Month: September 2024

Mielno day 2

The area of Pomerania that we are in has changed ownership multiple times over the past two hundred years. It was part of Prussia and the German empire then it was Polish then the Germans invaded at the start of World War Two. Each time it changed hands there was persecution and displacement.

Back in about 1865 Dukes’s Great Grandfather, Wilhelm Noerenberg was born in the village of Krasnik/Kratzig very near where we are staying in Mielno. In 1882 at the age of 17 he emigrated to the United States with his brother and his parents.

The nearest church to Kratzig was probably the 15th century church in Biesiekierz/Biziker. It is mentioned frequently in Noerenberg documents. Today we visited both villages.

The Germans here were all expelled by the Poles after WW 1 so there would not be any Noerenbergs here now.

A cemetery in a nearby village. There were no death dates before 1945 because the Poles got rid of any sign of the Germans.
The 14th century church in Biesiekierz/Biziker
An old building in Kratzig/Krasnik
Inside the in Biesiekierz/Biziker church
The road to Krasnik

In Biesiekierz/Biziker this potato monument was across from the church. You can see the church in the background. According to the sign the potato was erected in 1983 on the occasion of breeding 9 new varieties of potatoes.

The potato monument

Right next to the potato is a monument celebrating the Poles who kicked out the Germans. Presumably some of Dukes German relatives were among those kicked out.

The monument. Below is the Google translation of the inscription.
The translation of the Biesiekierz/Biziker monument

The weather today was beautiful. When we got back to the hotel these people were sunning on the beach below our room.

Sun bathers
The beach in front of our hotel

We used the sauna and the pool before dinner.

In the sauna
The pool
The shower had some really cool effects complete with the sounds of thunder and a light show.
For dinner I had pierogi
Duke had slow cooked beef with mashed potatoes and liver.
There was live music

It was a wonderful day!

Ustka to Mielno

Today we made a fairly short drive west along the Baltic coast to the seaside tourist town of Mielno. We drove back roads and saw a lot of interesting farms, buildings and towns.

This church in a little village we drove through caught my eye so we stpopped to check it out. The sign by the door says it was built in the late 14th century.

Church in village of Iwięcono

In Mielno we are staying at a wonderful hotel, Baltivia Sea Resort. We are right on the beach.

Our room in Mielno
The view from our balcony

For dinner we walked a couple blocks to the main street of Mielno where we had wonderful fish and chips for dinner.

Bistro. Kamienica where we ate dinner.
My fried flounder and chips
Duke’s cod with chips
The view as we walked back to the hotel after dinner

Gdańsk to Ustka

This morning we went for a second time to a bakery near our hotel. On both our visits they were loading bake goods into vans. I assume these were delivery vans. The smell of baking pastries was devine. We bought three pastries to take back to the hotel. They were sooooo good!

Delivery van being loaded
Ordering our pastries
Duke has our pastries in his hand
Breakfast

Later we checked out and walked to the train station where we picked up our rental car

Walking to the station
Signing for the rental car

About an hour into the drive we stopped at an Aldi grocery store and picked up a few necessities

In the grocery story

Tonight we are in the town of Ustka. After we checked in we went for a walk on the beech.

Walking along the Baltic coast
The beech
Our hotel – Hotel Royal Baltic

Gdańsk day 2

Gdańsk is an absolutely beautiful town and we are having absolutely perfect weather. Today we went out wandering and exploring.

First we visited the museum in the Gdańsk Crane. The crane is a medieval port crane built originally in the 1400s. The museum explained a lot of the medieval maritime history of Gdańsk. The crane was recently renovated and is very interesting.

The Gdańsk Crane
One of the giant wheels inside the crane.

Then we walked to the European Solidarity Center. It has an excellent permanent exhibit about the solidarity movement which started here in the Gdańsk shipyard. The audio tour was very well done. Basically, during the 1980s Polish people came together and focused and worked singlemindedly to achieve democracy for Poland.

Inside the permanent exhibit
The entry to the Solidarity Center is built to look like the entrance to the Gdańsk shipyard where it all started.
The observation deck on top of the museum
A view of the old shipyards from the observation deck

By the time we finished at the Solidarity Center our feet were hurting. On our way back to the hotel we stopped for coffee.

Coffee break
Back near the hotel we had a beer break

For dinner we ate outside at a wonderful restaurant, Literacka.

Wild boar
Dinner

As we walked back to the hotel the full moon was coming up. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Walking back to the hotel

Ełk to Gdańsk

Our hotel in Elk was very interesting. There was no receptionist or staff that we saw. We had a code to enter at the gate and when we checked in. The automated machine at the door allowed us to pay and then it produced a key card for our room.

Machine for checking in and out
Our room just before we left this morning
The H Aparthotel where we stayed

We had an early start. We got a 7:00 train in Ełk going to Gdańsk. The train was very comfortable. Around noon we arrived in Gdańsk and walked to our hotel.

Ełk train station
Along the route to our hotel in Gdańsk

Gdańsk is a beautiful city. We explored a bit this afternoon.

The canal next to our hotel
The 11th century grain elevator

We had an excellent dinner at ViceVersa a restaurant on the water. Then we walked around and enjoyed the beauty of Gdańsk.

At dinner
This pedestrian bridge rotates to let traffic through on the canal
The moon coming up
Walking back to the hotel
A street performer