Initial Walkabout & Hala Targowa Visit: Wrocław, Poland

Our train arrived intro Wrocław Głowny at 3pm. We got a Bolt over to our Airbnb. Took about 15 minutes to get over there. Not a ton of heavy traffic. But it moves slowly. One thing we noticed throughout Poland is that pedestrian right of way is very much a Thing. With a capital T. If drivers see a pedestrian somewhat near a crosswalk and it looks like the pedestrian is evening considering the idea of entering the crosswalk, the car stops to allow the crossing. Took a bit to get used to this dynamic. I'd seen something similar in Romania, but this is another level. Nice if you're walking around on foot. But slows up the process a bit if you're moving by car. And that's probably the point.

After we settled in we headed out to see what we could see day 1. Our Airbnb was on Swietego Mikolaja, which is a main street for traffic heading out of the center to the west. We were about 3-4 minutes walking to the Four Denominations district and probably about the same to the western edge of the central part of Stare Miasto (aka, Old Town). So we had a pretty convenient launching point.

My game plan for the day was to see Hala Targowa, explore a bit of Nadodrze, and then be on Ostrow Tumski in time for the famous lamplighter. It kind of played out according to plan, with a couple of audibles. On the way I snapped some vibe shots along Nowy Swiat, the main artery on the norhtern permimeter of the main island, including one of InQse Wrocław Marina, a nice 4* hotel on this island in the river that features a handful of sharp, stylish restaurants.

As we approached the nothern stretch of the island we cut in on Uniwersytecka to make our way more directly to the market. We came across Kungfu Malatang i Hotpot where the bubble tea caught Judy's eye. I needed some caffeine, too, so I ordered an iced coffee.

Well-reviewed and looked like a solid place. But we did not make it back for a meal. We continued on, but stopped into this book store which got my attention with some cool posters in the window. Wound up taking this guy home.

Found some great postcards later on in Gdansk that complement him perfectly. Need to get those framed and hung soon.

Snapped a few scenery shots as we continued toward the market. Initial impressions of Wrocław were great. Picturesque and charming. Helped, too, that it was our first day of sun after 4 days of clouds and rain in Krakow.

Soon enough we made it to Hala Targowa. Google Maps says it's about 15 minutes walking from our Airbnb. My photoroll tells me it took us about 1/2 hour with the coffee and poster stops.

Nice market. We enjoyed browsing for interesting food / snacks. Was happily surprised to find tarallini at this place offering a variety of international foods.

Spoke with the woman a bit and learned that she was from Sicily and her boss was from Puglia, hence the tarallini. They had a nice range of flavors. Got some standard and some 'spicy'. Great snack for the next few days. Wish we had a tarallini place here in la cdmx.

Nice little spot for beer and a meal right outside the market. Inviting. But we had some ground to cover. Easy to see myself enjoying an afternoon at the market followed by a burger and beer in the sun, though. Next time, Wrocław.