Tag Archives: Gdansk

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Day 58: Gdansk to Poznan

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Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7713 miles down, 872 to go

Yesterday afternoon and evening, we walked around the waterfront and the town center in Gdansk to view the architecture and check out the cuisine. About 90 percent of the buildings in Gdansk were destroyed during World War II, but most of them have been restored to their original condition.

 

Typical street scene in Gdansk

Typical street scene in Gdansk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Before dinner, we took a whirlwind golf cart tour of the city and then tried some Goldwasser, a vodka liqueur which is made in Gdansk and contains flakes of 23 karat gold. Everyone agreed it was thicker than normal vodka and it went down much smoother. I thought swallowing gold flakes sounded a little weird, but we were all still alive this morning.

 

Goldwasser vodka liqueur

Goldwasser vodka liqueur (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the Goldwasser, we went to the Velevetka restaurant, where we had a tasty traditional Polish dinner, including Leo’s pig’s knuckle.

 

Pig's knuckle, traditional Polish dish

Pig’s knuckle, traditional Polish dish (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Today we had a nice drive to Poznan on a combination of four-lane highways and back country roads, although even the back roads were in excellent shape. We were at our hotel in Poznan by 3 p.m., early enough to do some exploring. Poznan isn’t nearly as big a tourist attraction as Gdansk, but it still has beautiful architecture, tasty sidewalk cafes, and even surprises on the menu.

 

Street in the old town portion of Poznan

Street in the old town portion of Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

One of the many sidewalk cafes we saw in Poznan

One of the many sidewalk cafes we saw in Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Café window in Poznan

Café window in Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Bar food menu in Poznan

Bar food menu in Poznan — I think gzik and awanturka would be surprises, too! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow we drive to Berlin, Germany, a distance of 281 km. We’ll be in Berlin on Monday for some exploration and then on to Hanover on Tuesday.

 

 

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Day 57: Kaliningrad to Gdansk, Poland

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Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7527 miles down, 1058 to go

We obliterated our previous border crossing record of four hours today with a new time of one hour and five minutes. I think that will be tough to beat, especially since we will be in European Union countries from now on and have no more borders to cross.

Right before we hit the border, some traffic police pulled us over, but it turned out they just wanted to take some pictures with the Roadster. They let us take some pictures of their car as well!

John checks out a Russian traffic police car

John checks out a Russian traffic police car (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Hamming it up with the traffic police

Hamming it up with the traffic police (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We arrived at our hotel in Gdansk at about 2:45, but with a one hour time change, it was 1:45. We plan to spend this afternoon relaxing and exploring a bit, and then Leo, who is of Polish descent, is treating everyone to a traditional Polish dinner tonight, complete with Polka music.

Tomorrow, we head to Poznan, a drive of about 300 km. I hope all of you have a safe Fourth of July!

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Day 56: Kaliningrad

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Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7426 miles down, 1159 to go

To start the day, we had a photo op this morning at the request of the Moscow (Moskva) Hotel where we are staying.

 

Photo op at the Moskva Hotel

Photo op at the Moskva Hotel (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the photos, we took a tour of Kaliningrad where we saw many beautiful restored houses such as this row house in the old working section of the city,

 

Restored row house in the old working section of Kaliningrad

Restored row house in the old working section of Kaliningrad (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

a kitten that wanted to come home with us,

 

Kaliningrad kitten

Kaliningrad kitten (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

and an old Russian car called a Chaika that was being used at part of a cowboys-and-Indians-themed wedding (don’t ask me why — I’m just reporting what I saw).

 

Russian car

Russian car (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Kaliningrad, known as Koenigsberg until 1946 because it was part of Germany, is surrounded by water and had seven bridges in the 18th century. Some people wondered if it would be possible to make a complete route through the city without crossing a bridge more than once. It turns out that the answer is “nyet,” or “no” and the mathematician Leonhard Euler proved this in 1736, giving birth to a new branch of mathematics called graph theory. Who knew?

 

Depiction of the seven bridges of Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad)

Depiction of the seven bridges of Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad) (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Down by the river, we also saw a research ship named for cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev, who was one of three cosmonauts killed during the re-entry of the Soyuz 11 mission on June 30, 1971. Click here for more information about the tragic mission.

 

Ship named for Cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev

Research ship named for Cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We also checked out the restoration-in-progress of the Kaliningrad Cathedral that included stained glass, a gargantuan organ, and an interesting process for making souvenir coins. The structure of this cathedral survived bombings of Koenigsberg by the Royal Air Force during World War II, but the interior was obliterated by fires that spread from nearby buildings destroyed by bombs.

 

The outside of the restored cathedral

The outside of the restored cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Stained glass window restoration

Stained glass window restoration (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Organ in the balcony of the cathedral

Organ in the balcony of the cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The old-fashioned way of making souvenir coins

The old-fashioned way of making souvenir coins (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Our last stop on the tour was the Amber Museum, which is housed in one of the defensive towers of the old fortress that used to surround Kaliningrad.

 

Exterior of the Amber Museum

Exterior of the Amber Museum (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Insects in amber

Insects in amber (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Amber tiger portrait

Amber tiger portrait (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the tour, Cathy, Karen and I did some shopping, including picking up some snacks and fish at the open-air market for lunch during our border crossing tomorrow.

 

Farmer's market about 1km from our hotel

Farmer’s market about 1km from our hotel (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Getting smoked fish for lunch at the border tomorrow

Getting smoked fish for lunch at the border tomorrow (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow we drive about 30 km to the border with Poland and then proceed to Gdansk. Total driving distance is about 163 km. This is the last border crossing for the first leg of the World Auto Tour!