Sadly, today I left the beautiful city of Gdańsk. After picking up my rental car I headed for the town of Toruń with a stop at Malbork Castle. I’ve been looking forward to visiting this castle ever since I started planning the trip. Malbork is the largest castle, by land area, in Europe as well as the largest brick castle in Europe.

When I first started looking at the castle I assumed it was a relatively modern castle only to find out that it was built in the 13th century, with constant improvements, by the Teutonic Knights to serve as the capital of their controlled regions in Europe. Many castles and city walls were built of brick, in this region, due to a lack of adequate quality stone. It must have worked as the castle was never taken.

Definitely the most expensive visit I’ve done so far. The entry ticket, at least, included an audio guide which did a fantastic job of explaining the castle. I would highly recommend the guide and I’m glad I used it.

I’m not sure that the photos will give an accurate impression of how big the castle is. I recommend watching a video that shows some aerial views.

After lunch I had fun getting stuck in an hour long traffic jam. Traffic came to a complete stop. Everyone just shut off their cars and stretched their legs. Good thing I keep a book with me at all times!

Once I finally got to Toruń and my new, underwhelming, new hotel I went out and found dinner.

Tomorrow will be a fun day of exploring the town of Toruń, home of Copernicus.