World Cruise Day 157/163 Scenic Scandinavia - Gdańsk, Poland - A good day despite the liquid sunshine

Cruise day: 157/163

Ports days: 85
Sea days: 72
Countries: 28
Continents: 5
Ports: 61

The freeloading continues.  This little dude has been on our deck on and off for the last two days since we left Mariehamn.  When it tries to fly away, it flies into the glass and can't seem to understand that it would make it over the rail if it flies higher.  It then flits under the divider wall to our neighbor's deck.  Google Lens suggests it is some type of warbler.  It is quite small - perhaps two to three inches in length.

Uh...excuse me but...

We've been trying to reach you to talk about your car's warranty...

Today, we had a late arrival in Gdańsk, Poland, picking up our pilot at 10:30AM and docking around noon.  

The local pilot getting ready to jump on

Sailing through the harbor entry

We must have been churning up good eats as the gulls were going nuts

We grabbed a quick lunch and caught the shuttle bus into town.  The weather was looking good with broken skies, temps in the mid-50s, and a slight breeze.

Third Millennium John Paul II Bridge

Arriving in the old town at the Green Gate

We walked around the waterfront browsing the amber shops.  Arlona was interested in picking up some amber and scored in two different shops with a coordinated set of multi-colored earrings, a bracelet, ring, and necklace.

I wound up with a multicolor amber ring as well

We headed into the old town and started walking around and seeing the sights.

Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We toured inside the church. The next two photos show The Gdańsk astronomical clock inside the church. Constructed in the mid-1400s almost entirely of wood, it stands 46-feet high and was the largest wooden clock in the world upon its completion.

It tracks:

• time
• date
• phases of the moon
• position of the Moon and Sun in relation to the zodiac signs
• calendar of saints

At the top, Adam and Eve ring the bell on the hour. Every day at noon a procession appears that features Adam and Eve alongside the Three Kings, the Apostles, and Death.  It was severely damaged due to bombings during WWII and was reconstructed after 1945.

The organ was absolutely stunning

When we came out, the rain started falling with authority.  We continued our walk but decided to cut it a little short as it was seriously raining.

A carving on one of the porches we walked past

The armory

We spotted two of these fantail pigeons on a window ledge. As we watched, a guy opened the window and grabbed one of them, and brought it inside.  Then he tried to grab this one but it flew down to a stand with feed on it.  We realized they were his birds.  He came out with the other one and it flew to the stand.  He delighted two small children by placing the birds on their arms.  It was fun to watch.

Neptune Fountain in the rain

A group of pigeons was discussing the weather on a gargoyle - that is a sentence I never thought I would write

We arrived back at the shuttle stop a couple of minutes before 3PM - perfect timing to grab the 3PM bus back to the ship.

When we got back, we found yet another stowaway catching a free ride to wherever.

Arlona decided to relax and do a little painting this afternoon as I wrote my scintillating thoughts that you are now reading.  Arlona's biggest holdovers from her bout with COVID are a slight lingering cough and ongoing lack of energy.  She says that she is noticeably more tired and doesn't have her normal stamina.  We're confident it will all come back, but for now, we're taking it a little easy so she doesn't get exhausted.  Our upcoming day in Berlin will be interesting as that is a 12-hour marathon.  At least there is time on a train, bus, boat, and train again that shouldn't be too demanding.

After dinner, we were treated to yet another stunning Baltic sunset that bathed our side of the ship in the most amazing light.  I couldn't decide on which photos were the best so here they all are.

Overnight, we'll make the roughly 200-mile trip to Karlskrona, Sweden.

It is hard to believe that we have less than a week to go on this epic adventure.  We're looking forward to the next few days and we're looking forward to heading home next Saturday.