Blogging Ottinger (tim)What to See in Wroclaw
The main things that I loved visiting were the town square (Rynek) and the Cathedral Island (Ostrow Tumski, but with an accent over the second O). A quick google image search can show you what they look like, but not really how they feel.
The city is very busy. There is a lot of foot traffic, automobile traffic, bus traffic, and electric train routes going everywhere. It looks like someone could live here quite comfortably with no automobile at all. The taxis are very fast, which might give you a white-knuckle experience the first time or two, but they are very skillful also. You can trust them.
In the middle of the city is the Rynek, which is beautiful, but which is also a great big party going on all the time. People are walking, sight-seeing, meeting friends, laughing, dating, watching the street performers, and eating and drinking. There is a lot of outdoor seating, and the weekends draw very large crowds of diners. There is a lot of Italian and Greek food on the square, and some traditional Polish. For several blocks outside the square there is an abundance of good food and shops. One of the best we found was only a block or two away and had killer pierogi (meat & veg dumplings). A hazard of being here is that all the food is comfort food, and one can easily order more than he needs and then finish it all.
Contrast this to Cathedral Island (Ostrow Tumski) where there are a number of Catholic cathedrals all nearly butted together. The churches and art are very old and beautiful. Clearly I missed out on a lot of the wonder by not being able to read the plaques and not knowing the stories behind the men who were commemorated with statues. A guide might have been useful. The feeling on the island and on the park across the river is completely peaceful. It is beautiful, and frozen in time.
So one can choose their own way to unwind by visiting either of these two places. Between the two are many shops, including specialty pastry shops and icecream stops. It’s hard to go wrong.
