A memory from our trip last July to Gdansk, Poland.

I shot this photo on a bridge over the Motlawa River.

On the right is the newer construction (using modern principles) and on the left is the refurbished construction. The Old Town of Gdansk (known then as Danzig) sits behind the buildings on the left.

Standing side by side, I think of the conflicts that this country and others in World War II endured. And survived.

From what I learned, the Soviet Red Army advanced on this German-held city during the final months of World War II in 1945. The Soviets destroyed nearly all of Gdansk’s historic center.

Why? Primarily because of the importance of Gdansk as port on the Baltic Sea.

What makes this city so amazing today is that much of the Old Town was painstakingly reconstructed using paintings, old photographs and historical records.