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| Girl Statue |
I had no expectations coming to this city beyond
that it would have cobblestone streets. And although it did have those ankle
breakers, the city has lots to recommend it. There are all sorts of hotels,
many more good restaurants than I had anticipated in a city this size, and a
myriad of things to do in town. It is also located relatively close to other
places of interest, such as the Baltic Sea, Krakow, and the
concentration/extermination camp museums. If it were not so difficult to get to
Wroclaw, I would certainly come back. Lots of tourist areas are closed at odd
times. The market is closed on Wednesdays; some museums are closed Mondays; and
somethings are supposed to be open and aren’t and vice versa. If you want to do
something and it’s available to do right then, do it! Also, don’t be afraid to
open what looks like a closed door to a site. It may just be shut rather than
closed.
They are hiding in plain sight and are usually
found first by children since
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| Welcome to Wroclaw |
the kids are much closer to the ground. You’d
think that it would be easy to find many of these 400 statues, but that’s not
the case! They eluded us at every turn. We finally bought a map only to learn
that the little beasties had changed locations, or simply vanished; and there
were many more that weren’t on the map at all! The Gnomes of Wroclaw (or Dwarfs
as they are called locally) are two-foot tall statues that lend great whimsy to
the city and captivate visitors into seeing the sights by going on a Gnome
hunt. Their history, however, is much more political.
And walking was what I did most often during my
visit. Although I spent a
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| Wall art |
week in the city, I don’t feel as though I scratched
the surface of Wrocław’s history; I still don’t know why there are so many
churches in such a small area. In this blog you’ll see several of the sites I
visited that were around the main square. Wandering around the square is a good
way to spend time; the map makes it look as though everything is very far away
and Google maps gives walking times that are only accurate if you are dragging
your feet. The old town is mostly traffic free and the cars do have to yield to
you IF you are in a crosswalk. People are friendly and will try to help you find
your way; once you’ve found a particular landmark, it’s an easy city to
navigate. Many of tourist areas are closed at odd times. For instance, the Hala
Targowa (Market Hall) is closed on Wednesdays while some museums are closed
Mondays; and somethings are supposed to be open at specific times aren’t, and
vice versa. If you want to do something and it’s available to do right then, do
it! Also, don’t be afraid to open what looks like a closed door to a site; it
may just be shut rather than closed.
My friend, Barb, said, ‘The IFLA Annual Conference
is in Wrocław,
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| Wrocław city square |
Poland this year. Do you want to go?’ I’d never been in Poland,
nor did I know anything about Wrocław so I replied, ‘Of course!’ And off we
went on a rather unusual adventure. Wrocław has a history dating back a
thousand years and throughout that time has functioned as the capital of
Silesia and Lower Silesia; it’s still the capital of the Lower Silesian
Voivodeship (a governmental region similar to a county). Currently it’s considered one of the best
places in Europe to live because of the high level of art appreciation,
education, and international business; this is probably why it is the
fourth-largest city in Poland. While the part of the city that we saw was attractive,
I particularly liked the historic part. It’s very walkable with plenty of
things to see and do as well as good places to eat and shop.
