Wroclaw, Poland is a large and beautiful city in the southwest of Poland. It's an ideal destination for photographers, history buffs, and backpackers alike.
Wikipedia has this to say:
The history of the city dates back over a thousand years; at various times, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945 as part of the so-called Recovered Territories, the result of extensive border changes and expulsions after the Second World War.
Wrocław is classified as a Gamma global city. It was placed among the top 100 cities in the world for the Mercer Quality of Living Survey 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and in the top 100 of the smartest cities in the world.
I arrived in Wroclaw by car, from Gdansk. I caught a ride with a couple from the Ukraine. It was a long but nice ride through lots of farmland and some forests. The ride was made longer due to the Ukrainians stopping a couple of times to buy items they had arranged to purchase through a site like craigslist.
Eventually we arrived and I made my way to Hostel Absynt, now called Amnezja Hostel. I was tired from the long drive and didn't do much on the first night in town.
Outside of the Hostel was a sidewalk cafe where I had some food and beer. Across the street, a dog kept watch over the neighborhood from a second story window. When I posted it on Facebook, my Polish friend told me that the building is a funeral home.
After filling up on food and beer, I went in to get some rest. The next day I planned to catch one of the free walking tours that are common in most of the major tourist cities in Europe. The tours are free, but you're expected to tip the guide after the tour is finished. They're a great way to see the cities and learn about their history.
I don't know what's going on with these lamps. It seems like every city that I went to was trying to outdo the previous city with how cool their street lamps were.
Wroclaw is a bright, beautiful, and clean city to explore. I'd never even heard of Wroclaw before going there. It makes me wonder about how many amazing places there are that I know nothing about. If you're ever in the area, it's probably worth it to spend a couple of nights here.
I couldn't get enough of these buildings. They're just so cool looking!
I know I'm supposed to talk about the city and explain a little about the history, or talk about the things you can do there. But my brain just keeps saying "Lookit those freakin' buildings! Lookit those weird shapes on the church! That other building had freakin' dragons on it!".
Wroclaw is just a super cool place see and experience. I don't really remember what I did there. I did a walking tour, I had food and beer, I wandered the amazing streets. I don't really know what else to say about it. If you like museums, I'm pretty sure they have some. If you like fancy restaurants, they've got those too. If you're backpacking like me, they've got affordable accommodations and cool stuff to see.
The details on the buildings left me with my mouth agape. The whole time I was walking through the city, I kept hearing myself saying "Wow!"
One thing I can talk about is the gnomes of Wroclaw. These little statues are found all over the city. There are different gnomes honoring the different guilds and even the prisoners.
I found this map of their locations, and it looks like there are dozens of them.
Wroclaw also has an area that is a 24 hour flower market. I'm not sure why anyone would need to buy flowers at 3am, but you have that option in Wroclaw.
They also have a giant indoor market that's kind of cool. This is where I bought my umbrella that I would keep with me for the rest of the trip. Nothing special about the umbrella, but I thought of Poland every time I used it.
I feel like this post is just kind of meandering all over the place. I guess it's fitting because that's pretty much what I did in Wroclaw. Let me finish up with a few more random photos of this great city.
If you're a fan of architecture and cool details on buildings, you really can't go wrong with a visit to Wroclaw. I had a great time here even though I didn't do much besides wander around and take photos.
Something unique from Wroclaw
Something about this stencil makes me smile every time I look at it. What does it even mean? Who knows? Who cares life is simple.