Poland: Wroclaw

Had to laugh, my arrival into Poland was so bad! Couldn't find an ATM to get money for a tram ticket (no more Euros for a while!), then couldn't find the tram, then couldn't find the hostel... Then couldn't find reception inside the hostel!! Ridiculous but I got there in the end! There is suddenly a lot less signage in English and the words in my directions to the hostel didn't match up with the words I could see on the streets haha. Also pronounciation is a problem because Wroclaw isn't as it looks... It's "vrots-wahf"!

Quickly made friends with two guys in my dorm. One is a Brazilian who's lived in Ireland for the last 8 years and befriended the large Polish population there, so he now speaks Polish too and calls Wroclaw his 3rd home. The other is a half Spanish half Japanese guy who's lived in Barcelona his whole life.

We went out with Washington's (Brazil) Polish friends that night which was awesome! Learnt Polish words like 'Na zdrowie' (cheers) and one of them explained that our generation still feel a bit of hostility towards Germans because they have been brought up with grandparents who lost their own parents etc, so they think it will take a few more generations to all be forgotten.

Poland has been so badly treated in history! Wroclaw has been both a German and a Prussian city over the years, and they all imagined the country would be so much better if it hadn't had to rebuild from scratch so many times. They said it's not a good place to live and work as they can emigrate to places like Edinburgh and Dublin and be paid so much more for the same work.

Tried a Polish bisongrass vodka that they always mix with apple juice, it was nice!

Tai (Barcelona) and I explored the city the next day, the centre square (rynek centrum) has gorgeous building facades, all different colours and ornately decorated with curly and contoured rooves, all sitting next to each other around the square it was one of the prettiest squares I've ever seen. As we walked further out we saw all the communist block apartments and the grand university (it's a massive student town) but that's all really there is to see. Had a traditional Polish lunch in a serve yourself cafeteria where you pay by the weight of your plate at the end! So tried some dumplings and potato cakes and salads, avoided the meaty stews cos didn't know what they were..
Had dinner out with more of Wash's polski friends and tried golonka.. Described by them as "pig knee" it's traditional Pork knuckle with potato, it was so tender and delicious! And more wodka.

Poland is cheap for food and drink and accomodation, which is nice!