Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Torun

  • 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….

  • Torun – Leaning Tower of Torun

    Torun – Leaning Tower of Torun

    Known in Polish as Krzywa Wieża, this is a defensive tower first constructed during the thirteenth century. Soon after, there was a little problem when it was discovered that some of the foundations were effectively resting on sandy ground and the building started to tilt.

    The tilt is more obvious from a little way away. It deviates by just under 1.5 metres from where it should be, which is quite a sizeable amount. I’m moderately surprised that the tower hasn’t fallen down, especially given the number of attacks it has faced over the centuries, but it has survived under its many guises.

    It’s not ideal for the viewpoint of a civil engineer, but it’s certainly a tourist hot-spot for the city. There’s a legend that if you’re honest, then you can stand with both feet on the ground against the wall, with your back against the wall whilst being able to stretch both arms out. I know how honest I am, so I didn’t need to try this.

  • Torun – Riverside Walk

    Torun – Riverside Walk

    This post is just photos, this is to the western side of Torun city centre, along the river. There were quite a few people fishing along the bank, merrily minding their own business.

  • Torun – Flooding on the River Vistula

    Torun – Flooding on the River Vistula

    Located near to the River Vistula (which is a sensible place to locate them….) are these panels on the wall which show how high the water reached during floodings over the centuries. 1570 must have been a bad year, as a few months after the flooding here in Poland, the coast of the Netherlands flooded and over 20,000 people lost their lives.

  • Torun – Torun Castle (Battering Ram)

    Torun – Torun Castle (Battering Ram)

    This is one of several recreated medieval weapons on display at Torun Castle, with this being a not unsubtle battering ram. Various types of battering ram have been in use from antiquity through to around the sixteenth century, although the police in the UK now use an enforcer, or their own mini battering ram, to get through doors.

    The battering ram had to be pointed and covered in metal to have the most devastating effect on gates and walls. Before rolling it into position, the attackers would place wet hides along its structure to ensure that the defenders couldn’t try and set it on fire. A burnt battering ram wouldn’t have quite the same effect….

  • Torun – Torun Castle (Model of Castle)

    Torun – Torun Castle (Model of Castle)

    More on the history of this castle in another post, but above is a model of what the castle looked like until the locals tore it down in the 1450s in an argument with the Teutonic Knights.

    This is what is depicted on the left-hand side of the model, the bit under the roofed areas.

    This is what is depicted on the right-hand side of the model, the sweeping circular curtain wall.

    I think it’s fair to say that there isn’t a great deal left of the original castle….