Having blown two out of three Gdańsk days at Malbork, I was determined to squeeze in as many museums as we could. We got up and I dragged frank to the post office museum, managing to get there shortly after it opened. Gdansk was a free city between 1919 and 1939. Poland got the right to extend its postal network into the city and had a post office and some mailboxes. These were the first targets when the German army showed up in 1939. The brave polish postmen managed to hold out for a whole day before being overwhelmed. Little details like that, you realize of how many small parts the very large war was composed of. Interesting was the German attack plan, six typewritten pages complete with intelligence about how the building was laid out and where the custodian's office was and how to take him out. There was a group of high school kids in there, slightly reverential, I could see why.
Then The Crane, 14th century wooden crane that could lift 2,000 kilos and was also used for masting ships. Powered by four giant hamster wheels where some poor schmuck would provide the power. I didn't realize until later that there must be a reduction gear in there, but I didn't see it.
Followed by the gdansk maritime museum, the history of seafaring in gdansk and Poland. Missed a lot of the details, but whatever. Saw a bunch of models of the submarine Orzel and only just now read the story. We're going to go to the Amber museum but Tuesday's it closes early. Just as well since we only just got to the ferry by 4:30 as it was, ninety minutes before it sailed.
Enjoyed sleeping on the ferry even more than I'd enjoyed sleeping on the train. A pretty good roll set in over nightm and the seas were roughy enough that she was an hour off her schedule. The color of the Baltic in winter is an enormous gray. Got up at 4am to see if there were any northern lights, but the sky was completely overcast. After undressing about to climb back into my bunk I looked out the window and saw stars, so I got dressed again and went back on deck, but still nothing. Ah, the life of a sailor!
an hour long train ride from Nynamshamn to Stockholm, ultra modern quiet election train, we're certainly not I Poland any more.
In Stockholm it turns out that the "Red Boat Hostel" is actually in a red boat! Who knew? Icebound in its moorings, we first saw it from about two hundred feet up on the hillside above it. Slid down on our buts on the frozen trail.
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