Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Poland

  • Torun – Ibis Budget

    Torun – Ibis Budget

    This Ibis Budget hotel, one of the cheaper brands in the Accor hierarchy, is located around a six-minute walk from the city centre. It’s in a relatively quiet area, with car parking available for those who need such things.  The welcome from the staff member at check-in was warm, personable and helpful, so my first impressions were all positive.

    The room is basic, but was clean and well maintained. I was here for seven nights and the room was kept well stocked throughout that time. There aren’t hot drink facilities in the room, but hot drinks can be purchased cheaply at reception. There’s a vending machine as well for those guests who want some healthy chocolate based snacks.

    The breakfast room. The staff didn’t check whether guests had paid for breakfast, but I can’t imagine many people would try and avoid paying the small sum which is charged. As with the other parts of the hotel, it was spotlessly clean.

    I’m not personally particularly engaged with the cold meat selection provided by Ibis and Ibis Budget hotels in Poland, it has a watery texture and bland taste. But, I can’t much blame the hotel for that and the staff laid out everything carefully and ensured that it was well stocked.

    The cereals option was limited, but there were rolls and hot sausages available. There were orange and apple juices, as well as coffee and an excellent selection of teas. It was all very decent value for money and there were always seats available.

    Apologies to the hotel for ploughing through their pickles during the week, but I’m moderately addicted to them.

    The staff were friendly without exception, this is clearly a welcoming environment and a well managed hotel. The cost of this stay was £70 for seven nights, including breakfast, which is a ludicrously low sum. All very lovely indeed and another very positive Accor experience.

  • Wloclawek – Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Wloclawek – Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Work started on this Cathedral in 1340, replacing an earlier brick church from the thirteenth century, which had in turn replaced a wooden church from the twelfth century. This building was at a new site agreed with the Teutonic Knights, who had unhelpfully burned down the previous one in 1329.

    The exterior of the cathedral, which hasn’t always had such high towers. The two towers were the same height as the nave until the late nineteenth century, when they had spires added to them.

    The bronze main door of the cathedral which was added in 2004.

    These photos seem a little wonky, but anyway, the nave. Very colourful, spacious and calm.

    The altar.

    The side aisle.

    An example of the colours of the nave.

    The organ, and the colourful painted roof.

    I like a bit of colour in a cathedral, they’re not quite the same when they’re plain. It’s also not how they were built.

    A grand door.

    A tomb.

    A memorial to Bishop Michał Jan Marszewski. There’s a long biography of him, including details of his achievements, on the cathedral’s web-site at http://www.katedrawloclawek.pl/ksieza_biskupi.php?id=74.

    A nativity scene. I visited on 21 January 2020, I’m not sure when these are taken down.

    A board showing a list of all the bishops, all the way back to the early twelfth century.

    The restoration during the 1880s and the 1890s was substantial internally and externally, and although the increased height of the towers does give the building that bit more presence, a lot of heritage was lost at the same time. There was damage done to the cathedral during some fighting in 1920, when agreement was still being made over whether Germany or Poland should govern the area, but fortunately, the building wasn’t damaged during the Second World War. Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral in 1991, which was a major event for the area and they’ve commemorated it with a bronze disc.

    This was a marvellously peaceful cathedral and I didn’t see anyone else in the time that I was there. There were numerous information boards about the buildings around the cathedral, but I didn’t see anything inside that might have given an indication of the historically important elements. Unfortunately, that lack of information did mean that I didn’t notice some interesting elements that are located inside the cathedral, such as baroque stalls, fourteenth century stained glass and fifteenth century tombstones. The cathedral’s web-site at http://www.katedrawloclawek.pl/ does though have a comprehensive history of the building and the bishops who have served the church.

  • Wloclawek – Edward Śmigły-Rydz Bridge

    Wloclawek – Edward Śmigły-Rydz Bridge

    This bridge at Wloclawek crosses the Vistula River and is 620 metres long and 9 metres wide. The bridge was named after Edward Śmigły-Rydz, an important military figure who was to become the Commander in Chief of the Polish army following the outbreak of the Second World War. He was interned by the Germans in Romania, but managed to escape back to Warsaw, although he died of a heart attack in December 1941. On 25 September 1937, Śmigły-Rydz came to formally open the bridge named after him, something I’d definitely do if anyone happens to name a decent bridge after me anywhere in the world.

    From what I can understand, the Polish blew up the bridge in 1939 to stop the Germans using it, so the Germans rebuilt it. Then the Germans blew the bridge up to stop the Poles using it. What a marvellously futile thing war is….. It was finally reconstructed in 1948 and was recently modernised.

    There used to be a wooden bridge across the Vistula River as well, but this no longer exists. It’s an impressive sight on the river, and lighting was installed during the modernisation to make it look quite spectacular in the dark.

  • Torun – Torun Railway Station (Steam Locomotive)

    Torun – Torun Railway Station (Steam Locomotive)

    I saw this steam locomotive parked up (well, less parked, more permanently affixed) at the front of Torun railway station before my little journey to Wloclawek.

    It’s steam locomotive TKH49-5564, produced at the Fablok factory in Chrzanów in 1956. It’s nice to have some railway heritage at a station, adds a bit of character to the proceedings….

  • POLREGIO : Torun to Wloclawek

    POLREGIO : Torun to Wloclawek

    I was wandering near to Torun railway station, which is on the other side of the Vistula River to the old part of the city, and thought that if the ticketing purchasing process was easy then I’d take a little return train journey.

    I’ve been to Bydgoszcz before and I wanted to take a short-distance journey (R is Regio, or local), so the train to Kutno seemed the best option. The city of Wloclawek was on the way to Kutno, so I settled on that.

    And there was a machine, which pleased me greatly, as this makes things much easier. There’s an English option and it listed the various trains that I could get. Given the number of possible trains (there are faster and more expensive options), this is not an easy process for a Polish-only speaking ticket clerk and an English-only speaking idiot trying to buy a ticket, so machines are the way forwards…..

    This confused me, in particular, the Taryfa Województwa Kujawsko-Pomorskiego option. I knew that was the region that both cities were in, but I was a little concerned that it was only available to local residents who held some card. I thought it might be safer to purchase the single ticket option, but that was more money, so I risked getting the cheaper fare. I’m not entirely reckless though, I Googled the ticket just before boarding and I was pleased that it wasn’t a kid’s ticket that I’d bought.

    It transpired that this ticket is a legacy of European Union rules on ensuring market liberalisation and consumer choice. Rights and wrongs of that, judging from my journey today, it’s led to a near perfect experience for the customer, with insanely cheap prices and new trains.

    The ticket, which doesn’t require validation as it’s timed, cost 9.20zl, or about £1.80. No wonder Flixbus can’t charge more than they do with the rail network charging prices like this….. An equivalent journey in the UK with the once excellent Greater Anglia is around five times more expensive, with the cheap options being smashed away under the period of management of Jamie Burles. Anyway, that’s not for here….

    Clear signage, which was also replicated on the train itself.

    Not a very good photo, but the carriage was clean and although it was busy, it wasn’t difficult to get a seat. There was power at every seat and the guard was friendly and helpful when she came through the train. The journey departed and arrived at every station at the timetabled time, all very smooth and efficient.

    Entirely glorious and a credit to the Polish rail network.

  • Torun – Restauracja Pueblo

    Torun – Restauracja Pueblo

    I haven’t had Mexican food for a couple of months and this restaurant in central Torun was well reviewed, so it got the honour (well, misfortune really) of having me as a customer.

    The lunch-time menu, I went for the two-course 22zl option, plus a large Pepsi, totalling 25zl, so just under £5.

    The decor in the restaurant didn’t quite remind me of being back in Mexico or the south of the USA, but it was fun, creative and comfortable.

    The complimentary nachos and dip.

    The creamy black bean soup with sour cream and crunched up nachos. It was at the appropriate hot temperature, had a richness of taste and the nachos added some texture to the dish. Actually, entirely fine and a nice starter.

    The tortilla with grilled chicken breast, served with salad and rice. Again, all at the appropriate temperature and the portion size was fine, especially given the price. The tortilla wasn’t tightly wrapped, but the chicken in it was tender and moist, the jalapenos added heat and texture, with the cheese adding flavour. The salsa, salad and rice were all fine, complementing each other well. Again, this was a decent dish and was good value for money. The dish wasn’t as spicy as it perhaps could have been, but I didn’t order the spiciest option on the menu and I did have that choice.

    Overall, this was marvellous value for money, with the service being attentive, polite and welcoming. Everything was brought over promptly, I was never rushed and the restaurant was clean and comfortable. I can imagine that this is a popular destination in the evenings for groups and parties, but at lunch-times, it’s an affordable food option which I’d certainly have again. In terms of authentic cuisine, it wasn’t a million miles off (although the salad wasn’t quite there), a perfectly credible display of Mexican cooking for a Polish city.

  • Torun – Old Bridge (Love Locks)

    Torun – Old Bridge (Love Locks)

    The romantic notion of buying some lock, writing some message on it with a pen, attaching it to a piece of metal fence and chucking the key into the water clearly isn’t lost on the people of Torun….. I think they’re quite symbolic, they go rusty after a couple of years, like many relationships, so I understand the underlying message.

    Some people have spent a little more money than others on their lock purchase.

  • Torun – Old Bridge

    Torun – Old Bridge

    Today, this is just a view-point, but until the mid-nineteenth century is was the location of the city’s main bridge over the River Vistula. It’s also the location of where Bridge Gate, which still stands on the other side of the road, stood and allowed entrance into Torun for those crossing the bridge. Initially this was the point at the river where the ferryman would have plied his trade, with the first bridge being constructed here between 1497 and 1500. It was a complex building project as wooden piles had to be driven in across the water and the bridge could also be partly raised to let boats through.

    An information sign at the bridge.

    And a look across to the other side of the Vistula, where the other end of the bridge would have met the land. Maybe more on which another day if I make the effort to walk over to the other side as I know there’s a little monument there as well.

  • Torun – Zoo and Botanical Gardens

    Torun – Zoo and Botanical Gardens

    This is the entrance to the zoo and botanical gardens, with the ticket desk located in the hut at the back of the above photograph. However, there was no-one selling tickets and a group of four youngsters in front of me looked bemused and walked in. My first reaction was that a snake had clearly escaped and eaten the staff member, but I’ve been told not to be sensationalist about snakes as apparently they’re misunderstood. Not by me they’re bloody well not….. Anyway, I digress. I had a think and if a snake had eaten a staff member, I assume that it’d be full, so I felt safe.

    Signage at the zoo, which is small, but was quite busy with around thirty people milling around. All probably confused they didn’t have to pay to get in. There was a staff member looking after some of the animals, so I assumed that they didn’t have anyone to collect payment at the front desk and it made more sense to stay open than just to close the gates and disappoint visitors.

    The site has been a botanical gardens since the late nineteenth century, although they weren’t always particularly well maintained. The site didn’t become until a zoo until 1965, when Arnbert Sadecki started to introduce a variety of species. It’s all quite a basic set-up, but it’s inexpensive for parents to bring children and it all looked fairly well looked after.

    The snowy owl, very sweet. And below are some more animals in the zoo….

     

  • Torun – BAZA Craft Beer & Ramen

    Torun – BAZA Craft Beer & Ramen

    This craft beer and ramen bar is operated by Deer Bear brewery, which was founded in the city in 2015 and has been developing a rather good reputation.

    The bar area on the ground floor, although there’s another bar downstairs for when it’s busier. The ordering process is a little muddled, some customers ordered at the bar and there was table service for others. The service was always friendly though, it was a low-key and informal atmosphere which was always welcoming.

    The interior, which was busier early on during my visit, which has a contemporary feel, whilst keeping the historic elements of the building.

    The beer list, this is clearly presented and well curated.

    The large beer is the Willy Tonka from Browar Monsters, which is a beer I had last week in Gdansk and it’s one I liked. But that isn’t the star of this little story, it’s the small beer, which I deliberately ordered as a smaller measure because it’s 10% ABV. It’s brewed by Deer Bear themselves and is the Candy Shop Nut Cake imperial stout. This is liquid gold, or liquid coconut and coffee, with the sweetness of something sugary and delicious. A whole level of tastes, initial sweet flavours of vanilla and coconut, whilst an aftertaste of nut and chocolate. It’s beautifully rich, so even a small sip packs a considerable amount of flavour in one go, it even smells slightly sweet and I wouldn’t have guessed at how much strength it had. Insanely good.

    Overall, I found this place a little muddled though, I don’t know what the ramen element is doing here as they have perhaps one of the best bars I’ve visited in Poland. The reviews for their ramen are mixed, so they’re perhaps going to get caught up being an average ramen restaurant rather than the brilliant bar that they deserve to be. I can understand that they wanted a concept that was different and unique, but I’m unsure why they haven’t pushed their bar credentials first and offered food as a second priority. Their reviews probably don’t help them, they’re primarily about the food and that means people aren’t talking about their excellent beer. They’re currently rated 173rd in the city on TripAdvisor, which is nearly bottom in Torun, and they deserve to be much higher than that….