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Short filmTranscript
00:00Music
00:17Most tourists visiting Poland go only to Krakow,
00:20but there's so much more to see.
00:22The capital Warsaw is the heartbeat of contemporary Poland,
00:25and Gdansk, up here on the Baltic coast,
00:28is a colorful, historic port city
00:30with a dramatic 20th century story.
00:33We begin in Warsaw, the cosmopolitan capital,
00:37gilded with a grand palace
00:40and a trendy urbanity.
00:43We'll learn about its turbulent 20th century
00:46and enjoy some Chopin in the park.
00:49Then we visit a sweet medieval town,
00:51taste its claim to fame,
00:53and storm a massive Teutonic fortress.
00:56Finally, we discover the port of Gdansk
00:59and how it helped bring communism down in Europe.
01:02Poland, about the size of Arizona,
01:05sits in the north of Central Europe.
01:07We'll follow its main river, the Vistula,
01:09from the capital Warsaw,
01:11north past Torun and Malbork Castle,
01:14to Gdansk on the Baltic Sea.
01:17Warsaw is an energetic metropolis
01:20offering a fascinating foray into urban Poland.
01:23It comes with both a hard-fought history
01:26and a modern vibrancy.
01:29Today, Warsaw, pronounced Warsaw here,
01:31is Poland's biggest city
01:33with close to 2 million people.
01:36It's muscular and sprawling,
01:38broad boulevards, imposing buildings,
01:41and glittering glass office towers.
01:44Today's Warsaw is a thriving European center
01:47of business, banking, and politics,
01:50with a cosmopolitan energy.
01:53Warsaw's glory days peaked between the World Wars,
01:56when it was one of Europe's most genteel capitals.
02:00That spirit survives along its rebuilt main drag,
02:03the sweeping royal way,
02:05with its elegant facades
02:07and its popularity with local strollers.
02:11Just being out and about,
02:13you feel the youthful confidence of this society.
02:17Stately hotels and government buildings,
02:20this is the president's residence,
02:22add to the royal way's grandeur.
02:26The Bleakle Bakery is every Pole's favorite
02:29for panczki, jelly donuts.
02:32When locals here go out for donuts,
02:39they go out for panczki.
02:41My favorite's the classic.
02:43It's filled with wild rose jam.
02:48But it's not all jelly donuts.
02:51Vast squares with memorials
02:52remind all of Poland's hard-fought history.
02:55Here, the eternal flame honors war dead
02:58with numbers almost incomprehensible.
03:02As the city was totally destroyed by Nazis in World War II,
03:06nearly everything you'll see,
03:08palaces, churches, and fountains,
03:10was painstakingly rebuilt from the rubble of 1945.
03:15I keep having to remind myself that in this city,
03:18hardly a building standing is over 80 years old.
03:22Consequently, Warsaw is an architectural jumble,
03:26rebuilt both old and new.
03:35Warsaw's meticulously rebuilt old town
03:38is dominated by its meticulously rebuilt royal castle.
03:43The castle, a symbol of Polish sovereignty now
03:46for over 400 years,
03:48boasts some of this country's most lavish halls,
03:51gilded and glittering with chandeliers.
03:55The palace reflects how Poland was independent
03:58and strong for centuries,
04:00starting in the Middle Ages.
04:03When the homegrown dynasty died out,
04:05Poland's nobility elected foreign kings
04:08at gatherings like this.
04:11Many of those imported rulers
04:13squandered Poland's resources
04:15on their own selfish agendas.
04:18They weakened the country
04:20until it actually ceased to exist in 1795.
04:25For over a hundred years,
04:27Poland disappeared from the map,
04:29partitioned by three empires,
04:31Prussia, Austria, and Russia.
04:33But the Poles succeeded in preserving their culture
04:37until their country was reborn in 1918,
04:40after World War I.
04:42Today, back out on the streets,
04:44the atmospheric old town
04:46entertains the tourists.
04:48Here, the 21st century
04:49seems to rule these cobbled lanes.
04:52In the center of the beautifully constructed market square
04:55is a popular sculpture.
04:57The mermaid, a symbol of Warsaw,
04:59serenades the townspeople,
05:01still welcoming friends while keeping out foes.
05:04To me, this fountain,
05:06always energetic with kids playing,
05:08feels like a celebration of life, Polish life.
05:21And Polish life comes with music,
05:24especially the genius of favorite son,
05:26Frederick Chopin.
05:28On summer Sundays,
05:29Chopin concerts pack the park.
05:32It's an expression of this city's pride in its culture
05:35and its enduring appetite for community.
05:45Poland's great romantic composer
05:47sits under a willow tree.
05:50Though he lived and worked mostly in Paris,
05:53locals cherish the thought
05:55that Chopin's inspiration
05:57came from memories of the breeze
05:59blowing through the willow trees
06:01of his native land, Poland.
06:18Warsaw Museums work hard
06:20to explain its complicated history,
06:22and much of Poland's story
06:24is a Jewish story.
06:26The Museum of the History of Polish Jews
06:28celebrates 1,000 years of Jews living in Poland.
06:33A winding route traces their experience.
06:38With the relative tolerance of medieval kings,
06:41Jews became established in Polish society.
06:44But because they still suffered through pogroms
06:46and other persecution,
06:48few actual artifacts survive.
06:51Many Jews lived in market towns called Sztetls,
06:55with richly decorated wooden synagogues.
06:58Above the traditional elevated prayer platform
07:01is a colorful ceiling,
07:03a humble canopy rich with symbolism.
07:06When Poland regained its independence
07:09after World War I,
07:10Jewish culture blossomed,
07:12especially in the 1920s,
07:14when, for the first time,
07:15Jews had full citizenship and voting rights.
07:18And Warsaw was the biggest Jewish city in Europe.
07:25Tragically, this flourishing of Jewish culture
07:28was crushed when fascist Germany invaded in 1939.
07:32Jews were then corralled into a miserable ghetto,
07:36subjected to unlivable conditions
07:38before being shipped off to Nazi death camps and killed.
07:43A monument captures the desperation
07:52of the ghetto's last days.
07:55Realizing they were all doomed anyway,
07:58the haggard and hungry who remained
08:00staged a desperate uprising.
08:03Nearly all were killed.
08:06This was just one city's experience
08:09in a Europe-wide Holocaust.
08:11In this attempted genocide,
08:14Hitler tried to rid the world of Jewish people.
08:17Of the six million he killed,
08:19half died here in Poland.
08:24With its Jewish population decimated,
08:26Warsaw's next chapter
08:28was a second valiant but doomed uprising,
08:31this time by the non-Jewish Poles who remained.
08:35Under Nazi occupation,
08:37Poles had formed the biggest underground resistance army
08:40in history.
08:43Late in the war,
08:44as the Nazis began to falter
08:45and the Soviets advanced,
08:47Poland's home army mobilized
08:49to liberate the country.
08:52But the Nazis regrouped
08:54and brutally put down the Warsaw uprising.
08:58Hitler then ordered that Warsaw be destroyed
09:01to its foundations.
09:05The Soviet army sat here across the river
09:08and watched and waited.
09:10Finally, when the Germans were gone,
09:12the Russians marched in
09:13to claim the wasteland that was once Warsaw,
09:16kicking off over four decades of communist rule.
09:20Like a phoenix, the city has risen from the ashes.
09:24And today, Warsaw is filled with a happy and youthful populace
09:29that has no living memory of those hard times.
09:35Today's Warsaw is hip and trendy.
09:38Hulking old buildings, no longer fascist or communist,
09:42are filled with a rainbow of global food choices.
09:47Post-industrial architecture is all the rage.
09:52Old red-brick factories and power plants
09:55have been transformed into convivial hubs
09:58for dining, drinking, and shopping.
10:02I'm joined by my friend and fellow guidebook author,
10:05Cameron Hewitt,
10:06and the show's producer, Simon Griffith,
10:08at Bibenda for a taste of Warsaw's urbane foodie scene.
10:12This trendy restaurant specializes in craft cocktails
10:16and Polish fusion cuisine.
10:19The menu takes fresh local ingredients,
10:21like heirloom tomatoes and beets,
10:24and gives them an international spin.
10:27Padron peppers, falafel, pumpkin dumplings,
10:32all washed down with a good Spanish wine.
10:36Whether Polish or international,
10:38you can see that we thought everything was delicious.
10:41It's a reminder of how cosmopolitan Warsaw
10:44respects Polish tradition
10:46while also embracing a global future.
10:49I can't think of a better way
10:51to enjoy our last night in Warsaw.
10:58Heading north from Warsaw,
10:59through the rolling farmland of the Polish countryside,
11:02we reach a small-town break
11:04from our big-city itinerary, Torun.
11:08Torun feels affluent.
11:10In the Middle Ages,
11:11it was part of the Hanseatic League,
11:13a trade union of northern European merchant cities.
11:17Like much of northern Poland,
11:19many of its buildings
11:20are finely crafted of red brick.
11:22The city has an easy-going ambiance
11:25that comes with the heavenly scent of gingerbread.
11:29Every Pole knows Torun for two reasons,
11:33Copernicus and gingerbread.
11:35This was the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus,
11:41who 500 years ago established
11:43that the Earth revolves around the sun.
11:50But today, here in Torun, anyway,
11:52a lot revolves around this, gingerbread.
11:56This recreated old bakery is a favorite for field trips.
12:02Costumed guides teach young students
12:04how, in the Middle Ages,
12:05Torun's trading connections
12:07gave local bakers access to exotic spices,
12:11spices like ginger, cinnamon, and clove,
12:14and how the honey in the dough
12:15was a natural preservative,
12:17allowing it to be traded far and wide.
12:21Then the children get to actually roll the dough,
12:27press it into traditional molds,
12:31and pop their little creations into the oven.
12:35Local gingerbread shops lets you mix and match
12:37a variety of tasty treats
12:39with any combination of jams, glazes, and chocolate.
12:43For locals, the word is actually a verb.
12:47If you've eaten too much, you have gingerbreaded.
12:50I think this will get me to our next stop.
12:59Further north is the Malbork Castle,
13:02another red-brick masterpiece.
13:04Called the biggest brick castle in the world,
13:07this was the 14th-century headquarters
13:09of the Teutonic Knights.
13:11These Germanic crusaders-turned mercenaries
13:14were hired here by a Christian duke
13:16to convert the local pagans.
13:19Job done.
13:20The Teutonic Knights decided they liked it here,
13:23so they stuck around, built this castle,
13:25and dominated northern Poland for over a century.
13:28Malbork Castle was essentially a fortified monastery,
13:32home to monks, knights,
13:34and their leader, the Grand Master.
13:36Malbork's fortifications are formidable indeed.
13:40The complex was surrounded by an imposing moat
13:45and a mighty brick wall.
13:47The heavy portcullis stopped anyone who breached the moat.
13:51Then, from slits up above, archers could rain down arrows.
13:57And the inner drawbridge made the core of the castle
13:59an impenetrable last refuge.
14:02While knights lived in the outer castle,
14:05monks lived in the inner castle.
14:08The Grand Master's lavish and well-fortified quarters,
14:11with their fan-vaulted assembly rooms
14:13and expansive dining halls,
14:15were the capital of those Teutonic Knights,
14:17from where they administered their domain.
14:20Most of the main sites of Poland
14:24are connected by the Wistula River.
14:26An hour's drive takes us to its and our final stop.
14:30Gdansk, historically Poland's leading port,
14:34sits near where the Wistula meets the Baltic Sea.
14:37For a thousand years, a cultural crossroads
14:40with a rich maritime history,
14:42architecturally, it feels more Scandinavian or Dutch than Polish.
14:47During its medieval golden age,
14:50Gdansk prospered as a key member of the Hanseatic League.
14:55The Hanseatic League was an association
14:57of over a hundred cities and ports across Northern Europe.
15:00Its mission? To protect and promote trade.
15:03Busy hunting down pirates, building lighthouses,
15:06and boycotting ports that didn't join the club,
15:09it dominated the economy and politics in the region
15:12through the late Middle Ages.
15:14In a way, the Hanseatic League was a precursor
15:17to the European Union.
15:18Its motto?
15:19All power to the merchants.
15:23Along the embankment is a structure
15:25those merchants put to good use,
15:27a hulking 15th-century crane.
15:30Back then, this entire river could be filled
15:33bank to bank with trading vessels.
15:36Maritime trade from distant lands
15:38made Gdansk both prosperous and tolerant.
15:41It attracted merchants from all over Europe
15:44who brought with them elements of their home cultures.
15:47These were then woven into the tapestry of the city,
15:50reflected in its eclectic architecture.
15:53Overhead, the town hall tower holds a carillon
15:57that marks each hour with a cheerful tune.
16:00To better understand Gdansk, we're joined by my friend
16:12and fellow tour guide, Agnieszka Soroka.
16:17Our first stop is the town hall.
16:19So the city was governed from this exact room here.
16:27And the art is, there's a lot of art here.
16:29Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?
16:31In the middle of the vaulting,
16:33have a look at this magnificent painting from 1608.
16:37Vistola River starts over there in the mountains.
16:42Look at these barges filled with the grain
16:46from all over the kingdom of Poland.
16:48So all the goods were shipped from Gdansk
16:52down the Vistola River to the Baltic Sea.
16:55They are taking that grain,
16:57and that grain goes all over Western Europe.
17:00And look, deals, business is made here
17:03in front of the Arthur's Court.
17:05These would be traders from all over Northern Europe,
17:08part of the Hanseatic League here,
17:09making a deal, shaking hands.
17:11Indeed, like 1600 stock market.
17:14And God's hands.
17:16So he's holding not the church, but the town hall.
17:19Exactly.
17:20Because Gdansk was so multicultural
17:22and multi-religious throughout centuries,
17:24it really never mattered what religion you are,
17:27but how much money you can bring to the city
17:29doing your business.
17:30The guild hall is next door.
17:32This is a magnificent room.
17:34It's a beautiful guild house,
17:36a great example of a great social space
17:40where guilds, medieval merchant groups met.
17:43Okay, so this is like networking.
17:45Exactly, exactly.
17:47Merchants from all over Europe were coming here
17:49to do their business.
17:50Each arch all belonged to one guild.
17:54Imagine in front of each arch
17:56there was goldsmith guild, beer guild, amber guild.
18:01They were very competitive.
18:03So the traders from Lubeck would meet the traders
18:05from Amsterdam and from Riga coming together.
18:09And then buying grain, timber, coal,
18:12and exporting that all over Europe.
18:17The city is ornamented with fine red-brick buildings.
18:21That's because here in the marshy north of Poland,
18:24stone is scarce.
18:26Grand buildings like this old mill
18:28elevate bricklaying to an art form.
18:31The old market hall has long provided an impressive place
18:34for farmers to sell their produce.
18:37The train station gives visitors a red-brick welcome,
18:41and even the modern shopping malls
18:43carry on this love of brick.
18:46And rising high above everything is St. Mary's Church,
18:51one of the biggest brick churches anywhere.
18:54To be both tall and stable without the strength of stone,
18:57it was fortified with beefy brick buttresses.
19:01Stepping inside, you're struck by the stark, austere,
19:04and very white interior.
19:07This is a remarkable church.
19:09Mary's Church was built before a formation.
19:12Look at the beautiful triptych altar,
19:14coronation of St. Virgin Mary.
19:16So the altarpiece is from before the Reformation.
19:19Exactly.
19:20And then the city converted to Protestant.
19:22And what was really important was the pulpit
19:25because of the Word of God
19:27and music coming from magnificent organ.
19:32Look at that pipe organ.
19:34This is like a pavement of tombstones.
19:37Exactly.
19:38Five hundred gravestones
19:40of the wealthiest merchants of Godoyns
19:43who wanted to be buried here in their parish church.
19:46And if not buried in a tomb,
19:47you could commemorate your family
19:49on the wall with an epitaph.
19:55In the shadow of the church,
19:56atmospheric Mariatska Street
19:58is lined with traditional porches,
20:00clever gargoyles,
20:02and vendors selling the prized amber
20:04that the Baltic coast is so famous for.
20:13For amber as high art,
20:15the striking Amber Museum
20:17fills an old mill with precious deposits
20:19of this fossilized tree sap.
20:22Much of the world's amber comes from Poland.
20:25Amber, which can be tens of millions of years old,
20:27comes in shades of white, yellow, and brown.
20:31It's a favorite medium of local artisans
20:34who create exquisite items,
20:36from an organically sculptured candelabra
20:39to a chessboard
20:40that would mesmerize a grand master.
20:43There's an exquisite miniature storage chest
20:46and even furniture,
20:48such as this gorgeous writing desk.
20:56Gédans lived its most dramatic moments
20:58in the 20th century.
21:00World War II began right here in 1939,
21:03when Hitler invaded.
21:04And those cranes marked the shipyard,
21:06where 40 years later, in 1980,
21:08the Soviet bloc finally began to crack.
21:11During Communist times,
21:13Gdansk was home to the massive Lenin shipyard.
21:16In 1980, after decades of frustrations and struggles,
21:20shipyard workers went on strike.
21:23They created a trade union called Solidarity.
21:28Locking themselves inside the shipyard,
21:31they refused to work
21:32and scrawled their list of 21 demands on plywood.
21:36A fired shipyard electrician, Lech Fuenza,
21:40heard news of the strike.
21:41He came here and literally climbed over the wall
21:44to get inside and join his comrades.
21:46The strike had its leader.
21:48The European Solidarity Center,
21:51with its industrial-strength architecture
21:53and inspiring exhibits,
21:55tells the story both vividly and proudly.
21:58For 18 days, 17,000 workers, welders,
22:03machinists, and steel workers, stood strong.
22:07Their only connection to the outside world
22:09was to come to the gate.
22:11There, they'd pass messages to family members
22:14and receive food, supplies, and encouragement.
22:20The strikers were hungry, tired, and scared,
22:23but they were both inspired and emboldened
22:26by the new Polish pope, John Paul II.
22:29Finally, the Communist authorities gave in
22:32and legalized the Union.
22:34Half of the nation's workforce joined Solidarity,
22:37and change was in the air.
22:40But then, after 16 hopeful months,
22:42Polish authorities, fearful of Soviet intervention,
22:45declared martial law.
22:48Tanks rumbled through the snowy streets of Poland,
22:50and the riot police cracked down on dissidents.
22:54Solidarity went underground,
22:56yet it gained momentum.
22:59In 1989, the round table talks brought about elections.
23:03The result? Solidarity, now a political party,
23:07won every available seat.
23:12These first cracks in the Eastern Bloc spread quickly.
23:15Within a few months, the Berlin Wall fell,
23:18borders opened up,
23:19communist regimes voted themselves out of existence,
23:22and Lech Wałęsa was elected
23:24the first post-communist president of Poland.
23:28Today, Gdańsk, mindful of its history,
23:31is a forward-looking community.
23:33Facing the skyline of old Gdańsk across the river
23:36is a modern development.
23:39Only recently rebuilt from World War II bombings,
23:42it echoes the historic roof lines.
23:46With its 21st-century affluence,
23:48Gdańsk provides its people
23:50a stylish boardwalk for good living.
23:53Strolling here, you feel the promise
23:56of a bright Polish future.
24:02The resilience of Poland's culture
24:04and the warmth of its people inspire me.
24:06And learning from this country's hard history,
24:09I'm reminded that freedom, peace, and prosperity
24:12are hard-earned,
24:13and that we have lots to be thankful for.
24:16I hope you've enjoyed our look
24:17at perhaps Europe's most underrated
24:19and surprising country.
24:21I'm Rick Steves.
24:23Until next time, keep on traveling.
24:27It's filled with wild rose jam.
24:32Whoa!
24:33It's a colorful, historic port city
24:35with a dramatic 20th-century story.
24:38This is it.
24:40This is it.
24:45Come to Gdańsk.
24:47Yes, to do their business.
24:48Networking.
24:49Commerce.
24:50Melanie.
24:51Yes.
24:52Bye.
24:53.
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