Blogs from Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Poland, Europe

This morning in Toruń was a walking tour of the old town. As I mentioned, Toruń was Monika's home, so she was an excellent guide. The group again assembled at the Monastery Gate. The plaza between the gate and the river is Naval School Square (Skwer Oficerskiej Szkoły Marynarki Wojennej). (The Polish naval academy was located in Toruń in 1921-1938 and housed in the barracks that is now the Hotel Bulwar.) Upon entering the gate this time, we turned to the left. Now we were on the inside of the city wall we passed walking from the hotel. The Leaning Tower at a corner of the city wall leans out over the hotel parking lot. Inside the wall it takes the form of a four story residential building. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was born in Toruń and ... read more

25-26 juillet J'arrive à la gare principale (Glowny) de Toruń sous un ciel gris et terne, à la limite de l'absence. Je suis toujours dans la région de la Poméranie (en polonais "Pomorze" signifiant "sur la mer"... et non pas (comme je le croyais), "petit chien bruyant qu'on méprend parfois pour une pantoufle qui jappe"). Au Moyen-âge, les chevaliers teutoniques contrôlaient la voïvodie de Toruń. Je ne suis donc pas tant surpris d'entrer ici et d'y trouver une fascinante ville-forteresse médiévale qui me propulse à l'époque des Croisades. Dans la vieille ville, j'entend presque les marchands de légumes gueuler leur récolte sur la Place Publique. Et puis du creux des tavernes aussi, les rires d'ivresse des malotrus qui chopinent se laissent peut-être entendre aussi, comme un brouhaha de victoire que crachent des chevaliers en cuirasses tachées ... read more

Auschwitz....... I feel I need to write a separate blog for this day. I am still trying to process this day still, I studied and watched many a documentary on concentration camps on Auschwitz and similar camps while at school and growing up. But nothing prepared me for the first hand experience, I don't even know we're to begin. Our tour guide a thirty year old Polish boy was just brilliant, and you knew that it was just a effort in his speech to try not break down and cry or get emotional. People ranging from 15 to 98 years who were absolutely stricken to the core, with his cold hard facts, that went down in this particular camp Auschwitz.But it's when you see the rooms of shoes and suitcases. The Human hair cut plates and ... read more

The photos of Torun... read more

The concensus is to head off about 1pm today to give us enough time to get to Turon where the Polish leg of the Speedway Grand Prix is being held (albeit the meeting starts at 7pm and we're not sure what there is to do in Turon), so we potter about in our room until it’s time to leave. I can tell Greg is nervous about the rain in case the meeting gets rained off, and keeps optimistically saying he can see chinks of blue sky in the distance. Hmmmm, if you say so. For a place which is smaller than Bydgoszcz, Turon has all the charm and hustle and bustle of somewhere a lot bigger. After a brief check of the stadium and then a look around a massive shopping mall next door (where Greg ... read more