Day 4: Torun

In 3 days I have come to love what Warsaw has to offer: museums, music, metropolitan life style, up-scale restaurants, industry, and promise of the future.

Moving forward on my journey to Torun definitely gives me a sense of adventure and the unknown. The train ride lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes; we pass by small villages, vacant buildings, and fields of corn. I notice the landscape changing from pine trees and weeping willows to birch trees with their distinctive white bark. This vision reminds of the trip that mom and I took to Minsk. Ivan was driving us to the village to meet his mother and we stopped for a quick sack lunch in the birch forest. I daydream of those moments then suddenly without consideration of time, we have arrived to my new destination.

You don’t see the lovely city from the train station, but as my taxi driver weaves through the outer city we come upon a bridge that connects us to the other side and from this point the churches and castle rise out from the land colored in dark red brick. It is beautiful and I feel like I have stepped back into time when Kings, Queens, and Knights ruled the land. The streets are lined with cobblestones and are narrow compared to the wide avenues of Warsaw. The buildings are brightly decorated with flower boxes, heavy wooded doors, and large black hardware. The streets are scented with cinnamon and gingerbread. People are casually sitting at outside cafes drinking coffee or beer enjoying the warm weather.

After getting settled in my new location, I walk down to the Palace and scale up the tiny staircase to get a view from the top of the tower. Not only is the climb to the top breath taking but also so is the view it provides of the entire city. I walk for hours on the cobblestone streets absorbing the beauty and mystery of the city. I visit the Monstrance Tower, Ruins of Teutonic Castle, Church of the Holy Spirit, and end my walk at Saint Johns Cathedral before retiring for the night.

Another Day, Another Adventure.