Poland, Day 12: A Train-Seat Battle and Wrocław’s Dwarfs
Ksenia wanted me to write down the fun of getting to Wrocław. Getting to the station was fine. Finding our seats was not. Our tickets said first class, second cabin; the train seemed to say first class, first cabin, then first class, third cabin. The conductor pointed us to cabin one. Someone was already there, standing in the doorway.
He moved after a few words, but when the people who actually owned the seats arrived, he still wouldn’t put his suitcase up or get out of the doorway. He suggested putting his bags with ours. I knew enough Polish to communicate “Nie!” The conductor eventually found seats in the back for the displaced passengers, but he had no plan for what would happen if the ticket holders arrived. Finally seated, we wanted only air conditioning. We wouldn’t get it for the five-hour ride.
In Wrocław we walked around the center and its new fountain, saw the Pan Tadeusz building, a little bear statue with a long tongue, and several of the small brass dwarf statues scattered around town. There are hundreds of them. We met Marcin and Filip, wandered around the university, and crossed the red bridge. We ate at Karczma Lwowska: delicious kielbasa and potatoes, plus a cold, light beer.
Read the Poland trip summary.
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