Bartimaeus

Our street in Edinburgh has a plaque to a Polish general, a path on Bruntsfield Links is named after him; Princes Street Gardens has a statue of a bear that was a mascot in the Polish army and a relief map of Scotland, was built in Eddlestone, by Polish exchange students, the brainchild of a one of the Polish army in exile, who married his Scottish nurse. There were many Polish men who settled in Scotland with a Scottish wife. Nonetheless we didn't expect to see Scotland represented in Poland and were surprised by the appearance of a Scottish themed pub.

Both Scots and Poles have a reputation (not necessarily deserved) for drinking. We didn't  go inside the Scottish pub, but tried some local drinks. We had enjoyed Polish beer when we first arrived. Then we ordered  wheat beers all round two days  later when we were seated outside for lunch.

I wasn't sure it was a good idea to climb the tower after a beer at lunchtime but we had eaten a good meal and the extra appetisers would have helped soak it up and we seemed to walk as straight as a spiral staircase allows. Mind you Marion and I did start singing songs on the way down, but I am certain they were not stimulated by a small beer and hopefully it didn't echo too much round the wonderful acoustic arches in the church. Both of us missed the sign telling us to be quiet nearing the bottom of the stairs and entering the church. To be fair we were singing hymns from our childhood, so may be less shocking in the basilica, though the Scottish hymnary might not have been recognised by others there.

We did have another beer in the evening too but to dispel the idea we are heavy drinkers, we thought 500ml was an overly large serving! I also got hymns stuck in my head like an earworm all day.

The next day we were demonstrating another Scottish reputation - thrift. Finding a free museum, we went there. It was also the day that most museums were closed, so in fairness we didn't choose it because it was free, but because it was open, and the forecast was rainy so we wanted some inside options.

On the way we crossed a square and found a very interesting, also free, exhibition of photographs that changed depending on where you stood to look at them, between the image of a building after bombing and after reconstruction. I was particularly moved by the picture that showed people walking through the rubble of their devastated town.

I love that we came across this fascinating depiction of then and now. We had a taste of a much earlier era ahead. When Mugs led me to Dom Uphegena, I found the front door was one I had photographed already.

This was a reconstruction of an 18th century merchant's house and is one of several places that are part of the Museum of Gdansk.  I am used to seeing tiled fireplaces or large grates in historic houses but here the warmth was in ceramic heaters, very decorative and no chance of sparks. I hope they were efficient since Gdansk in winter must be "pure Baltic" as Scots say.

The house was sumptuously furnished with fabric wall coverings and beautiful panting on the walls. Some rooms were very long and thin and the doors often opened from one into the next rather than having doors off a corridor.

Marion had a bit of fun with  photo in a mirror, though the cracks in the mirror paint made it look like our portraits in the attic. 

Mugs found another mirror and we had fun organising ourselves again. Later I had a bash at translating the German information boarding the servants areas (Marion was a supportive tutor at my side when I got stuck) and we posed with the cook.

We emerged to rain and hurried to find an indoor lunch venue. There is nothing like home made chicken soup to warm you up again. We had another tourist highlight, the tour that had been harder to arrange than expected. We waited expectantly for a guide with the yellow umbrella. She did not disappoint, despite the rain. She spoke to us three, on a walk between the stops, and remarked that we might be used to this kind of weather in Scotland. Spot on!

Her history joined together gaps in our knowledge and gave added interest to the sights we had seen before, and she had a sense of humour too and was good at engaging her audience.

She jogged us through the central parts and showed us the lion on the armoury exposing its central parts. I honestly hadn't noticed. She explained that old Gdansk beer was so thick and glutinous that it was deemed "right" if you sat down on some, the seat came up with you when you stood. That's strong stuff and you can buy it but she didn't recommend it!

We arrived in the basilica again. We were in time to hear  the clock chiming and she gave us tips on when to come to see the apostles on the move. She gave us a few other tips of other places to see. Even though the weather was not what we would have planned, and the timing later in the visit, it was still well worth going on it. She drew us under arches to huddle as the rain grew harder, and drew her tour to a hasty conclusion leaving out the last stop for our warmth and comfort, but giving an empassioned finish about fighting for freedom. The talk is free but the donations were generous. From there we scurried to an indoor venue named after one of the local drinks she had mentioned in the tour, Goldwasser, a liqueur with gold flakes in it. We found a snug spot and a waiter came to ask what he could do for us. We weren't sure if we were ready for dinner but would start with a drink. Having seen the weather the server showed us the drinks menu but also said that in addition they had a mulled wine available. Mugs was delighted. After some deliberation, Marion joined her. I was taken with the pick-me-up espresso martini. 

By the time we had finished our drinks we had warmed even more to our kind and attentive waiter and there seemed no reason to go out and look elsewhere for inner. We recognised this menu as one we had quite liked on the first day. We also saw a wine we had enjoyed in the fish restaurant. I had fish again anyway, this time halibut.

Mugs had the wild boar though I don't expect it found the truffles. Afterwards, when we had finished eating, and paid, the rain was getting heavier again but the waiter returned to our table with a tray. He said the rain was to be finished in another half hour, but he had brought us a house made liqueur, not Goldwasser, but a lemon based drink - on the house. So that kept us happy till the rain eased off. He even gave us a short lesson in a few Polish pleasantries, when I apologised for not even managing to say "Thank you".

That topped our night off nicely, and we were ready to face the drizzle. We were neither soaked nor steaming.