Last week the girlies had Fall Break. At the last minute we decided to get out of town for a few days. We thought a change in scenery would be good for all of us and time with friends is always a good thing. The daddys couldn't get off work so all 6 of us girls and Brian hit the road to Torun Monday.
Torun is a beautiful gothic town that has been around since the 14th century. We stayed in a great little apartment owned by an extremely kind Polish woman. When we checked in she read my residence card and thought because it was a diplomatic card that I must be the U.S. Ambassador's wife! The craziest thing was that no matter how many times I attempted to explain that my husband merely worked at the Embassy and that I was not nearly diplomatic enough to be an ambassador's wife; she wouldn't believe me. After the third time through the explanation, I gave up. I just hope the if the real ambassador's wife goes to Torun that she doesn't meet the poor lady. She would be very confused!
Torun was established by Teutonic Knights that came home from the crusades and wanted to establish an order and conquer the pagans of northern Poland in the 9th century. We had the best time exploring the ruins of their original castle.
Torun is also the birthplace of Nicolas Copernicus (You remember - Earth revolves around the Sun) We were able to visit his family home and tour a great museum honoring his work and showcasing how many of the citizens of Turn lived during his lifetime.
Most importantly, Torun in the home of Polish gingerbread! OH MY GOODNESS! It is unlike anything I have ever tasted. The drive would have been worth it just for the fresh gingerbread. We enjoyed a wonderful Gingerbread Museum tour and had a gingerbread making lesson, which to our good fortune, included a gingerbread tasting!
Torun is located on the Vistula River and was a huge port city at one time. Many called it the Krakow of the north during the time that Krakow was the capital of Poland. The views of the river were breathtaking.
On our second day in Torun, we hired an amazing tour guide to teach us a little more about the city. Ula was so fantastic! She was a town historian and catered her time with us to just what interested the kids. Torun has a rich history and she knew all about it! We were all a little enchanted with her stories of the early townspeople.
We also visited the most lovely flower market. I don't think I have ever seen so many flowers at one time. There was an entire street filled with one vendor after another. They were all just so beautiful.
On the final day of our little vacation we visited a solarium town about 40 km west of Torun. It was a very interesting experience. Apparently during Poland's communist days, resort towns were created to help rejuvenate and rehabilitate the Polish people. They are still mostly visited by the older generation but have begun to catch on as a great place for families. The town had a HUGE park with all kinds of things for visitors. It also housed a few rehabilitation hospitals, restaurants, playgrounds, and of course a few solariums.
Before we arrived, none of us had ever heard of a solarium and were a little shocked at what we found. The towns were strategically placed near springs that had a very high concentration of salt water.
The super salty water is pumped to the top of theses structures where it is allowed to trickle down, creating a fine mist that can be breathed in.
The structures were built from millions of stacked branches. It was impressive.
People just came and sat in front of these walls of branches, breathing salt water. It smelled like the beach. At first I could imagine it actually being that helpful, but after a few good deep breaths I was a believer. The super clean salty air was nice and the ambiance of the entire park was so peaceful.
We ended the trip climbing all over this Communist general. I'm sure he never imagined that he would be a jungle-gym instead of a cherished monument. Oh well! We had a blast and will definitely be back. The gingerbread is already almost gone!
