Assorted Scenes from Wrocław, Poland

We really enjoyed our time in Wrocław.

Our Airbnb was solid and comfortable. I could see how it may not be ideal in really warm weather. But during our stay temps were mid 50s to maybe 70 on the high end. Perfect for us.

With a population around 700,000 (roughly the same as Coyoacán, just one of 16 alcaldias in CDMX) it's a nice size city. Good energy without feeling overwhelming. It has a variety of areas and vibes, too. Old Town is different than Nadodrze, which is different than Ostrow Tumski, which is different from the areas east of the center over toward the tech university and further out toward the zoo. Felt like it would be a cool city to live in. But I do that a lot. Picture myself living for at least a few months in almost every place we have ever visited.

Wrocław, though, was really pleasant. Scale, vibes, variety. Different elements reminded me of aspects of the places I've spent time over the years. The trams that made me nostalgic for my days on the Green Line heading up and down Comm Ave and Beacon St. Various bridges getting you between different parts of "the Venice of Poland," which vaguely reminded me of crossing the Charles between Allston and Cambridge. Sharp new condo complexes with a modern/industrial aesthetic overlooking the water that made me think of West Loop or River North from 15-20 years ago in Chicago. Neighborhood restaurants with the informal streeside seating areas that sprouted everywhere in Mexico City (and many other places of course) during Covid. This assortment of shots provides some sense of what we did and enjoyed during our 3-night stay.

Obligatory pics of the Stare Miasto / Rynek area and the traditional buildings painted in various colors that make you happy.

This last one shows the market that was opening up on our last day in the city. We were bummed it didn't open earlier. But we had seen the same thing in Krakow, so didn't totally miss the experience. Maybe we'll make it back some day as part of a Christmas Market tour.

These were taken during an easy walk / scoot around the city. Wish I had time to visit AleBrowar (first pic). Next time.

The 'scoot' alluded to above was my first venture out on a Bolt scooter. Had been wanting to try this form of urban transportation for awhile. The tour in Krakow finally gave me the nudge required to make it happen. So I did a test scoot early one morning while Judy was back in the apartment. Success. On our last morning in Wroclaw we had some time before the train to Poznan, so we scooted. Aimed west, kind of toward the zoo and the parks on that side of the city. Our route is below (love this new-to-me feature of google maps where you can track your routes).

We enjoyed the scoot too much to take too many pictures. But here are a few.

Also, we did eventually get over to Ostrow Tumski on our first evening in Wrocław. My phone died so I wasn't able to take pics. Judy grabbed a few. Overall that experience was not quite what I had built up in my mind based on what I had read. But I'm glad we saw it. Definitely unique. But not necessarily something you *need* to go out of your way to experience, in my opinion.

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.

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.