Rysiek and Blanka's wedding, Gdańsk

After the best part of the day sightseeing (see separate post) in Gdańsk, I headed off by tram towards Oliwa and its famous cathedral, for the wedding of Rysiek and Blanka. (Rysiek's another old harcerz from West London's Błękitna Trójka, who I've known for the best part of half a century). As I approach the park situated behind the cathedral, I espy a triple rainbow! (click to enlarge). A double rainbow (ROYGBIVROYGBIV*), the two touching, plus a fragment of a third above and to the right. An auspicious sign!


Left: Oliwa Cathedral, looking towards its famous organ. An impressive place for a wedding. I was last here in 1977 on Montserrat - two coachloads of 15-20 year-old boys and girls of Polish parentage going to the fatherland for a religious pilgrimage organised by the Polish parish in Ealing. How different it all looked back then, the cathedral an oasis of splendour amid the drab shabbiness of everyday communist reality.

Below: bride, groom, family and friends on the cathedral steps. Over 140 guests, including 100 or so who made it all the way from England. Mercifully, it didn't rain on the group photo nor on the greeting of the guests. Interestingly, meeting many old friends of my generation living in Britain or in Poland, I was struck by the diversity of ages of their children - from two to 29.

Below: Bride and groom meeting the guests. Outside the cathedral it was chilly for this time of year; just across the Baltic, Stockholm shivered in temperatures of just +6C, a record for early June.

Below: the wedding reception took place in Stara Cegielnia in Rzucewo, near Puck, some 60km away from Oliwa. This beautifully restored brickworks was next door to Zamek Jan III Sobieski, which I suspect had more to do with the area's former Prussian rulers than with the Polish king who saved Europe's bacon at the Battle of Vienna.

To kick off the night's celebrations, Rysiek dons folk costume and with his bride performs a traditional Polish dance (left) before leading off all the guests in a Polonaise.

I wish Rysiek and Blanka a long and happy marriage, full of love, companionship, shared interests and - a trio of little ones.

Above: the view from Rzucewo. In the distance, the Hel peninsula. The celebrations went on until five in the morning, by which time it's broad daylight.

*The mnemonic Richard Of York Gave Battles In Vain = Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

This time last year:
Wetlands in late-spring

This time last year:
Jeziorki's flood of floods: Puławska and Pozytywki
Jeziorki's flood of floods: Sarabandy and Karczunkowska
Jeziorki's flood of floods: Trombity and Kórnicka

This time two years ago:
Another time, another place