The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

My wife and I visited Poland (Kraków and Gdańsk) in the summer of 2014.  This entry is of the three days we spent in Gdańsk, while there is another entry for Kraków HERE.

Gdańsk is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited . . . and as good luck would have it, we visited during a street festival!

The statue to Neptune.

One of many small squares in the city center.  The architectural style was surprisingly . . . . Dutch.

Gdańsk is on the Motlawa River estuary.

An old city filled with wonderful architecture.

The architecture of Gdańsk tells a story:  "Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during the war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction was not tied to the city's pre-war appearance, but instead was politically motivated as a means of culturally cleansing and destroying all traces of German influence from the city. Any traces of German tradition were ignored by the communists, suppressed, or regarded as Prussian barbarism only worthy of demolition, while communist and Flemish/Dutch, Italian and French influences were used to replace the historically accurate Germanic architecture which the city was built upon since the 14th century. [Citation]

The Long Street with the old (circa 1327) City Hall towering over it.

Although I would have preferred to stay at an old 'boutique hotel,' we instead stayed at a modern 25 story hotel.  The plus side of the modern hotel were the views over the city.

Gdańsk was reduced to piles of stone and brick during WWII by Allied and Soviet bombers.  Almost all of what you see here was reconstructed during the 1950s and 1960s.

As luck would have it, we arrived in Gdańsk right in the middle of the annual St. Dominic's Fair. With 750 years of successful tradition, the history of the Fair goes back to the year 1260, when it was established by the decree of Pope Alexander IV. 

St. Dominic's Fair brought tourists from all over Poland, Europe, and the Far East.

Every street in the city was set up with stalls selling food and crafts. It was the biggest street food and crafts fair I have ever seen!

In addition to the street stalls, the fair attracted artists . . . 

 . . . buskers . . .

 . . . street performers . . .

 . . . morose balloon salesperson . . .

 . . . historically costumed information givers . . . giving me the Evil Eye! YAR!

 . . . and this guy (wearing a hat that said Crime!) who tried to entice the tourists to wager on his 'snail races.' The street fair was, in many ways, still like its medieval origins.

We enjoyed shopping at the many interesting crafts stalls.

Interesting bags . . .

 . . . very cool hats . . .

 . . . very cool hat and bag!  There were some very unusual arts at the fair.

Many beautiful textiles on sale.  We bought many things at the these stalls to take back home to Scotland with us.  I bought a hat!

These street stalls were so cute: they mimicked the style of the Gdańsk buildings.

The textiles, hats, and bags were nice . . . but the variety of FOOD at the festival was incredible!!!

The breads were fantastic!

The breads were fantastic!

I was in pig heaven for sausage lovers like me!

SAUSAGE!!!!

I loved cured and smoked pork fat as a child . . . a few thin slabs on a piece of peasant bread . . . mmmmmm!  But I resisted! 

Cures and smoked meats . . . a very Eastern European way of eating . . . and so very tasty!

Many of the shops put their fruits and vegetables out on the street.

Temperate climate fruits are a real treat for us.  These kinds of fruit in Bangkok cost a small fortune, so we went crazy living in Europe for a few years.

Lovely fruit.

Whole heads of sunflowers . . . that's the way to sell sunflower seeds!

Fresh, crispy cucumbers!

They had every kind of street food at the fair, including this actual Burrito Truck!  Amazing! (I didn't buy one, and immediately regreted it!)

We bought a lot at the wooden spoon stand to take back home to our cottage in Scotland.

A dealer of art and socks . . .

A woman set up her stool and sold her own crocheted items.  Sweet.

There were many buskers, but this guy was exceptionally good.

The weather varied from bright sunshine to dark clouds and sudden bursts of rain.

We found thee perfect Old Europe restaurant  . . .

We were hungry for lunch and found this charming old restaurant.

Down along the river quay.  A fine medieval dock crane on the far left.

River cruise ship for the tourists . . . 

For me, the lure of Gdańsk was the marvelous array of fascinating architecture.

A few of the old buildings survived the carpet bombing.

Such an odd building . . . all roof and dormers . . .

Narrow alleys, cobbles streets, ancient buildings . . . the charms of old Europe.

Here and there . . . public art . . .

My love of old doors, walls and windows was satisfied in a big way in Gdańsk!

I was told by a shopkeeper that some of these grand old doors and their stone casings were pulled from the rubble after the bombings and restored and reused.  Marvelous.

I marveled at these windows . . . exquisite!

Such lovely symmetry, color, shape . . .

A gate from the time of horse drawn carriages . . .

I loved the whimsical display.

So sweet.

A weathered door . . . and . . .

 . . . and its context.

A fine, formal marble doorway.

High relief stonework.  Nice.

Not all of Gdańsk's doors were as appreciated as I would like to have seen.

The views out over Gdańsk at night from our high rise hotel room were wonderful.

Making this photo blog about this wonderful city has made me very homesick for living in Europe . . . 

I don't know if I will ever return to Gdańsk, but I know I will always have fond memories of it.

We visited Poland (Kraków and Gdańsk) in the summer of 2014. The entry for Gdańsk can be found HERE.

KRAKÓW:

Central city Kraków in early summer is such a wonderful place to visit. The marvelous 14th century St. Mary's Basilica on the square.

The Main Square in Kraków dates from the 13th century and is the largest town square in all of Europe (@ 9.2 acres, or 3.79 ha).

Kraków Main Square with the Cloth Hall (right, now a tourist galleria) built in the 15th century, and the City Hall Tower (left) built in the 14th Century. The original town hall, which was attached to the tower, was demolished in the mid-1800s.

A wonderful medieval tower.

Also on the Kraków Main Market Square is the 11th century Church of Saint Adalbert.

The Main Square is lined by small shops and boutiques . . . and a solid line of sidewalk cafés all around.

The Main Square attracts lots of tourists and, presumably, local children as well.  Her they climb on the memorial statue to Adam Mickiewicz, a 19th century Polish poet.

Making money on the square . . . Monster Photo Ops $5.oo.

Inside the Cloth Hall, now a curios galleria.

Looking out onto the square from the Cloth Hall.

Saint Mary's Basilica looked inviting.  There are not too many 13th century basilicas left in their original state in Europe. I wanted to see the interior of this Polish Gothic structure.

I was not disappointed.  Magnificent . . . which is the idea, one assumes.

Beautiful Christian iconography everywhere.

Beautiful and ornate vestibules lined the main hall.

I loved the colorfully painted ceiling details.  So many churches in Europe seem to think that bare stone is a better look . . . I prefer the color.

A Kraków Christian devotee on a bad day, one would assume.

My wife and I admired the interior of the St. Mary's Basilica for quite a while, but it was a beautiful day outside, and there was so much more to explore.

We left the main Karców city center square to walk around in the narrow streets of Kraków's historic center (on the original UNESCO World Heritage list).

As we walked around in the back streets of the city center, we became aware of the significance that this is a city that had never been bombed in a war and had never had a major fire, as so many of the other major medieval European cities had.  There were no new buildings: it was an intact ancient city . . . and living today.

Interesting and varied architecture all around.

Such a charming city.

I found this tower fascinating.  Towers were very popular throughout Europe in medieval times

The back of the tower was also very interesting.  I enjoy looking at and figuring out these old architectural gems.

One city space leads to another . . . and always interesting and fascinating.

A row of Christian saints.  Notice the advertisement for tours of the Nazi death camps near Kraków . . . we did not go.

Such a charming old church.

Saints Peter and Paul Church, built 1597 in the Polish Baroque style.

A detail of the Saints Peter and Paul Church . . . looking more like a library than a church somehow.

One of the interesting features of Kraków are the many arched passageway through buildings.

When the street you are walking on takes a turn through an arched passage you never know what you will see on the other side.  Wonderful surprises all over town.

Sometimes you pop put of a street passage onto a beautiful park with. . . .

 . . . beautiful flower beds.

Beautiful summer flowers.

What a wonderful hairy moth flitting from flower to flower.

Tourists taking a group selfie in front of the historic Wawel Cathedral, first built in the 11th century, burned in 1302, and rebuilt in the 14th century.

The domed facade of Wawel Cathedral.

Beautiful bread snackage.

I couldn't resist!!!

I absolutely love the architectural style of this city center monastery.

A wonderful city for just ambling around.

Ah! Orchids! Reminded us of our home in Thailand.

We stopped in at a cafe on a small side street only to discover it was on the route of the central square horse carriage route.  They came by every two minutes!

A restaurateur with a sense of humor.

Lovely medieval cobbled lanes.

The old medieval city center as it was 500 years ago . . .

Beautifully decorated and adorned cityscape.

Monumental architecture along a cobbled alley.

Little beauty arrangements here and there throughout this charming old city.

The castle chapel square.

A passage to . . . ?

The courtyard of Kraców's Wawel Castle.

The castle courtyard . . . layers of balconies and doors . . . what mysteries have taken place here?

Turn your head one way and you see a royal insignia . . . turn it the other way . . . 

Strolling along the narrow side streets next to the castle.

 . . . the entrance to a calm peaceful old chapel . . .

 . . . and the quiet garden within.

One of thousands of statues of Mary throughout the city.  Poland is still a heavily Catholic country.

The attractive main shopping area, Floriańsk Street.

Thai massage!  We were tempted!!!  Some of the very old buildings held modern shopping malls in their interiors.

Interesting floor in the passage to a high-end shopping galleria.

Nice the way the old features have been integrated into the modern shopping area.

It was so interesting how many little passages lead back into courtyards filled with shops and restaurants.  I would love to live in this city!

Exploring the little streets, arched passages, and small alleys always lead to big surprises.

A discovery! A market square!  We spent quite a long time here pawing everything!

Kraków is an excellent 'walking city' to spend several days wandering around enjoying yourself.

Our hotel was in this old building just off of the main square, and across from an art museum.

The interior can only be described as "Soviet Era Minimalism." I loved it.

No expense was spared to create the perfect Soviet-workers-on-vacation guest quarters effect.

After entering the hotel from the street, you arrived in this austere courtyard to check in.  Yes, I was correct, the manager said the old hotel had indeed been remodeled during the Soviet era as a workers lodge. Our room had a panoramic view onto this courtyard. We loved it: it was one block off the main city square and it was cheap!

The Palace of Art (circa. 1901) was just outside our hotel.

We spent three days just wandering around this marvelous city.

We loved Kraków by day . . . but at night it became a colorful dreamscape!

The crowds came out on a fine summer evening for a meal and a drink.

All day and evening, the tourist carriage rides never stopped. I assumed they changed the horses periodically, though I never saw it happen.

The pleasant evenings brought everyone out to the cafés on the central square.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves eating, drinking, and chatting.

This one looks inviting . . . lets go in.

St. Mary's Basilica by night.  We loved our short stay in Kraków and would be more than happy to go back again.