that experience ...After Stutthof he drove us to Westerplatte, where WWII began. There is an elegant, simple monument that is typical of the 50s/60s communist iconography - it's a totem, a beacon, and a tribute that reveals different aspects at different scales. I was glad to see it.
Yesterday (Friday) Adam drove us to Malbork Castle, the largest brick structure in Europe, and the main outpost of the Teutonic Knights - it was pretty spectacular. I had no idea it existed, so was quite blown away by the scale and complexity of the place. Even more so by the fact that large parts were destroyed by WWII bombings, and have been meticulously rebuilt and restored. I wasn't too impressed with the knights themselves - they were violent and racist profiteers as far as I could surmise - but the elaborate castle was really impressive.
Yesterday afternoon we had a local guide give us a tour of Gdansk, which is really a jewel of a city. While we were in Malbork it snowed a bit in Gdansk, so the streets were slippery and treacherous (particularly the beautiful polished granite walkway bordering the city walls by the river) ... It was a chilly but lovely tour, just before sunset when the light was magical. We visited an amber shop where the shopkeeper taught us the basics about amber - turns out Gdansk is one of the few places in the world where amber is found. Who knew?
Our city tour guide was professional and knowledgeable, but not as friendly and personable as Adam - I'd never had a private guide before, so I guess until that point I simply assumed that his demeanour was typical for guides ... as it turns out, he's just simply a really nice guy, he was genuinely interested in us and our story, and had the sensibility to have figured out that we're not here looking for stock, scripted tours - dad & I both feel that we've made a new friend in Adam.
(Ok, so if it sounds like I'm gushing, I am ... ;-) )
Adam picked us up this morning from our rented apartment in the heart of Gdansk's historical district, and drove us to Torun, where we parted ways. We only met a few days ago, but it felt like I was saying goodbye to a very dear old friend. We are staying in a hotel that's been set up in an old grainary building, the rooms are a bit small compared to the full 2-storey apartment we just left, but they're comfortable and a bit more luxurious than I was expecting. Except for the lack of soundproofing between our 3rd floor rooms and the loud polka music coming through the open stairs from the restaurant downstairs ... (they told us it's all done by 10pm, so should be ok.) :-)
Our local guide in Torun is Jan, whom dad had been in contact with by email for a few months organizing this trip. He met us at the hotel and took us on a walking tour of Torun ... it's a UNESCO world heritage site, very well preserved as it didn't suffer any damage during WWII (a few buildings were bombed by the Swedes in the 17th, or maybe it was the 18th, century, including a much smaller Teutonic castle than the main one at Malbork). Torun is really lovely, it has some beautiful examples of original architecture dating to the 12th century. But so far I feel that the Gdansk experience was a highlight - more real, somehow. This city is smaller, but feels a bit more geared to tourists. Of course, that includes us ...Except that we're not here for Torun, it's a stopping point to Bocien, the main purpose of this trip ... it's where my grandmother, her sister and her sister's younger daugher died. We're going tomorrow morning; Jan has arranged for a local who knows about the camp to show us around. Apparently there is nothing left of the labour camp; a few years ago locals erected a monument to the women victims of Nazism (the camp was for Hungarian Jewish women, most of whom were from dad's hometown of Miskolc). Other than that I don't think there is any outward sign of the camp's existence. We'll see tomorrow ...
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