Poland - Part Four

POLAND part four

WROCLAW-Breslau this beautiful city is located north of Krakow, about 250 km away, travelled on a slow and boring train in a good 5 hours at a cost of 10 euros. In Poland there are Intercity, Eurocity and Interregio trains. They all arrive at the same time, that is slowly, but Interregio cost less than half, only because they don't reserve seats and have less comfortable and luxurious seats. Good all the same and then there was more than enough room, the conversation unfortunately was lacking because next to me there was a stupid Polish engineer with three mobile phones and an iPod who spent the whole time phoning or writing texts or listening to music, without uttering a single word of English. That's the effect of the communist school, fortunately gone. This one was left without toys for his whole youth and now he lets loose with these gadgets.

Fortunately then a young guy arrived, speaking excellent English, and we talked about our respective countries. When we arrived in Wroclaw he accompanied me to the nearby Hostel Avanguard that I had booked on the internet, excellent with a nice little room without a private bathroom but with one in the corridor for 20 euros. After the kilometre-long walks in Krakow that had given me blisters on my feet, I got smart and decided to rent a bicycle directly from the hostel for only 10 euros a day. So I saw the beautiful Silesian city, founded and inhabited for centuries by the Germans who after the war left en masse, leaving the city to Poles who arrived from other areas. WROCLAW, Breslau in Polish, which is pronounced VROTZWAFF, is very similar to Krakow and is just as beautiful and fascinating.

It is considered the Polish Venice because the Oder flows through it and also because of its many canals with bridges, especially in the northern part between the great University and the Cathedral surrounded by many churches, monasteries and convents. Wroclaw has even more churches than Krakow, too many in my opinion, and in any case all beautiful and majestic. Wroclaw is a young city because it is a university city, therefore full of pubs, little restaurants and nightclubs. Its RYNEK, that is the central market square, is a little smaller than that of Krakow and as beautiful as it. Here too there are majestic buildings with breathtaking façades, above all that of the town hall, at whose base in the basement there is the most famous local brewery, the SPIC, where I will spend the last and memorable evening, of which I will tell you later.

The bicycle allowed me to see all the city's attractions in a short time: - the Japanese botanical garden in a beautiful park, with the zoo next to it, which I always boycott because I don't want to give my contribution to those who keep animals in prison through no fault of their own - the forum they use for shows and concerts, with a beautiful fountain and a well-kept park - the university area with imposing classical buildings, statues and various external campuses with sports facilities that we can only dream of - PANORAMA, that is an enormous 360° painting with special 3D effects created more than 100 years ago by a Polish artist, which depicts the heroic battle of Raclawicka but lost by the Poles against the Russian invaders and which in any case has become a symbol of redemption and dignity of the Polish people in the struggle for independence.

This painting, after various vicissitudes, has finally landed in a worthy home, a beautiful modern circular construction inside a park, with an important national museum nearby that unfortunately I couldn't visit because of the Monday closure, which is observed here too. I spent a lovely evening in a little square adjoining the Rynek, where the usual beer-producing company, this time TYZIE, had organised a rock concert with young bands, followed by 80s music presented by a nice local disc jockey. I also bought a pair of sandals to stay cooler and give relief to my suffering feet. They cost me a good 30 euros and then I discovered they were imported Italian ones, otherwise I could have spent 7-8 euros on Polish products, which I then found in a little market a few days later, after I'd already made the purchase!

I spent the last evening, as I already said, at the SPIC brewery, all in decorated wood with lots of digital screens on all the walls since the Uruguay-Netherlands football semi-final was scheduled. At my table there was a couple from Bilbao, Spain, she works in Wroclaw, he came to visit her and was drinking one beer after another, soaked drunk while she listened dejectedly to his ravings. Fortunately they left early and then six cheerful Polish women in their forties arrived, whom I didn't much like because while I had gone to order beer at the counter they had pinched my seat, making my hat disappear.

I made myself heard about their gesture and demanded the seat they had taken from me, but so a bit of tension remained until a beautiful Pole arrived, a very sexy little blonde, we exchanged glances of great mutual understanding and I was already considering the conquest when her man arrived, struggling with the beers. It fizzled out, but once these had left, two madwomen my age arrived, meaning it's all a generational question, that of '68 or thereabouts. They were all dressed in black with very blatant tattoos on their shoulders, strange black hats and lots of necklaces of dubious taste.

Naturally we immediately became friends, we forgot about the football match and had fun between one beer and another, laughing like crazy and conversing in German, which I every now and then dredge back up from my school memories and which never ceases to surprise me for how well I speak it when I'm a bit tipsy like that evening. The next morning back to Krakow for the last Polish day before departing for Berlin.