Sabbatical travel series - Poland

It was a week into my solo trip, and I was enjoying exploring places at my pace and schedule. As I moved from one city to another, I realized that they were all pretty much similar in terms of sights to see – old town, churches, castles with most of them having a water body in the form of a sea, river or lake. Further, just when I was getting the hang of things in one place, it was time to move to another. However, with a limited budget and a desire to see as much of Europe as possible, it was the best itinerary.

 

Poland was my next stop and included three cities, Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw. A friend suggested halting for a day at Wroclaw from Prague before heading to Krakow and to check out the gnomes spread all over the city. I reached Wroclaw in the afternoon and after checking in, I picked up a map of gnomes at the reception and hurriedly went to the market square. It was a slightly cold day and the brisk pace helped. The first building that I came across in the old town area is the St. Mary Magdalene church. 

There was a small market set up in the area selling local produce. There are many restaurants at the market square, and I went to an Indian restaurant to have an early dinner. After that, it was time for gnome hunting. They are little bronze sculptures in the strangest of places and there are hundreds of them spread around the city. You must pay special attention to locate them but once you get the idea, you will start finding more and more. Every time I discovered a new one, my joy knew no bounds. It was great fun walking the streets in the old town area in search of the gnomes. After a couple of hours of setting a hard pace, I was getting a bit tired. It was also becoming difficult to continue in the dark and so sadly, I had to call a stop to the hunt. Too soon, the day was over, and it was time to leave Wroclaw the next day. I wish I had planned another day in Wroclaw to find more gnomes which is a fun and unique way to explore a city.

I took the bus to Krakow the next morning and reached Krakow at a perfect time in the afternoon to check in to the hotel. I stayed in hotel Mercure, which is in a great location, and just a 20-minute walk from the historic part of the town. There is also a mall opposite the hotel if you are looking for some quick food options. Many tours have pick up and drop off in front of the hotel.

 

I walked to the historic town via Florianska street, a popular street with a variety of shops and eateries, that leads to the main market square with St. Mary’s Basilica, cloth hall, Adam Mickiewicz monument and the town hall tower. It is a lively square and like some of the other old town squares, has many cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating. After seeing the crowds in Prague, I was surprised to see that there weren’t many tourists here. It was perfect to get lovely pictures of the historic buildings and monuments. 

I took the royal path from the main square and stopped at the Basilica of holy trinity, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Saints Peter and Paul church before reaching the Wawel castle and cathedral.  It was already late afternoon and an hour or so before sunset. I decided to go up to the cathedral and castle another day during day time and went past it to the river Vistula and the fire breathing dragon statue and avenue of stars. I made multiple attempts to take a picture of the dragon when it starts breathing fire but couldn’t get a decent shot.

The riverfront area is a perfect spot to enjoy the cool breeze caressing the face and gently ruffling the hair. There were walkers, runners and bikers getting their exercise and people soaking in the afternoon sun in the many boulevards and promenades around the river. I decided to come back on the last day to the riverfront to take a river cruise and to relax in one of the many lawns after finishing the sightseeing for the day. I had booked the 2 popular day trips to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps and to Wieliczka salt mines while in Wroclaw itself. The salt mine tour was going to take half a day and I could go to the riverfront that afternoon after the tour. 

The next day, I visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. The guide’s description of the killings, torture and inhuman conditions in a tone without any drama and in an almost matter of fact way had exactly the opposite effect of bringing home the dire conditions. The pictures and the camp sites left me shattered and it took an entire day to come out of the somber mood.

 

The visit to Wieliczka salt mines, the next day, was a complete contrast to that of the previous day. It lifted my spirits and left me awestruck to see an entire world 135 meters underneath the ground of chapels, sculptures and statues of salt. There is also a light show to the music of Frederic Chopin.

 

After the salt mine tour, I went to the Wawel castle and cathedral and the beautiful gardens with great views of the river and the city from atop the castle hill. 

As I had planned a couple of days earlier, I went back to the riverfront and took a cruise. I always find the views in cruises enjoyable. They are a great way to relax after a hard day of sightseeing and being on your feet all day. The Vistula River cruise is no different where you get some spectacular views of the bridges, castle and promenades. To add to the beauty, it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and pleasant cool weather. 

It was time for an early dinner after the cruise and after a delicious meal of spaghetti with garlic bread, I returned to the hotel. 

 

I went to Warsaw the next day. I stayed in the Novotel hotel which is a 110-meter skyscraper in the center of the city and is opposite the Palace of Culture and Science where you can get spectacular views for free. After a late lunch at a nearby restaurant, I went to Palace on the Isle and gardens. The palace is in a beautiful location in the middle of a pond inside a huge park that spans 76 hectares in the middle of the city. One can hear birds chirping in the vast garden surrounding the palace and see peacocks strutting their stuff and basking under the adulation showered on them by their admirers. 

I took a coffee break after a pleasant walk in the park and headed back near the hotel to see the Palace of Culture and Science lit up in purple, white and orange at night. 

 

The next morning, it was time to visit the historic town, as is customary almost everywhere in Europe. The old town was almost totally destroyed by Hitler’s troops after the second world war ended and has since been reconstructed based on the vision and designs of architect Jan Zachwatowicz and used the cityscapes of the Venetian painter Bernardo Bellotto. The castle square is the main square with the Royal castle, St. John’s cathedral and Sigismund’s column.

The colorful townhouses and barbican serve as reminders of the country’s past. The royal route from castle square to the Copernicus monument is peppered with important buildings, palaces and churches including the Presidential Palace, St. Anne’s church and university. 

After strolling in the historic town for some time, I returned to today’s times and the modern part of the city for dinner and headed back to the hotel looking forward to a brand new day and a brand new country.