Three Americans in Gdańsk for New Year's Eve

​ I was lucky enough to meet with some fellow Americans over the Christmas holidays. They are working in Spain as teaching assistants, so we decided that we would see some of Europe together. We met in Prague the day after Christmas, went to Vienna, and flew to Gdańsk for New Year's Eve. I could of course talk about Prague and Vienna, but I would much rather talk about my favorite of those three cities: Gdańsk.

​I am happy to say that the fellow Americans enjoyed Poland. It was their first time in Poland, so I was curious what they might think. Of course, if you read this blog frequently, you already know that I really like Poland. We flew into Gdańsk late in the night and took a taxi to our hostel. We started the next day with a climb to the top of the bell tower in St. Mary's Church. We enjoyed the view of the city from there. Next, we went to the Hala Targowa and shopped around. I made sure that they tried some sweets such as: Michałki, plums in chocolate, krówki, and szarlotka. They enjoyed them all, but I believe their favorites were the plums in chocolate. After this we tried to go to both the Museum of the Second World War and the European Center for Solidarity,co both were closed. We made due with walking around these areas and I told them as much of the history of Gdańsk as I could remember. It certainly would have been better if they had been able to see the museums, but what to do.

​We started New Year's Eve night at a very nice brewery near St. Mary's Church. From there we went to the gate at the beginning of Długi Targ, because we wanted to see the concert there. There were many people and a few bazaar stalls as well. We wanted something to drink and so got some 'hot Christmas beer'. Turns out this was a mistake, because none of us really liked it and we had to force ourselves to drink it. We counted down to Midnight with everyone else and enjoyed the fireworks there. After the crowd dispersed from the concert area one of my colleagues forced us to go to a small bar/club. I did not want to pay the cover to get into the place, but my colleague insisted, so we went. I hope my colleague never reads this, but I did actually enjoy myself there. After the bar we went to bed and had sweet dreams of a rather good and memorable New Year's Eve.

​The next day we walked to the Baltic Sea. There we had a late lunch at a fish restaurant and then we walked on the beach for a while. We stopped at a bar for one last drink and then I had to say goodbye to my travel companions. I took the train back to Lębork, and they had one more night in Gdańsk before they flew off to Helsinki. I believe they really enjoyed Poland and Gdańsk and I hope they tell more people how great Poland and the Pomorskie voivodeship really are.