Our day of rest

Been having a recuperative day here in Gdansk, which seems to be pronounced "GdAIngsk." Going to lunch was the big adventure. Did that a few miles south in a little town called Pruszcz (Praust) Gdański (pop. 23,000). They seem to pronounce it Proosht GdAINSK. Something like that. It was the site of the Praust concentration camp (for women) during the war.

This is the scene in the level below my hotel. Quaint, nice. So far, the food's been great. Even tried some Polish dumplings. Could do without the bacon, but otherwise great.

These old religious buildings are now occupied with Kentucky Fried Chicken (at right) and McDonalds (in the middle). I do believe that the building over to the left is something like a train station. Haven't visited these places yet. I'm thinking of getting a Happy Meal.

My dad insists that Poland is "very Catholic," but I've seen no open religiosity at all.

Typical Gdansk street scene. Signs of Poland's "communist" era are everywhere, and they are generally negative--e.g., the seemingly indiscriminate placement of factories and other industrial construction. Many of these places seem simply to stand unoccupied, unmaintained, testaments to absurdity and ugliness. (But, photographically, they are often very attractive.)

Typical semi-rural scene along the main drag here (going south). Very green, lovely forests. Great old buildings, some of them simply falling apart from neglect. There's lots of that in this part of Poland. It's a beautiful place but one senses that the recovery from the era of Soviet domination continues.