Gdansk, Poland

 On Tuesday, May 5, we arrived in Poland.  The weather was overcast and cool.

We got off the ship in the morning and grabbed a shuttle bus into town that was running every half-hour.

In town we stopped at a small convince store and noticed these potato chips with an unusual (to us)  flavor.

Poland was devastated during WWII and many buildings still show the scars.

We were surprised at how much of the English language we saw downtown.

After lunch we got on a bus for a tour of this castle that was in a small town called Malbork.

This is what the castle looked like at the end of WWII.  The city and the country of Poland put up the money to restore it and make it a tourist attraction.

Our full bus load of tourists got a two-hour guided tour from a local Polish lady that spoke pretty good English.

On the tour e even got to see where the monks, knights, and royalty went to relieve themselves.  Notice the large cabbage leaves above they used for their TP.  (paper was very expensive and a rare commodity)

These three knights/kings all ruled the castle and the monks at different times.  The monks had tough rules to obey, hard work, and hard beds on which to sleep.

This gate kept out invaders like the Vikings.

This is the surrounding moat that used to be filled with dirty water.

The courtyards at the castle.

The monks made beautiful amber jewelry and there were plenty on display in secured glass cases.

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Our trip through the Polish countryside to the castle was interesting and fun even though it rained.  We were surprised at the lack of safety features at the castle such as guard rails on the stone stairways.

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