A View From Nieszawska: Good Day Sunshine

Disclaimer: No. I have not developed a cemetery obsession. Lately, they have simply become a part of my daily routine. They're the main feature on my jogging route, and All Saints Day in centered around the cemetery.

I was completely prepared to hang out myself this weekend. In Poland, All Saints Day is given a status equivalent to Easter, so everyone went home. My idea: to observe the holiday, take a bike ride, and enjoy the sunshine (since it's probably the last time we will see the sun until spring) My friend Ela was planning to visit some friends in the south, but at the last minute, they canceled the plan. Friday night at Masa Krytyczna, she invited me on a day trip to Torun instead. I agreeded--the city is famous for ginger bread, which was persasion enough. Well, during the holidays--any holiday--the transportation system in Poland gets a little wonkey. My dorm is near the biggest cemetary in the city, and several extra trams have been added to that line just for the occasion. Unfortunately, this makes all the other trams run 5-10 minutes late. Ela and I were supposed to meet at 9:00 and catch the 9:30 train. Long story short: the train was actually at 9:06, which Ela discovered at 8:20. Normally, I could make it there...but not with the All Saints tram schedule. So, our trip fell victim to a Polish holiday and cluttered public transportation.

So, instead of scavenging Torun for ginger bread, I took my bike out exploring. I had a whole route planned...unfortunately, I forgot my map. I wandered, and ended up in the Cytadela Park, watching the pre-All Saints Day decorating at the military cemetary.

I'm pretty much a leaf/tree freak right now. It's just beautiful, especially in the sunlight with the blue sky.

There's also a military museum where they display tanks and gig guns--all the things Republicans enjoy.

More military stornes. For All Saints people come to the cemetarys to clean and decorate the graves. There will be more pictures from tomorrow's outings in the very near future. I plan to camp out at the cemetary near my dorm and take the whole day in. I'm really excited.

Regular people graves.

I biked past the Cytadela to the edge of town, and the very end of the tram tracks. This is where Poznan turns into a more rural town. This is offically my new favorite part of the city.

If I could move over there, I would. (However, this will not be happening. My dorm is cheap, and Fulbright does not pay for nice apartments near pretty parks...at least not with the ETAs.).