Toruń, Poland

The medieval town Torun is famous for (as I was told when I arrived) Nicolaus Copernicus and gingerbread because it’s the birthplace of the astronomer and....well it has some famous gingerbread too. For me it was a resting place on a journey to Gdansk, I didn’t know anything about it beforehand but it turned out to be one of my favourite places in Poland.

We arrived on a bus up from Lodz and walked up to the bridge which shows the town in all its glory in the reflection of the Vistula, The sun was just going down and the town glowed yellow in the distance; people on bikes crossing the bridge blew past as distant music became louder the closer we got. People seem to be everywhere as though we have stumbled upon a celebration without knowing it, pubs overflowing and music everywhere. We walk down to the Old Town Square which is the centre of this madness; and decide to check into our hostel fast so that we can lose the backpacks and get involved. Our hostel was located in the old square itself and didn’t take long to find so we were back out onto the cobbles before the fun had a chance to die. We wondered around the square and down to the city walls immersed in all that was happening but curious to why it was (I still don’t know why). 

The next day we set out early, the city must of had a hangover but showed no signs of it. The first thing that struck me was the beauty of the buildings, tall and narrow, painted bright colours with a terracotta roof to match the dominating city hall where Copernicus stands pointing up. We walk around the main street (which seems to be a popular thought judging from the amount of people) finding little sculptures along the way (in Poland street sculptures always have noticeable wear on them from the amount of people who rub them to bring good luck) we find a dog and a umbrella sculpture which I read were the characters from a Polish comic and a donkey which looked so innocent at first yet I read that it was a torture donkey, it was once a wooden structure which was used for punishing criminals by tying weights to their legs and having them sit on the donkey which had a sharp metal blade running down it’s back (Owwwww!!!).

We then headed down to the entrance of the city walls and found the leaning tower which like Pisa had people posing in the holding up position (An impossible picture not to take let’s be honest) from there we walked over to the birthplace of Copernicus, the house which you could just sit and admire the exterior of happily yet you can visit as it’s a museum (around 10 Zloty to enter) the museum was very interesting; as you go through the maze of this huge home you learn a lot about Copernicus and gain an insight into Torun itself. After the museum we exited the city walls and sat by the Vistula which is a very peaceful place to eat and go for a short walk. 

Torun is filled with interesting buildings to visit and seems to have lots to do, I could have spent a few more days there but since we didn’t have time it wasn’t much of an insight into the place for me. There are lots of shops and restaurants and the place really comes to life at night. I finally tried the “famous gingerbread” (lots of shops sell them of course) they sold lots of different types so we bought one of each....not bad but nothing to brag about (I’ve had better).

So my advice (for what it’s worth) would be to spend 2 to 3 days in Torun, the tourist information is in the main square so stop by there and get yourself some information on the place (It’s what they do) then just....look around, you don’t need anything else in my opinion as the buildings alone and the atmosphere are worth the trip.

Oh and one more thing; inside the Toruń Główny railway station bathrooms they have a little window where a lady sits...if you don’t see her and then she yells at you it’s because she wants 2 Zloty for using the bathroom NOT for whatever mad reason your mind comes up with at the time, I only wish I had this information before.