The next city we visited was Toruń.
The trip from Warsaw to Toruń took 3 hours by train, which was run by the PKP (Polskie Koleje Państwowe) Intercity; the national rail operator there. Once we arrived at the station or główny in the local tongue, we went straight outside and became at a loss as to how we were going to hail a taxi.
Poles on average don’t seem to be proficient in English, which complicates things. Then a kind local took notice and helped us, making sure to give the directions correctly to the taxi driver.
Beautiful Torun Station (dokpri)
Our destination was the Kopernik Hotel located in Toruń’s “Old Town” area, where some of the buildings survived the ordeal that was World War 2. We arrived at the hotel safely and checked-in for the night.
Hotel surroundings (dokpri)
The next day, once we had our breakfast, we visited the Nicolaus Copernicus University or Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika (UMK) by tram. Tickets for said tram could be bought at nearby kiosks, with one ticket costing about 2.50 złoty, with the option of buying in bulk. We bought a package of 8 tickets for 20 złoty, 4 for myself and 4 for my mother.
Tram to university (dokpri)
At UMK itself, we spent time visiting libraries, meeting rooms, dormitories, parks, and classrooms; some of which were named after professors who have served there. We also visited the UMK gift shop and bought souvenirs there, mainly ones bearing the UMK logo.
Nicolaus Copernicus University (dokpri)
We met up with Milena---head of the UMK international office---for lunch at the university canteen. The place was well kept, with people picking up after themselves and their trash.
There were also private VIP rooms in the canteen, probably for discrete events. Before heading back to town, we made a detour to pray at the lodgings of Indonesian students that studied at UMK, with their permission of course.
After visiting UMK, Dr. Malgorzata, lecturer at UMK accompany us to visit The Old Town. The tram took us from UMK to the Plac Św. Katarzyny (St. Catherine Square) at Old Town Area. To make sure we had access to the internet during our stay in Poland, we bought a local sim card with the Play brand from a local store.
Once that was done, we ate kebab together for dinner, since it was the only halal food we could find in the area. We also bought fruits for snacks, which can be bought from Żabka Polska, a convenience store chain much like 7-Eleven in the US or Indomaret/Alfamart in Indonesia, before heading back to our hotel.
Toruń is also famous for its gingerbread and they have a whole museum dedicated to it where one can learn how to bake the treat on their own i.e. Muzeum Toruńskiego Piernika. Another Polish signature snack is the delicious E.Wedel line of chocolates. In fact, Jan Wedel, the last member of the Wedel family to own the company, was considered "the Willy Wonka" of pre-war Poland.
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