It's that time of year again...when the students dress up in crazy costumes and beg for money. Not to raise for charity...but simply to fund their beer drinking lifestyle!! At least they're honest...and many people are quite happy to give them some cash. This year's JUWENALIA is shaping up to be a fun event with many incredible and ingenious costumes (though perhaps too many witches and goblins!!).
Our night tour continues with the university church in the Old Town Square.
The media frenzy begins with the arrival of the two Presidents in Toruń
The President of Poland (red circle) and the President of Lithuania (blue circle)
The Town Hall of Toruń
The national flags of Lithuania and Poland 
Children dressed in the national colours of Poland get ready to wave at the Presidents
was given special honours at Nicolaus Copernicus University. Later the two leaders and the entire consulate of Lithuania arrived at the Town Hall to both be granted the keys to the city.
This is Robert France and Khrystene Dalecki - two Native English teachers working at UMK - the University of Nicholas Copernicus here in Toruń. Yesterday, together with fellow teacher Thomas Anderson they were on strike! Reason being because for some reason, Native English teachers at UMK were not given the same fair contract as Polish employees. Hence there was some fireworks!
We know Spring is most certainly here in Toruń, when the beautiful magnolias come out in full bloom. These photographs were taken today on the hottest day of the year so far (so hot that most people were only in shorts and t-shirts...in April!!). The two magnolia trees stand either side of the entrance of the University of Nicolas Copernicus. The red brick building is the university's old town campus. There is another much larger (and less attractive) campus on the outskirts of town. Much of Toruń's unique atmosphere is created by its large number of student residents. When they leave in summer, they are replaced by the German and Polish tourists. So Toruń is never dead!
