poland — Our Gap Year Blog — Out and About with the faycationers

I found out about Toruń from a blog I follow about living in Poland with kids. This blog is exponentially better than mine and I check it every Thursday, religiously. That’s because they update things going on in Warsaw and things to do around Poland every Thursday. It’s called kidsinthecity.pl and it is honestly how I have decided every weekend since we got here!

Toruń was no different. They suggested it for a long weekend getaway and we took them up on the idea. And I think I can speak for us all and say it was THE BEST.

Toruń is a 3 hour train ride from Warsaw. I knew this would be a cinch for Scout as she has been confined to a tiny plane seat for much longer than 3 hours and we all survived. A train would be fun…we could see the countryside, look for deer and walk around when we got bored. I took the Ipad just in case, but we spent the entire 3 hours just looking out the window.

Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It was founded around the 8th c. but the Teutonic Knights really expanded in the 1200s. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and it’s easy to see why. Charm is found on every single street corner. And what’s more charming than little shops filled with gingerbread? Note the photos below: In the second photo you can see The Leaning Tower of Toruń. It leans a whopping 4’11” from where it should. Legend has it that the Tower and the River used to be great friends. But pretty quickly, River started getting really clingy to Tower and couldn’t pick up on the social cues Tower was giving. Tower started leaning away in an effort to let River know it wasn’t ready for any type of real commitment. (true legend.) The third photo is of Copernicus who was born in Toruń. They are very proud of their hometown astronomer. I’ll save you the google search: Copernicus was the first to theorize that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not the other way around.

Gingerbread is the name of the game in Toruń. In fact, the only planned activity we had was to go to the Gingerbread Museum (https://muzeumpiernika.pl/) and partake in the tradition of gingerbread making. This was seriously a highlight of the entire gap year! Perfect for people of all ages. Scout was even called out to mix the honey into the cookies. Each person is allowed to make a mold of whatever they choose and take it home with them. The gingerbread you make is medieval and inedible, but a cool souvenir. I plan on using mine for Christmas decor.

We stayed at the Apartmenty Monka . Another great find! This was a charming on the outside, sleek on the inside kind of place. The location is ideal. It was a great size for our family and offered one of the best complimentary breakfasts I’ve had. The breakfast area also has a children’s corner with toys. This meant we could enjoy our coffee while it was hot and that is very much appreciated!

Besides the Gingerbread Museum, our trip was mainly about strolling, snacking, seeing, and sipping. We had delicious food at these restaurants: Pierogarnia Stary Młyn, Jan Olbracht Browar Staromiejski ( Which offers a GIANT KID’S PLAY ROOM ATTACHED TO THE PATIO #blessed), and Czarna Oberża (Which is a very affordable, very authentic Polish cafeteria)

Besides beautiful architecture, Toruñ is dotted with cute statues. Yes, cute. There was a golden donkey, a colorful dragon and an adorable puppy. Donkeys and dragons and doggos, oh my! I’m not sure what the puppy or donkey were for, but the dragon is a folk tale of Toruñ. In 1746 a flying AND swimming dragon was spotted cruising through town. Now the towns-people think the dragon lives in the sewers protecting the town. From what? Who knows…that part of the legend died off many moons ago and it is said that the only person who knows is the Dragon-Keep who is vowed to silence for life.

All in all, we loved Toruń! Would recommend.

What can I say about Warsaw that hasn’t already been said? Oh, wait. Like, a lot. I can say a lot because nobody is talking about Warsaw. Why is nobody talking about Warsaw?? This reminds me when I was shouting from the rooftops about Lisbon and now it’s a hotbed of American tourism. I mean, did I help put Lisbon on the map? Am I single handedly responsible for the uptick in tourism from North Americans? Am I, Jessica Fay, founder and head-writer of Out and About with Scout, owed some kind of medal of tourism for writing a blog leading to the Portuguese economy boost?

No.

Will I use this power for good and help Warsaw become the next Lisbon??

Also, probably no. Mostly because only my friends and fam read this and they will probably visit me here anyway. But that’s not going to stop me from singing Warsaw’s praises!

So, without further ado, here are my praises for Warsaw!

Warsaw is CLEAN. Every single street, tram, bus and bench I’ve seen is clean. The city is full of workers that walk around with a broom and a pan sweeping up. I’ve actually even seen them sweeping leaves AS THEY FELL. It’s nice to sit on a bus seat that looks like it has never been sat on. That being said, there are still the grody people that ride the buses and trams that cough into their hands or make hacking sounds. But it’s very comforting to know that it’s mostly clean.

Warsaw is very FAMILY FRIENDLY. The first thing I noticed as I was commuting to my first day of work was that there are strollers everywhere. Strollers, kiddos, toddlers, babies and families on every corner. This is great for us because it means that restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores and most other businesses have play areas for kids. I especially love that when I check out at our grocery store, they have a line specifically for people with children. The line is shorter and is attached to a play area equipped with LEGOs and crayons. They even have elevated platforms at either end of the cashier so your kids can help put the groceries on the belt and in the bags.

Speaking of families, what really made me fall for Warsaw were the parks. They are top-notch European. Weeping willows hanging low on crystal ponds full of ducks. Water dancing down multi-level fountains. Gravel paths softly lending sound to children’s bikes as they race for the playground. I try to go to a park at least once a week if not more. We are lucky we have such and outdoor loving kid and beautiful weather lately. The park we frequent the most is Krasinskich. It’s near our house and has everything we need: 2 playgrounds, pond, fountains, chateau, and plenty of running space. Throughout the park you can see where the boundary of the Jewish Ghetto was becuase they’ve laid a bronze boundary line that says as much. A beautiful park in what was once a harrowing and historically tragic space. Other parks worth noting: Saski and Lazienki.

Krasinski Park

Lazienki Park

Saski Park

The Old Town is CHARMING. We love visiting the Old Town. Luckily we are within a stone’s throw. Although not the original (original destroyed completely in WWII), the Old Town has been recreated brick by brick. It is a remarkable and beautiful area full of life and tourism. I know we are all supposed to hate the tourist areas, but I love this area. It’s everything you want out of a European main square.

So far we all love Warsaw. Scout is picking up a little Polish (it’s such a hard language!) and we are starting to settle in. However, I think the “settled” feeling we are having is also giving us the urge to move on. After all, this trip is about new experiences, not falling back into the routines we left behind.