We had a lovely stay in our palace last night! After getting packed up, we went downstairs and were greeted by a delicious looking breakfast. There were meats and cheeses, yogurt and fruit, bread and butter, and a few stranger looking things that we weren’t brave enough to try. We ate our fill, said goodbye to our palace, and were on the road again, this time to Wroclaw (pronounced Vrot-slav). The drive was just over an hour. Immediately we felt the big city vibe. There were lots of cars and no parking. Thankfully we found a lot right next to our Airbnb with some open spots.
Once we were parked, it was time to hit the city! Wroclaw was virtually completely destroyed during WWII in the Siege of Breslau (the city was formerly named Breslau when under German control). But, when Germany lost the war, the Polish kicked out all the German civilians from the city and replaced them with displaced Poles from formerly eastern Poland (areas that were ceded to Russia following the war). There seemed to be an international festival happening because there was music and a bunch of food stands with cuisines from many different countries (nothing from USA though). Our first stop was St. Elizabeth’s Church. It even had a tower for us to climb! The stairs were very narrow and tall, but we made it to the top. The view of the Old Town was incredible! And the weather was finally in our favor with blue skies and lots of sun. After we enjoyed the top for a while, we made our way back down to the main square.
We walked around the stands for a bit before settling on a beverage stop. Adam had a local brew and I indulged in a lemonade. Both were very refreshing on this hot day. We continued to make our way through the city, stopping occasionally to take pictures of the town's dwarfs statues. In fact, there are over 300 bronze dwarf statues hanging around all over the city, each one in a different pose. Adam had a keen eye for spotting these guys and found close to 50! It definitely made the walking more enjoyable.
It was getting close to lunch time so we found a good restaurant spot at Pod Freda. While delicious, some of the food is getting a little repetitive. Adam had zurek, and I had the pork kutlet. We’re going to try to change things up more in the coming days. It was very tasty, but filling. We left the heat of the city to check into our Airbnb for a little rest. The apartment was nice, with all of the amenities. Being on your feet all day every day is tiring, so we relaxed for a bit.
After we were rested, we left the Airbnb in search of more dwarfs and churches. Cathedral Island was our next stop. It was a little over a kilometer walk. We stopped in at Hala Targowa, the central market. There were all kinds of goods being sold, but we settled on just perusing the aisles. After leaving the market, we crossed over the Tumski Most (bridge) and were immediately surrounded by churches. We went inside several of them including St. John the Baptist Cathedral. They were all so beautiful. We found a few dwarfs, but decided we were hungry, so made our way back to the main square.
The festival was still going on, so we walked around for a bit to find the best food stands. Adam chose a yummy looking sausage while I went with a waffle covered in whip cream and fruit. We happily ate and listened to the music that was playing. After round one, we made another pass at all the stands. This time I got some baklava, and then we decided to split a baked potato slathered in sour cream. Excellent choice again. We found some seats and put our feet up. It was nice to just relax and enjoy all of the festivities around us.
Once we felt like we had truly experienced the city, we made our way back to the Airbnb for the rest of our evening. We are on the move again tomorrow, this time to a Castle!
Steps: 21,292
Miles: 8.9
Stairs: 25
Once we were parked, it was time to hit the city! Wroclaw was virtually completely destroyed during WWII in the Siege of Breslau (the city was formerly named Breslau when under German control). But, when Germany lost the war, the Polish kicked out all the German civilians from the city and replaced them with displaced Poles from formerly eastern Poland (areas that were ceded to Russia following the war). There seemed to be an international festival happening because there was music and a bunch of food stands with cuisines from many different countries (nothing from USA though). Our first stop was St. Elizabeth’s Church. It even had a tower for us to climb! The stairs were very narrow and tall, but we made it to the top. The view of the Old Town was incredible! And the weather was finally in our favor with blue skies and lots of sun. After we enjoyed the top for a while, we made our way back down to the main square.
We walked around the stands for a bit before settling on a beverage stop. Adam had a local brew and I indulged in a lemonade. Both were very refreshing on this hot day. We continued to make our way through the city, stopping occasionally to take pictures of the town's dwarfs statues. In fact, there are over 300 bronze dwarf statues hanging around all over the city, each one in a different pose. Adam had a keen eye for spotting these guys and found close to 50! It definitely made the walking more enjoyable.
It was getting close to lunch time so we found a good restaurant spot at Pod Freda. While delicious, some of the food is getting a little repetitive. Adam had zurek, and I had the pork kutlet. We’re going to try to change things up more in the coming days. It was very tasty, but filling. We left the heat of the city to check into our Airbnb for a little rest. The apartment was nice, with all of the amenities. Being on your feet all day every day is tiring, so we relaxed for a bit.
After we were rested, we left the Airbnb in search of more dwarfs and churches. Cathedral Island was our next stop. It was a little over a kilometer walk. We stopped in at Hala Targowa, the central market. There were all kinds of goods being sold, but we settled on just perusing the aisles. After leaving the market, we crossed over the Tumski Most (bridge) and were immediately surrounded by churches. We went inside several of them including St. John the Baptist Cathedral. They were all so beautiful. We found a few dwarfs, but decided we were hungry, so made our way back to the main square.
The festival was still going on, so we walked around for a bit to find the best food stands. Adam chose a yummy looking sausage while I went with a waffle covered in whip cream and fruit. We happily ate and listened to the music that was playing. After round one, we made another pass at all the stands. This time I got some baklava, and then we decided to split a baked potato slathered in sour cream. Excellent choice again. We found some seats and put our feet up. It was nice to just relax and enjoy all of the festivities around us.
Once we felt like we had truly experienced the city, we made our way back to the Airbnb for the rest of our evening. We are on the move again tomorrow, this time to a Castle!
Steps: 21,292
Miles: 8.9
Stairs: 25
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