Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers.
I take it all back, what I said about Torun. It is a lovely city.
My morning didn't start well, it started to rain as soon as I started to go out. I walked for an hour or so, but it was cold and raining. What I thought was the main square, yesterday, was not. I did find it today, and it is lovely.
Torun has a population of about 200 000, but the medieval part is small. It is in an oval shape, about 6 city blocks by 10. It was not damaged during WWII, so the medieval buildings have survived remarkedly well. It has more original buildings than any other city in Poland.
It finally stopped raining in the early afternoon.
I spent most of the day at two attractions. One was the Ethnographic Museum, which is like a small Pioneer Village. Buildings from the surrounding area, from the 1800' on, are reassembled, all in an attractive park. The nice thing was that there was an English speaking guide to show me around. The most impressive structure was a wind mill, which was on a circular track, so that the entire building could be rotated as the wind direction changes. A neat system.
Torun, other than Copernicus' birthplace, is known for its ginger bread. They have been baking ginger bread in Torun for 700 years. I toured the Ginger Bread Museum, and it was a lot of fun. The ingredients are interesting. Honey is the only liquid used. The spices which are added are, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Two kinds of flour are used, white and wheat. After these ingredients are mixed into a dough, it is stored for 12 WEEKS, in wooden barrels. Only then is it formed and baked. In the olden times the baking time was the equivalent of 40 Hail Marys.
There are many shops selling ginger bread, and I have to say it is delicious, better than anything I have ever tasted.
I went to a restaurant specializing in pyrogies. These were more like Italian calzones, big, and baked. There are a varieties of fillings. One interesting note; the bread was served with lard, with bits of bacon. I would have preferred butter. I am enjoying the beer, although half a liter of beer gives me a good buzz.
Tomorrow it's on to Gdansk.
Ralf
I take it all back, what I said about Torun. It is a lovely city.
My morning didn't start well, it started to rain as soon as I started to go out. I walked for an hour or so, but it was cold and raining. What I thought was the main square, yesterday, was not. I did find it today, and it is lovely.
Torun has a population of about 200 000, but the medieval part is small. It is in an oval shape, about 6 city blocks by 10. It was not damaged during WWII, so the medieval buildings have survived remarkedly well. It has more original buildings than any other city in Poland.
It finally stopped raining in the early afternoon.
I spent most of the day at two attractions. One was the Ethnographic Museum, which is like a small Pioneer Village. Buildings from the surrounding area, from the 1800' on, are reassembled, all in an attractive park. The nice thing was that there was an English speaking guide to show me around. The most impressive structure was a wind mill, which was on a circular track, so that the entire building could be rotated as the wind direction changes. A neat system.
Torun, other than Copernicus' birthplace, is known for its ginger bread. They have been baking ginger bread in Torun for 700 years. I toured the Ginger Bread Museum, and it was a lot of fun. The ingredients are interesting. Honey is the only liquid used. The spices which are added are, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Two kinds of flour are used, white and wheat. After these ingredients are mixed into a dough, it is stored for 12 WEEKS, in wooden barrels. Only then is it formed and baked. In the olden times the baking time was the equivalent of 40 Hail Marys.
There are many shops selling ginger bread, and I have to say it is delicious, better than anything I have ever tasted.
I went to a restaurant specializing in pyrogies. These were more like Italian calzones, big, and baked. There are a varieties of fillings. One interesting note; the bread was served with lard, with bits of bacon. I would have preferred butter. I am enjoying the beer, although half a liter of beer gives me a good buzz.
Tomorrow it's on to Gdansk.
Ralf
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