Wrocław

Rounding out our trip to Poland last summer was a visit to the city of Wrocław. Hard to remember it's not pronounced rock-law, but something like vrotz-wav. Anyways, since we were flying out of the airport there, we decided to stay 24 hours to check the place out. It actually ended up being more than enough time to see the city. Unlike in Krakow and Warsaw, it didn't feel like we had a bunch of things to see before our time was up. We honestly spent about a quarter of our time eating and drinking. Had to cram in as many pierogis as possible before heading back to Galicia!

Wrocław's old Town Hall

Like our other stops, Wrocław's Old Town was full of different pastel hues. I'm seeing a theme here in Polish architecture. Surprisingly, the center of attention in the main square is not a Cathedral as per usual, but the old City Hall. The Gothic structure is now an art museum. As we did the rounds, we noted the main plaza and a conjoined plaza were brimming with eateries and terraces. Feeling we had the luxury of time to spare, we plopped down on a patio to have a beer while taking in the colors.

Sufragette gnome

A curious part of Wrocław is the gnome population. Over two dozen bronze statues of gnomes can be found scattered throughout the city. Each is frozen doing something different: drinking, sleeping, reading, riding a balloon animal, etc. There are even special needs gnomes! My personal favorite was a gnome seeking ¨Votes for Women.¨ Spotting the tiny statues made sightseeing more entertaining.

Outside the Old Town by the riverside is a nice green area to walk. Nearby we checked out some churches (one with an elaborate painted ceiling), a bridge loaded with locks (placed by couples in love), and the market. And that's how we spent our last hours in Poland. Of course, there is still more to be seen. Between it being the ¨Old Country¨ with homey foods, and everything being so inexpensive, a trip back to Poland is certainly a possibility. 

Historic Krakow: A (Friend's) Storybook Wedding

Back to our trip to Poland for a friend's wedding last summer...

Inside the church

While Warsaw was pretty and colorful, Krakow's Old Town was like a fairy tale. An idyllic place for a wedding. When we arrived from the train station, we had to cross the enormous main plaza-- the biggest market square in Europe-- with its long Renaissance market building (Cloth Hall) in the middle. Eleven streets converge to make this square! In one corner is a brick clock tower, and in the opposite a brick church. As we traversed the plaza, we had to be careful to avoid horse-drawn carriages trotting with happy couples in tow. A few hours later, in another Krakovian church, another happy couple was tying the knot. The inside of the church was decked in gold, and during the ceremony tourists popped in to take pictures. Like paparazzi at a royal wedding! And no fairy tale wedding would be complete without the couple being whisked away in their very own horse-drawn carriage. The rest of us walked a few minutes by the riverside to get to the reception. It was held on a roof with amazing views of the Vistula River and Wawel Castle. 

View of Wawel from the reception

What's the difference between a Polish wedding and an American one anyways? Based on my extensive research--that is, attending one Polish/American wedding in Poland hehe-- there are only a few striking differences. Once gathered for the reception, there was a toast in honor of the bride and groom. The usual. Except, afterwards the couple broke their glasses on the the floor and then cleaned it up. Sounds like wedding traditions in other countries, representing working together in the years ahead. The other main difference was that after dinner they put a bottle of vodka on each table. I wasn't surprised per se. After all, it's Poland! However the extra vodka bottles seemed extravagant on top of the open bar. Nothing wrong with that! Na Zdrowie! Booze wasn't the only thing available all night long. Nowadays it seems somewhat common at weddings to have a snack bar to replace any calories lost dancing in the hours after dinner. At this wedding, in addition to that, they had two different sit-down meals after dinner, before and after midnight. One of those was my new favorite soup, zurek.

A corner of Krakow's Market Square

Observing the university
 courtyard

Despite having plenty of vodka at our disposal all night, we were able to do some sightseeing the next day. (Perhaps there's a difference between Galician and Polish weddings. We the stragglers left at 3:30. In Galicia the stragglers last past dawn. Or so I've heard.) Everywhere you look, Krakow feels historic. No wonder the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vestiges of the past are spread out further than just the expansive Old Town. Even when we ventured out, seemingly far from the historic attractions, we came across a centuries-old church. In a corner of it there is a small metal grid. Unnoticeable, if not for the little sign. According to legend, it's protecting what is supposed to be the footprint of Queen Jadwiga. In the 14th century, the young queen took pity on a poor construction worker and stuck her foot in the wet cement so that he could sell the gold clasp from her shoe. Her footprint remained. This was only one of many historic sites we came across. We also stopped by a small college courtyard from one of Eastern Europe's oldest universities. Another curious visit was underneath the Cloth Hall in the main plaza. The underground museum is all about the history of Krakow and definitely worth the visit (especially since it just happened to be free the day we went). It was very interesting and interactive. Among other things, we got to compare our statures to people in the Middle Ages, as well as weigh ourselves using their units of measurement.

Inside the market building and above the Rynek Underground 

Inside Wawel

But the clear gem of Krakow is perched atop a hill, behind fortress gates. That's the Royal Complex of Wawel. A castle, tower, palace, gardens, cathedral, artifacts, fire-breathing dragon: Wawel's got it all! It made for a lovely afternoon going on a tour and wandering around the gardens and courtyards.

Krakow also has a lot of Jewish history. Kazimierz is the Jewish quarter right outside the Old Town, housing synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, and a lot of cool restaurants and bars. One such restaurant was called GALICIJA. We didn't go in, but appreciated the connection. Instead we opted for decked-out pizza baguettes from a stand in Kazimierz's lively flea market. Just on the other side of the river from Kazimierz are two more sites related to the wrong side of Jewish history. Unfortunately Schindler's Factory was sold out for the day, but we did get to check out The Eagle Pharmacy. This now-museum was right in the middle of the ghetto that the Nazis created. The pharmacy remains as it did in the 1940s, except now the drawers all have artifacts or information related to the ghetto and Nazi invasion.

Overall, I really enjoyed Krakow and could see myself living there, if only for a short time. There were so many things left to explore! And it has plenty of greenery, including a park that surrounds the Old Town. Plus I finally found my ideal paczek shop. Donuts everyday! 

Vamos Para Noia!

Let's go to Noia! Sounds funnier in Galician because it's like ¨let's go, paranoia!¨

Even though plane rides for me are out of the question these days, living in Galicia (aka Galifornia) means there are still plenty of awesome getaway options close to home. This weekend we visited Noia and its surroundings, smack dab in the middle of Galicia's west coast.

San Martiño and its cursed,
unfinished tower

Noia's Old Town is true to its name, full of beautiful sandstone buildings (including pazos!) dating back to the Middle Ages and beyond. A place to remind me, I'm in Europe! Everything is historic here! We spent our first evening there walking around the pedestrian-only center. There are two noteworthy churches. San Martiño is lopsided, and legend has it that whoever tries to build the second tower is met with a grim demise. Apparently the original builder died before it could be finished, and then a movie director who had had a fake tower constructed for the sake of his film died on the last day of shooting. The other church, Santa Mariña A Nova, has a tremendous collection of stone tomb covers. They are carved with symbols either associated with the person's trade or the family crest. Very cool! The adjoined cemetery is also for some reason one of the most important in Spain.

Old hydroelectric plant by Palacios

A few miles inland from Noia are more natural and man-made landmarks. First, an early morning (by Spanish standards) visit to the still-active hydroelectric plant. Well, we got a bit lost and actually walked around the current plant when what we really wanted to see was the original building from the 1920s. It was designed by Antonio Palacios, the same Galician who went on to design-- among other things-- O Carballiño's unexpectedly large cathedral ; the Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid's current city hall; and the hotel at the Spa in Mondariz. When we finally located the building and surrounding park, it was so peaceful. The river was completely still. The only other people there were a handful of fishermen. There are three possible hikes starting from the park, but we stuck to crossing the small suspension bridge and walking along the river for a few minutes before going back. Just in time, because although it was sunny it had started to drizzle.

Long before the Tambre River's power was harnessed to create electricty, it was a place to fish. (It still is, as a matter of fact.) Especially lamprey. In the Middle Ages this specific section of the river supplied a local monastery with fish. And that was our next stop: San Xusto de Toxosoutos. This time there was a marked trail which I assumed led to the waterfall I had read about while researching the area. We trekked mostly downhill for about an hour, and still no waterfall in sight. We decided to turn around as we weren't exactly prepared for a hike, and certainly weren't convinced that it actually led to the waterfall. Lo and behold, once we made it back up the hill to the monastery, we discovered the waterfall was actually right behind the monastery, in the opposite direction of our little trek. Oops. But hey, at least we got some exercise in before lunch. Right in front of the beach we ate cockles --Noia's specialty-- and squid croquetas. Black like tar, but a thousand times tastier!

Tranquilidade: Mosteiro de Toxosoutos

After lunch we were set to carry out my favorite coastal ritual: the beach nap. But once we put our towels down on the beach in front of the restaurant, the wind picked up and grey clouds covered the sky. We packed up, and although I was so sleepy and grumpy I just wanted to go back to the hotel, we drove in search of those clear, blue skies that could be seen beyond the rain clouds. Amazingly, after about 30 minutes, we did indeed find a beach under the sun! And what a beach to come across-- A Praia das Furnas. This ¨beach of caverns or grottoes¨ has massive, dark rock formations which create a small watering hole protected from the wild sea. Handy because the constant white-capped waves sure made the scenery picture-perfect, but after going in only up to my ankles, I could feel the tide wanted to drag me away. And technically it's not even part of the Costa da Morte (the Death Coast)! In addition to the beach's beauty, it is well-known as the place where Ramón Sampedro (who the movie Mar Adentro is based on) became quadriplegic after an accident.

On top of the crag/cavern, the ocean below in the background,
small pool in the foreground

On Sunday we wrapped up our getaway at Noia's outdoor market. Suddenly the Old Town and riverside were full of dozens of stands selling everything from apparel to kitchenware to food. It wasn't too crowded, so everyone could practice social distancing while perusing the wares. A burger at yet another beach bar-- empty because of the gusty wind-- was our last hoorah in Noia before heading home.