Location: Wrocław, Poland

Wrocław - co zobaczyliśmy ************* Wrocław - what we saw

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Wrocław - what we saw. I don't say 'what you must see' because Wrocław has so much to offer that it's hard to choose the most important places. It takes a few 'city breaks' to get to know it well.

Day 1. After arriving by the afternoon train, we rested and set off to eat dinner and see the Wrocław Market Square. It is teeming with life from morning to evening, but of course, the evening is the most charming. Especially when the weather is fine. The temperature reached 20 degrees Celsius and it was urban 20 degrees, not the coastal ones (at the seaside, the perceived temperature is usually lower because of the wind, at least in Kołobrzeg). So the walk around the Old Town was very pleasant, the 'Pan Tadeusz Museum' invited with evening shows, and the town hall looked impressive.

Day 2. We visited the zoo. We didn't have time to see the whole thing, but we saw the most important thing, i.e. the Afrykarium (that's why we chose Wrocław for our family trip). The Afrykarium was established in 2014, but first, a competition for its design was announced in 2008, and then for several years the architects created a detailed design. The construction itself took over two years. The Afrykarium aims to represent Africa's various water-related ecosystems. The most important attraction is the tunnel, thanks to which we had the impression that we are in a water reservoir.
After leaving, we strolled through the park by Hala Tysiąclecia. However, I regret that we did not watch the presentation of the Multimedia Fountain. The park is a great place to relax. Music from the loudspeakers, long conversations over coffee or tea certainly give the inhabitants of Wrocław moments of respite in this place. It felt as if I had moved to a different era. Beautiful feeling. And if someone does not feel like being in a company, a walk in the neighboring Szczytnicki Park will bring peace and seclusion.
Nearby, you cannot miss the Spire, a 44-tonne structure erected in 1948 on the occasion of the Recovered Territories Exhibition. It symbolized the willingness of Wrocław residents to rebuild the splendor of their city. Serious maintenance is done every 20 years. The Spire is then dismantled, cleaned, sandblasted, and placed in a vertical position again.

Day 3. We stood on the Penitential Bridge in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (I'll describe the church in another post).

We were lucky because, on the days when we were visiting Wrocław, the world's largest Zeppelin/blimp was hovering over it. She flew over Wrocław for two days. The blimp belongs to the ZF company, which in this way promotes its new advances in the automotive industry. Zeppelin flew on to Prague. And I was able to take photos from the Penitential Bridge.

The Penitential Bridge (Mostek Pokutnic), or Bridge of Witches (Mostek Czarownic) is a viewpoint in the Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene. There is, of course, a legend connected with this place, or even two. The first says that women who spent their lives playing and rejected marriage proposals had to sweep the bridge after their death. The second is related to testing women accused of practicing magic. The test was as simple as ever. The woman who crossed the bridge was a witch, and the one who fell off the bridge was deemed to be innocent ... 
In the church shop, we bought a very interesting book for our daughter, 'Legendy Wrocławskie' by Mariusz Urbanek, with illustrations by Beata Biedroń-Zdęba. I recommend it for children and adults. Legends describe many places in Wrocław and the book helps to find them.
And when it comes to searching for gnomes, you don't have to search the corners and nooks of Wrocław. We bumped into them all the time. Currently, there are probably over 900 of them. I think they have lost their charm for me a bit for this reason. I prefer our Mariany seagulls. They are bigger (obviously, gnomes are small creatures, after all) and smarter. I'm sorry Wroclaw.
Next we went to Ostrów Tumski. The beautiful, oldest district of Wrocław with the characteristic towers of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the Tumski Bridge. We visited Tamka Island, Daliowa Island and Piasek Island by rail.
I absolutely wanted to take a ride on the Polinka, a gondola cable car ride over the Oder river. You may not believe it, but I read about it a few years ago and put it on my bucket list :0) During the academic year, the cable car is used by students to move between campuses. It is a pity that the journey is so short, but still, we saw a part of the city from a different perspective.
Day 4. We went to Hydropolis. Honestly, I could sit outside and watch and listen to the water printer all day. When you enter Hydropolis, the water curtain opens thanks to the photocells. Incredible fun for children, but also for adults. Hydropolis is a water knowledge center, founded by Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji in Wrocław. An example of great development of a nineteenth-century post-industrial building, as it is located in an old, underground clean water tank. It has seven thematic zones and visiting it gives a large dose of knowledge about water and ecology in an accessible and interesting way.

For me, the most interesting element was the replica of the 'Trieste' bathyscaphe. It was in Trieste that Don Walsh (who is the ambassador of Hydropolis) and Jacques Piccard were the first to reach the bottom of the Marian Trench. We were looking for wrecks in the seas and oceans in a simple multimedia game, and we also admired the artificial snow and fire.

The weather broke, so we ate and lazily went to Kolejkowo, which is located on the first floor of the Sky Tower building (unfortunately we did not get tickets to the observation point). There is a model of architectural elements of Wrocław and Lower Silesia. On an area of ​​900 square meters, the creators gathered numerous miniatures, including 242 buildings, 215 cars, 3,437 people and animals, 60 wagons, as well as tunnels, tracks, mountains, pastures, and water reservoirs. We watched everything during the day, which lasts 9 minutes in Kolejkowo, and during the night, which lasts 4 minutes here.
Day 5. Returning home :( We will definitely visit Wrocław again. It's an amazing city!

I must also admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the Intercity train journey. We traveled to Wrocław in standard/economy class and there were six seats in a compartment! The other way was the first class. As a rule, we don't do it, but there weren't enough seats in the standard/economy class on the direct train to Kołobrzeg. There were also six places, but it was much wider: 0) The downside was the unfrozen pancakes in Wars although they served good coffee. As you can see on my profile, I like to travel by train, and the Kołobrzeg - Wrocław connection is fast. I don't think it makes sense to go by car, especially since Wrocław has well-developed public transport. Apart from that, while traveling by train, I rest, watch passing landscapes or read books... Although recently they are mainly fairy tales about princesses: 0)

A few weeks ago I read that a European connection is to be created, thanks to which we will get from Warsaw to Barcelona. I can not wait.


Linked to: Through My LensRuby Tuesday TooRandom-osityOur World TuesdayTuesday's Treasuresbethere2dayTravel TuesdayImage-In-IngPictorial TuesdayPictorial TuesdayMy Corner of the WorldTravel PhotosSkywatch FridayThankful ThursdayLittle Things Thursday.

13 comments:

  1. Quite a journey and wonderful shots.

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  2. Thanks for sharing at Sunday Scripture Blessings. Beautiful photos.

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  3. thanks for this wonderful and complete visit

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  4. What a fascinating place! You got some beautiful photos and some wonderful memories.
    Thanks so much for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/11/this-is-all-ill-say-about-that.html

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  5. You have some really lovely pictures, here. Thank you for showing us around Wroclaw.

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  6. Thank you for allowing me to see through your photography. Looks like a nice visit.

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  7. What an amazing place. So much to see and do. I really like the gnomes!!

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  8. I like the 4th one the best. Very nice mixed lights.

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  9. What a lovely place to visit. Great photography and subject matter. Thanks for linking up.

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  10. Greetings and Salutations! I like how you included where you were, what you saw, explanations, and your photographs were done well. Lovely blog. Nice cyber tour.

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  11. I especially like the shots of the old buildings.

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