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Our last stop in Poland was Gdansk, Poland’s principal seaport (we had this route planned before Prince William and Kate executed the same path earlier in the summer!).
Unbeknownst to us when we originally booked (do I need to
mention the missing travel mojo again!?) we arrived in Gdansk during its annual
festival, St. Dominic’s Fair, which attracts over 6 million visitors
annually. No wonder our hotel seemed so
expensive!
St. Dominic’s Fair dates back to 1260, originally introduced
to encourage merchants from around the world to meet and trade both commodities
and culture. Today, hundreds of
merchants from around the world gather to commemorate this tradition and trade
their goods. The only requirement is
that no name brands are allowed – merchants have to sell uniquely crafted
merchandise.
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Stalls line the waterfront and the streets in the Old
Town. It can take days to wander through
and look at everything, especially when distracted by the myriad musicians and
buskers that tempt you to stop and listen.
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Nonetheless, we ventured out each day to check out the
different stalls and hunt for the perfect piece of Amber jewellery to give as a
gift. Gdansk is famous for its amber,
recognized as the largest trader of Baltic Amber in the world. Amber has been traded in Gdansk for over
6,000 years and was a major contributor to the success of the city. Not surprisingly, we found success ultimately
on Mariacka Street, also informally known as "Amber Street" because it has the best vendors.
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In the spirit of the Festival, we spent most of our time in
Gdansk wandering the streets, buying snacks from street vendors (who
conveniently made food into a necklace for ultimately portability), enjoying drinks at many a patio and finding the most delicious potatoes-only
restaurant! Hard to think of anything
more festive!
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