City where the Earth was moved

Few days ago I've visited Toruń. And I was truly amazed by it: because of its history, because of its architecture, because even if it's not very big, you can still feel that in past times this city was very powerful...

It's easy to reach Toruń by Polski Bus or by train (travelling time: 3-3,5 hours; tickets: 30-50 pln) from Warsaw or any other bigger city. It's a perfect place to spend a weekend (or few days more). I have checked-in at Green Hostel, located in the Old Town area (Małe Garbary street no.10). It's worth recommending mostly because of the view from the rooms on the upper floors.

I was going to spend a weekend in Toruń so I hadn't got much time to explore the city. But it turned out that 2-3 days is surely enough to sightsee Toruń with no rush and, what's the most important, feel the ambient of the city. What to begin from? From the Old Town, of course. But actually, whole Toruń is one big Old town.... It was founded in the 13th century and the oldest, sightseeing part of the city is on the right side of Vistula River. What you should expect is that you will certainly overdose gothic style and architecture. Toruń was once a great and rich city: you'll meet enormous gothic churches, towers, tenement houses (mostly gothic, yes) and monuments. Everything put together makes wonderful urban jungle made of red bricks. Below, you'll find a "Things to do list" for you to make your travel plans easier. In other posts I'll write some more details about each place of interest.

• the New Town Square (in the XIII century it was the centre of the independent city called New Town Toruń) with an old lady who is a little clumsy
• the Old Town Square where you can feel the (almost ancient) power of the city. And you can actually see it from the top of the 40 m high tower
• meet Nicolas Copernicus at the Old Town Square and pay him a visit in his house
• visit the Artus Court and make sure that you have seen the most beautiful tenement house in Toruń
• have a ride on a donkey and make your wish come true by touching the golden frog
• feel like in Piza and check how is the tower in Toruń crooked
• visit Planetarium
• bake your own gingerbread in the Museum of Gingerbread
• enjoy gothic architecture at so many churches as you can handle
• see one of the most breathtaking panoramas in Poland
• eat unique "pierogi" in "Pierogarnia Stary Młyn" (the best I have ever tried!!!), especially those filled with gingerbread

Scrunch up this city!

I was walking around Toruń and entered the bookstore located beside the Centre of the Contemporary Art. Apart from loads of books about art & design you can find original souvenirs like bags, traditional recipes for Toruń's famous gingerbread etc. And you can also buy a funny map that is made of soft material, that you can crumple, that won't get damaged, that is 100% waterproof and very useful. There is a small bag sold together with a map to keep the map crumpled inside. It costs around 40 pln (you can buy it here or on the website) and from Polish cities you can choose Warsaw, Cracow and Tricity. I can totally recommend this gadget, cause the maps are clear and they include helpful notes about the most interesting points in the city you sightsee.

Most romantic places in Poland

Many people say about Poland that it is a "heart-shaped country" and if you take a good look on a map you'll see it's true. Although in Poland we don't show our feelings in public very often, at least not like in Italy, where you can see kissing couples everywhere, we can be very romantic :) On Valentine's Day there is no other subject than LOVE so it is a perfect occasion to show you the most romantic places in Poland.

The Little Market in Kazimierz Dolny
This pearl of Polish rennesaince and very old little town is one of the most beautiful places in Poland known from exceptional atmosphere, picturesque views and great monuments. It's located in the centre of Poland and is one of the favourite 'places to runaway' for people from Warsaw. The Little Market and the panorama from the Mountain of Three Crosses will take your breath away!

Mariacka Street in Gdańsk
Mariacka Gate through which you can enter Mariacka street is one of the things that Gdansk is very pride of. The street itself is believed to be one of the most enchanting streets in Europe. It seems to be taken out from some fairy taile, with all the sculptures and decorated tenement houses. In the past, all rich habitants of Gdansk lived there. Also it's a place where you can buy high quality amber stones.

The monument of lovers in Grudziądz
The Polish soldier and his lady are hugging in front of the Grudziądz City Hall. Grudziądz itself is a city in the northern part of Poland with many places to sightsee: old city wall, St Mary's Church, St Nicholas Church and many parks where you can hide from the city crowd.

Chełmno - the city St Valentine
Chełmno is the city of love. It's a place where the relicts of St Valentine are kept in the old medieval Fara Church. You will find many old churches there and a beautiful town hall.

Fat Thursday in Poland

Polish Fat Thursday can be compared to Pancake Day celebrated in many English speaking countries or Mardi Gras because it is all about being gluttonous and losing yourselves in partying before the time of Lent comes - everything is allowed, except moderation, diet, listening to music on low volume, modesty!

Fat Thursday is celebrated on the last Thursday before Lent by eating pączki (pon-chqi) - fist-sized large doghnuts filled with rose jelly (classic version), plum preserve or eggnog (in Poland known as advocaat). The outside of these hefty treats is usually coated in a sweet glaze just to ensure you get plenty of sugary goodness in every bite. There will be no more chance to celebrate before Easter, so you have to eat as many pączki as possible!

Traditional Polish pączek

Some bakers fill a few pączki with almond paste instead of marmalade and encountering this filling is said to bring good luck. An old Polish superstition states that if you don't eat at least one doughnut on Shrove Thursday, you will no longer be successful in life.

Another traditional treat consumed on Fat Thursday is faworki - ribbon-shaped, thin strips of crispy pastry dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.

For confectioners and bakers it is one of the busiest time of the year. Statistics SHOW that for the past few years around 100 million doughnuts and many hundreds of kilogrammes of the faworki are eaten on Fat Thursday in Poland. The money spent on Fat Thursday delicacies today would buy 200 apartments of 50 square metres in Warsaw and as many as around 430 in Bydgoszcz, northern Poland.

Queue to the confectionery in Warsaw

Waiting for pączki on Chmielna street in Warsaw

Here you will find an easy recipe for traditional Polish pączki with step-by-step photos: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishdesserts/ss/paczki.htm
and for faworki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4kLT1ZfVes.

'Katachi' means 'shape'

I was doing my everyday press review and in one of the websites with news I noticed a short note about an unusual video. It amazed me with the amount of work and precision that had to be put in this project.

The song is titled 'katachi' which means 'shape'. And the video is made from 2000 shapes cut out from PVC plates. The idea and all the work was made by Polish artists. Congratulations!

Hungry in Cracow

As one of the cheapest cities in Europe, Kraków has got impressive amount of attractions to offer. Especially for those who are searching for something to fill your belly with. I asked my friend who lives in Kraków to make a list of places which are her favourites and which backpacker will enjoy. She picked top 5 places where you can eat something delicious, unique and in reasonable prices:

1. Momo
It's something between a milk bar and a restaurant. It's a great place for vegetarians and Indian cuisine fans (they serve Indian dishes, but without their extra spicy flavour). Momo is an eko vege bar located on Kazimierz, very old district in Kraków. Address: Dietla 49 street.

2. Love Krowe
They serve burgers, burgers and once again burgers! All kinds of it, American style, with lots of different and sometimes unusual ingredients. Inside the restaurant there is also a gallery where you can buy photos, graphics by Polish artists or see the exhibition. PS. The interior is decorated by a Polish street-artist Why-duck. Address: Brzozowa 17 street.

3. Casserole under the 'Okrąglak'
Absolutely legendary casserole from Kraków you'll find only here. If you expect a bar or restaurant, you'll be suprised. 'Okrąglak' is a round building with 10 or more windows where you order a casserole. If you don't know which window to pick - take this one with the longest queue :) Basic (cheese&mushrooms) casserole costs 4,50 PLN (!!!) and you can compose your own food by adding other things like pepper, onion, ham, bacon, dozen kind of sauce (even Dracula sauce) etc. If you are searching for local specialities, this is a totally must visit! Address: Nowy Square 4b.

4. Filarek Milk Bar
Traditional Polish home-made dishes. If you want to try 'schabowy' or 'pierogi' the way they are eaten at Polish homes, you have to come here. The prices are extremely cheap and it's a place typical for the locals. You won't meet any foreigners here. 'Pierogi' with strawberries, 'schabowy' and 'żurek' soup are the best choices. Address: Starowiślna 29.

5.Morskie Oko
'Morskie Oko' is a beautiful lake in Tatra Mountains, so it's easy to guess that this place serves dishes loved by highlanders. If you are searching for a big dinner sprinkled with folklore, this is the best choice. Also, the decorations are great. Address: Szczepański Square 8.

View Hungry in Kraków in a larger map

Cracow & Warsaw are the cheapest

The European Backpacker Index for 2013 is here! And it shows where to go to avoid losing all your savings. The authors of the Index have good news for travellers: many hostels or budget hotels have actually gotten a bit cheaper since comparing to 2012.

The cheapest group of cities are bunched together in price, and almost all of them are bunched together geographically in southeastern Europe as well. Krakow continues to feel like the best travel bargain on the Continent, as a charming city where prices almost seem too low, but if you head south you’ll find things to be even a bit cheaper, with longer fair-weather seasons to go along with them.

According to the list, Krakow is 3rd cheapest city in Europe and Warsaw is on 9th place. In Krakow you'll spend only 25 dollars a day and in Warsaw you need approximately 15 dollars more. Drinks, entertainment and attractions included. See the Index here: http://www.priceoftravel.com/1979/european-backpacker-index/

       

Children, Hearts & Rock n' Roll

If you have been in Warsaw last Sunday you have been probably wondering why everybody is wearing a red, heart shaped sticker? What the hell? ...

Every second Sunday of Janunary is a day on which the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity plays all over Poland. In every city, town, village, every corner of Poland they are collecting money for purchasing medical equipment for Polish hospitals. They have been doing it for 21 years and Poles got very into it. You can meet Orchestra's volunteers everywhere. Their characteristic feature is a big, colorful paper can in their hands. And, what's suprising, whole Poland is donating money by putting it inside the can. Every year it gets really crazy - big companies spend thousands of zlotys to buy an official golden heart of the Orchestra, there are concerts and events taking place in every city, all TV channels are broadcasting only materials about the Orchestra, people are spending as much money as they can to take part in the Grande Finale money collection. It's crazy & beautiful. And the person who makes it happen is Jurek Owsiak . It was his idea to found the Orchestra and collect money for specialistic equipment for children hospitals. He also organises Woodstock Festival in Poland. See the website of the Great Orchestra: http://www.en.wosp.org.pl/

This is what you could see on every TV channel on Sunday 13th January. Jurek Owsiak is in the studio of the public television, coordinating the Grande Finale money collection.