Well, there didn’t seem to be any thunderstorms last night or we slept through them which is entirely possible.
We have tea and biscuits in bed and then decided to have an early start. Handed the key back to our host and I got to practice my only bit of Polish “thank you”. Felt accomplished!
We decided to head to Orzechowo near Ustka further along the coast, but had to go inland to get there – there didn’t seem to be a coastal road to follow which was a shame. We turned off the main road and down into the woods where we found a hotel complex hidden amongst the trees – very discreet. We parked up in the car park and walked through the woods until we reached the sea. The Pupster literally pulled me onto the beach in her excitement. And wow, what a beautiful piece of coastline. The sea is eroding the coastline, eating into the woodland causing the trees to tumble into the surf – there are fallen tree trunks everywhere. But so natural – there were a few people walking along the sand, enjoying the peace and quiet, the stunning scenery and the waves crashing onto the beach. This was what we were looking for and not an icecream kiosk in sight!
It was lunchtime by the time we lured the Pupster out of her watery heaven, so we made a cuppa and had a small snack in the van. We agreed to have a motorway day to get to Torun and headed towards the junction and noted yet again how cycle paths were incorporated alongside major roads and people used them. We had seen them all across Europe and wished we had more of them in England – though saying that, it is very flat around here!
It was a long journey and not inspiring on the motorway, though the countryside was pleasant and became more rolling. We came across our first motorway toll and I had to deal with leaning out of the window and grabbing a ticket and then wondering what the procedure was for paying for it. At the Torun turn off, there were another toll booth which was thankfully manned and took card payments which was a relief. I practiced my Polish thank you on the staff member but she didn’t look impressed!
We entered the eastern outskirts of Torun to be met by Soviet style apartment blocks and wondered if we got the right place as it is supposed to be very pretty. For several miles, it was car showrooms and light industry and other businesses. Our campsite for the night was on the south side of the River Vistula in a suburb, with woodland on one side and a busy road on the other. It was actually quite nice with a hotel and a bar/cafe – breakfast was sorted for tomorrow – and decent washrooms.
We set the van up and put the awning up too as it was threatening to rain – which it did. Short and sharp. We decided to go into town for food and walked to the main road and over the iron bridge into town – about 20 minutes. Over to our right we could see the old town and within minutes, as we entered the town walls, was stunned by the beauty of it all.
It was busy with mingling tourists. There was a large square and a main thoroughfare with little side streets – ir was almost like a fairytale town. A mixture of architecture with a dominant church – it was beautiful. We bought a giant pretzel and pronounced the Polish word for sunflower so badly, that the young server broke into English in sympathy.
We had a wander around the streets and then back to the square for a place to eat where numerous restaurants had outdoor eating areas covered with adjoining parasols. We chose one particular popular restaurant and found a table – it was breezy and a bit cool, but there were heaters. We ordered food and drinks and The Pupster was in the middle of a dream, when the heavens opened! The rain ran down the canopies and in between the parasols, flooding tables including our own. We tried to relocate to another part of the outdoor area, but our lovely waiter stepped in. He dashed inside and secured us a table (which we didn’t expect as we had Pupster) which was a blessing in disguise as inside was so much nicer in decor and ambience.
We enjoyed a lovely meal and our waiter kept popping back to see if we were okay despite being one of the outdoor staff. He was a Torun native but was studying English in Portugal – he came back to work in Poland for the summer to save up in order to go back in September. We gave him a 20% tip as he had been absolutely brilliant looking after us, but when we converted it, it was only £10 and felt a bit miserly. Everything is so much cheaper here than the UK and makes you realise how expensive our country is.
We wandered back across the bridge as the light was going and decided to relax in bed. The main road beside the campsite had calmed down considerably though the adjacent railway line had trains rumbling along who blared their horns. It started to rain again and the rhythmic pattering on the van roof soon had us nodding……
apathtosomewhere 