We woke up on Friday with the idea of grabbing a quick breakfast in the center, taking a walk around to see some of the sights, and then heading out for the drive to Warsaw. According to all the travel apps we consulted, the drive should take about 4.5- 5 hours....um, yeah, more on
THAT later!
After we checked out of the hotel, we put our stuff in the car (nice one btw- Peugeot- oh la la!) and walked the Square again. And right to....... Starbucks!! Haha.. we are American. But really, you know you can get a good cup of joe and a roll or something for a quick bit of breakfast, so why not!?
We took another walk around the Square, admiring all the facades again. Then headed towards the University.
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| manhole cover |
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| University and part of the Church of the Blessed Name of Jesus |
Wroclaw University was founded by Jesuits in 1670. It was built on the site of a Piest castle with a land grant from Emperor Leopold. During the Austrian-Prussian War, it served as a hospital, a prison, and a food store. In 1811, Prussia secularized all church property and took over the university. During WWII, it at one time served as the HQ for the occupying Nazis. After the war, the German faculty were exiled and the Polish faculty came in. It is still a University today, and it's beautiful Baroque buildings, including the Church of the Blessed Name of Jesus, are open to tourists. (pg. 64, IYP)
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| Main University building |
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| could it be? |
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| Yep, another Krasnale...this one is a Jesuit? Priest? Lecturer? |
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| What do my eyes spy? |
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| Another little bugger |
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| This one's got an umbrella |
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| The Naked Swordsman |
An interesting story about The Naked Swordsman...it was created by Hugo Lederer in 1904. People were scandalized by the naked figure and parish priests worried that the students passing by such a figure would be corrupted morally by the nakedness. However, those that liked the statue came up with a "legend" that this figure represented a man who had gambled all his possessions away, save for the sword, and that it would be a reminder to the students who passed by to stay on a righteous path. This worked...as the statue in all its' naked glory is still standing!
Anyway....Wroclaw has been called the "Venice" of Poland because it has many islands and bridges along the Odra River. Ostrow Tumski, or Cathedral Island, is the most famous of the bunch. Walking through the University put us right on the River and so we decided to continue on to the island. It looked quite close and we figured we would have time to see the sights.
Background on Ostrow Tumski:
In the 9th century, the area was settled by a Slavic tribe called the Slezanie. The first bishopric was built on the island in 1000; however, the area was destroyed during the Tartar invasions of the 1240s. When the area was rebuilt, it did so across the river. However, Ostrow Tumski continued to be a royal and religious area of importance. The Piast Dynasty built a castle on the island in the 1260s, and, of course, the cathedral and churches built on and around the island. (pg. 68, IYP)
We walked along the river for a bit and then peeked into one of the churches along the way. There were some men working on restoration and one of them came to talk to Mom and I. In Polish. Needless to say, we did not understand and he shoved some brochure in our hands. And then waited. I think he wanted us to make a donation or something. No idea, so we just continued on our merry way. Turning a corner to cross to the Island proper, there was yet another statue of Pope John Paul II. Oh wait, maybe I haven't written about them yet...I'm getting all my Poland trips/ towns confused.. just know that there are statues or pictures of John Paul all over the country!!
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| John the Baptist |
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| Another Krasnale sighting |
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| A runner girl gnome outside the Nike store |
Having gotten back to the car, there was one last spot I wanted to see. You all know how much I enjoy checking off UNESCO sites off the list...or actually, the massive book I have that has all the sites listed in it...and there was one in Wroclaw that I wanted to check out. As it was on the way out of town, we drove to it.
The Centennial Hall & Discover Centre is the only UNESCO site in Wroclaw (which really seems a shame). The Hall is an example of "a pioneering work of modern engineering and architecture, which exhibits an important interchange of influences in the early twentieth century, becoming a key reference in the later development of reinforced-concrete structures" (pg. 752, World Heritage Sites). Designed by Max Berg to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat in the Battle of Leipzig, the hall was completed in 1913. The hall is massive: inner diameter of 69 meters, height of 42 meters and a 10,000 person capacity. It was originally called the Jahrhunderthalle (100 year hall). It isn't very pretty....AT ALL...but it is a marvel for what it is. And the fact that it survived 2 world wars. It has seen Hitler and his rallies AND services by Pope John Paul II. After the WWII, the hall was renamed Hala Ludowa (the People's Hall) and used as the exhibition centre for the People's Republic of Poland's Recovered Territories Exhibition. This exhibition was to show all the world how the land "recovered" by Poland from the Yalta Conference really DID belong to Poland (pg. 69, IYP).
The place WAS massive, including the Iglica Spire outside, but really....we could have done without seeing it. The majesty of seeing a UNESCO site was slightly lessened by the car show banners hanging all around it. We were there for a total of about 20 minutes, as long as it took us to walk around it.
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| Centennial Hall in the background, Iglica Spire in front |
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| UNESCO site- check! |
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| It's so big...it's shocking! |
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| The spire is 96 meters tall |
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| A group of little children underneath the spire |
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| Umm...yeah, I'm not going under there |
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| Next to the Hall |
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| Yep, a magnificent site...having an autoshow! |
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| Oh...just missed the tour group of teenagers- whew! |
Leaving the Hall, we left Wroclaw behind and headed in the direction of Warsaw..for that 4.5 hour drive. Before we really got going, we stopped for lunch...at McDonald's!! Haha!! Seriously, it was right on the highway, so it was really all about convenience- I swear!!
Now, there is something you all need to know. The roads in Poland are.....crap! And the drivers are flipping insane. The only place where there are freeways are right outside of major cities. Otherwise, it's a lane going in each direction- through the villages- with all the lorries- and the slow speeds!!! AND it was a Friday afternoon. So...
this turned into the road trip from hell. It took forever!! And there was nothing we could do about it. Just one long line of lorries (oh, sorry, trucks) and cars. Endless village after village. And absolutely looney drivers passing us. Dad was so frustrated- the man likes to drive.....and drive fast....this was not happening. Thankfully, I had a fully charged iPad with a ton of NPR podcasts loaded. And Mom had snacks.
As we eventually, about 8 hours later (!!), neared Warsaw, it started pouring rain. And it was dark. And Friday rush hour. Sigh.....there were several very tense moments in the car before we finally found our hotel. And then as we went to check in.....a group of about 25 slipped in front of us in line! Sigh! Finally, we got checked in, dropped off our bags, and had dinner at the hotel restaurant. No great shakes, but at this point we had had enough. A couple of drinks at the bar...and we all were off to bed!!
Prayers for nice weather the next day were said and that was day 2!
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