Poland 2017, part 3 (Torun)
Although it was middle of summer, that morning in Warsaw greeted me with incessant rain. As if it were autumn. As I didn’t have too many plans for the morning, I got organized without any rush, packed my things and then went out for a walk. I still wanted to visit the Cathedral in the Old Town. And I did that, staying there for a short while, but when I got out in the street I realized I didn’t feel like walking pointlessly in rain, wetting my legs and trousers without a real need. So, I sat at a cute little café where I had a raspberry croissant and a coffee. A little bit more walk, a few more photos taken while standing under some canopy and that was it. Soon the time came for me to leave from the west Warsaw station which is called Zachodnia with a parallel name in English – West 8 Platform. Had the weather been nice, I might have bothered with the public transportation. This way I decided to take a taxi, which I easily managed to catch at the nearby Royal Route. As for the train ticket, I had already bought it earlier on internet.
The area between Warsaw and Torun consists of a flat land and there are numerous cultivated fields and forests that may be seen, as well as an occasional house with often a lovely yard. The rain stopped soon after the train had left Warsaw. Great!
I arrived in Torun in the early afternoon. I had planned to take a taxi in order not to wander, but it was dry, there was a bus standing right there at the exit from the station and I had already read that it was easy taking a bus to reach the Old Town, so I decided on that option. The buses to take are 22 and 27. One should get off the bus literally as soon as it has crossed a bridge and that is the second bus stop. From that stop, there is a paved path which after some hundred meters leads into the Old Town and its main pedestrian street.
I easily reached the hotel I had booked, but while I was pulling my bag I just kept looking around me filled with admiration. Torun is an exceptionally beautiful place and I could hardly wait to leave my things and rush out into the street. I had agreed with Aleksandra to meet after her work, so I used the period before that for walking a little around the Old Town. That historic centre is not very big and it may be seen easily and rather quickly. It is perhaps possible to visit Torun within a day, as an excursion from Warsaw, provided one leaves early in the morning and returns late at night. Still, Torun is so gorgeous that it deserves much more than this.
Torun was officially founded on the banks of the Vistula river in 1233 by Teutonic knights, while it passed into the hands of the kings of Poland in the 15th century. It is interesting that a large number of the buildings are the original, since the town somehow managed to avoid major devastation in WWII to a large degree.
Another interesting fact linked to this town is that Nicolaus Copernicus was born here in 1473 and nowadays the local University is named after the town’s famous resident. Copernicus was namely the first one after the Dark Ages in Europe who claimed that the Earth moves around the Sun, and not vice versa, thus laying the ground for the heliocentric system (before him, this was written about by an Indian philosopher and a few of his colleagues from Ancient Greece). Copernicus published this wisely, or by sheer circumstances, right before his death in 1543 and the Church was simply stunned – they did not expect such impertinence, so it took them a few decades before some Pope remembered to prohibit Copernicus’s revolutionary work (with double association: a revolution in science, as well as the revolution of the Earth around the Sun). In the same year, 1616, when Copernicus’s book was banned, since the Church was quite ready by this point in time, the Inquisition forbade Galileo to advocate heliocentric system (I guess by telling him „You are not supposed to think“), so this one laid low for a while, but did continue to think. And so in 1633 he got to the Inquisition court and barely managed to come alive at its other end, but did have to spend the rest of his days in house arrest. And now, let me go back to my peaceful walk around Torun.
The weather was not in my favour and soon after I had left the hotel, it started to rain, but I was well equipped and kept walking until the time to meet with Aleksandra came. Then I sat at a café where we had agreed to meet. The encounter was great and cordial, and the two of us did not stop chatting until late in the evening, only changing the venue. First we had coffee and then went for a fantastic dinner at one of the traditional inns that may be found in Torun, which was followed by a visit to a pastry shop where we treated ourselves to some of the very tasty local cakes.
Not only that it was wonderful seeing my niece, it was also great that she told me there was a gingerbread museum (Living Museum of Gingerbread) which organizes interactive visits. I absolutely loved the idea of going there and learning how to make local gingerbreads. Namely, Torun is famous for its version of these cakes and the entire town is full of different shops, as well as souvenirs and postcards that imitate heart-shaped gingerbreads.
The next morning I got up earlier and first went to the bridge in order to take photos of the town, for I really liked the view I had had the previous day when I crossed the river by bus. Still, I didn’t stay there for too long, as I was actually in a hurry to get back to the gingerbread museum. The museum has tours in English organized twice a day and it is necessary to book a place in advance. That’s why I wanted to go to the museum as soon as it opened in order to get a ticket and join the 4 pm group.
Then I went for breakfast and then to the Planetarium. The Planetarium organizes several thematic events and I went to a general one. I got earphones and leaned back in my chair, like everybody else around me. On the ceiling, which was also the screen, they showed a story about the Solar System and it was interesting, but nothing special. I was even occasionally on the verge of being sick on account of strong and close images that kept waving in front of my eyes. In other words, I was glad the programme did not last for too long and I was out.
I found it interesting that within the Old Town, in the close proximity of the Planetarium, there is a local prison. Here, even the prison is located at a structure that seems old. Nearby there is the Church of the Virgin Mary which I also visited.
And then I climbed the Tower that belongs to the City Hall. In other words, I was a proper tourist visiting different places of interest in the town. And it was good.
By the time I had visited all of this, I already had to go to the gingerbread museum, lest I should miss my tour. It is officially said that English tours run twice a day. As it turned out, I was the only one not speaking Polish, so they actually had to find somebody to interpret for me and I think the “problem” lies more in this than in finding “a free place in a group.” In addition, as far as the visitors were concerned, I was the only adult (not counting the parents who accompanied their children). And the tour was in line with the visitors – it was more a show for children, but it was still fun nonetheless.
After the historic and theoretic parts, we all approached large tables, got the material and tools and ... I made a gingerbread which they baked while we had a break, but they did draw our attention to the fact that these gingerbreads were actually not recommended for eating, as we hadn’t washed our hands before making them, etc.
On the second floor of the museum, there is an exhibit of the first machines that were used for faster production of gingerbreads and we were also given an option to decorate an already baked (and edible!) gingerbread. I immediately signed up for it and here is the result!
After my visit to the museum, I met with Aleksandra and once more it was fantastic! Again we first went for a coffee and then to another traditional restaurant where we had baked pierogi (dumplings). The food was good and tasty, but our hanging out was even better.
Since we were really full afterwards, we decided to go for a walk. Thus we eventually strolled around for a couple of hours, discovering some places together and showing one another some others, then we sat for a while by the Vistula and finally decided to go together to the bridge in order for me to take a few night photographs.
And then Aleksandra took me to the Singing Fountain. There we sat on a bench, enjoying the fine temperature and the play of light and water, but, certainly, without stopping with our chattering.
At some point though, we did have to part since we both had plans for the day after. Returning to my hotel via the central square, I took a few more photos and then went to bed.
In the morning it was dry, although cloudy. The sun managed to get through the clouds only at one moment, but I was content that I didn’t have to put on my hood or use an umbrella. When one is walking around Torun, it is important not only to look left and right, but also up and down and in the middle. Namely, there are beautiful details and nice views all over the place.
First I walked around the Old Town and went to the Copernicus House. It is not certain that Nicolaus Copernicus was born right there, but it is known that the house belonged to his father.
In the Old Town there is also the famous Leaning Tower which constitutes a part of the Old Torun’s fortifications.
And then I headed for the New Town. Like in Warsaw, the term “New Town” refers to a slightly less old part of the historic centre.
The New Town, among other sights, contains the Church of St. Jacob from the 14th century with an interesting Gothic tower.
On my way back to the hotel I also stopped to visit the site that has remains of the Castle of the Teutonic Knights. Namely, the Order of Teutonic Knights which was founded in the 12th century had its own state in this part of Europe until the 16th century. Before the construction of the castle in Malbork, Torun used to be the capital of this state. But, these pious knights were very unpopular owing to their merciless rule and then the people rebelled around the middle of the 15th century and completely destroyed the castle in Torun.
Not far are also the remains of the Church of St. Nicholas and of a Dominican monastery.
And then a little bit more walking, going to a bakery-pastry shop for breakfast and it was already the time to move on and my next destination was Gdansk.