Wroclaw Reviews

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.

Traveling around:

Four and one-half carrots

Limousine.com (http://www.limuzyny.com/) was wonderful! It was easy to reach them online and they were very responsive despite the

Buildings along the Orda River

seven hour time difference. They told me exactly how much I’d pay and this price was the same when the driver presented his bill. I needed to be picked up at the Wroclaw airport at midnight. My driver, Andrew, was ready for me and was kind enough to take another lady to a hotel that was near mine. He didn’t charge any extra for this detour. Once we got to her hotel, we couldn’t find the front door. Andrew used his phone to call the establishment, and to get someone to meet her. He then took me to my hotel and made sure that I was inside before he left.  I would use this service, again, and would highly recommend them.

One carrot

Lufthansa is not within the group of airlines we usually fly. And after

Smoking kills under banner

this encounter we won’t be flying with them again. First, they took our money without confirming our flight. Since we always book our flights at least two months early, we could not understand why getting a seat was an issue. It took literally weeks to make sure that we had a seat on a flight and had I not called them directly, I would not have known that I was on standby until I got to the gate. The representative did tell me that the flight was sold out and that I could get a seat on a later one – with a six hour layover. I walked with my friend, who had booked at the same time I had, to the gate; at this point, 15 minutes before boarding, I find that they have seats on this earlier flight and that I might be able to get one if I can make the 20 minute walk, one-way, back to the Lufthansa desk and get a different ticket and get back before the door closed. Needless to say, I didn’t make that flight. On the return flight they had booked my friend and I on separate flights although we booked together. At 4:00AM, at the ticket counter, they told her that her flight had been canceled and she’d been re-booked on a flight that left at 3:30PM; they made no effort to contact her earlier nor did they apologize for her inconvenience. My flight left on time, but I connected through three cities with only minutes between each leg. The flights on Lufthansa were relatively comfortable and the flight attendants pleasant, but the managing of booking and customer service left a lot lacking. I do not recommend this airline.

Where we stayed:

Three and one-half carrots

Doubletree by Hilton (Podwale 84, 50-414 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 777 00 00) is a brand new hotel with all the amenities that one associates

L to R: Bathroom, Bedroom

with Hilton. The people on the desk did a good job of taking care of our needs, including getting us cabs, making sure that our keys worked more than just one day, and sending up additional towels and toiletries when we asked for them.  My only complaint was that they were overpriced for their rooms and for their restaurant when compared to comparable places in Wroclaw.

What we did:

 

Five carrots

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (Więźniów Oświęcimia 20, 32-603 Oświęcim, Poland) is a place everyone should see and hopefully learn what can happen when prejudice and hate are allowed to guide a country (see Lest We Forget).

Four carrots

Aula Leopoldinska (plac Uniwersytecki 1, 48-300 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 375 22 45), located at the university is an example of some of the beautiful art in Wroclaw (see Walking in Wroclaw 1).

Free Walking Tours, Wroclaw (https://freewalkingtour.com/wroclaw/) are

Jakob, the
tour guide

a great way to see old town and to learn about the history of the area. There are several topics from which to choose. We only did the one concerned with World War II. I wish that I’d done them all. The gentleman we had was very knowledgeable and good with large groups. He also had a good sense of humor. This is a free tour but you are expected to tip your tour guide.

Racławice Panorama (Jana Ewangelisty Purkyniego 11, 50-155 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 344 16 61) has lots of visitors, so get there early and be prepared to come back at a later time in the day (see Walking in Wroclaw 2).

Saint Elisabeth's Church (Grabiszyńska 103, 11-400 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 783 37 94) is one of the iconic churches in Wroclaw (see Walking in Wroclaw 2).

University of Wrocław Museum (plac Uniwersytecki 1, 48-300 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 375 26 18) has excellent exhibits about the university as well as an accessible roof from which to see the city (see Walking in Wroclaw 1).

Wrocław Cathedral (plac Katedralny 18, 50-329 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 322 25 74) and the area around it are lovely (See Walking in Wroclaw 1).

Three and one-half carrots

Royal Palace Museum (Kazimierza Wielkiego 35, 50-077 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 391 69 40): I did go to the palace and took the audio tour. It was interesting in that they had moved the exhibits around in the room after they did the recordings so you were looking for things that may not have been near where they described the location. There are two levels to see, plus a third if there is a special exhibit; there is also a place to eat in the basement, a bookstore on the first level, and a lovely, small, formal garden outside the back door. The museum is free, but the audio tour is a nominal fee (see Walking in Wroclaw 2).

Three carrots

Golf Cart Tours are located all around the square. There are several vendors and the price is not per person but per cart – so 180zs for 6

Mary Sand

people is a good deal. Our tour guide was okay. She knew what was outside the buildings, but not about what was in them in particular. Still, it was fun to ride around and hear about the town. It is a bit scary when the golf cart competes with the regular traffic on the main streets.

Market Hall or Hala Targowa (Piaskowa 17, 50-359 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 343 84 57) is a collection of entertaining shops and a huge selection of food to peruse (see Walking in Wroclaw 2).

Old Town Hall or Stary Ratusz (Rynek 50, 50-996 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 347 16 91) is an interesting place to kill some time. It’s free and the architecture is attractive (see Walking in Wroclaw 2).

Two and one-half carrots

Centennial Hall (Wystawowa 1, 51-618 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 347 51 50) was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 as a unique

Grounds, spire and
dome

example of Expressionist architecture and has been maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland ever since. It was built to the plans of architect Max Berg in 1911–1913. The building was house ‘exhibitions, concerts, theatrical and opera performances, and sporting events’. It was opened as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig in which Napoleon was defeated. The Hans Poelzig designed the landscaping and buildings surrounding the hall. If you’re into architecture, it’s a good place to go. Also, if you’re going to the zoo, it is a nice side trip.

Nejsy Statkiem ‘Rusarka’ is one of the many boat tours you can pick up along the river. Two nicely uniformed young ladies were approaching

Bringing up the battery

tourists and inviting them to take this boat and since the vessel looked nice enough, I took a ride. It was just that, a ride on a boat. I thought it was going to be a tour, but for $4, what can you say. It went under the Most Grunwaldzki (a famous bridge), down the river a ways, then back. Except for the rather unhappy children, it was a pleasant trip. If you want a river tour, go across the Most Piaskowy (bridge) and shop for one there.

Two carrots

AB Poland Travel was a real disappointment. Three of us paid $200 each for a driver/guide to take us to Krakow and Auschwitz. We had

Krakow town walls

understood that our driver would be our guide and he would take us first to the holocaust museum, then to Krakow. Since we were paying for this person for the entire day, we assumed that we’d be able to take our time seeing things, perhaps do some shopping, have lunch and dinner, and get to know the area. As it turned out, our driver, who was wonderful, was not actually our guide. He was quite knowledgeable about Wroclaw and the area between there and Krakow, but he was not the person who would escort us through our two stops. We actually went first to Krakow where we met another two groups. Our now large group was taken around by a single tour guide without a whisper set (earphones and a microphone for the guide). Since the other groups were late, we set off later and were rushed through our tour. We had thought we’d have some time in Krakow to eat lunch (we’d left the hotel at 7:30AM and by the end of the tour it was 2:30PM without a meal break) but this was not the case. The entire group was taken to a roadside café that catered to this particular tour group and gave us a meal that was passable if not up to what we expected.  It was also apparent that one of the other drivers was well known by the hostess since she spent a good deal of her time flirting with him rather than making sure the guests had what they needed. Our guide at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum was excellent and we did have whisper sets. The tour took 2.5 hours and was well worth the time. Then we got into the car and drove back to Wroclaw. In total, we spent longer in the car than we did on our tours. We’d have paid less to rent a car, drive ourselves to our destinations, and book our own tours. The only reason this group received two carrots is because the driver was so nice.

What we ate:

Four carrots

La Salle Restaurant (Heathrow Airport Terminal 2, +44 20 8897 8101) was a really nice place to go for breakfast. The food was tasty, the coffee

Left T to B: Logo, Latte
Right T to B: Eggs Benedict,
Garlic infused spinach

fresh and hot, and the service excellent. Barb and I each had a latte. She had eggs Benedict with garlic infused spinach; she said it was excellent. I ate eggs Benedict with smoked ham and fresh tomatoes; it was a very good meal. Usually eating at the airport means that the food is expensive. In this case, we got what we paid for; a good breakfast. I’d certainly go there for another meal.

Pod Fredrą (Rynek 1, 50-116 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 341 13 35) is a

Top L to R: Duck, Pierogis
Bottom L to R: Wine cork, Dessert

nice restaurant on the square. We were lucky enough to get a bottle of Georgian sweet wine, the first I’d had since I was in Russia (see Moon over Moscow) The waiters were very accommodating and worked with a rather large group regarding what was in the food they served as well as giving us all separate checks. Almost everyone ordered a traditional meal consisting of some sort of pierogis with a variety of sauces. Unfortunately all of the pierogis had onions in the dough. I ask the waiter for his recommendation, which was the duck. He was right! The duck had crispy skin and a hint of rosemary; it was served with a wonderful cranberry sauce, crispy apples, and well roasted potatoes. For dessert I had homemade marshmallows with raspberry sauce – really sweet and substantially different from what I expected. I was very pleased with my meal.

Restauracja Pod Gryfami (Ul. Rynek 2, Dolnoslaskie, Wroclaw 50-106, Poland, +48 71 343 79 27) was a very nice place for a large party.

L to R: Restaurant seating, Pork

The wait staff did a good job of getting everyone fed and separating checks. We had more than 20 people in a back room, everyone ordered individually, and the service was still good. I had a couple of nice glasses of wine plus a plateful of well roasted pork with fried cinnamon apples. This was a different meal from the ‘normal’ traditional fare and was well prepared. It was a lovely setting for a very good meal.

Taszka - Wine & Petiscos (Ul. Rynek 53/55, 50-116 Wroclaw, +48 57

Left: Cheese
Right T to B: Dessert, Octopus

033 74 24) is a Portuguese restaurant on the square. We had a really good time sharing food and entertaining the wait-staff. We all enjoyed the mozzarella salad, olives, bacalhau croquettes with herbal sauce, and octopus with young potatoes. I had a delicious dessert of goat cheese, and strawberries. This place is a bit pricey, but the food and service are well worth the price.

Three and one-half carrots

Käfer Bistro (Munich Airport Terminal 1, +49 89 975-9 33 00) was a good place to get something to eat when you’re waiting for another plane.

L to R: Logo, Salad and bread

The Caprese salad came with a baseball size serving of buffalo mozzarella, sliced beefsteak tomatoes, and fresh rocket. The dressing was a fairly good balsamic vinegar. The price was in line with airport food in general and the service was okay. The setting was a good place to spend an hour or so.

Mama Manousch (Świdnicka 4, 11-400 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 786 62 92) is a rather upscale restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

Left T to B: Logo, Fatback
Right: Scallops

Service is slow, probably because every plate is prepared when it is ordered, except for the soups. I ordered scallops with fruit and mushrooms, however, the waitress keyed it in incorrectly and brought me fatback with mushrooms. She brought the other plate as soon as it was ready, so I shared the first dish with the other folks at the table. I’m not a big fan of fatback because of the salt content, and this was salty, but the mushrooms were good. The scallops, when they did come, were wonderful, almost like a dessert after the pork.

Café Konspira (Plac Solny 11, 50-061 Wrocław, Poland, +48 796 326 600) is a rather odd restaurant. With both indoor and outdoor seating, it

Top L to R: Menu, Cider
Bottom: Salad

can be a bit crowded and the waitresses can put on the ‘communist’ act a bit too often. However, the income from the restaurant goes to the Solidarity Fighting Association. The house that preceded the restaurant was one of the secret places the solidarity movement used for meetings and to publish some of their pamphlets. There is a room that still holds historical materials and exhibits. For dinner I had a bottle of sweet cider that was very good. I also had a yummy green salad with large globs of goat cheese. When it was time for the checks to be distributed, we each went to the cash register and paid; this was a bit different from other places we’d eaten.

Restauracja Cesarsko-Królewska (CK) (Rynek 19, 50-101

Left T to B: Menu, Pierogis
Right: Dessert

Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 341 92 04) was not where I was going to go when I headed out to get dinner. However, it was a pleasant and quiet place for a meal. I had wanted pierogis and they had a dish that didn’t have any onions. The little dumplings were covered with a bacon filled sauce and were a good example of the dish. I was rather surprised that they didn’t come with some sort of vegetable, not even the ubiquitous roasted potato. Since I didn’t have a vegetable, I had dessert. This time the strawberries came with a meringue and were topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Three carrots

Café Vincent (Oławska 8, 50-059 Wrocław, Poland, +48 507 005 802) is a walk-up café and pastry shop. There is a menu on the wall but it is in Polish. There are lots of sandwiches and quiches, as well as pastries to

Top L to R: Umbrella, Latte
Bottom: Croissant

choose from in a case. My difficulty was determining what was in what; the ladies at the counter weren’t able to give me much information, either. I chose to have a croissant and a latte. There is no, or little, air conditioning in most of the buildings so your options for eating do have outdoor seating. Inside is generally smoke free and outside may be, too; if it’s a warm day, it’s a good idea to sit outside.

Ovo Restaurant (Podwale 84, 50-414 Wrocław, Poland, +48 71 777 00

Left to Right: Menu, Tapas

00) inside the Hilton has a limited menu and is rather overpriced. Both times I ate there I chose the tapas because of price; one meal was steak with plums and the other was pulled pork barbecue. These tapas were full of flavor and nicely prepared. Service was adequate, if a bit slow. There is outside dining and some nights there is live music.

Piekarina Hert (Ul. Wrocławska 6, 55-221 Jelcz-Laskowice, 71 318 85 41) is a bakery and ice cream store that has a limited number of sandwich choices. We’d been in for ice cream one evening and came

Left T to B: Menu, Sandwich
Right T to B: Logo, Pastries,
Ice cream

back for a quick bite of lunch. They had my two favorite ice cream flavors, mango and coconut, so I had to have both; it was a very good choice. They also had lots of pastries that looked wonderful but we didn’t get to sample. For lunch Barb and I shared an adequate ham and cheese sandwich. They were nice enough to cut it in half for us and to make sure that we had everything we needed. It’s a pleasant place for a snack if it’s not crowded.

Two carrots

Restauracja A La Carte (Więźniów Oświęcimia 8, 32-600 Oświęcim,

Top L to R: Logo, Soup
Bottom: Fries and chicken

Poland, +48 33 844 01 91) is the eatery commented on under the review of AB Poland Travel. We were served vegetable soup, pan fried chicken, fried potatoes, and slaw. The service was horrible, but the food was okay. We had to pay extra for our soft drinks, and we only got one glass or water. The restroom was nasty. This was not at all what we expected from such a costly tour.

Where we shopped:

Four and one-half carrots

Druciarnia Artystyczna (Grodzka 7, 50-115 Wrocław, Poland, +48 509 652 802) is a great little place to buy one-of-a-kind clothing and 

L to R: Clothing, Jewlery

jewelry. The owner has a wonderful eye for what looks good on the customer and is very accommodating. We really enjoyed shopping there and would go back if we ever visit Wroclaw, again.

Four carrots

Ceramika artystyczna VENA (ul. Market 4, 50-106 Wroclaw, 723 235

L to R: Logo, Pottery

720) is the place to shop for Polish pottery. You actually enter what appears to be one of the restaurants, but you’re walking beside the seating area. The shop is full of pottery of every description. One of our group took home several Santa Claus bowls and another person got a very nice tea pot. Of course, I got a rabbit. Prices are good and the lady running the shop did an excellent job of packing our purchases.

Stare Jatki is a cute little row of art galleries and souvenir stalls just off of Market Square. At its entrance is a wonderful array of bronze

Bronze animals

sculptures - a goose, goat, hare, two pigs, and a rooster - created by Piotr Wieczorek in the 1990s. Of course my favorite was the rabbit. However, this isn’t only a tourist attraction but a monument to the animals that were slaughtered here: the town's abattoir. The bronzes were all funded by the local government except for the rooster, which was sponsored by the owner of the Pod Zielonym Kogutem restaurant.

Two carrots

Feniks Department Store (Rynek 31/32, Wrocław, +48 713 77 18 00) is in an Art Nouveau architecture building constructed in 1902. There are six floors with everything from housewares to clothing to toys. The building is lovely, but the merchandise wasn’t of the quality that I had expected.

Wroclaw was fun and I’d go back if there was an easy way to get there! See Reading the Reviews for an explanation of my rating system.

Bridge to Cathedral Island

©2017 NearNormal Design and Production Studio - All rights including copyright of photographs and designs, as well as intellectual rights are reserved.