The trip from Warnemunde, Germany to Gdynia, Poland took several extra hours, so our ship did not dock until 1 pm today. The morning, however was filled with lectures and a preview of our stop in Estonia two days from now. First Elizabeth Cassell, our social anthropologist, spoke on "The Beginnings of Russia". Then we were briefed on what expect in Tallinn, Estonia, our port of call. Then Christian Allie, a gemologist, spoke on "Baltic Amber, the ancient gold of the north", with tips on how to determine real amber from fake. The tip: real amber floats in water.
Our tour to Gdansk took place in the afternoon and included a walking tour of the old town, mostly destroyed during WWII and rebuilt. Looking at the vibrant "Long Market" street, once the King's Way, it was hard to imagine the destruction - until the guide pointed out photos of what it had looked like. The area near the old town saw the real beginning of that war when German soldiers invaded Gdansk.
A second highlight of the tour was to see (though only at a distance) the Gdansk shipyard where the workers' movement known as Solidarity began which ultimately led to Polish independence and obliquely to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Tomorrow we spend the day at sea on our way to Estonia. Maybe we can sleep late...
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