Gallery

 

BUREAU OF SILLY WALKING, GDANSK STYLE

Figure 1: The famous room adjacent to the Artushof, known as the Diele of Danzig, as it appeared before the war. Arthur’s Court is thru the door at the left.

Figure 2: Wouldn’t it be great to show our members around the world how wonderfully reconstructed this room now appears? NO!

Almost everyone remembers Monty Python’s Flying Circus, with John Cleese representing the craziest of the zanies. One of Cleese’s schticks was a bit in which he was employed by the Office of Silly Walking, a bit of nonsense that made no logical sense at all. During our past nine trips to Gdansk, we reported not only on philatelic news, but also on progress of the reconstruction of this great city. Unfortunately, there is always a woman appearing out of nowhere who sticks her hand in front of whatever lens is exposed. In frustration last April, we asked why photos weren’t allowed, even without a flash, and the person couldn’t find a reason. Would I like to speak to the Director of the Artus and Rathaus? Of course we would. After a short conversation, trying to plead our case, we were told that the reason was that (1) it was Sunday and (2) that on thi. Sunday all the city museums charged no admission. So that ended the conversation, whether we liked it or not, and the world is deprived of seeing the latest Polish miracle of reconstruction.

What precedents are followed in museums in other parts of Europe? The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam allows customers to photograph all their exhibits, including the great painting by Rembrandt, The Night Watch. The only restriction ¡S: don’t use a flash (which makes good sense). If you attend a Strauss concert at the Kurhaus in Vienna, be sure to bring your cameras and VCR! The management apparently has correctly discerned that allowing the visitors to carry home these visions of Viennese musicians and dancers will result in additional interest by others, without spending an Austrian schilling for advertising.

Exactly the same benefits will apply to Gdansk, with the word and pictures being carried back to the home country. Dollars, marks, pounds and every other denomination will be brought to Poland, without the expenditure by Orbis of one zloty! This is the power of allowing the visitor to photograph freely the scenes that we remember from the old books.

In working with Wladyslaw’s nice article on the Artus stove, we realized that, in spite of hundreds of photos of old city scenes, we had none that showed the arrangement of the tiles as described. This is a goal for the future; it will require “shooting from the hip” instead of taking careful aim and focus. But it shall be done! Start looking for a recipe for a nice cake that contains a hacksaw blade. Your editor may need it in June. Preferably chocolate.

The Bureau of Silly Walking lives!!

 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 98 - January - February - March - 1998, Page 12.