Walking around a bit of the Nadodrze neighborhood: Wrocław, Poland

Next on the agenda after visiting Hala Targowa was to make it over into Nadordrze. This part of the city north of the center popped up in my research about 'what to do in Wrocław'. The Colorful Backyards of Nadodrze in particular got my attention. So we started aiming ourselves north across the islands in the Oder separating Nadodrze from the old town center. We stopped for a couple of scenic shots, of course.

Also couldn't help but notice Młyn Maria, which I thought might be a hotel or restaurant but turns out is a condo complex on the site of a 13th century mill. Not pictured here, but the colorful 2-car trams passing over the iron bridge in front with the river views off behind it make for a pretty charming scene.

First thing we noticed once we got across the river were lines outside of two ice cream shops. Lines. It was maybe 70 degrees on a Tuesday afternoon. We later realized over the course of the trip that ice cream is popular all over Poland. Ice cream. Donuts. Good beer. A few of the common elements I noticed.

While both of the shops in the pics above had some lines, this one had lines nonstop. We passed through this stretch 2-3 times over the course of the afternoon / evening and it was busy every time we came through. We wound up trying the less beloved shop later on. It was okay.

After observing the ice cream phenomenon we made our way up Ksiecia Jozefa Poniatowskiego to see the "colorful backyards". It was 10-15 minutes walking. Felt very neighborhoody. Middle-class-ish apartment buildings. Nothing touristy. An area of the city where people live and do their thing.

Once we got to the spot where google maps said the murals should be it still took a minute to figure out exactly how to access the area. It is common design in Poland (so I learned) for residential blocks to have an interior 'courtyard' of sorts that is accessible via one entrance. Almost like a mini version of the old 'gates to enter the city' model. We saw a few versions of this. More pics in later posts. But we eventually found our way to what looked like it might be an entrance and ventured in. Passed through a tunnel / passageway of maybe 5-10 meters that opened up to the courtyard (aka, the colorful backyards). Parking, playground, common areas. With the distinctive murals all around.

That last one is my favorite. Not just becuase it features dogs. But that HAS to be a Quiznos Sponge Monkey, right? Great commercial from back in the day. I may or may not have blurted out 'they got a pepper bar' at random intervals throughout 2004-2005.