Wrocław…Day 2

Day 2 in Wrocław began early for us….breakfast at the hotel, and then we were ready to explore more of this Polish city. We first walked over to this chair near our hotel, and took a few pictures…

This is a HUGE chair! We were curious to "Why was this chair here?" and "Why was it so big?"….questions that were never quite answered…though the receptionist said she thought it was an artistic expression of some kind. 

We rode the tram over to Wrocław's beautiful main railway station…in order to purchase tickets to go to Bolesławiec the following day. We had originally thought of renting a car for a day…but it would have cost over $150…so we opted for the economical alternative, though it would take us a bit longer to get there.

We have been in a number of railway stations in Poland…and this railway station was very clean, bright and easy to get around. It smelled clean too!

After purchasing our train tickets we walked through a lovely park…

... filled with beautiful fallen leaves.

Our real destination in the park was the round Panorama building with its 360-degree mural inside.  The mural is one of Poland's national artistic and historical treasures.  

The mural depicts the Polish victory over the Russian army in 1794 in the Battle of Racławicka (pronounced "rahts-wah-veets'-kah").  The Poles were commanded by General Tadeusz Kościuszko (pronounced…oh, never mind), who had gone to America 20 years earlier to help the Americans fight the Revolutionary War.  

The mural is presented so as to make observers feel that they are in the center of this battle…the painting is about 15 feet from the round viewing platform in the middle of the room, and made to feel more realistic by real dirt, sagebrush, fence rails, etc. in the foreground at the base of the mural.

We were given headsets in our choice of language, which provided a narrative of the scenes surrounding us.  We took a series of pictures to capture the entire vista….but unfortunately these small images do not do the display justice.

The Panorama was painted in 1893 in Lviv, a Polish city until the end of WWII, when the Soviet Union gave Lviv to Ukraine and took Wrocław from Germany and gave it to Poland.  After Lviv became part of Ukraine, the Panorama painting was moved to Wrocław in 1946.  The round building to display the painting was ready for use in 1967, however the communists were afraid that it elicited too much Polish nationalistic sentiment.  So the Panorama was not allowed to be displayed publicly until 1985.  Since then, millions have seen it in 30-minute tours that accommodate about 1,600 people daily. 

A few summers ago we visited Gettsyburg, where there is a similar circular mural that makes one feel at the center of one of the battles.  

The narrative took most of the 30 minutes of the tour, and we wish we had more time to linger and view the painting.

As we left the Panorama we noticed the fallen leaves on the ground and were amazed by the size of some of them.  I asked Mark to pick up a standard leaf (the orange/gold one) and then one of the bigger leaves we saw…it was huge in comparison!

Here's Mark cracking himself up…doing his fully clothed impression of Adam….lol!

We were going to meet a former business associate of Mark's for dinner on Friday evening…so another phone call was made during our walk.

Lunch time…we went back to the Rynek and ate at a Polish restaurant that we had seen earlier. The decor was beautiful, food delicious…and as an added bonus they had a beautiful Polish pottery shop next door.

Fall decor was in abundance...

Another business call during lunch, and afterwards also….in Mark's defense, he had been assigned to coordinate a project with a tight deadline that involved working with representatives of other oil and gas companies in Poland.  Unfortunately, the majority of the work had to be performed over this holiday weekend.

Lunch…I loved my fresh Polish salad...

and Mark loves bigos - a Polish stew comprised mainly of cabbage and sausage.  Much to Mark's dismay, the Polish business associate and his wife that we had dinner with that evening told him that this dish he loves has a ton of calories!

The beautiful City Hall in the Rynek (Market Square) 

We started finding some of the little gnomes we had heard so much about….and funny thing…we had passed by many of them previously without even noticing them!

People love taking pictures by these gnomes [the Picketts included :-) ]…here we saw a young family taking a picture with their little son mimicking the gnomes.

Here little gnomes are holding up this glass box where people can donate money for a children's hospital and cancer patients. 

We found one of the gnomes by the fountain we saw the previous day…

Here I am with a few Polish pottery purchases….that always makes me smile!

Firemen gnomes…fighting the fire….

….and resting after fighting the fire.

And maybe drinking after fighting the fire?

Sleeping it off...

Later in the afternoon we walked a short distance from our hotel and came to the University of Wrocław...another beautiful area.

Unfortunately some of the university sights I had read about were closed due to the holiday weekend.

The line below marks the 17th meridian.

A well-known landmark in front of the university….a naked swordsman….

….with a real sword - that regularly comes up missing.

It was cold outside but Mark had a craving for a raspberry smoothie.  We found a little shop that was too warm inside, so I convinced Mark we would enjoy being outside…and we did! He was a good sport, bundled up and sipping away at his smoothie!

A gnome at the entrance of a bank close by...

The St. Elizabeth Church close to sunset….it stayed light longer in Wrocław than in Warsaw at this time of year…the little extra daylight was quite nice.

We ate dinner with a lovely couple from Wrocław - Adrian and Beata - and don't know why we ddin't take a picture of them.  This was our view from the restaurant window….the University of Wrocław lit up at night.  It was such an enjoyable evening…eating and visiting with good people from Poland.

Wrocław, Poland...

During the first weekend of November, Mark and I flew to the Polish city of Wrocław (pronounced "vroats'-wahv").  We took advantage of the November 1 national holiday and were gone for just 4 days. Wrocław is in the southwest part of Poland and it took us only 40 minutes to fly to this new (for us) town.

We arrived early Thursday Nov. 1st…All Saints Day in Poland…and the streets were all very quiet (like on most Polish public holidays)!

It was a cloudy-rainy type of day but at least 10 degrees warmer than Warsaw….and no snow on the ground in Wrocław…it was still fall here!

We stayed at the Best Western just on the western edge of the Market Square/Rynek area. It was a great location and the hotel was very comfortable. They were still serving breakfast when we arrived…lucky for us. 

After breakfast Mark headed back to our room before me, and when I returned I asked if he had noticed the big white chair out the window?  He said "no." In the picture below is what I saw….we were quite curious about this structure and were sure it was some type of artistic expression!

From our room I looked out the window and saw the Odra (Oder in German) River close by, and one of the many bridges that spans this river.

Mark had to work every day while on our little trip…but we still had time to visit many places, relax and enjoy being in a new area.

Once it stopped raining we set out to explore the area around our hotel. We headed down this long street…

….and the first landmark we came to was the Church of St. Elizabeth…a massive medieval church and one of the most important landmarks in the city center.  This church was built in the 14th century (1300s), and was actually first a parish church for rich merchants and artists.  It was miraculously not destroyed during WWII.

Just past the church was the entrance to the Rynek - the Market Square.  

Mark is standing at the entrance of the Rynek.  It was a public holiday and so there were very few people anywhere we went.  It was so quiet! I told Mark I didn't think the U.S. had days like this except perhaps Christmas.

This is one of the most beautiful ryneks we have seen!

As we walked around I said, "I love Wrocław!"

The architecture and beautiful colors reminded us of a few other Polish cities we have previously visited…Kraków in the south and Gdańsk in the north….and also of Amsterdam.

A beautiful fountain is in the middle of the Market Square…this was the only day the water was flowing.  Perhaps we saw it just before it was turned off for the winter.

It had an interesting design and it was fun to walk around.

Just around the corner from the fountain we came to the back of the City Hall.  We read that this city hall is one of the very finest medieval city halls in all of Europe. The structure looks almost like a puzzle as it was originally created in the 1200s and then over the next 250 years additional structures were added onto it. 

The front view of the City Hall is unique and quite beautiful! The designs of the add-on structures are all so unique. I loved the very center section of the building, with its intricate pinnacles, windows and clock. 

Did I mention how quiet it was on the streets?  All the stores were closed, and even though there were a few restaurants open, there were very few customers in them.

But the flower stands were open…Why? Because it was All Saints Day and taking flowers to the graves of one's relatives is very important.

These large city maps were most helpful…We look for the words "Jesteś tutaj" - You are here.

Wrocław does not have as many statues or memorials as Warsaw…but the statues they do have are significant. Here is a statue of a very famous Polish poet and writer from Lviv (Lviv used to be a part of Poland, but now is a part of the Ukraine)….Aleksander Fredro. This statue is just a few steps from the City Hall. 

Also very close by is a McDonalds….we didn't eat there but it is always interesting to see a McDonalds on foreign soil. 

We loved seeing the signs of fall throughout Wrocław.  

Since we had left a wintry white Warsaw, we definitely enjoyed being in a beautiful golden autumn here!

We found this rotunda…perhaps not very attractive, but it is one of Wrocław's most important attractions…the Racławicka Panorama. It was closed on Thursday, the holiday, but we would return the following day to check out this national treasure in Wrocław.  (I'll discuss it in a future blog.)

Mark received an important work-related phone call that lasted 30 minutes…

….so I just led the way in walking and exploring. 

I loved walking through the fallen leaves….

….and seeing such a beautiful area even though it was a cloudy and rainy day.


There aren't many places to walk in Wrocław without coming to the Odra river, which winds its way through the city.  Wrocław is famous for its numerous bridges that span the Odra…including footbridges and bridges for cars and trams. Some of the bridges were colorful and bright!

One of the most famous is Tumski Bridge, below.

This bridge is also known as "Lover's Bridge" or a "Locks Bridge"….we have seen this same tradition in other European cities and I think it is so cool!

It is on my bucket list before I leave Poland to add a lock with Mark's and my name engraved on it. We lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the river.

Symbolic of eternal love! It is a great tradition!

Tumski Bridge leads to Ostrów Tumski - Cathedral Island...the oldest and one of the most beautiful areas of Wrocław.  

The island is so-named because it is the site of the Cathedral of John the Baptist, whose statue is on the island side of the bridge.


A prince's castle was originally located on this ancient island but once a bishopric was created here, the island became the property of the Catholic church.

Just after crossing the bridge we saw the photo below on a wall on the street. It shows the condition of the cathedral and surrounding buildings after World War II.  One can just imagine what it must have felt like to walk down this street then...

….and here is the view from almost the same spot today. Wrocław has done a beautiful job in cleaning, repairing and restoring their beautiful city since WWII. 

This little island is filled with many churches but the capstone of the island is this beautiful cathedral.  It is still a working church today.  It is actually the 4th church to be built on this site…the original one was in 1244 and was the first brick building in Poland.  As seen in the pictures above, the cathedral suffered massive damage during WWII and has been rebuilt since then.

Near the cathedral are other churches, a monastary, schools and the home of the Archbishop. We saw only a tiny portion of this island but what we did see was very beautiful! I later read that it's possible to take an elevator (not climb 100s of steps) to the top and have a beautiful view of the city. I would love to return to Wrocław to see such a sight.

Wrocław has been under the rule of many countries over the years. In fact, more countries have ruled Wrocław than any other European city. Before WWII Wrocław was a part of Germany, and had also been ruled by Poland and the Czech Republic at different times in previous centuries.  After WWII both Gdańsk and Wrocław became a part of Poland once again. 

After exploring in a meandering route for almost two hours we really didn't know our way back to the hotel…but we eventually found some familiar bridges and walkways that led us back to the Rynek. 

We had been told that Wrocław was a city of gnomes! We were not sure what this meant, other than people and guidebooks said to be sure to "look for the gnomes….there are over 200 around the city!" As we walked back to the hotel…I was a little disappointed we had not seen one gnome….then just a block from our hotel, right down on the sidewalk was this little gnome! We had been on the lookout for figures 2-3 feet in height…but they are so much smaller - only about 8-10 inches tall. We had walked past this spot a few times and had not even noticed this little guy! 

We ended up walking for 3 hours….and loved being in Wrocław!  It was refreshing to move and be outdoors, the cool fresh air felt great, and we loved exploring! We knew we would enjoy the next few days here..and were sure we would find more little gnomes around this city!