12 (I think) ...Inspiring Ice Cream

So, the rain's back , again, and because of the weather I found it difficult to find something to do that would keep mey attention and last a while (as far as I'm concerned walking around shops doesn't give me that sort of satisfaction). What I found was the Gdansk Archeological museum. Not paticularly well displayed, but what there was....! All the exhibits were of finds from Poland itself, and in particular the Northern part. Stuff I'd only ever read about or seen in books......

...like these "face-urns"...

...and amber figurines....

...and a strangely celtic carved stone ball....

There was also a fascinating exhibition about cess pits...yes that's right, fascinating! Because it wasn't so much about the cess pits themselves, more about the things that people had lost down them over the centuries, and what it revealed about their lives.

There was also an exhibit outside the museum itself of ancient carved stele, known as "Prussian Hags"

What amazed me here, and in other museums I've visited in Poland, is that photography (albeit without flash) is allowed, in fact when you go in you are told as you pay your entrance fee (not more than £2.50) that you may photoraph whatever you want!

Inspited by the Archeological museum, and the Amber museum the day before, I went in search of some amber of my own to work with....and I found some rather nice pieces at good prices. Whilst I was hunting through the amber shops ( of which there are many in Gdansk) I met an amber artist called Jan Sygitowicz whose remarkable sculpture of 8 rats....

I'd seen and photographed in the Amber museum the previous day. He's been working in amber now for 40 years, and produces some really beautiful work.

Something else I've got rather enthusiastic about here is a chain of Ice Cream parlours called Grycan. Simply some of the best ice creams and sorbets I've ever tasted, and ridiculously cheap! A giant sugar waffle cone with 4 balls of ice cream / sorbet of your choice, plus whipped cream, nuts, chocolate and real raspberry syrup, AND a large glass of pure fruit smoothie for jsut under £4.00!!!!

My last day in Gdansk was a bit weird, all packed up, but a whole day to kill before my overnighter left for Krakow. So I took the tram to one of Gdansk's own beaches. It made me wish I'd done it before, on a fine day, because when I got there there was a vast expanse of beach, hardly any of the usual seaside stuff, just a few fish bars and not much more. Apparantly during the season it's packed, but the day I was there, maybe because of the weather, there were a couple of elderly couples doing their constitutional walk, one or two mothers with young children, and the inevitable amber hunters. You find these on all the beaches in the area, combing through the debris that accumulates where the tide has retreated. What they find are minute flakes of the stuff, the sort of thing that is put into a small decorative bottle, marked "genuine amber from the baltic" or some similar slogan, and sold for about ten times it's value. I've not bothered to join them, it's backbreaking work, and I prefer my amber bigger than 2mm diameter!

Unfortunately I've got no photos of these beautiful beaches because my little camera (my SLR having been packed away for travelling later that day) decided to throw a wobbly and break down...temporarily, but it's a fault that will recurr, so I'm going to have to hunt for proof of purchase etc when I get home to get it fixed (it may be small, but small ain't cheap these days!)

Travelling in a sleeper car is a very strange experience. The good thing is that I got to lie down in relative comfort, unfortunately, even with earplugs the noise of the train, and the irregular motion and stops meant that I slept poorly. So thirteen hours after leaving Gdansk I arrived in Krakow again, the place where I started my journey around Poland. By the time I got to the hostel I was feeling wiped out and quite unwell, so the rest of the day was lost.

Today, Saturday 18th September was Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Attonement. I visited Auschwitz / Birkenau.......

I'm not yet ready to write about that. I got back tonight exhausted physically and emotionally. I'm going to need a day or two to sort out my feelings. Until then, Shalom, Peace be with you.