As last year was full of travel, this year I had spent all my time in Ireland or Germany so far. Only two countries in one year? I could not stand it – so when my good friend from university, and now colleague, Joachim offered me to visit him and my team lead told me I could work from the Wroclaw (or in German: Breslau) office for a few days, I did not hesitate to book a flight (thank you Ryanair).
I did not know what to expect. My only association with Wroclaw is my grandma, who was born there and spent her childhood in the city. I had always imagined it to be a fairytale small, sleepy town with old houses and good, savoury food. Well the houses were there, the food as well, but it was not as small and sleepy as I had expected.
I learned that the first night on the taxi drive. Ok, the airport is small and not really state of the art, but as soon as you arrive in town, you see the history in every building and as I was welcomed with a bottle of vodka by Joachim and some other colleagues, I already had a good understanding of the savoir-vivre in this vibrant place.
If going to work the first day was hard and I was surprised how productive I was, the second day should hold even more in store for me. After work we headed downtown to the Thursday night karaoke with my dear Wroclaw-colleagues (internally: Wrooglers). At midnight we were already thinking about going home, but then somebody had the idea to head to Wroclaw’s well-known party-place “Manana”. Being used to going out in Dublin, where basically the “clubs” and “bars” are mostly pubs with a dancefloors – sorry to say this, I still like it – I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere in this student bar of choice. The dancefloor is small, the drinks are cheap, the girls are stunningly beautiful. In short: night one was awesome (stay with me on the “How I met your mother”-references).
Surprisingly, work on Friday was pretty productive as well, and soon, the next night had arrived. Actually, Joachim and I wanted to spend the evening with a DVD and some beers at home. That was until we were there, had had some food and did not feel like staying in on a Friday night. So we headed to the Rynek (central place in Wroclaw) and to a club named Tabasco – yet another nice nightclub with a fun atmosphere and a built-in guarantee for a long night. In one word…we were on the way, where Saturday night should top it off: Legen… wait for it…dary!
After this, I had to catch up on the sightseeing part. My grandma’s good old times-stories had painted a picture of Breslau that was yet to be filled with reality. So on a stroll around the old town and a view from the cathedral, I gained my own impression – which was topped off by the picturesque view of the nice Christmas market (reminiscent of the “Nürnberger Christkindlsmarkt”, but much smaller) in front of the Ratusz. A mulled wine to warm us up and traditional grilled goat cheese from the Tatra mountains (Oszypek) made the winter feeling complete. Joachim and I had already sung “Last Christmas” at karaoke – mind you , I hate this song – so now Christmas can come. But first things first: What to do on a Saturday night in a hip Polish city? Yes, we went to another club. And as we had our dear Polish colleague Magda and Dominik, one of my Dublin coworkers and a good Polish-speaker, with us, it should get even more intense.
When we arrived at Joachim’s place, the birds already started to sing – and I am not only talking about his pets. I fell in my bed and had to gain strengths for the last chapter on Sunday: A relaxed stroll around town, good food at a traditional restaurant and an adrenaline rush to top my Wroclaw-experience off: A night at the casino. I am not a huge gambler, so I usually invest some money that I am willing to lose (and think about the free drink you usually get in those temples of amusement) and start playing roulette without too much hope. This night, it should be a little different. I had a lucky day, and after I had doubled my 100 Sloty (around 25 Euro), I took my investment out and started playing like a mad man with the rest. I usually stick with betting on red or black or some combinations, but this time I went the full risk – in the end, I had guessed the right number eight times (what are the odds?) and quadrupled my money. Right time to go and call it a night – so I could even get some nice presents for my grandma “for free” the next day.
In summary this was the best weekend I have had this year and I can not wait to see this great city again – yes, I fell in love with WrocLOVE!
The town house and the Christmas market
View over Wroclaw 1
View over Wroclaw 2
The cathedral
Google in Wroclaw
My host and the old twon
