drive on roads that wind in and out of tiny villages, no matter what direction you take. This means it takes hours longer than it would on highways, because of the low speed limit.
You can see that people are so frustrated by the speed limits, that most people speed up really quickly between towns, then brake really sharply when they see a speed camera. This is probably even more dangerous, than continuing at a normal speed. You can see so many more cars with CB radios in Poland than elsewhere, because they can communicate with other cars to find out where the cops and cameras are. They speed like crazy until they know they're approaching a cop, and then they slow down suddenly.
You might think this is really bad, but what you probably don't know is that cops make money off you when you speed in Poland. It's widely known that cops here are very willing to receive bribes, so they won't record your name and you won't get points on your licence. As a result, they are very proactive, and you find cops hiding behind bushes just after the speed limit changes to 50km/h. There are even unmarked cars with cops that film you from behind. There are hundreds of cameras along the road, although about half don't have film in them. Even the speed limits seem to be decided on the basis of how they can catch you out. Wide-laned roads with barriers between the two-way traffic, are usually 80 km/h in Australia, here they are 60km/h! It's like they try every way possible to frustrate you on the road, in order to make you speed, then when you do, they are waiting for your money.
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