Poland - Eastern Europe - page 459

Westerplatte Westerplatte is known to Poles as the place where World War II
began. It was here on this peninsula on Sept. 1, 1939, that the German gunboat
Schleswig-Holstein first fired on a small garrison of about 180 Polish troops. The Poles,
though badly outnumbered, held out valiantly, repelling 3,000 German soldiers for 7
days. The buildings have been left pretty much as they were after the battle, and you
can walk past the badly damaged guardhouse and barracks. A small museum outlines
the history of those first few days of the war.
Sucharskiego 1. & 058/343-69-72. Tues-Sun 9am-4pm.
OUTSIDE OF GDA% SK
Hel Peninsula The first question in summer visitors usually ask is “Where are
the beaches?” If you've got little time, the best choice is probably Sopot, but if you've
got a day to spare and the sun is shining, why not go for something a little more
remote? The Hel Peninsula is a pencil-thin strip of land that juts into the Baltic north
of Gdynia. It's far enough away from industrial Gda ^ sk to ensure some of the Baltic's
cleanest water, and the sleepy fishing town of Hel is a delight in its own right. In sum-
mer, you can take the ferry out to Hel from Gda ^ sk, Sopot, or Gdynia. From Gda ^ sk,
ferries depart from main ferry port along the Mot l awa canal; figure on about 2 hours
for the trip each way. Alternatively, there's train service from Gda ^ sk and Gdynia, and
a quicker minibus from Gdynia's bus station.
SHOPPING
For centuries the center of the Baltic amber trade, Gda ^ sk is still the place to buy it.
You'll find no shortage of amber dealers in town. The biggest concentrations are on
the main street D l uga and along quieter Mariacka, a couple of streets over. Before buy-
ing try to educate yourself a bit about quality amber. While the majority of the deal-
ers are reputable, amber fakes abound so always watch carefully that you're buying the
real deal. The Amber Museum (see “Exploring Gda ^ sk,” above) is a good place to
start to learn about amber. One legitimate gallery with some beautiful pieces is
L Galeria (Mariacka 23/24; & 0501/338-770 ).
Another purely “I got it in Gda ^ sk” gift is Goldwasser vodka. While the sweetish
taste is not to everyone's liking, who could pass up flakes of gold in their cocktail? You
can buy a gift box at the Goldwasser restaurant (see earlier in this chapter).
GDA% SK AFTER DARK
Most of the serious culture revolves around two venues: The Frederyk Chopin Baltic
Philharmonic (O l owianka 1; & 058/320-62-62; www.filharmonia.gda.pl) and the
State Baltic Opera (Al. Zwyci 7 stwa 15; & 058/763-49-12; www.operabaltycka.pl).
The Philharmonic's main home is right across the Mot l awa canal from the center of
the city. Check the website (Polish only, but easy enough to sort out basic informa-
tion) or ask at the tourist information office on D l uga. You can buy tickets at the Mot-
l awa box office or at the specific performance venue up to 2 hours before the show.
The opera maintains a lively program in season, with visiting and local companies.
The quirky website (with English translation) is a good place to buy tickets to per-
formances, or try the box office during office hours. Gda ^ sk's Miniatura Theater
(Grunwaldszka 16; & 058/341-01-23; www.miniatura.prv.pl) maintains a lively and
excellent repertoire of puppet shows and fairy tales aimed at children, but shows are
almost exclusively in Polish.