On my way to the solidarity Museum I noticed there was a lot of activity including several police officers. I went up to one of the police officers and asked if they spoke English and asked if the museum was open. They said that they did not know as they were from a different city. As I was talking to them a man stepped out of a black car while the crowd and photographers surged. I asked the police officers if that was Lech Wałęsa. They said yes and I hurried to try to get a picture of him. At first I could only see the back of his head so I got several pictures of it but then I was able to get a bit closer and got several good pictures with my Nikon camera. He laid a couple of wreaths at different parts of the facility and gave a short speech all of which was in Polish so I couldn’t understand it.

It really is amazing how close I was able to get to him. Although he’s retired and no longer in politics he still is a significant figure and it amazes me how much less security is in Poland compared to the United States for former presidents.

Right now I’m in the solidarity Museum waiting for it to open. We have about 30 more minutes before it opens so I think I’ll just hang around here. It’s only 9:23 a.m. but I feel like my day has already been fulfilled.