Solidarity

Picture: Levi and Wojtek on a hill overlooking Gdansk, Poland

On our second to last night in Gdansk we took a bus down to the Centre (Downtown). Our friends Wojtek (Voytek), Natalia and Thea (from the States) took us up to a hill that overlooked all of Gdansk. The city was lit up beautifully and showed an array of history across the cityscape. To the right in the picture you can see a few spires along Long Street. This is the oldest part of the city (established somewhere in the 10th Century). To the left are some more modern buildings and the shipyard of Poland’s biggest seaport. Gdansk is a conurbation of what is known here as Trójmiasto (Tricity) joining with Sopot and Gdynia.

This hill had a large cross at the top that is a part of a network of Solidarity crosses throughout Poland. Thousands were arrested and 80 were executed around 1970 during a protest of the communist regime. 80% of Polands workforce belonged to this movement that was born out of that sacrifice and their stand eventually led to semi-free elections in 1989.

* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.