Gdynia-Gdansk Poland

Poland

Amber has been collected here for millennia on the Baltic beaches, and it made the fortune of Gdansk merchants long before cruise ships dropped anchor in the bay. The Polish port call bears two names: ships dock at Gdynia, a modern port city, while the great historical rendezvous waits some 30 kilometres south, in the old Hanseatic city. The French Pier, where docking occurs, belongs to the industrial zone: it is best to arrange a shuttle, taxi or regional train from disembarkation, which reaches Gdansk centre in roughly 40 minutes.

Gdynia merits a first look nonetheless. Born almost entirely in the 1920s, when newly independent Poland sought sea access, it lines astonishing modernist architecture around Kosciuszko Square, where the three-masted Dar Pomorza and the destroyer Blyskawica are moored, both converted to floating museums.

The Royal Route of Gdansk

The old city's heart is explored on foot, along the Royal Route. Past the Golden Gate, Long Street and the Long Market unfold their narrow façades in deep colours, rebuilt stone by stone after the 1945 destruction. Neptune's Fountain presides before the Court of Artus, an old merchants' meeting place, and the town hall raises its slender tower above the rooftops. It is hard to believe this Renaissance decor rose from ruins: the reconstruction, carried out with exemplary care, ranks among Poland's great sources of pride.

St. Mary's and Amber Street

A massive silhouette of red brick dominates the whole: the Basilica of St. Mary, one of the world's largest brick churches, capable of holding thousands of worshippers. At its feet stretches Mariacka Street, the city's most photogenic thoroughfare, lined with sculptured stoops and goldsmith workshops where amber appears in jewellery of every hue, from clear honey to dark cognac. Haggling is part of the game, and the craftspeople gladly explain how to recognize genuine resin. Excursions sometimes push north to Oliwa Cathedral, where the 18th-century great organ offers short recitals that fill the nave.

Along the Motlawa

Following the river, the Motlawa quays offer one of the voyage's finest vistas: on one side patrician façades, on the other the medieval Crane, a gigantic wooden mechanism that once hoisted masts and barrels. Terraces line the water, perfect for pierogis or smoked Baltic fish. Those interested in recent history will continue toward the shipyards: here was born the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa, and the European Solidarity Centre tells this story with force, one that changed Europe. At the entrance to the bay, the Westerplatte peninsula marks where the Second World War broke out, on September 1, 1939.

Sopot, a Seaside Interlude

Between Gdynia and Gdansk, the resort of Sopot lines Belle Époque villas and gardens facing the sea. Its long wooden pier extends far into the bay, the favourite promenade of Poles on holiday. Those with time can stop there on the return; the train serves all three cities of the Tri-City continuously.

As the ship pulls away from the shore, the shipyard cranes cut across the Baltic sky one last time. This port call will have mingled centuries with rare intensity: Hanseatic splendour, 20th-century tragedy and stubborn rebirth. You board again, often with a glimmer of amber in your pocket, at once jewel and piece of memory.