In 2007, with a little larger tax refund than we had expected, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Poland. I had recently discovered that my great-grandparents, on my father's side of the family, came from the area around Lubawa and Mroczno, Poland.
After nearly six months of planning, the time had finally arrived to make the trip. I was confident in the arrangements I had made, and if everything went according to plan, it would be a trip of a lifetime on a basically a shoestring budget.
Our journey would take us to the North-central city of Gdansk, near the Baltic Sea, and our stay would include a few nights in two different Medieval castles and a palace. This would be in addition to accommodations at a couple different hotel rooms and apartments.
I kept a journal everyday on our trip. This blog will re-tell that adventure on a daily basis. Here is our story.
October 17, 2007
Well, our trip got off to a flying start. After a lunch of chicken chili at our daughter and son-in-law's home,in Wyomissing, PA, our son-in-law, Brian, and brother-in-law, Bill, drove us to the Newark Airport, and the drive was pleasant, but uneventful, thankfully!
Checking in at the airport also went smoothly, and we passed time at the Samuel Adams Brew house. A snack of chicken quesadillas and drinks held us over.
Finally, it was time to board our plane, and our journey would begin in earnest.
We were nearly an hour late, when we finally taxied down the runway on our Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) plane, but we were on our way never-the-less.
It was a long flight, but we had our own personal movie screens attached to the seats in front of us. We had a choice of about a dozen movies, music channels, news channels, etc. The flight attendants brought us warm towels occasionally. This was in Economy Class!
Trips to the restroom served double-duty to stretch our legs periodically. After a short time, we were given a full meal, which surprised us. This was complete with wine, beer, etc. (We did a lot of eating and drinking on this trip, as you may have already guessed).
Between watching movies, reading and resting, we persevered. Amazingly, breakfast was served an hour, or so, before we landed. (Here we go eating again).
It seemed like an eternity, as we received constant updates on the flight channel, which showed our flight's progress, time changes, etc.
The crew apparently made up for lost time, and we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark at approximately 8 AM (local time). Originally, we were set to land at 7:25 AM.
This still gave us plenty of time to make our connecting flight bound for Gdansk with a 9:25 AM take-off.
Donna grabbed a bottle of water at a 7-11 convenience store at the airport, and the appearance of predominately Swedish, Scandinavian and Danish people in the airport was clearly evident. The majority of travelers were blond-haired, blue-eyed, quite good-looking, and mostly dressed with a highly contemporary flare for fashion.
A Latvia Soccer team boarded a plane at the next gate while we were waiting for our departure. It was also a new experience for us being surrounded by such a mix of people. As you picked up bits and pieces of nearby conversations, it was evident that you were surrounded by a variety of nationalities, including Polish, German, and others.
With less than 30 minutes until take-off, we boarded a bus, which carried us out to the tarmac, where we walked to our plane and climbed the metal stairs to a much smaller jet than the Airbus 330 of our first flight. Instead of eight seats across, this plane had five.
After a 40 minute flight, we approached the Lech Walesa Airport in Gdansk, Poland. The pilot reported that a light rain was falling below. Brief glimpses through the clouds made the final minutes of this flight quite exciting. We were visually getting a chance to see that this grand adventure was indeed becoming a reality.
It was kind of a reverse situation of that of our ancestors, but similar to their feelings of seeing America for the first time.
We were getting our first taste of seeing the country where it all began, for the most part, for both our families.
When our wheels touched down, we knew the moment was real, and the many months of planning was now coming to fruition.
Next, we will cover our first full day in Poland. I hope you enjoy this journey as it unfolds, as there are many remarkable experiences ahead!
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