Days 36 & 37: Wroclaw

After a 5:45 wake-up and a six hour train ride with two exchanges, we arrived in Wroclaw, Poland to sunny 30o C heat. We had half an hour to check in, then went off on a five hour long walking tour. Our local tour guide -- dressed in a red hat, red pants, and white Canada T-shirt -- was very nice and knowledgeable, however, the weather was not in his favour. For the second half of the tour, all I could think about was how much I needed water.

Most of our tour took place on Cathedral Island, the oldest part of the city, where we saw a few old churches.

A few notable sights were Wroclaw's own love lock bridge across the river Orda, and the many gnomes randomly strewn all over the city.

We also saw the famous hotel, Hotel Monopol, next to the Opera House where very famous people had stayed, such as Hitler, Marlene Dietrich, Pablo Picasso, and more. 

After walking by Centennial Hall, the main event hall in Wroclaw, we proceeded to my favourite part of the tour, the Japanese Gardens.

We passed the main square and the 24/7 flower market on our way to dinner -- a free group dinner downtown that consisted of great salad, pierogies, potatoes, and sausages.

Our second day in Wroclaw started with another tour around the city centre, ending in the main square where there was a large food festival taking place. There were stalls from all different countries and we got to sample a wide variety for a very fair price. All around the square were wooden stalls selling food and souvenirs and we spent most of our afternoon there.

In the late afternoon, we went on a boat cruise along the river, and then kayaked for an hour.

We headed back to the main square for pierogies, baklava, and strawberry cider, then listened to a crowd sing along to a great busker. The evening atmosphere in the centre was reminiscent of Florence -- warm glowing lights that made everything cozy, but lively. We walked around for another hour before heading back.

Photos by Julie Zhang.