Pittsburgh- A Weekend of Food

It's been a week since I moved into my dorm, and the first week of life in Pittsburgh has brought quite a few exciting foods.

During the week, CMU provided basically all of our meals. This was nice and everything, but having to stand in line with 1,400 other people at every meal got kind of old kind of fast.

So on our first morning of freedom (Saturday), a group of us went to a Pittsburgh favorite- Pamela's.

I think I've probably written about Pamela's before (see a previous post from June) but it's so good that I  feel totally justified in writing about it again.

While my favorite is their Strawberry hotcakes, I decided to go for something different this time.

Their special of the day was a Caramel Apple hotcake. Sounds very fall-ish, right? I thought so, and I was kind of in the mood for something different.

So when the waitress recommended the special, I knew I was in for a treat.

These were so delicious! First, Pamela's pancakes are pretty much the most wonderful creation ever. They're thin and kind of spongy and just really awesome. The Caramel Apple ones were filled with a sort of apple-pie-filling apple. (So it was all cinnamon and sugary and sweet!) They also had a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of walnuts.

It was like biting into an autumnal heaven! Think brisk weather and clear blue skies. It was so good. And it was nice to be able to bring some of my new friends to one of my favorite Pittsburgh places. (And one that will hopefully become one of their favorites, too!)

The next day (though it seems like it was months later) I went to lunch with a friend of mine who's a year ahead of me at CMU. 

We went to a little crepe place that was just a short walk from school. Although it looked tiny on the outside, it turned out to be rather spacious- and rather busy- on the inside. 

Joining the line, we perused the menu. They offered a whole host of crepes, paninis, coffees, and other light fare. But I've learned that when you go to a crepe place, you should probably get a crepe, so that's exactly what I did. 

Although I LOVE a Nutella and Banana crepe, I thought I'd step out of my box and try something different. New school year, new foods, right? 

I present to you... the Banana and Brown Sugar Crepe! (Topped with whipped cream and walnuts.)

This was SO GOOD!!! There's something really awesome about using brown sugar in things. Pamela's uses it in their Strawberry pancakes, which is why I knew I'd like it in the crepe. It's just so sweet and a little crunchy and just plain perfection! 

The consistency of the crepe itself was a little unusual. I mean, it was a thicker batter than what I'm used to, but it didn't negatively impact my opinion of the crepe itself. Actually, it was helpful in that it prevented all of the crepe filling from gushing out everywhere, but it was different enough that I found the need to mention it here. 

My friend ordered the Nutella and Banana crepe, which she really enjoyed as well. And her boyfriend had a panini. (Sorry about the lack of picture on this one.) They approved of both the crepe and panini, so you'll have to take their word for it.

Nutella + Banana = Yum

So if you ever are in Pittsburgh and would like a crepe, I'd definitely recommend going to this place on South Craig Street. 

That afternoon, a few of my friends and I went to the local Whole Foods. I have loved Whole Foods since the very first time I tasted their mac and cheese in the Time Warner Building in New York City. It was truly love at first bite. (See a post from December for more words on my obsession with that mac and cheese.)

I had been wanting to go to the Whole Foods for a while because I really needed breakfast foods, and wanted to stock up before classes started. I mean, I guess I could have gone to another grocery store, but I had my heart set on Whole Foods.

Thankfully, a few of my friends agreed to come with me. Thus, we set out on a mission. Have you ever used google maps on an iPhone? I'm more of a Mapquest girl myself, but I had my phone and it was going to tell us which bus route to take, so I thought, why not? 

After walking about 10 minutes, we realized that we'd just crossed over the street on which we needed to catch the bus, so we turned around and headed back in the right direction.

Then came the tricky task of figuring out which side of the street to stand on. Once we'd found the spot, we stood for a while. We kept standing. My phone claimed that the bus had come and gone. It had not. So Su (one of the girls I was with) asked a nice couple carrying grocery bags how to get to the Whole Foods. They explained that the busses only come about once every hour on the weekends (so convenient...not) but that it was a nice walk. 

Kaytie, Su, and I were all up for the walk, so we decided to forget about the bus and just make an adventure out of it. The evening was really pleasant anyway, so it was fine.

About 10 minutes into our walk, we did see a bus speed by (perhaps the one we would have taken), but we were already well on our way.

After crossing a magical bridge, we walked down a flight of stairs and arrived at our destination!

Magical Bridge

The grocery store was busy with normal Pittsburg-ians filling their carts for the week. It was surprisingly refreshing to be surrounded by normal people. (And by normal I mean not college students. Not that college students aren't normal, but, well, you get what I mean....) 

Anyway, we filled up our plates and headed to the checkout so we wouldn't be famished as we shopped for groceries. 

The first thing I did was go straight for the mac and cheese. Theirs was a little different from the Whole Foods mac I'm used to in NYC, (maybe a little more peppery than what I'm used to) but it was still scrumptious! I also got coconut veggies and beans and rice. Both of which were really good. And for my drink, a yerba mate passion tea that was highly recommended by Kaytie. The tea was really refreshing with a hint of sweetness- definitely a good call. 

One of my favorite things about Whole Foods is the amount of variety they have. The three of us were all able to choose very different cuisines without having to go to 10 different places. It was very convenient and very tasty.

We sat outside, enjoying the perfect weather as we ate. I think I might have mentioned my love of outdoor eating before, so you can imagine that I was in my element. 

Once we were finished, we headed inside to shop for a few essentials. Or, in my case, yogurt. Here's a quick overview of what I bought. Mind you, this is a small sample I set up for visual purposes.

Not pictured: a loaf of whole wheat bread and granola.

So, you can see a whole host of yogurts. Shout out to my mom who would love the fact that I was able to find grapefruit yogurt! (It was her favorite in Poland.) I also purchased some chocolate milk. (A personal favorite of mine...plus it came in a refillable glass bottle- cool, right?!?!) And in the back, peeking over the stack of yogurts are two containers of fruit. As a side note, please ignore the towels to the right of the picture. I just did laundry and still need to fold them.....

Here's a look at my breakfast this morning.

The peach did not come from Whole Foods, but the other fruit and yogurt did. I actually acquired the peach yesterday in a swap with one of the girls on my floor. I had an orange from my breakfast block, but I don't really like oranges. She had a lot of peaches that she brought with her and isn't eating them, but she loves oranges. So, I traded my orange for her peach and everyone was happy! And this is how friendships are formed....

Peaches are my FAVORITE, so I was super excited to bite into it. I gripped the peach, momentarily wondering if it was okay to eat the skin or not (what?! it had been a while since I'd eaten any....). Once my roommate assured me that peach skin is completely safe, I took a big bite. 

As soon as my teeth pierced the flesh, peach juice spurted out everywhere. (Sorry for the graphic detail.) Panicked, I reached for my trashcan so I could hover over it and avoid getting juice all over my first-day-of-class outfit. 

It was really messy and I drooled all over the place, but eventually I was able to compose myself again and decided that from now on, peaches will be eaten in a bowl with a fork and a knife. 

I thoroughly enjoyed having familiar foods for breakfast. The yogurt was really delicious! (Plus, I felt special since it was from a Swiss company.) It was a little tart, a little sweet, and very creamy. 

Overall, it was a wonderful breakfast! My first day of classes is definitely off to a great start! 

Poland Part 6- Krakow

So this is it, the final Poland post. After many days of food and fun, we arrived in the last city of the tour.

Krakow is known for both the largest square in Poland, as well as being the capital of the country during the time of Polish kings. It's a beautiful city. In addition to the history, there's great shopping, and of course, delicious food.

The cite of Wawel Castle

We started our first full day in Krakow with the most exciting breakfast!

I could have squealed when I saw the fabulous spread. There was so much to choose from! After careful thought, I went for a crepe with two sauces. The red one was a raspberry sauce and the creamy colored one was a vanilla sauce. 

Additionally, I went for the tomato and mozzarella salad with pesto sauce. I realize that may be a bit of a strange breakfast duo, but hey, why not? 

After that refreshing breakfast, I was ready for the day! 

When lunch time came around, we selected a restaurant with one of our favorite Polish foods: Mushroom soup. 

We seated ourselves outside and had a great conversation with a very friendly waiter. He seemed eager to practice his English, and we were happy to help.

Once the food arrived, however, there was no time for small-talk. 

There was really no good way to photograph this soup. No picture could have captured its awesomeness. So I gave it my best shot.

The soup itself had a broth-base and was full of a variety of mushrooms. The little green bubbles on top told me that there was olive a fair amount of olive oil as well. When topped with garlic croutons (homemade at that) it was perfect!

Nina makes a mushroom soup at home that we adore! Hers is very different from this, but I still think it's possible to love both.

Later that afternoon, we went to the Salt Mines. Walking through underground tunnels can sure make you work up an appetite. Thank goodness there's always some lody nearby!

I never got tired of this beautiful swirly tower. There is something so wonderful about Polish ice cream. Where else can you order an ice cream that reaches half way up your arm? It's perfect.

As this was our last night of the tour, we had dinner with the group. The weather took a turn for the worst that evening, so instead of a the leisurely stroll we'd planned,  Ela had our bus driver, Darek, drive us to the restaurant.

It was a really cool place. The decor was very fun and Polish-countryside-esque. There was even a live band, which added to the festive mood.

Our first course was a medley of salads. These looked similar to the ones we'd eaten in Torun. I was no greater fan of it this time than I was before. I don't know what it is. I just must not be a cabbage person.

Of course, there were plenty of people who offered to finish my plate, so there was no waste this time!

I was, however, fully capable of finishing off my entree.

This was the first meal where Mom and I were not getting something different from everyone else. It was...unexpected. But, no worries, because this was fabulous!

The meat was turkey, stuffed with a mushroom and cheese filling. This. Was. Delicious. Who would have thought to stuff turkey with mushrooms and cheese? Not me! But it really worked.

The only sad thing was that the smaller piece of meat didn't have as much filling in it. But the addition of the sour cream and dill sauce made up for it. We actually ended up liking the sauce so much that we tried to replicate it at home. (We're still working on it...)

I could have ended my meal there, but of course, we were brought dessert.

This cheesecake was unfortunately grainy and bland. I ate about one-third of it before I decided it just wasn't worth it. :( But I still had the good memory of dinner, so it wasn't all bad.

The next morning, I had the same thing for breakfast as the day before. I was really on a roll with the tomato and mozzarella salad! I think part of the novelty was being able to eat something like that for breakfast. But it was so good.

Lunch was another repeat...or at least we thought it would be a repeat. We went back to the same restaurant, ordered the same mushroom soup, and received this!

It looked so different! Go ahead, scroll up and compare.... See what I mean? This one is so much lighter and yellower than the one before. It didn't taste as good either. I mean, it was still very yummy... but there was something slightly off.

At least you know they're making the soup fresh every day. But, still. You'd think they'd have a recipe or something so the soup would be the same, regardless of who was making it. It was kind of disappointing.

Since no good vacation meal is complete without dessert, Mom and I set off in search of the cake made famous by none other than Pope John Paul himself, Kremowka.

Pronounced Kreh-MOOF-ka, this dessert is the pride of Krakow. Mom and I had to put our heads together to remember the name of the street and then navigate to it from the market square.

We found it in hardly any time at all, and after placing our order, we carried our cakes to the seating area in the back room.

Despite it being particularly hot that day, the back room was quite comfortable. It had two large windows that faced a little garden, adding to the relaxing atmosphere. Mom and I were so excited to have found the place.

But enough talk! You wanna see pictures, don't you?

Look at them in all of their glory.

Actually, a lot of the desserts in this cafe looked delicious. If we weren't leaving the next day, I may have been tempted to try something besides the Kremowka. But we didn't have that luxury, and I was not missing the Pope cake.

If you are ever in Krakow, you have to try this. It was the best dessert I had during my time in Poland, hands down. You will not be disappointed. 

And if the Pope liked it, it must be heavenly. 

For our last night in Poland, we made reservations at a restaurant that came highly recommended by our hotel's concierge. 

The name of the hotel was Polish for wedding, and the inside was decorated like a traditional Polish wedding would be. It was so quaint and welcoming! We sat right next to the window, so even though the restaurant didn't have air conditioning (and it was hot!) it was almost like we were sitting outside. 

For some reason, I was feeling adventurous that night. I knew that I wanted to have pierogies, but I'd been eating pierogie Ruskie since the beginning of the trip and wanted something different. When I glanced over the menu and noticed sweet cheese pierogies, I thought, "why not?"

What exactly is a sweet cheese pierogie? You know, I'm not totally sure. But I was going to find out. 

In the mean time, Mom and ordered an appetizer. To our utmost pleasure, we found our Oscypek on the menu! What luck! It didn't even matter how the rest of the meal went. We'd found our favorite cheese (the kind we'd discovered in Gdansk), and nothing else mattered. 

But, of course, the meal does actually matter. When mine came I was really unsure of what to think. Actually, I'm still really unsure of what to think.

You see, these pierogies were topped with sweetened sour cream, cranberry sauce, and powdered sugar. (And that random orange slice for decoration.) And they were...sweet.

Call me a purist, but I've only every had my pierogies with savory fillings, which, isn't even totally a purist approach because there are traditionally sweet fillings for pierogies, too. But the idea of a sweet pierogie was, to me, very strange.

So why did I order it? Honestly, I have no idea. I wanted to try something new. And this was certainly new for me. So, in that respect, mission accomplished.

Was it the way I wanted to end my meals in Poland? Erm....maybe? I'm not sure. It wasn't bad. It was just different. But I am learning that different doesn't always mean bad. Different can be good, too. It really just depends.

As you can tell, my verdict is still out on these sweet cheese pierogies. I think I may have to try them again to give you a better opinion. But as I would have to travel back to Krakow to do that, the verdict may be out for a while.

Being that this was our last night in Poland, Mom and I wanted to end with some lody. We searched and searched (for some reason we were having a lot of difficulty locating ice cream) and eventually found a little restaurant serving mediterranean food where we could buy some of our precious lody.

The cone was kind of squat, but it held a surprising amount of ice cream. Satisfied, we walked back to the hotel, ice cream in hand. We had our lody. Our trip was complete.

The next morning was an early one. We had to catch a 6am flight from Krakow to Warsaw, and then settle in for a 6 hour layover before our flight from Warsaw to JFK.

When we arrived at the gate, we stumbled upon a chocolate shop we'd seen in the market square in Krakow. And where can you get better hot chocolate than at at a store dedicated to the sweet stuff?

I happily ordered a mug of the classic chocolate and sat down.

This was the most delicious hot chocolate of the entire trip. It reminded me of my most favorite hot chocolate in the world, Angelina's, that I discovered on a trip to Paris. Angelina's hot chocolate was so rich and creamy. It literally coated the spoon. It was sublime. 

This hot chocolate is the only hot chocolate I've ever tasted that has even come close to Angelina's. It was so chocolatey they brought a little glass of water along with it. And yes, you will need the water to get through the whole mug (which isn't that big, but is very chocolatey). 

It was such a wonderful way to begin our layover in the Warsaw airport. 

While I drank my hot chocolate, Mom and I also ordered a sandwich to split.

It was a tomato and mozzarella sandwich with olives and basil. And, despite the fact that it came from a chocolate shop, it was really good!! I am loving the mozz and tomato combo, and feel like I need to start doing more of that during the summer months. It's really light and fresh tasting.

About an hour before we were supposed to begin boarding, we learned that our plane was going to be delayed another three hours. This meant that our six hour layover was now a nine hour layover. The idea was horrendous. Everyone was upset. Now we were going to miss our connecting flight from JFK to BWI.

I hit up the hot chocolate shop again, using the hot, creamy beverage as a crutch to keep me from facing the reality of our situation. As long as I had my hot chocolate, I was good.

At some point, someone decided that the hungry, disgruntled, and (sort of) patient passengers waiting for this delayed flight should have something to eat. Thus, we were given a smoked cheese and pepper sandwich and a bottle of water.

Since Mom and I knew that our food options on the plane would be pork or pork, we decided to save our sandwiches for the flight.

When the plane finally did arrive, and we finally did get to eat, we discovered that the sandwiches were actually good! The smoked cheese was awesome. Think of the best smoked gouda you've ever tasted, but better. We really lucked out with the sandwiches, especially since the smell of whatever pork dish they were making on the plane made both of us want to vomit.

Our trip home became more and more harrowing as the hours ticked by: annoying teenagers ran up and down the aisles, storms rolled into the New York area, we got lost in the airport, and our plane sat on the tarmac for two hours at JFK, burning off fuel so we wouldn't be too heavy to land in Baltimore.

All in all it was quite a flight. But we made it home. And now we have many fond memories of our time in Poland, and of course, the food we ate while we were there.

It was a wonderful trip, one I will not soon forget. Before we left I had no idea what to expect, but Poland definitely exceeded all of my expectations. It was wonderful, and I hope to return one day.

So that's all from Poland. Until next time, I wish you happy hearts and full bellies. 

Poland Part 5- Czestochowa to Krakow

Remember how I was complaining about my boring Polish breakfasts? Well today I think I'll have to prove myself wrong.

For the first time in days I was thrilled to eat breakfast!! The watermelon and crepe were fun, but the real excitement was in the fried, circular treat before me.

To be honest, when I selected this mysterious ring of battered perfection, I didn't actually know what it was. I knew that it was fried and that was good enough for me.

As it turns out, my mystery food was a fried pineapple ring! It was absolutely delicious and such an unusual idea. I mean, where can you eat fried pineapple at home?! It was thrilling, and I just had to go back for another.

Fried pineapple...redefining Polish breakfasts one juicy ring at a time.

We had to leave our hotel earlier than usual so that we could make it to our first stop: The Black Madonna of Czestochowa.

The Black Madonna is beautiful.

She's located in the Jasna Gora monastery, in one of the most impressive churches I've ever had the pleasure to visit. The whole monastery feels so holy. You walk from building to building and you can just feel this presence. Standing in the church honestly brought tears to my eyes. I would hope that even people who are not Christian would be able to appreciate the beauty of the Black Madonna and her surroundings.

It was truly an awesome experience. I highly recommend a visit to the Black Madonna if you are ever in Poland. You will not be disappointed.

After all of the impressiveness of the morning, everyone in the group had worked up an appetite. It was lunch time, and we still had a long day ahead of us. That was when Ela told us we were going to get back in the bus and move onto our next destination.

No lunch? We were shocked. How were we supposed to make it through a visit to Auschwitz and another three hour bus ride on an empty stomach?

Seeing the absolute horror on our faces, Ela quickly found a place where we could get a bite to eat. It was amazing how she secured a restaurant that quickly. (It was a busy restaurant, too!) But I guess that's just part of being a tour guide. :)

Since we were short on time we didn't have a lot of menu options. But alas, who needs choice when you can have pierogies?

I was so hungry. So, despite the fact that these were cabbage and mushroom, I scarfed them down in a matter of minutes. Honestly, the details of these pierogies are a blur to me. I do, however, remember wishing that the onions were either caramelized or non-existant. I'm not a huge fan of sautéed onions on pierogies. But alas, it was a very, very, appreciated meal.

During our drive that day, I happened to discover another delicious juice.

Looks exciting, right?

The color is probably what drew me to it. How can you resist something that fun?! Again, I wasn't quite sure what it was, but at this point, it didn't really matter.

Turns out it was passionfruit, orange, apple, and lemon and delicious! Another good juice in Poland. I could get used to all of the juice choices there. They definitely improved my opinion of Polish gas stations.

At the end of the day, we had another group dinner. Group dinners on tours are usually rather sub-par. We'd lucked out so far, getting pretty great food! That is, until tonight.

Things started out fine.

Okay, so it may look a little scary, but trust me it was actually good! This was a warm cucumber soup. The cucumber was shredded and in some kind of vegetable broth. It was light and slightly tart. All in all, a really interesting idea and unique flavors.

And then this happened.

Hungry?

What is this? A lame excuse of a replacement meal for someone who doesn't eat red meat. Mind you, the others were given some kind of meat in brown sauce (again with the brown sauce!) over potato cakes. What happened to the other potato cakes? They could have given them to us! We wouldn't have minded.

But instead we were given a piece of chicken and three boiled potatoes with (you guessed it!) dill. I literally took one bite of this chicken and put down my fork. It was the driest, chewiest, most disgusting chicken I have ever tasted.

Neither Mom nor I had the will or desire to fight with this bird. It was such a waste. And a big disappointment.

Dessert raised the bar a little. The applesauce cake was sweeter than most cakes so far, though the texture was kind of unsettling.

The most redeeming quality of the cake was that it was served on a Polish Pottery plate. We have Polish Pottery at home, so it was kind of nostalgic to eat off of some authentic Polish Pottery in Poland.

Thus, our day ended on a mediocre note. But we had arrived in Krakow, our last city of the tour. So we went to bed, prepared to enjoy the final days of vacation.

Poland Part 4- Wroclaw

Ah, Wroclaw. This city, pronounced VRAW-sloff, turned out to be one of my favorite cities of the whole trip. Boasting the second-largest square in Poland, it is a picturesque Polish city with a twist.

You see, Wroclaw has a fascination with gnomes. That's right, gnomes. The little garden creatures that adorn many yards and occasionally help plan vacations online. In Wroclaw, they're everywhere.

When Nina first told me about the Wroclaw gnomes, I was incredulous. What kind of city is obsessed with little bearded men? More importantly, why gnomes?

Here's why...During the 80's, while Poland was still under Communist rule, a peaceful protest group out of Wroclaw, called the Orange Alternative, began using the gnome as its signature throughout the city. Apparently, any anti-communist graffiti or art was painted over by the communists. When the Orange Alternative saw the communist handiwork, they retaliated by painting gnomes over the covered graffiti. Thus, the Wroclaw gnome affiliation was born.

Today, you can find gnome statues everywhere in Wroclaw! They're symbolic, whimsical, and have definitely found a place in my heart. :)

But enough history, let's get back to the food!

I realize that some of you may not believe me when I say that breakfasts were quite boring. Here's proof.

Satisfied? I never was. But alas, we musn't dwell on lousy breakfasts...

During our endless bus ride to reach Wroclaw, we stopped at yet another gas station to refuel on junk food. (Because that's good for us...) This time, Mom and I went for potato chips. It was a dangerous choice, I know, because once you start eating potato chips, you simply can't stop.

We had particular fun with these because we spent the better part of five minutes trying to reason whether 'solony' was 'salt' or not, only to have the girl at the cash register point to the bottom of the bag, where it was written in English. Oh well...

I also had a bottle of my favorite juice: Black Currant, or Czarna Porzeczka.

This juice is so much better than any other juice you can find. It's like grape, but really not. The brand Cappy makes it the best, but the gas station only had this kind, so I compromised. The flavor is a little sweet and a little bitter. You will really have to try some black currant juice on your own to fully understand, as I am doing a terrible job of describing it!

Just know that it's delicious and should be on your things-to-drink list. (And as an added bonus, it's pretty readily accessible. We just bought some from Shop-Rite the other day. Not Cappy, but it's better than nothing! And Wegmans has Ribena, but that's a whole 'nother blog post...)

We arrived in Wroclaw ready to eat! This was a group-dinner night, so Ela led us to the market square, where we were seated in the outdoor dining area of a restaurant.

The first course was a salad.

I think we decided that the white tubes were asparagus. This was a strange salad, and as I recall, I merely nibbled it to get a taste of what it was. The butter at the bottom of the picture, however, was very helpful for buttering my bread.

Have I mentioned before that Polish bread is wonderful? It really is. When in doubt, go for the bread. Somehow, no matter where you are, it always manages to taste homemade. Why do we not have bread like that at home?!?

The second course was, for Mom and I, bland chicken with vegetables. Yum! I'm just confused as to why not eating pork means you get stuck with bland chicken at some places. We eat potato cakes and pierogies, too!!

After this meal, I decided that if I ever eat another boiled potato with dill, it will be too soon. You see, they eat boiled potatoes in Germany. They eat boiled potatoes in Poland. How many times can you boil a potato, put dill on it, and think it's exciting? I think I reached my limit on this one.

But there's always dessert!

This was another one of those pretty-but-not-sweet desserts that have been tempting us the whole trip. Ah well... At least we always have our lody! 

That night, we went to the coolest ice cream shop ever. They had to have had at least 50 different flavors. Unfortunately, I only picked one good one, chocolate. And it was on top, too, so I ate it first and was left with Black Currant. Although I love the juice (hence the ode to it above) the ice cream was so tart it made my lips pucker!

Regardless, the ice cream place was delicious and the perfect way to end the day. But, a word to the wise: always get Chocolate ice cream in Europe. It will amaze you.

As I look back on this blog post, I realize that the food in Wroclaw was nowhere near the best food we ate in Poland. So why was this one of my favorite cities? Well, sometimes it's not just the food that influences your opinion of a new place (shocker!). It's the sights, the sounds, and the experiences you have, outside of those around the dinner table.

In Wroclaw, I felt so alive. The city has a great pulse, especially in the evening when the square is filled with performers and other awe-struck visitors like you. There's no hurry or stress as you walk around, enjoying the way the perfect night air kisses your face. It's magical. And I hope I'll be able to experience the Wroclaw magic again.

Poland Part 3- Malbork, Torun, and Poznan

I think it's pretty telling that the first food of today's blog post is lody.

I know what you're thinking. "More ice cream?" Why, yes. What else could quiet the rumble in my tummy the same way as a cold, swirly tower of deliciousness? Nothing.

You see, we had just been privy to a two hour tour of Malbork castle, a beautiful castle from the time of the Teutonic Knights.

It was HUGE! We ran through it in 2 hours, and we still didn't see it all. By the end of the tour, we had definitely worked up an appetite.

And although it's always gratifying to savor some lody, we were especially grateful to have some fortifications for the three hour bus ride that lay ahead of us. If not for the ice cream, who knows what would have happened on that long of a ride?!

At the end of our long ride, we arrived in Torun, birthplace of Copernicus. We were quickly ushered inside of a restaurant for our 3pm lunch. Let's just say that the table was rather quiet this afternoon, as 15 hungry people waited to be fed.

The first course was a mystery soup!

We were told it was a chicken soup. I was suspicious. At the bottom of the bowl were three meat-filled dumplings. Perhaps there was chicken in there? I took a bite and found something crunchy in my mouth. Meh, maybe not.

But never fear, there was more food on the way!

Like this assortment of...gosh. I'm not even sure what to call these as a group. Salads, maybe? The middle one was shredded carrot. The green one (to the right of the carrots) was scallion, and the white one was cabbage. All of them were tossed in different dressings. None of them were particularly appetizing. (Though many at the table would disagree with me.)

At this point in the meal I was feeling like the picky eater of the group. I wouldn't eat the soup, I didn't like the salad assortments, and my meal would have to be changed once more because, you guessed it, the original selection was pork.

When the waitress came around to begin the serving process, she ladled a few spoonfuls of noodles, that looked surprisingly like speatezel, onto everyone's plates. Everyone except those of us not eating pork, of course.

Rather confused by this, I waited as pineapple pork in brown sauce was spooned onto the plates of my traveling companions. (I was beginning to notice a brown sauce theme...) And then, the unthinkable happened. The waitress returned with french fries as the side for the non-pork eaters.

French fries... really? Where did the noodles go? On a recommendation from one of the women in the group, I asked for the noodles before the waitress could douse those flash-frozen-then-deep-fried sticks of potato over my plate. It's not that I dislike french fries. I love a good fry. But why should the non-pork eaters get stuck with the boring stuff? What happened to experiencing a taste of Poland at every meal?

In the end, all that trouble really wasn't worth it. The noodles were rather bland, and the chicken we received. Well...

The shape underneath the pineapple and lettuce leaf (what was that about?) was a deep fried piece of chicken that had been rolled around a tablespoon of butter. When you cut into the chicken for the first time...Surprise! The butter gushed out creating a yellow pool on your plate.

Despite my slight disgust at the thought of all of that butter soaking inside of the chicken, it made a nice little sauce for the noodles. So it wasn't all bad.

This was the worst meal so far. But, you win some, you lose some. And at least I had the memory of the morning's lody to keep me upbeat.

Before, I mentioned that we were lunching in Torun. Since this is a food blog, it's worth noting that Torun is known for its gingerbread. I was particularly excited to try this gingerbread, as I had just eaten German gingerbread a few weeks earlier, and was interested in comparing and contrasting the two desserts.

At first sight, the Torun gingerbread appeared to be much more similar to the kind of gingerbread we make at home. The taste, however, was still very different. The Polish gingerbread had a strong ginger taste. It had a thicker mouth feel than what you may be used to, and many were filled with fruit fillings.

It's so interesting to taste the way a different country makes a food you think you know. We enjoyed it so much that we bought more to take with us. (This definitely came in handy on future long bus rides.)

After our brief (and by brief, I mean 45 minute brief) stop in Torun, we loaded the bus for Poznan. Thankfully, this would be our final destination for the day. Unfortunately, we wouldn't arrive until after 8:30 at night!

Since we needed to eat dinner that evening, Nina, Poppy, Mom, and I walked across the street to the huge mall in search of a place to find dinner. Little did we know that most places closed at 9.

After traipsing up and down the semi-deserted hallways of the mall, we ended up in a large outdoor courtyard, where, to our delight, they actually wanted to serve us!

We seated ourselves inside, gazing up at the whimsical decorations.

By the time the waitress came, we were ready to place our order.

Mom and I both ordered the smoothie. It was the first time I'd seen one on a menu, so I was not going to pass that up. 

This would have been awesome if it had been cold. One of the things I've discovered about Europe is that they haven't jumped on the ice cube band wagon. I really shouldn't have been surprised, but the long hours on the bus were eating away at my concentration and I didn't give it a second thought until I had a luke-warm, yogurt-based smoothie in front of me. 

I drank it anyway, making a mental note about this no-ice cube conundrum. 

Dinner was a much more positive experience! I ordered something called a "toastie." I had never heard of a toastie before, nor did I know what exactly to expect. But when it arrived, I found it to be a panini! 

This was fabulous. Maybe I was just tired, or maybe it was really that good, but whatever the reason, I scarfed this toastie right down. It was basically some kind of deliciously toasted (hence the name) bread, filled with tomato, mozzarella, and pesto and served with a side salad. (But who wants a salad when you have a toastie on your plate?!?) 

I was so happy to have food, even if it was after 9pm by the time we were served. And we didn't stop there. 

Feast your eyes on this! 

Okay, I'll admit it. This is not the greatest picture. And you're probably wondering what's in that mini glass. Allow me to explain.

The whipped cream topped thing is a sundae with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and hazelnuts. The little glass is filled with some sort of almond liquor that we requested be brought on the side.

Mom and I had planned on sharing one but somehow that wish was lost in translation, and we both received our own. Oh well. If double ice cream is the worst thing that happened because of our lack of Polish skills I'm okay with that! We just had to eat more ice cream than we'd planned. It's tough being on vacation. :)

Our meal was awesome, and we would all recommend eating at Weranda to anyone visiting Poznan. It's a chain restaurant, but the food is so interesting and delicious that you'd never know.

Wearily rising from our chairs, we paid the bill and made our way back to the hotel for a well-deserved night's sleep.

The next day it was up and onward to Wroclaw!