I
have made it through two cities, dragging a 50 lb suitcase and a 15 lb backpack on
and off different modes of transportation. Now residing in our final dentition,
Krakow, I can only kind of reflect on the day’s prior. The whole trip feels
like a blur of information and environment evaluation. While we are in a race
to learn about the new cities, we were also in a race to learn about each
other, and simply adjust to being separated from what we once knew. It is hard
to say how exactly I felt about the cities of Gdansk and Warsaw. The stays in
each city were too short to truly see the cities for what they are, because
that takes time. Instead we mostly learned about what the cities once were;
both cities carry a rich history and were greatly shaped by the war. Like I
said, it is hard to reflect on everything that happened in that week, but there
is one moment during that trip that will hopefully stay with me for the rest of
my life.
On our last night in Gdansk Olivia M. and I did not go out to the bars
like most of the group, instead we set sail on the old Gdansk ports. Earlier
that day we were invited by our Malbork Castle tour guide Lukase Darski to go
night kayaking. When he offered, I and Olivia knew right away that this was an
opportunity that shouldn't be passed up on. We met at 8:00pm at Zabi Kruk (Frog
River), which was a small dead end in the ports of Gdansk. We waited at a small
boathouse where we shared snacks and chatted with a few older local women.
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| Behind us is an old man powered crane, it was operated by men walking in giant hamster wheels- pulling large containers off the ships. |
At around 8:30pm Olivia and I hopped in a red double kayak and set
paddle up the river. We were in a group of about 20 other people, all of which
were polish, and many of which were strangers. Not much speaking was needed
during this trip because when we weren’t listening Lukase tell us the history of
the city we were gazing at our surreal surroundings. First we passed under the
bridges on the way to the Old Town part of the city. Many people watched us
from the edge, waving and taking photos of our group as we glided by. The water
glittered with lights of the bars and restaurants above. The water was very
calm, with no wind and clear skies; the night was perfect for such a venture.
As we headed down the main river we got to paddle up next to the large shipping
vessels. Then we came across two ships that were parked bumper to bumper along
the right side of the river. The way these ships were designed, while looking
head on is, one would see an “n” shape in the base rather than a usual “v” or
“u” shape. Because of this unique shape in the boats, we were able to actually
paddle underneath the ship. The center got so low that we had to lean back in
our seats and push ourselves along the bottom. The second I exited on the other
side of the ships it was like the world around me changed. Everything seemed a
bit more magical.
As the night started to settle in I was able to see the city for more
than just the pretty buildings gathered at the city center. The true form of
Gdansk was revealed more and more as we made our way farther towards the
shipyards. The lights grew dimmer, but faintly lit up amongst the night fog
were the large cranes and industrial working ships in the distance, everything
glowed in shades of dark blue with splashes of yellow light.
At about 10:30pm Lukase turns around and tells the group that we'll have
to be extra quiet and turn off our lights- “going into this area may or may not
upset the guards.” We were led under a small bridge and around and massive welding-vessel.
The vessel was alive with flickering lights, groaning and screeching, still
hard at work building something inside. As we rounded the vessel we approached
a large ship staff with a light on it. Apparently, years back there was once a
Lantern ship that was docked along the side of the port, it was supposed to be
turned into a restaurant but instead flipped over and sunk into the river. It
would be too expensive to try to retrieve so just the mast of the ship sticks
above.
Being a port city, we had the opportunity to see Gdansk from the
perspective of what made the city so prosperous. We ended the tour at about
12:00am, Lukase kindly gave Olivia and I a ride back to the hotel. During this
short ride we got a more personal insight on Lukase’s values. We could both
tell that Lukase is a man of knowledge, adventure, and passion for just living
life. He shares some similar perspectives that Olivia and I have on how to view
time and how to view the world around us. He says that there are two ways of
looking at history, you can hear a story about something and then find the facts
and learn the true and less exciting meaning of the story, or you can chose to
simply believe the story; he used the movie “Life of Pi” as his basis for this
perspective.
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