Gdansk & Riga: Hidden Treasures of Europe!!

[TLCOhio]

From the Brisbane Times, Sidney Morning Herald and other Fairfax newspapers in Australia today, they have this headline: "The other Europe" with these highlights for hidden treasures in Europe, include much about Gdansk and Riga. Here's the story overview: "There's more to Europe than Paris and Prague. It takes a lot to kill a city. The Romans managed it, when they destroyed Carthage and ploughed its fields with salts to ensure it would never rise again. Vesuvius managed it, burying Herculaneum and Pompeii under clouds of volcanic ash. Berlin survived the Red Army, New Orleans survived hurricane Katrina. Sometimes, however, cities fade away. The buildings might remain standing, daily life might continue, but the city slips from the collective consciousness until it's nothing more than a dot on a map, rarely visited by outsiders. In Europe, where empires have risen and fallen for thousands of years, there are plenty of these lost cities. Far from the main tourist routes that link modern metropolises such as London, Paris and Barcelona, their ancient glories get only a fraction of the visitors they deserve. They are Europe's hidden treasures, well worth the effort it may take to reach them.

 

We have done lots in Norway, the Baltics and Russia, but both Gdansk and Riga seem very interesting and well worth visiting in the future. Anybody else been there? Add your likes, suggestions, experiences, etc., for these two historic cities. Anybody having upcoming visits planned there?? Hope these ideas are helpful and worth sharing.

 

GDANSK: POWER AND POLITICS.

"The destroyers were the conquering Red Army after World War II; the loss came when the city was given to Poland and renamed Gdansk. It is perhaps Europe's best-known lost city, famous for a chequered history that saw it run at various times by Germans, Poles and as an independent city-state. What is largely forgotten is the power Danzig wielded in its heyday. By the 15th century, it was an important cultural capital, largely autonomous and with a cosmopolitan population that included Scots and Hungarians as well as Germans and Poles. For a sense of Gdansk's glory days, walk down its Ulica Dluga (Long Street), once the city's most important thoroughfare. It was known throughout Europe as one of the world's great boulevards - the Fifth Avenue of its day - and the elegant merchants' houses still dazzle. Whether you enter through the Green Gate down by the river, or the Golden Gate to the west, it's hard not to be awed by buildings decorated as opulently as Faberge eggs. As stunning as it is, unfortunately it's a total fraud. Like many continental cities, it was rebuilt after World War II. However, the rebuilding of Gdansk was driven by a political agenda: to obliterate the city's German heritage."

 

RIGA: WARFARE TO WHIMSY

"As you walk through Riga's so-called new suburbs - which date to the 19th century, this stretch of the city is home to the largest collection of art nouveau architecture in Europe, a wonderland of buildings adorned with naiads, dryads and giant faces variously happy, sad and fierce. As well as bearing testimony to the locals' sense of fun, the houses show that while Riga was founded on a collision between cash and Christianity, cash won out in the end. The German merchants who established a trading outpost there in 1158 were quickly followed by Albert, Bishop of Livonia, who landed in 1201, on a mission to convert the local tribes. The new city of Riga became part of the Hanseatic League, a German trading network that was one of the earliest and most powerful multinationals, fighting successful wars against countries such as Denmark. The 800-year-old cathedral may dominate Riga's city centre, but it's the ornate secular buildings around it that illustrate Riga's one-time wealth. The colourful houses, built in the typical Hanseatic style, have picturesque names such as the House of Blackheads (a 14th-century merchant guild house), and the House of Cats - a building that also demonstrates the local sense of humour."

 

We are preparing for our first “down under” visit, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney, to Auckland/NZ, and saw this interesting story today in doing prep research. For more details and other interesting hidden treasure cities in Europe, click below on the full story.

 

Full story at:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/travel/the-other-europe-20130725-2qlap.html

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 113,412 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923