Wrocław, Poland
I couldn’t stay away from Poland! I decided to go back to Wroclaw, and if you can pronounce that correctly then you’re already ahead of me. After my flight landed, I went straight to the hostel. Side note, that hostel had the nicest bathrooms I have ever seen in a hostel. It was amazing. I went to check out the town center and eat lunch at a traditional Polish milk bar!
We got to the milk bar, and um, it wasn’t quite what I expected. I know it was at one point subsidized meals but I thought it would be a little more hip now. No, it was full of sad, lonely, old people. The menu was completely in Polish and the people who worked there didn’t speak English so we left and went to Tacos Locos for a burrito.
The rest of the evening was very relaxed. I got a bubble waffle stuffed with ice cream and topped with oreos and whipped cream. On the way back to the hostel, I started to notice all the little dwarfs I had read about online!
The next day, I got up and went to Hala Targowa, which is one of the largest markets in Wroclaw to check it out. It was mostly fruit and funeral flowers; kind of odd. It was nice though! Then I went to see Panorama of the Battle of Racławice. It is 114m long and 15m high and depicts the Polish victory over the Russian forces at Racławice in 1794. Its a really cool thing to see if you are ever in Wroclaw. Right down the street is the National Museum of Wroclaw. The building is beautiful and the stuff inside was very unique!
Later that day, I went on a Dwarfs and Communism walking tour. On the tour, we saw about 50 of the 600 dwarfs that are around Wroclaw. Poland has a really sad history, but it was really interesting to learn about the different cultural influences on the city and the region.
After the tour, we went to a restaurant for some traditional Polish cuisine, pierogi!! I got the traditional type that was stuffed with onions, potatoes, and cheese. It was delicious, filling, and $6. I saw the menu had chocolate pierogi, so I had to try it. It was basically dumpling dough filled with runny chocolate served with… SOUR CREAM. I know, gross. I thought it was a cream cheese sauce or something so I ate a big bite of it and was quite un-pleased to find out it was indeed, sour cream.
Later that day was another tour! It was called Islands and Bridges. The guide took us all over Wroclaw to all 7 islands and explained each. The tour left at 6pm and so during the tour the sun was setting and it was really beautiful. The thing I found most interesting was the comparison between the communist architecture and the pre-world war architecture. Many buildings were still in the process of being restored so you could see the post-war damage. The other thing that was interesting was the sculpture of John XXIII on Cathedral Island. It was installed during communist times and notice John XXIII has his back to the church and is hand is extended toward what once was the communist headquarters in Wroclaw. Saucy.
The next day, I went on a scooter tour of the city! The scooter was basically like the ones handicapped people scoot around in at Wal-Mart hahahaha. I had a great time! The guide took me all the way down to by the zoo and I went to a flea market where I saw some really really cool antiques. The rest of the tour was a lot of fun. The guide pointed out a lot of baroque architecture that just missed the mark… I didn’t know this but the trademark of barque architecture is perfection and symmetry. The University of Wroclaw started to build the university building, but other invasions occurred and the money just ran out so the building is awkwardly lopsided. I also took a picture of a building that had fake windows and doors to make it symmetric to achieve the baroque style. He also showed me a wall on the side of a church that had a lot of bullet holes in it. The holes are about head height, so it is believed to be an execution wall.
That afternoon, I went to check out the Wroclaw Zoo! It was no Audubon Zoo, but it was a really nice zoo. The animals were super active and playful, so it was a great day to go. I spent the rest of the day reading my book and walking around the square. That night I went to check out Vertigo Jazz club. It was SO cool. It felt like a real speakeasy. The band was great and the drinks were great and cheap. It was the perfect end to a great weekend in Wroclaw!
A lot of people think Poland is a sad place full of sad people, but its a really fun place with a really interesting history. I had a fantastic time in Wroclaw, but I still can’t pronounce it correctly. Maybe one day…
