Hello!
Day 11 was quite fun. We began the morning by sleeping in until almost 8. Once we were up, we dropped off out luggage back at the car, so that we would have an easier departure later in the day. From there, we walked over to Poznan's cathedral island. In the words of Pope John Paul II, this is the location "where Poland began". According to legend, there were three Slavic brothers named Lech, Czech, and Rus who met on this tiny island after not seeing each other for many years, and named the place Poznac which means "to meet".
On the island, we saw the Poznan's oldest cathedral which dates back to the year 968. Inside they even had a sword from the 900's that was gifted to the leader at the time from the Pope. We walked around the cathedral and saw its many chapels before heading back to the old town.
Back in the Old Town, we climbed the small hill to reach the castle/citadel. It had been completely destroyed over the years, but has since been restored and turned into a museum. On Tuesdays, entry to the museum is free, so we figured why not and went inside. First, we took an elevator up to the tower for a nice lookout over the city, then we walked through the museum to see its collections of ancient artifacts.
After we left the castle, we spotted another Jesuit Church and went inside. Once again, we were treated to some spectacular interior views. We walked around inside the cathedral for 10 minutes or so before making our way back to the old town square. Here, our main purpose was to buy some time for the the infamous billy goat bugle call from the tower of the Town Hall at noon. We had some drinks at a nearby streetside cafe. Then, we wandered over to a milk bar for a quick and easy lunch. We both had pierogies and I tried out the Chlodnik which is a creamy borscht soup with beets. It wasn't half bad.
With noon approaching, we went back to the town hall, and right at noon, two mechanical billy goats emerged from a trapdoor in the town hall tower and butted their heads 12 times to signify 12 o'clock. The legend behind this is that the town was celebrating the completion of the town hall, and the town chef was to prepare a feast for all the foreign dignitaries in attendance for the occasion. In all of the chaos, the chef burnt the meat that he was cooking and needed something to replace it with. He went to the outskirts of town and collected two billy goats which he was going to cook for dinner. Back at the town hall, the goats wrestled free and were later found in the tower of the town hall butting heads.
After this spectacle, it was our cue to head out of town, so we walked over to our car and began the two and a half drive to our next stop on the trip in Torun. The drive was uneventful. Once we arrived, we found a place to park the car, and then checked into our very nice apartment with a balcony overlooking the new town square. We rested for a short time, then headed off into the city. First stop was for a little snack at a stop right around the corner for some french fries (and a local brew).
Torun is a very well preserved medieval city in the northern part of the country. It still has its city walls surrounding it, and many old sights to see. Most importantly, however, it is known for two things - Copernicus and gingerbread. Thus, once in the old town, our first stop was at the Nicolas Copernicus house and museum.
The house that Nicolas Copernicus was born in and lived in when he was young is still standing and has been turned into a museum of his life, discoveries, and medieval Torun. Copernicus was a famous astronomer from the 14-1500's who is most celebrated for his heliocentric universe theory (that the sun was the center of the universe). At the time, most people believed that the earth was the center of the universe, so this news was very unwelcome at the time. Inside the museum, we saw exhibits showing how people in medieval Torun lived along with displays about astronomy and some of the instruments that Copernicus used during his discoveries.
Afterward, we wandered around the old town some more and saw a couple cathedral (St. John's and St. Mary's), but then went back to our apartment to relax before dinner. We had made reservations earlier in the day at a popular spot called Jan Olbracht Brewery. Not only are they known for their beer, but also for their excellent food. When we arrived we were seated right away. I started off with their Pilsner which was excellent and Jessica had a nice lemonade. For an appetizer, we finally gave in and tried Smalec which is a grainy bread served with a type of lard for spreading (and some pickles). It turned out to be very tasty. As our main courses, I ordered the roasted duck with cabbage and potatoes, and Jessica had the roasted bacon wrapped chicken with green beans and french fries. Everything was amazing. For dessert, I tried their gingerbread beer, which was also delicious.
We walked around afterward for some time to let the food settle, but then went back to the apartment for good and quickly went to sleep!
Steps: 18,466
Miles: 7.82
Stairs: 29 flights
Day 11 was quite fun. We began the morning by sleeping in until almost 8. Once we were up, we dropped off out luggage back at the car, so that we would have an easier departure later in the day. From there, we walked over to Poznan's cathedral island. In the words of Pope John Paul II, this is the location "where Poland began". According to legend, there were three Slavic brothers named Lech, Czech, and Rus who met on this tiny island after not seeing each other for many years, and named the place Poznac which means "to meet".
On the island, we saw the Poznan's oldest cathedral which dates back to the year 968. Inside they even had a sword from the 900's that was gifted to the leader at the time from the Pope. We walked around the cathedral and saw its many chapels before heading back to the old town.
Back in the Old Town, we climbed the small hill to reach the castle/citadel. It had been completely destroyed over the years, but has since been restored and turned into a museum. On Tuesdays, entry to the museum is free, so we figured why not and went inside. First, we took an elevator up to the tower for a nice lookout over the city, then we walked through the museum to see its collections of ancient artifacts.
After we left the castle, we spotted another Jesuit Church and went inside. Once again, we were treated to some spectacular interior views. We walked around inside the cathedral for 10 minutes or so before making our way back to the old town square. Here, our main purpose was to buy some time for the the infamous billy goat bugle call from the tower of the Town Hall at noon. We had some drinks at a nearby streetside cafe. Then, we wandered over to a milk bar for a quick and easy lunch. We both had pierogies and I tried out the Chlodnik which is a creamy borscht soup with beets. It wasn't half bad.
With noon approaching, we went back to the town hall, and right at noon, two mechanical billy goats emerged from a trapdoor in the town hall tower and butted their heads 12 times to signify 12 o'clock. The legend behind this is that the town was celebrating the completion of the town hall, and the town chef was to prepare a feast for all the foreign dignitaries in attendance for the occasion. In all of the chaos, the chef burnt the meat that he was cooking and needed something to replace it with. He went to the outskirts of town and collected two billy goats which he was going to cook for dinner. Back at the town hall, the goats wrestled free and were later found in the tower of the town hall butting heads.
After this spectacle, it was our cue to head out of town, so we walked over to our car and began the two and a half drive to our next stop on the trip in Torun. The drive was uneventful. Once we arrived, we found a place to park the car, and then checked into our very nice apartment with a balcony overlooking the new town square. We rested for a short time, then headed off into the city. First stop was for a little snack at a stop right around the corner for some french fries (and a local brew).
Torun is a very well preserved medieval city in the northern part of the country. It still has its city walls surrounding it, and many old sights to see. Most importantly, however, it is known for two things - Copernicus and gingerbread. Thus, once in the old town, our first stop was at the Nicolas Copernicus house and museum.
The house that Nicolas Copernicus was born in and lived in when he was young is still standing and has been turned into a museum of his life, discoveries, and medieval Torun. Copernicus was a famous astronomer from the 14-1500's who is most celebrated for his heliocentric universe theory (that the sun was the center of the universe). At the time, most people believed that the earth was the center of the universe, so this news was very unwelcome at the time. Inside the museum, we saw exhibits showing how people in medieval Torun lived along with displays about astronomy and some of the instruments that Copernicus used during his discoveries.
Afterward, we wandered around the old town some more and saw a couple cathedral (St. John's and St. Mary's), but then went back to our apartment to relax before dinner. We had made reservations earlier in the day at a popular spot called Jan Olbracht Brewery. Not only are they known for their beer, but also for their excellent food. When we arrived we were seated right away. I started off with their Pilsner which was excellent and Jessica had a nice lemonade. For an appetizer, we finally gave in and tried Smalec which is a grainy bread served with a type of lard for spreading (and some pickles). It turned out to be very tasty. As our main courses, I ordered the roasted duck with cabbage and potatoes, and Jessica had the roasted bacon wrapped chicken with green beans and french fries. Everything was amazing. For dessert, I tried their gingerbread beer, which was also delicious.
We walked around afterward for some time to let the food settle, but then went back to the apartment for good and quickly went to sleep!
Steps: 18,466
Miles: 7.82
Stairs: 29 flights
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