Day 1

The 1st day of our journey, 17 October 2005

We woke up in the morning fresh and ready to travel. I moved the curtains aside and saw the urban scene from our window - a garage for car repairs and some buildings. Not much of a view. Breakfast was nice; a salad, various cheeses and a few veggies. We discovered the tomatoes in Poland didn't quite taste like anything, and that the cheeses were hard as a rock and often tasteless. Tomash arrived a little late. He had a big yellow Mercedes van that was quite comfortable.

We take the road to Gdańsk. We would stay there for two days and then return to Warsaw for two days in the capital.

The road to Gdańsk is long and winding, and alongside it we saw the Visla River. The river crosses all of Poland to its length; 1,050 km of river. On our way we passed a small town, Płońsk, which is located in north-central Poland. There was a big Jewish community there in the past; today, none remain. A famous Jew who was born and raised there is David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister and one of the brightest leaders of the modern age. He was born David Grün. It seemed as if the town was proud of him; there were signs, some in Hebrew, pinpointing elegantly the house where he lived. Not far from his house there was a sign shaped as an arrow directing us towards Ramat Negev, Izrael; 3,000 km away. This was a genuine gesture to the Jewish leader who was raised there. We proudly took pictures there and then continued our journey.

On the way we went through an old and colorful city named Toruń. It is situated in northern Poland, on the Visla River. The Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born and raised there. The city was annexed by Nazi Germany after the invasion of Poland in 1939 and administered as part of Danzig-West Prussia. During World War II, the chain of forts were used by the Germans as POW camps, collectively known as Stalag XX-A. The city escaped significant destruction during the war and was liberated from the Nazis in 1945 by the Soviet Red Army. As before the war, it later became part of Poland. The remaining German population was expelled, primarily to East Germany, between 1945 and 1947.

The Polish insist that Copernicus was one of theirs, but that doesn't stop the Germans from claiming him as one of their own either. "It's undetermined," as Copernicus wrote in Latin.

The Copernicus museum in the city was unfortunately closed, it was a Monday and on that day all museums are closed. We strolled around in the pictorial streets and enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as the view. Along the way, we entered a small coin shop and bought a souvenir for our beloved collectors (Grandpa Yehezkel, my daughter Lior and my friend Jacob Cinnamon).

Toruń is also known for its honey cookies. We entered a decorated pastry shop and bought gift wrapped honey cookies for the family, and a few for the ride (they are delicious with tea, which we drink during our breaks while Tomash was driving). Since we wouldn't eat Tripe (it isn't kosher), Tomash suggested we dine in Toruń at a vegetarian restaurant. The place was a chain restaurant named Green Way. We went in to try the meals there. I ordered soup, Avi and I shared a Mexican dish, and mom had börek. Sarah's börek was filled with cabbage, and came with a side salad of cabbages from a variety of colors. We soon discovered that cabbage is one of Poland's favorite ingredients. They call it Kapusta.

We continued moving north. Towards the evening we arrived at Gdańsk. On the way, we crossed many bridges over the Visla River. Mom had a few unpleasant flashbacks from these bridges, where segments of her journey had taken place (these will be discussed later).

The Dom Muzyka Hotel at Gdańsk was pleasant and spacious. It was a Music school, but one of its wings became a hotel. We booked two rooms. Mom was tired and went to bed early, Avi and I went for a night walk in the Old City to see the area. It was chilly outside and there were only a few people in the streets. It wasn't tourist season, and it was on the verge of winter.

The Old City was beautiful. Most of it was ruined in WWII and reconstructed later. There was a strong German and Dutch influence on the city's architecture. Avi and I came across a local Italian restaurant and sat for dinner. We had soup, pizza and a salad. We were the only customers. Only after eating did we noticed the waiter waiting patiently for us to finish so he could close for the night

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