There was a big fire at our intended port in Gdańsk, 20 minutes away from the city. As a result, our docking port was changed to Gdynia, an hour away. This obviously changed the timing of our day, so at 7:45, after a very quick breakfast, we boarded the bus for our tour to Gdańsk.

We went through three towns to get there and as our tour guide was from that area, she shared a lot of informal information. That being said, we will get right to Gdańsk.

A little introductory history: In the 16th and 17th centuries, Gdańsk was Poland’s wealthiest city. Under the Hanseatic League, a name we will keep hearing, merchants thrived with all the natural resources available to them to export along the Vistula River -a gateway to the waters of Europe. But along with the rest of Poland, Gdańsk declined in the 18th century and became part of Prussia. After WWI, it became a city- state, the Free City of Danzig. In 1939, Hitler, wanting to bring it back to the German fold, invaded the city thus initiating WWII. The Nazi’s didn’t destroy too much of the city, the Poles gave in pretty quickly. However, 90% of the city was destroyed when the Soviet’s "liberated " it from Nazi control in March of 1945, also their first conquest on their march to Berlin. Here we leave history and talk about this unique city.

Our tour took place in the old town the primary area of interest for tourists. After the war,the Poles decided to rebuild as close to the old style as possible, so the buildings are narrow, but deep and tall, similar to Amsterdam, but a very different style. Everything has not been rebuilt, even now. There are buildings, like the granaries which are still being either razed or rebuilt and other areas we were told about but did not see.

We started on " the Royal Way", actually Długa street which was the biggest and longest ( and also richest 600 years ago). Saw the Armory, a beautiful example of Dutch architecture. It has exploding cannonballs from the turrets. Beautiful examples of architecture abound. Although the house fronts look old, the insides are totally modernized. Town hall has a brick clock tower that dominates the city..

Długa widens and becomes Long Street. Neptune’s statue is one of Gdańsk’s most important landmarks— a fitting symbol for a city that is dominated by maritime life.

Midway down the Long Market Street is a thermometer of Daniel Fehrenheit, born here but worked in Amsterdam.

From here walked to St. Mary’s Church, the largest brick church in the world. Its footprint is larger than a football field and can accommodate 20,000 standing worshippers.

It is specifically known for two things—the Astronomical Clock, supposedly the largest in the world. ( personally, I think the one in Prague is larger). A naked Adam and Eve at the top get ready to ring the bell).

The second is a copy of Hans Memling’s Last Judgement. The real one, according to Rick Steves is being " held hostage" in the National Myseum in Gdańsk. In its past, it was stolen, traded and has been in many different countries before this.

Here, we left the tour, found a local Starbucks to rest and have a cold refreshing drink ( it was about 88 outside), and made our way for the walk towards our afternoon goal of the Solidarity Museum.

This spectacular museum tells the story of the end of Eastern European communism. The building is built to resemble the rusted hull of a giant ship. Inside though is very bright, the lobby is filled with plants. Dull and dreary to optimism perhaps.

There are seven rooms, several in which you go back and forth with the essential included audio guide. The Birth of Solidarity has hundreds of plastic helmets on the ceiling and a large map that shows the extent of the shipyard. It starts in August, 1980 when the shipyard workers are rising up and begin their famous strike.

Lech Wałęsa leads the strike, and 18 days later, the strikers 21 demands, written on planks of wood, are met.

The history of red Europe is traced through pictures, film, and interactive exhibits.

Although the government didn’t take the 21 demands seriously, the Poles did. Solidarity became an important movement and there was a period of hope for 16 months.

Then on Dec. 13, 1981, the Polish head of state announced martial law. Solidarity was outlawed. Although terrifying for the Poles, it did not kill the now huge solidarity movement, but forced it underground with wide support from the outside world. Wałęsa received the Nobel peace prize, although he sent his wife to accept as he feared he would not be let back into the country.

Enter Pope John 2nd encouraging free elections. This was the start of the happy ending. Wałęsa actively helped the candidates, and in the next to the last room, the "Triumph of Freedom" shows the same map as earlier although now each member of the Soviet Bloc " decomposes".

Our trip through this incredible museum brought back our memories if this period of history, and made us reflect on the high quality of our lives and how lucky we are.

We took an Uber back down to the center of town to explore Mariecuska, the street of Amber, before walking over to the shuttle to get back to our ship.

Five minutes after boarding the shuttle, we hit a Florida-like storm that downed branches and flooded streets. High kudos to our bus driver for maneuvering so well!

Some well deserved gelato ended our evening after an exceptional, thought provoking and exhausting trip through history.