The Dwarves of Wroclaw

17 – 19 April 2021

On Tuesday I had to wake up early to get on the bus to Wroclaw. It took approximately three hours by bus to get there. Once I arrived in Wroclaw, I went straight to Sergi’s apartment to drop off my bag and get a bit of rest. After I felt a bit more rested, I went to the market square in the old town. Here I was supposed to meet with a friend of Sergi, but I was an hour early. So I sat down at a terrace overlooking the market square and ordered a large cappuccino and a cheesecake (small moments of luxury are permitted every now and again) and started writing about my experiences in Krakow. I had almost finished writing when Federico, Sergi’s friend, arrived. We chatted for a bit and then we were joined by two other men. They actually had a meeting, but it was ok for me to be there too. After an hour or so, I said goodbye and got a quick bite at Mac Donald’s. Then I returned to the apartment and went straight to bed to get some much needed extra sleep.

The following morning I joined another free walking tour through the old town of Wroclaw. During this tour I learned a lot about the city’s history. Like Krakow, Wroclaw is a city that is over a thousand years old. Through the ages, Wroclaw has been in the hands of so many nations that it’s hard to keep track of them. The city has been a part of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg Monarchy, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Among the Germans the city is better known as Breslau. A lot of these nations have left their mark on the city. A few decades ago, the main market square had a very different look. Where you can now walk across the beautiful square, there actually used to be a petrol station and a parking lot for cars, which is hard to imagine when you stand at the same spot today.

The city has quite a number of islands and a stunning amount of 300 bridges. One of the islands, Wyspa Slodowa, attracts many young people, since it is one of the few locations where drinking outside is tolerated. During my visit the weather was amazing and the island was packed with people.

The city also has an incredible amount of churches, and probably the most beautiful of them all is the Jesuit church, the Parish of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. The artwork is very impressive and I can definitely recommend visiting this church if you ever visit Wroclaw. A large part of the population in Poland is Roman Catholic, and you can often find people praying in one of the many churches.

During the tour we also visited Hala Targowa, a large indoor market. The building somewhat resembles a large station building, but being made entirely out of concrete. They offered all kinds of foods and one of the stands sold large bouquets of funeral flowers. There were also two milkbars inside. A milkbar is one of the souvenirs from Poland’s communistic regime and it is more or less a combination of a cantina and a restaurant. Nowadays they are still quite popular, since they offer good food for low prices. What makes them so interesting, is that you could see a businessman eating on one table and a homeless guy sitting on the table next to him.

Throughout the city you can also find a lot of dwarves. In fact, over 350 bronze statues of dwarves can be found everywhere in the city. They can be seen doing all sorts of actions, from hanging from a street lamp to being imprisoned. But there is actually a story behind the dwarves. During the communistic regime, an underground anti-regime organization was founded, named the Orange Alternative. Using graffiti they sprayed orange dwarves on anti-government slogans to cover them up. To commemorate this event, the statues of dwarves were placed in the city in 2005.

After the tour was finished, I went to the Japanese gardens with a new friend that I made during the tour. The Japanese gardens are not very large, but the are very beautiful. We took some photos there and then went back to the center, where we split up. I asked Federico if he wanted to hang out, and so he took me to a very nice park north of the city. There were no noises from the city and it was a pleasant walk along the river. When I returned to the center I joined another tour that would show us the islands and bridges of Wroclaw. Unfortunately, this tour wasn’t as interesting as I hoped it would be. After the tour I met another guy with whom I had something to eat and later on some drinks. Then I returned to the apartment.

The next day I met with Sergi, the one who gave me the keys to his apartment. We walked around the city for a while, had something to drink and before I left for Prague, we also got some really good food at one of Wroclaw’s milkbars, named Lepione. After this very filling meal, I went to the bus station to get on the bus to Prague!