Poland’s Warsaw and Gdańsk

0:00 -Hey, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe.

0:03 This time, we're visiting two of Poland's leading cities,

0:07 the bustling capital Warsaw, that way,

0:10 the gorgeous maritime port Gdańsk, that way,

0:13 and the most formidable pile of medieval bricks I've ever seen.

0:17 Thanks for joining us.

0:20 ♪♪

0:28 ♪♪

0:37 ♪♪

0:43 ♪♪

0:52 -Most tourists visiting Poland go only to Kraków,

0:55 but there's so much more to see.

0:57 The capital, Warsaw, is the heartbeat of contemporary Poland

1:00 and Gdańsk, up here on the Baltic coast,

1:03 is a colorful, historic port city

1:05 with a dramatic 20th-century story.

1:08 We begin in Warsaw, the cosmopolitan capital,

1:12 gilded with a grand palace and a trendy urbanity.

1:19 We'll learn about its turbulent 20th century

1:21 and enjoy some Chopin in the park.

1:24 Then we visit a sweet medieval town,

1:26 taste its claim to fame,

1:28 and storm a massive Teutonic fortress.

1:31 Finally, we discover the port of Gdańsk

1:33 and how it helped bring communism down in Europe.

1:37 Poland -- about the size of Arizona --

1:40 sits in the north of central Europe.

1:42 We'll follow its main river, the Vistula,

1:44 from the capital, Warsaw,

1:46 north past Toruń and Malbork Castle,

1:49 and to Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea.

1:53 Warsaw is an energetic metropolis

1:55 offering a fascinating foray into urban Poland.

1:58 It comes with both a hard-fought history and a modern vibrancy.

2:03 Today, Warsaw -- pronounced "var-SHA-va" here --

2:06 is Poland's biggest city with close to two million people.

2:11 It's muscular and sprawling,

2:13 broad boulevards, imposing buildings,

2:16 and glittering glass office towers.

2:19 Today's Warsaw is a thriving European center of business,

2:23 banking, and politics with a cosmopolitan energy.

2:28 Warsaw's glory days peaked between the world wars,

2:31 when it was one of Europe's most genteel capitals.

2:35 That spirit survives along its rebuilt sweeping main drag,

2:38 the sweeping Royal Way,

2:40 with its elegant facades and its popularity with local strollers.

2:46 Just being out and about,

2:48 you feel the youthful confidence of this society.

2:52 Stately hotels and government buildings --

2:55 this is the president's residence --

2:57 add to the Royal Way's grandeur.

3:01 The Blikle bakery is every Pole's favorite for pączki --

3:05 jelly donuts.

3:06 ♪♪

3:12 When locals here go out for “doughnuts,"

3:14 they go out for pączki.

3:16 My favorite is the classic.

3:17 It's filled with wild rose jam.

3:21 Mmm!

3:23 But it's not all jelly doughnuts.

3:25 Vast squares with memorials remind all

3:28 of Poland's hard-fought history.

3:31 Here, the eternal flame honors war dead

3:33 with numbers almost incomprehensible.

3:37 As the city was totally destroyed

3:39 by Nazis in World War II,

3:40 nearly everything you'll see --

3:42 palaces, churches, and fountains --

3:45 was painstakingly rebuilt from the rubble of 1945.

3:50 I keep having to remind myself that, in this city,

3:53 hardly a building standing is over 80 years old.

3:57 Consequently, Warsaw is an architectural jumble,

4:00 rebuilt both old and new.

4:03 ♪♪

4:10 Warsaw's meticulously rebuilt Old Town is dominated

4:14 by its meticulously rebuilt Royal Castle.

4:18 The castle, a symbol of Polish sovereignty

4:21 now for over 400 years,

4:23 boasts some of this country's most lavish halls,

4:26 gilded and glittering with chandeliers.

4:30 The palace reflects how Poland was independent

4:33 and strong for centuries, starting in the Middle Ages.

4:38 When the home-grown dynasty died out,

4:40 Poland's nobility elected foreign kings

4:43 at gatherings like this.

4:46 Many of those imported rulers squandered Poland's resources

4:50 on their own selfish agendas.

4:53 They weakened the country

4:54 until it actually ceased to exist in 1795.

5:00 For over 100 years, Poland disappeared from the map,

5:04 partitioned by three empires --

5:06 Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

5:09 But the Poles succeeded in preserving their culture

5:12 until their country was reborn in 1918 after World War I.

5:17 Today, back out on the streets,

5:19 the atmospheric Old Town entertains the tourists.

5:23 Here the 21st century seems to rule these cobbled lanes.

5:27 In the center of the beautifully constructed Market Square

5:30 is a popular sculpture.

5:32 The mermaid -- a symbol of Warsaw --

5:34 serenades the townspeople,

5:36 still welcoming friends while keeping out foes.

5:40 To me, this fountain, always energetic with kids playing,

5:43 feels like a celebration of life...

5:46 Polish life.

5:49 ♪♪

5:56 And Polish life comes with music,

5:59 especially the genius of favorite son Frédéric Chopin.

6:03 On summer Sundays, Chopin concerts pack the park.

6:07 It's an expression of this city's pride in its culture

6:10 and its enduring appetite for community.

6:13 ♪♪

6:20 Poland's great Romantic composer sits under a willow tree.

6:26 Though he lived and worked mostly in Paris,

6:28 locals cherish the thought that Chopin's inspiration

6:32 came from memories of the breeze blowing through the willow trees

6:35 of his native land, Poland.

6:38 ♪♪

6:45 ♪♪

6:52 Warsaw museums work hard to explain its complicated history,

6:57 and much of Poland's story is a Jewish story.

7:00 The "Museum of the History of Polish Jews"

7:03 celebrates a thousand years of Jews living in Poland.

7:08 A winding route traces their experience.

7:11 ♪♪

7:13 With the relative tolerance of medieval kings,

7:15 Jews became established in Polish society.

7:19 But because they still suffered through pogroms

7:21 and other persecution, few actual artifacts survive.

7:27 Many Jews lived in market towns called shtetls,

7:30 with richly decorated wooden synagogues.

7:34 Above the traditional elevated prayer platform

7:36 is a colorful ceiling,

7:38 a humble canopy rich with symbolism.

7:42 When Poland regained its independence after World War I,

7:45 Jewish culture blossomed,

7:47 especially in the 1920s when, for the first time,

7:50 Jews had full citizenship and voting rights.

7:54 And Warsaw was the biggest Jewish city in Europe.

7:58 [ Explosions ]

8:00 Tragically, this flourishing of Jewish culture was crushed

8:03 when fascist Germany invaded in 1939.

8:07 Jews were then corralled in a miserable ghetto...

8:11 subjected to unlivable conditions

8:13 before being shipped off to Nazi death camps and killed.

8:17 ♪♪

8:24 A monument captures the desperation

8:27 of the ghetto's last days.

8:30 Realizing they were all doomed anyway,

8:33 the haggard and hungry who remained

8:35 staged a desperate uprising.

8:38 Nearly all were killed.

8:42 This was just one city's experience

8:44 in a Europe-wide Holocaust.

8:46 In this attempted genocide,

8:48 Hitler tried to rid the world of Jewish people.

8:52 Of the six million he killed, half died here in Poland.

8:57 ♪♪

8:59 With its Jewish population decimated,

9:01 Warsaw's next chapter

9:03 was a second valiant but doomed uprising --

9:06 this time by the non-Jewish Poles who remained.

9:10 Under Nazi occupation, Poles had formed the biggest

9:13 underground resistance army in history.

9:18 Late in the war, as the Nazis began to falter

9:20 and the Soviets advanced,

9:22 Poland's Home Army mobilized to liberate the country.

9:25 ♪♪

9:27 But the Nazis regrouped

9:29 and brutally put down the Warsaw Uprising.

9:33 Hitler then ordered that Warsaw

9:34 be "destroyed to its foundations."

9:38 ♪♪

9:41 The Soviet Army sat here, across the river,

9:43 and watched and waited.

9:45 Finally, when the Germans were gone,

9:47 the Russians marched in to claim the wasteland

9:50 that was once Warsaw,

9:51 kicking off over four decades of communist rule.

9:56 Like a phoenix, this city has risen from the ashes.

9:59 And today, Warsaw is filled

10:02 with a happy and youthful populace

10:04 that has no living memory of those hard times.

10:07 ♪♪

10:10 Today's Warsaw is hip and trendy.

10:13 Hulking old buildings -- no longer fascist or communist --

10:17 are filled with a rainbow of global food choices.

10:20 ♪♪

10:22 "Post-industrial" architecture is all the rage.

10:27 Old red-brick factories and power plants

10:30 have been transformed into convivial hubs for dining,

10:33 drinking, and shopping.

10:35 ♪♪

10:38 I'm joined by my friend

10:39 and fellow guidebook author, Cameron Hewitt,

10:41 and the show's producer, Simon Griffith,

10:43 at Bibenda for a taste of Warsaw's urbane foodie scene.

10:48 This trendy restaurant specializes in craft cocktails

10:51 and Polish fusion cuisine.

10:54 The menu takes fresh local ingredients

10:56 like heirloom tomatoes and beets

10:59 and gives them an international spin --

11:02 padrón peppers...

11:04 falafel...

11:06 pumpkin dumplings...

11:07 all washed down with a good Spanish wine.

11:11 Whether Polish or international,

11:13 you can see that we thought everything was delicious.

11:16 It's a reminder of how cosmopolitan Warsaw

11:19 respects Polish tradition while also embracing a global future.

11:24 I can't think of a better way to enjoy our last night in Warsaw.

11:30 ♪♪

11:33 Heading north from Warsaw through the rolling farmland

11:35 of the Polish countryside, we reach a small-town break

11:38 from our big city itinerary, Toruń.

11:43 Toruń feels affluent.

11:45 In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Hanseatic League,

11:48 a trade union of northern European merchant cities.

11:52 Like much of northern Poland,

11:54 many of its buildings are finely crafted of red brick.

11:58 The city has an easygoing ambiance

12:00 that comes with the heavenly scent of...

12:03 gingerbread.

12:05 Every Pole knows Toruń for two reasons --

12:08 Copernicus and gingerbread.

12:11 ♪♪

12:14 This was the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus,

12:16 who, 500 years ago, established

12:18 that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

12:21 ♪♪

12:25 But today, here in Toruń anyway,

12:28 a lot revolves around this -- gingerbread.

12:32 This recreated old bakery is a favorite for field trips.

12:37 Costumed guides teach young students how,

12:39 in the Middle Ages,

12:40 Toruń's trading connections gave local bakers access

12:43 to exotic spices --

12:46 spices like ginger, cinnamon, and clove --

12:49 and how the honey in the dough was a natural preservative,

12:52 allowing it to be traded far and wide.

12:55 ♪♪

12:57 Then the children get to actually roll the dough...

13:00 ♪♪

13:02 press it into traditional molds...

13:05 and pop their little creations into the oven.

13:10 Local gingerbread shops let you mix-and-match

13:12 a variety of tasty treats,

13:14 with any combination of jams, glazes, and chocolate.

13:18 For locals, the word is actually a verb --

13:21 if you've eaten too much, you have "gingerbreaded."

13:25 ♪♪

13:30 I think this will get me to our next stop.

13:34 Further north is the Malbork Castle,

13:37 another red-brick masterpiece.

13:39 Called the biggest brick castle in the world,

13:41 this was the 14th century headquarters

13:44 of the Teutonic Knights.

13:46 These Germanic Crusaders-turned-mercenaries

13:49 were hired here by a Christian duke

13:51 to convert the local pagans.

13:54 Job done, the Teutonic Knights decided they liked it here.

13:58 So they stuck around, built this castle,

14:00 and dominated northern Poland for over a century.

14:04 Malbork Castle was essentially a fortified monastery --

14:07 home to monks, knights, and their leader, the Grand Master.

14:12 Malbork's fortifications are formidable indeed.

14:16 The complex was surrounded by an imposing moat

14:19 and a mighty brick wall.

14:22 The heavy portcullis stopped anyone who breached the moat.

14:26 Then, from slits up above, archers could rain down arrows.

14:31 And the inner drawbridge made the core of the castle

14:34 an impenetrable last refuge.

14:38 While knights lived in the outer castle,

14:40 monks lived in the inner castle.

14:43 The Grand Master's lavish and well-fortified quarters

14:46 with their fan-vaulted assembly rooms

14:48 and expansive dining halls

14:50 were the capital of those Teutonic Knights,

14:53 from where they administered their domain.

14:57 Most of the main sites of Poland

14:59 are connected by the Vistula River.

15:01 An hour's drive takes us to its and our final stop.

15:06 Gdańsk, historically Poland's leading port,

15:09 sits near where the Vistula meets the Baltic Sea.

15:13 For a thousand years, a cultural crossroads

15:15 with a rich maritime history, architecturally it feels

15:19 more Scandinavian or Dutch than Polish.

15:23 During its medieval golden age,

15:25 Gdańsk prospered as a key member of the Hanseatic League.

15:30 The Hanseatic League was an association

15:32 of over 100 cities and ports across Northern Europe.

15:35 Its mission -- to protect and promote trade.

15:39 Busy hunting down pirates, building light houses,

15:41 and boycotting ports that didn't join the club,

15:44 it dominated the economy and politics in the region

15:47 through the late Middle Ages.

15:49 In a way, the Hanseatic League was a precursor

15:52 to the European Union.

15:53 Its motto, "All power to the merchants."

15:57 Along the embankment is a structure

15:59 those merchants put to good use --

16:01 a hulking 15th century crane.

16:05 Back then, this entire river could be filled, bank to bank,

16:09 with trading vessels.

16:11 Maritime trade from distant lands made Gdańsk

16:14 both prosperous and tolerant.

16:16 It attracted merchants from all over Europe

16:19 who brought with them elements of their home cultures.

16:22 These were then woven into the tapestry of the city,

16:25 reflected in its eclectic architecture.

16:28 [ Bells chiming ]

16:30 Overhead, the town hall tower holds a carillon

16:32 that marks each hour with a cheerful tune.

16:36 ♪♪

16:44 To better understand Gdańsk, we're joined by my friend

16:47 and fellow tour guide Agnieszka Syroka.

16:52 Our first stop is the town hall.

16:55 ♪♪

16:58 -So, the city was governed from this exact room here.

17:02 -And the art is -- There's a lot of art here.

17:05 -Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?

17:06 In the middle of the vaulting,

17:08 have a look at this magnificent painting from 1608.

17:12 ♪♪

17:15 The Vistula River starts over there in the mountains.

17:17 Look at these barges filled with the grain

17:21 from all over the Kingdom of Poland.

17:23 So all the goods were shipped from Gdańsk

17:28 down the Vistula River to the Baltic Sea.

17:31 They are taking that grain,

17:33 and that grain goes all over Western Europe.

17:35 And look, deals,

17:37 businesses made here in front of the Artus Court.

17:40 -These would be traders from all over Northern Europe,

17:43 part of the Hanseatic League

17:44 here making a deal, shaking hands.

17:45 -Indeed, like 1600s stock market.

17:49 -And God's hand.

17:50 So, He's holding not the church, but the town hall.

17:53 -Exactly. Because Gdańsk was so multicultural

17:57 and multi-religious throughout centuries,

17:59 it really never mattered what religion you are,

18:02 but how much money you can bring to the city doing your business.

18:05 -The Guildhall is next door.

18:07 This is a magnificent room.

18:09 -It's a beautiful guild house,

18:11 a great example of a great social space

18:15 where guilds, medieval merchant groups, met.

18:18 -Okay, so this is like a networking.

18:20 -Exactly, exactly.

18:22 Merchants from all over Europe

18:23 were coming here to do their business.

18:25 Each arch belonged to one guild.

18:29 Imagine in front of each arch there was goldsmith guild,

18:34 beer guild, amber guild.

18:36 They were very competitive.

18:38 -So the traders from Lubeck

18:39 would meet the traders from Amsterdam

18:41 and from Riga coming together.

18:44 -And then buying grain, timber, coal,

18:47 and exporting that all over Europe.

18:52 -The city is ornamented with fine red-brick buildings.

18:56 That's because here in the marshy north of Poland,

18:59 stone is scarce.

19:01 Grand buildings like this old mill

19:04 elevate bricklaying to an art form.

19:06 The old market hall has long provided an impressive place

19:09 for farmers to sell their produce.

19:13 The train station gives visitors a red-brick welcome,

19:16 and even the modern shopping malls

19:18 carry on this love of brick.

19:22 And rising high above everything is St. Mary's Church,

19:25 one of the biggest brick churches anywhere.

19:29 To be both tall and stable without the strength of stone,

19:32 it was fortified with beefy brick buttresses.

19:36 Stepping inside, you're struck by the stark, austere,

19:39 and very white interior.

19:41 This is a remarkable church.

19:44 -Mary's Church was built before Reformation.

19:46 Look at the beautiful triptych altar,

19:49 coronation of Saint Virgin Mary.

19:51 -So the altar piece is from before the Reformation.

19:54 -Exactly.

19:55 And then the city converted to Protestant.

19:57 And what was really important was the pulpit,

20:00 because of the Word of God,

20:02 and music coming from magnificent organ.

20:07 -Look at that pipe organ.

20:09 This is like a pavement of tombstones.

20:11 -Exactly. 500 gravestones of the wealthiest merchants of Gdańsk

20:18 who wanted to be buried here in their parish church.

20:21 And if not buried in a tomb,

20:22 you could commemorate your family

20:24 on the wall with an epitaph.

20:26 ♪♪

20:30 -In the shadow of the church,

20:31 atmospheric Mariacka Street is lined with traditional porches,

20:35 clever gargoyles, and vendors selling the prized amber

20:39 that the Baltic Coast is so famous for.

20:41 ♪♪

20:48 For amber as high art,

20:50 the striking Amber Museum fills an old mill

20:53 with precious deposits of this fossilized tree sap.

20:57 Much of the world's amber comes from Poland.

20:59 Amber, which can be tens of millions of years old,

21:02 comes in shades of white, yellow, and brown.

21:06 It's a favorite medium of local artisans

21:09 who create exquisite items

21:11 from an organically sculptured candelabra,

21:14 to a chessboard that would mesmerize a grand master.

21:18 There's an exquisite miniature storage chest,

21:21 and even furniture such as this gorgeous writing desk.

21:25 ♪♪

21:31 Gdańsk lived its most dramatic moments in the 20th century.

21:35 World War II began right here in 1939, when Hitler invaded.

21:39 And those cranes mark the shipyard

21:41 where, 40 years later in 1980,

21:43 the Soviet Bloc finally began to crack.

21:47 During communist times,

21:48 Gdańsk was home to the massive Lenin Shipyard.

21:51 In 1980, after decades of frustrations and struggles,

21:55 shipyard workers went on strike.

21:59 They created a trade union called Solidarity.

22:03 Locking themselves inside the shipyard,

22:05 they refused to work

22:07 and scrawled their list of 21 demands on plywood.

22:12 A fired shipyard electrician, Lech Wałęsa,

22:14 heard news of the strike.

22:16 He came here and literally climbed over the wall

22:18 to get inside and join his comrades.

22:21 The strike had its leader.

22:23 The European Solidarity Center,

22:25 with its industrial-strength architecture

22:28 and inspiring exhibits,

22:29 tells the story both vividly and proudly.

22:34 For 18 days, 17,000 workers --

22:37 welders, machinists, and steel-workers --

22:39 stood strong.

22:42 Their only connection to the outside world

22:44 was to come to the gate.

22:46 There they'd pass messages to family members

22:48 and receive food, supplies, and encouragement.

22:52 ♪♪

22:54 The strikers were hungry, tired, and scared,

22:57 but they were both inspired and emboldened

23:00 by the new Polish Pope, John Paul II.

23:04 Finally, the communist authorities gave in

23:06 and legalized the union.

23:08 Half of the nation's workforce joined Solidarity,

23:11 and change was in the air.

23:14 But then, after 16 hopeful months,

23:17 Polish authorities, fearful of Soviet intervention,

23:20 declared martial law.

23:22 Tanks rumbled through the snowy streets of Poland,

23:25 and the riot police cracked down on dissidents.

23:29 Solidarity went underground, yet it gained momentum.

23:34 In 1989, the Round Table Talks brought about elections.

23:38 The result?

23:39 Solidarity, now a political party,

23:42 won every available seat.

23:44 ♪♪

23:46 These first cracks in the Eastern Bloc spread quickly.

23:50 Within a few months, the Berlin Wall fell,

23:52 borders opened up,

23:54 communist regimes voted themselves out of existence,

23:57 and Lech Wałęsa was elected

23:59 the first post-communist president of Poland.

24:03 Today, Gdańsk, mindful of its history,

24:06 is a forward-looking community.

24:08 Facing the skyline of old Gdańsk across the river

24:11 is a modern development.

24:14 Only recently rebuilt from WWII bombings,

24:17 it echoes the historic roof lines.

24:21 With its 21st century affluence, Gdańsk provides its people

24:25 a stylish boardwalk for good living.

24:28 Strolling here, you feel the promise

24:31 of a bright Polish future.

24:33 ♪♪

24:37 The resilience of Poland's culture

24:39 and the warmth of its people inspire me.

24:41 And learning from this country's hard history,

24:44 I'm reminded that freedom, peace, and prosperity

24:47 are hard-earned

24:48 and that we have lots to be thankful for.

24:51 I hope you've enjoyed our look

24:52 at perhaps Europe's most underrated

24:54 and surprising country.

24:56 I'm Rick Steves.

24:57 Until next time, keep on travelin’!

25:02 -It's filled with wild rose jam.

25:04 ♪♪

25:06 -[ Chuckles ] -Whoa!

25:08 It's a colorful, historic port city

25:10 with a dramatic 20th century story.

25:13 [ Chuckles ]

25:14 This is a -- This -- [ Both chuckle ]

25:17 -Go.

25:18 -Oh. Ohh! [ Laughter ]

25:20 -Come to Gdańsk. -Yes, to do their business.

25:22 -Networking. -Commerce.

25:25 -Money.

25:26 ♪♪