Wrocław: a weekend in Silesia in the city of dwarfs

Imagine visiting a country just because the plane ticket was so cheap and you were out of ideas, but your restless feet needed to take you somewhere. It might happen that you end up in a place you don’t like, that you had never thought of visiting before. Well, fasten your seat belt, because I ended up in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe: Wrocław, Poland.

There are so many countries on my bucket list that Poland was actually not even in my top 10, but it is now in my top 10 countries that I absolutely love.

Wrocław, the largest city in Silesia, looks like a fairytale for its typical central-European architecture.

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One of the very first things to do here is to look for all the dwarfs around the city. I found 5 or 6 there and they commemorate the anti-regime organization Orange Alternative, that in the 1980s symbolically painted dwarfs as a form of protest against the Stalinist communist regime.

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The architecture is incredible, the people are incredible and the food, guess what, is incredible too.

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Polish cuisine was a real surprise: pierogi, kielbasa, oscypek, bigos… dishes to die for! I didn’t expect to gain 2 kg per week, but it happened and I couldn’t be happier.

The first restaurant that I tried is called Chatka Przy Jatkach, in the heart of Wrocław, and has a typical Polish menu. Needless to say that I had most of my meals over there. Moreover, their restaurant really looks amazing and makes you feel like you’re living in another century. This is their Facebook page.

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Wielkie dzięki!

Göteborg / Gothenburg

I’m sitting on the slowest train ever (I’m currently in Italy) and I just heard a girl speaking Swedish. Her accent is clearly from Göteborg (or Gothenburg in English) and it reminded me of the great time I had there in August. Göteborg is Sweden’s largest city after Stockholm and I traveled there with my best friend. I spent one week in Göteborg and also, in this case, it was an extremely low-cost trip: 25€ per ticket! We didn’t go to any hostel this time since (sorry, again) hostels in Sweden tend to be expensive if not booked with some months in advance. This time, we tried Airbnb, a great alternative to “usual” accommodations. We didn’t pay more than 15€ per night and our apartment was incredible. The host is a photographer and has traveled a lot, he clearly has got an eye for design.

WHAT’S EMBLEMATIC?

• LISEBERG PARK

This amusement park is the most famous in Sweden and it’s also the biggest one in the whole Scandinavian peninsula. If you’re brave enough, you should try the tallest fall ride in Europe, called “AtmosFear”. Liseberg is perfect for both children and adults, especially in summer. The park is open every day from May to August (with some exceptions though) and in December it hosts a Christmas market. I need to go there in December, I love Christmas markets!

• BOTANICAL GARDEN

The best place to visit on sunny days! If you’re interested in science, nature or even if you’re actually not so fond of gardens… you will love Gothenburg’s botanical gardens. The ideal itinerary to getting there would be: a visit to the Museum of Natural history, a walk through the most beautiful park I’ve ever seen and then a couple of hours at the trädgården.
The entrance is free, though I would recommend leaving at least some coins at the entrance in order to help the city keep this gem as beautiful as it is. I’d also recommend a fika at AnyDay (more info here), 3 minutes walking from the entrance. Here you can see some pictures I took there. The view, if you get to the top, is breathtaking!

 

 

• UNIVERSEUM

It doesn’t matter how old you are, Universeum is worth a visit! It’s basically science made fun for all ages. My favorite section was the one dedicated to the rainforest (Regnskogen) because it really felt like being in a real one. Monkeys and all the other animals seemed to live happily and freely. Honestly, this is just an impression that I had, since I can’t tell if this is 100% true or if there are things that I don’t know. The Ocean zone is my second favorite and I happened to be there while a shark was being fed… amazing! It takes at least four hours to visit Universeum and the price is 250 SEK for adults and 195 SEK below age 16. There are reductions for families and the price actually varies according to the season, so it’s better to check this page.

FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION

This was the 6^th time to Sweden and again on a budget. So I avoided restaurants, except on Fredagstaco (which is an interesting custom in Sweden and moreover in Norway). ICA (a supermarket chain) was my only option in Göteborg. Same for accommodation: Airbnb is something that I should use more.

PÅ SVENSKA:

Göteborg är L I V L I G. Musik verkar vara viktigt här och jag hade intrycket att vara i en ung stad. Kanske tenderar göteborgarna att vara mer öppna med turister, men jag får inte säga det ännu för jag behöver att resa lite mer till Sverige och lära känna mer svenskar. Hoppas jag kan göra det snart igen! Tack Göteborg, du var helt fantastisk!

Post-scriptum tip: I bought the tickets through http://www.ryanair.com/

Guide to Göteborg (Gothenburg)

I’m sitting on the slowest train ever (I’m currently in Italy) and I just heard a girl speaking Swedish. Her accent is clearly from Göteborg (or Gothenburg in English) and it reminded me of the great time I had there in August. Göteborg is Sweden’s largest city after Stockholm and I traveled there with my best friend. I spent one week in Göteborg and also, in this case, it was an extremely low-cost trip: 25€ per ticket! We didn’t go to any hostel this time since (sorry, again) hostels in Sweden tend to be expensive if not booked with some months in advance. This time, we tried Airbnb, a great alternative to “usual” accommodations. We didn’t pay more than 15€ per night and our apartment was incredible. The host is a photographer and has traveled a lot, he clearly has got an eye for design.

WHAT’S EMBLEMATIC?

• LISEBERG PARK

This amusement park is the most famous in Sweden and it’s also the biggest one in the whole Scandinavian peninsula. If you’re brave enough, you should try the tallest fall ride in Europe, called “AtmosFear”. Liseberg is perfect for both children and adults, especially in summer. The park is open every day from May to August (with some exceptions though) and in December it hosts a Christmas market. I need to go there in December, I love Christmas markets!

• BOTANICAL GARDEN

The best place to visit on sunny days! If you’re interested in science, nature or even if you’re actually not so fond of gardens… you will love Gothenburg’s botanical gardens. The ideal itinerary to getting there would be: a visit to the Museum of Natural history, a walk through the most beautiful park I’ve ever seen and then a couple of hours at the trädgården.
The entrance is free, though I would recommend leaving at least some coins at the entrance in order to help the city keep this gem as beautiful as it is. I’d also recommend a fika at AnyDay (more info here), 3 minutes walking from the entrance. Here you can see some pictures I took there. The view, if you get to the top, is breathtaking!

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• 

• UNIVERSEUM

It doesn’t matter how old you are, Universeum is worth a visit! It’s basically science made fun for all ages. My favorite section was the one dedicated to the rainforest (Regnskogen) because it really felt like being in a real one. Monkeys and all the other animals seemed to live happily and freely. Honestly, this is just an impression that I had, since I can’t tell if this is 100% true or if there are things that I don’t know. The Ocean zone is my second favorite and I happened to be there while a shark was being fed… amazing! It takes at least four hours to visit Universeum and the price is 250 SEK for adults and 195 SEK below age 16. There are reductions for families and the price actually varies according to the season, so it’s better to check this page.

FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION

This was the 6^th time to Sweden and again on a budget. So I avoided restaurants, except on Fredagstaco (which is an interesting custom in Sweden and moreover in Norway). ICA (a supermarket chain) was my only option in Göteborg. Same for accommodation: Airbnb is something that I should use more.