here - Jo Caird

Wroclaw:..,.?'H?'ls?ll,E,#FL',
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hi
EHTTTdffiTB*ffiRffi
(09069590002;wizzair.co
Wizzair
offersflightsto WroclawfromLuton
Doncasterfrom
€12.99oneway.Ry
(087I246 O0O0;
ryanair.com)
hasfli
WroclawfromvariousUKairportsfrc
oneway.FromWroclawairport,city L
number406runseverv20 minutest
centralrailwaystation.
I n Eighties Poland, as the Solidarity movement used civil resistance
I to fight for social change, Ore south-westem cit5r of Wrodaw
I star-tgd its own, unique brand of underground protest. Drawing
dwarf figures on_wallCall over town anditaging-absurd happeni-ngs
designed to mock the regime, the Orange Nternative athac{ed
thogsands of participants to its peaceful protests, as well as plenty of
media aftention.
Walk aroundWroclaw todav and
, you'll find proud memoriali to
the movement whereveryou go,
in the form of 150 diminutive
bronze dwarf statuettes set into
pavements across the city.
But when it comes to steet art
in Wroclaw, dwarves are just the
start. The walh lrom my hotel into
the handsome old tonm takes
me past arr alrcsling collection
of huddltxl ligrrrrs breaking out
llrc woll<of
of the pirvcr,rrrrnl,
Polislrrrrlist.krlzy l(rrlirrir.l;rlr:r,
o rt l l t c islirt rrlsirr llrr' llivr:r'Ork:r ' .
on Ostr6wTumski - "Cathedral
Island" - is calmer. Home to the
city's imposing cathedral, as well
as a handf;l of other relieious
buildings, this is a place Sfpeace
and contemplation. As dusk
falls overthe city, a lamplighter
appea$ and goes about his
workunhurried.
This is my cue to leave. I arh
due at the Opera Wroclawskao
a gan{ clessicist auditorium
whose commitrnent to new and
rarely performed work makes for
a yorrngcr lhan usual audience.
AulaLeoooldina
(univerit!
of Wnx:l{r,v)
PA€KAffiffiS
(0L17921lT lL1.re
RegentHolidays
holidays.co.uk)
offersa three-nigh
package
to Wroclaw
from€325perp
including
b&b andreturnflight.
rli
1,:i,l
],
Til{ffiINS}ffiffiTKA#K
OThere'sa rowdy,tavernatmosphe
(Rynek-Ratusz
2;OO
48 7I 3447 225
restaurant
beneaththe CityHall.
o Climbthe belltowerof St Elisabe
the MarketSouare
andoldtown.
o Forfresh'produce,
curedmeats,tr;
goods,the HalaTargowa
household
(
withina brutalistconcreteshell.
OOpera
(ul.Swidnicka
Wroclawska
3l
presents
bothclassical
andcontem
Maschera,
thisyear'sopen-air
"supe
Olympic
StadiumonJune15and17 (
35;ticketsviaOperaWroclawska)
o FreeWi-Fi
isavitilable
inbarsandca
WHATTOAVOID
; I l r r ,r r ,,r tr ,tl xxr ta
d o ze n
I r,rr., rrr | | rl r,rilwityarcheson
W r;rrr,rI r,rlkrgrrslawskiego,
;r
I t I rrrrr
rrrle wnlksotrthoi tht,
r r l yr e r r l r trl,l .tt l l td ko t;r tcyo r r
tlpedtu thueeto tlxr c,nt ol
f.ddd-,E
r lr r r r r t D
l! r
.ril
l^,.tt
t:rrrr
lrrtrrt;nti,
rls
w(:tt
ttt
l t t t : t t t.y
ttl
rncd iit : rlk : nli o n .
Walk arourrd Wroclaw todav and
you'll find proud memoriali to
lhe movemen I wherever you go.
in the form of 150 dimin;dv;
bronze dwarf statuettes set into
pavements across the city.
But when it comes [o street art
inWroclaw, dwarves are just the
start. The walk from my hotel into
the handsome old tovvn takes
me past an arresting collection
of huddled figures breaking out
of the pavemenl the work of
Polish artist Jerzy Kalina. Later,
on the islands in the River Oder.
on Ostr6w Tumski - "Cathedral
Island" - is calmer. Home to the
city's imposing cathedral, as well
as a handful of other religious
buildings, this is a place of peace
and contemplation. As dusk
falls over the city, a lamplighter
appears and goes about his
workunhurried.
This is my cue to leave. I am
due at the Opera Wroclawska,
a grand classicist auditorium
whose commitmentto new and
rarely per{ormed work makes for
a younger than usual audience.
lVroclawCathedral
>
., OlimpicStadium
RAclaWice
Panorarna
'"#
tr ",l ,r r r r ,r rl irrl ,r r r ',r llllrr r ,{ r l y
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l Ir' , I r I r r| | |
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hotts c l tol rl 1i r r'1,. IIrl I l .rl ,r I
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w i l l ri r r,rl rtrtl ,rl r' .1
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Ol rl r, W i I i i .,, rv ,ri l ,rl rlien b;
WHATTOAVOID
.r,;.
Thereare about a dozen
bars in the railwayarchesc
WojciechaBoguslawskleg
10-minutewalksouth of tt
city centre,but makesure
headto those to the east c
Swidnicka,as the onesto t
west are decidedlydingy.
.,,Thetraffic aroundWrocl
"B"MffiffiffiSY$*#T"H*
ArtHotel6.
Hasa fantastic locationjust
tenement building;B0 four-s
elegantrestaurant(0048 71
I come across vibrant murals that
make art out of the unremarkable
buildings they adorn.
Several of the city's other
important cullr-rrirltreats are near
the river. The bunl<cr that houses
the RaclawicePauorirrnl doesn't
lookpromising, but orrcc insidc
and surrounded by tht: hugc
cyclorarna, I am enthnrlled by
this peculiarwork. Prorlu<redat
the end of the l9th centurv. and
brought to Wroclaw from i,wow
after the SecondWorldWar', thc
battle painting is the city's most
popular attraction.
On the south bank of the
Oder, the university's elaborately
decorated Baroque lecture hall,
the l8th-centwy Aula Leopoldina,
is a marvellous sight. My nech
sorr: liom crarilng to adrnile the
Irrrrrtpe-l'oeil
I clirrrlllhc
fresrxrcs,
rrrrivcrsifu's
tower'lirl ir tIilli'rlrrI
v i c w ,t aking in llrr'( )rL 'r';rrrrl
rlr ;
islandsfront :t1,,,t,'.
Th e a l l t t o : ; 1 r l r,'1 1 ';r( i o sri Il tt: r'r vcr
Puro Hotel;,
Locatedin the up-and-comi
nearby;roomsare sleekand
self check-in;funky bar and r
from t52).
Tonight's performance is King
Roger, one of the few Polish
,'
Sofitel lr ,, :
language operas regularly staged
Contemporary
des
on lhe internationa] circuil.
rooms,someoffe
Each summerthe company
gym(3588300;i
stagesa "super-production", the
. wroclaw-old-to
(Wrocklaw)
l; t r gesopr
l lr ; r lirpt
' ' r ' liur r r ; r r r r ti r r
Bnrslar.r
and
(Gdansk)
Rr lir nt l,lir : r lr r r ir rIlq
r r r r r r lr t r l s , r l '
Darrziti
in,,,, TF4ffiffiffiSTffi
perlilrttr<:r's,
l,)r
rrrr;rr':rrr sl;rr rt;trt rt:l;
1945,'rlosirrg''LwowKuchniaMarch6
r t lr Ily , ; r r r ir n; r ls .l 'lr i s
I t t t r l,ln: r 1r
andVilnius
Thisbrightbuffet r
y r : ; r r - pr
' r ; r r r lr r r ' lion,
lo llt : s lt r g o da t
:i,"
and internationalopl
Wrrx l:rw's( )lyrrrllicStatlium,is
allday for mealsand sn€
Vt:rrIi's {./z l\ulln in Maschera
com.pl).
'I'hc perlbrmance finished,
I head to the Rlnek,Wroclaw's
Karczmalwowska, rrl
ancient market sguare,
Decoratedlikean old ruraldir
overlooked by the resplendent
hangingfrom the ceiling,thrs
l4lh-century City HaII, the heart
Polishand Lvovcuisine;enorr
of the old toum and a picturesque
viewsoverthe MarketSquar
and livelyplace foran evening
lwowska.com.pl).
drinh. Engaging positively
with the past while invesl-ing
Spizarnia , i;
l:\t:.1
in the future can be a difficult
ModernEuropeancuisinewit
lr:rlirncingact lbr a city, espct;irrlly i
irr;rangeof classiccocktails,
orrc willr such a turbulcnI rttr:rrl
. r lirrrx I placeto start an everr
I rr:;lory. lirrlttnltelv.Wrrlt:l:rw
l r l r r l y,,l r cct[u l .Wl o d ko w i c
rl,,r'r.il r'villr ylitrtirt:l"rt:.
Tal l tl l rftr:Wro<:l i rw 'sC i tyH a!|,abovc,tr,;rdi ti onal pai ntedhouses ,al x rv c k = = f|= arrrrl ' ' prol e= l "rl w ;rrl ,;rl x rv .ri g!rl
ffiffiYYgruffi?ffiffi&ffi
Sr
Wizzair(0906 959 0002;wizzair.comJ
offers flightsto Wroclawfrom Lutonand
Doncasterfrom f12.99 one wav.Rvanair
(08712460000;ryanai-.c6-)hasf ightsto
WroclawfromvariousUK6;rpots '-onEI7
oneway.FromWroclawairportctty bus
number406 runsevery20 m nuies:: the
centralrailwaystation.
PA#KA#HS
RegentHolidays(OIL792I 1711; regentholidays.co.ukJ
offers a three-night
packageto Wroclawfrom €325 per person.
includingb&b and returnflight.
TF.*ffiB*4$AffitrTffiA#K
OThere's
a rowdy,
tavernatmosphere
inthewood-panelled
barat Spiz
(Rynek-Ratusz
2; 004877 3447225;spiz.plJ,
a microbrewery
and
restaurant
beneaththe CitvHall.
o Climbthe belltowerof SfElisabeth's
forfantasticviewsover
Church
the MarketSquare
andoldtown.
o Forfreshproduce,
curedmeats,traditional
sweetsandcheap
goods,the HalaTargowa
(Piaskowa
household
17Jisa shoppeisparadise
withina brutalistconcreteshell.
(ul.Swidnicka
oOperaWroclawska
35;3445779;opera.wroclaw.pl)
presents
bothclassical
andcontemporary
opera.Verdi's
UnBallorn
"super-production",
Maschera,
thisyear'sopen-air
takesplaceat the
Olympic
StadiumonJune15and17 (Aleja
lgnacego
JanaPaderewskiego
35;ticketsviaOperaWroclawskaJ.
OFreeWi-Fi
isavailable
inbarsandcaf6salloverthe citv.
WHATTOAVOID
r Thereareabouta dozen
barsinthe railway
archeson
Wojciecha
Boguslawskiego,
a
10-minute
walksouthof the
citycentre,butmakesureyou
headro thoseto theeastof
Swidnicka,
astheonesto the
westaredecidedly
dingy.
ThetrafflcaroundWroclaw's
ringroadsisoftenveryslow
moving,
soifs bestto a,yoid
taxis
at rushhour.
Tramsarethefastestwayto
get around,
butdon'tget caught
ort: youneedto buytickets
beforeboarding,
eitherfrom
mostnewsstandsor machines
at the largertramstops.
YF{H##STffi#Y'ffi$.S
ArtHotel
Hasa fantastic locationjust off the MarketSquarein a restored
tenementbuilding;
B0four-starrooms,eachindividually
decorated;
elegantrestaurant[004871 787 740O,arthotel.pl;from
€37J.
Puro Hotel
Locatedin the up-and-coming
Jewishquarter,with plenty of great bars
nearby;roomsaresleekand supermodern;savetime on arrivalwith
selfcheck-in;funky bar and restaurant(772 5100; purohotel.pl;
rrom L5zt.
DIDYOU
KNOW?
S o f i t e l ', :
Contemporarydesignin the heart of the oldtown;five-star
rooms,some offeringviewsof St Elisabeth'sChurch;spa and
s,.,m1'-?58
8300:accorhotels.com/pllhotel-5345-sofitel-.
a -
-:
:..- - :c
-
Kucfrnia t'{arch6
: _ < ,,*
ci
:
_,
=- : : .', _g tal g e
a - -:
S^
l p i-r:-o:,n s :i : - a 's e r : e r i e n t v a l u e n o s a 3 e :
:-: -:e"iarionao
a cay foi'meaisandsnacksfui.Sy,',onrcka
53;343 9565:marche
com.plJ.
KarczmaLwowska
Decoratedlikean oldruraldiningroom,completewrth rlnches of hops
hangingfrom the ceiling,
this eccentricplacespeca ses rntraditional
Polishand Lvovcuisine;enormousportionscallfor larg==opetites;good
viewsoverthe MarketSquare;delicious
dumplings(Ryrsaa:343 9BB7;
lwowska.com.pl).
ilrr$vilerr.:itionalpaintedhouses,aboveleft,anda"protest"dwarf,aboveright
Spizarnia i r :,
ModernEuropeancuisinewith somedishesfrom farther afle d thrown
in;range.ofclassiccocktailsavailable,includingcoffeeswith a tipple;
a goodplaceto start an eveningbeforeexploringthe other barson this
trendy street (ul.Wlodkowica27; 34I 4166;spizarnia.wroclaw.pl).