Jeremy and I are bopping around Europe for 6 weeks. So far we’ve spent 2 nights in Milan, 3 nights in Budapest, 1 night in Gyor, 2 nights in Bratislava, 3 nights in Vienna, and 3 nights in Prague. Next stop… Poland!
My great grandparents immigrated to the United States from Poland many moons ago. I don’t speak a lick of the language or know much about the country’s history. But I do know a thing or two about pierogis and polka. I have fond memories of being a kid watching “the adults” uproariously play cards while knocking back beers with some rusty record pumping out polka music playing in the background. My grandma would be in the kitchen whipping up stroganoff or gołąbki. My grandpa would get up and start dancing.
I have no doubts realty was quite different from my memory. But I’m happy to bask in the happy nostalgia.
Genetically, I’m 50% Polish. Culturally, I’d give myself perhaps a .5%. While it’s not a big part of my life, I’ve always had a yen to experience Poland. So when Jeremy and were plotting our Central Europe route, it seems like it was finally my moment to return to the homeland.
While in Prague, we looked at a map and saw “Wroclaw.” It looked quaint. The bus ride wasn’t horribly long. And there was a hotel for under $50 a night. The beauty of unplanned travel is the spontaneity it allows.
“I guess we’re going to Wroclaw!”
A little history of Wroclaw…
Wroclaw’s story begins in the 10th century CE. It was conveniently located at the crossroads of two major trade routes: one connecting the Baltic Sea to the Roman Empire, and the other connecting the Black Sea to Western Europe. From there, the story gets complicated. Check out this time line below that I snagged from Wikipedia.
The city’s structure ebbed and flowed throughout all the centuries, but it was totally devastated during WWII. In 1933, the city was called Breslau, and was a “model Nazi city with a staggering 200,000 of its citizens voting for Hitler…” It wasn’t in the firing line of Allied air raids, and the population dramatically boomed as Germans sought a safe haven.
Things shifted on August 24th, 1944 when Hitler declared the city “a closed military fortress” against advancing Soviet troops. The city was well fortified physically with canals and walls. But the troops were inexperienced and unprepared, which a big chunk being young Nazis. A Soviet attack was imminent, but the captain, Hanke, refused to start evacuating civilians until mid-January 1945. The middle of winter isn’t an ideal time to travel outside, and it’s estimated that 100,000 people froze to death during the attempted evacuation. There are even accounts of children getting trampled to death at train stations. The city spun into a panic, and it was too late.
February 16th 1945, the Soviets launched a massive attack in the Siege of Breslau. It was a bloody, brutal battle that lasted for nearly three months. Tens of thousands of soldiers died, and one source says that 170,000 civilians were killed. On top of all the death, the city was left destroyed.
With German rule over, the city was renamed “Wroclaw”, and the rebuilding and de-Germanizing began.
(Read more HERE, HERE, and HERE)
Initial Impressions
Colorful buildings. A big, vibrant central plaza. Little gnome statues everywhere. People wave at cars who let them cross the streets, and any eye contact is met with a friendly nod. There are dozens of aesthetically pleasing restaurants with al fresco dining. But unlike every other old town we’ve been to, there’s no “Authentic Polish Food Here!” signs with rows of venues serving up the same 5 dishes. It feels real. I get a sense that Wroclaw is a popular destination for domestic travel. Not so much international.
I instantly love it. Even if I can’t pronounce it (Vrohts-wahf.
Where We Stayed During Our 2 Nights in Wroclaw
We found Campanile Hotel for just under $40USD a night. Given the dirt cheap cost compared to other Wroclaw hotels, I assumed it’d be a dump. I was shocked to find that it was clean and modern with a comfortable, spacious room. No fridge, but at least there was a kettle.
The location was a 10 minute walk to the Old Town, and I think it was an incredible value for our 2 nights in Wroclaw.
What We Ate in Wroclaw
Usually, this is the point in my travel blogs where I’d have a section on what we did. But Wroclow felt like a place to experience, not a place to tour. And my favorite way to experience a place is through the food. We had some huge foodie wins during our 2 nights in Wroclaw, and here’s the scoop on places and bites you can’t miss!
Pierogis from Bar Pierożek
Getting amazing pierogis was Wroclaw foodie mission #1. And whoa baby did Bar Pierożek deliver. It’s a no-frills spot that serves fresh, affordable food. We got the bacon and potato pierogis as well as a lentil pierogi.
The dough was soft and podgy with just enough chew. I appreciated the texture (and my stomach appreciated the fiber) from the lentil pierogis. But the potato and bacon stole the show. The texture was soft, yet hearty, and the bacon added salt, fat, and flavor.
Two orders of pierogis with sides of beets and coleslaw came to $13.41USD
If you’re looking for epic, cheap pierogis in Wroclaw, you simply can’t miss Bar Pierożek.
A Polish Feast from Restauracja Kurna Chata
Restauracja Kurna Chata has a rustic, homey ambiance without being kitschy. The menu is like a book, and if there’s a Polish dish you want, I bet you they have it. (Check out the menu HERE).
We started out with the gołąbki, which is a stuffed cabbage roll. It was filled with meat and rice, and while the filling was a bit bland, the tomato sauce on top was light and bright. The same meat was in the order of fried pierogi— I was happy to try it, but I prefer pan fried or steamed pierogis. (And between you and me, the filling was too dry.)
The highlight of the meal were the potato dumplings (kluski śląskie) with a forest mushroom sauce, beats, and pickled cucumber. This Polish dish is from the Silesia region of Poland and Germany, and the dumplings reminded me of giant gnocchi. They had an amazing, chewy texture that made putting the fork down impossible.
We also got a couple beers, and the whole meal was $46.56USD.
Pizza from Iggy Pizza
“Pizza in Poland?!” Hear me out… I think a unique way to experience a culture is to try their take on foreign dishes. After reading a couple bloggers recommend Iggy Pizza, we knew we had to give it a try. We got two Neapolitan pies that exceeded expectations. The crust was perfectly thin with just enough chew, and the ingredients were outrageously fresh. Plus, both pizzas came to a total of just under $21USD.
Zapiekanka from Bar Witek
Zapiekanka is a Polish street food that came about in the 1970s. The Polish United Workers’ Party permitted limited private enterprise in the catering industry, which led to a boom in “small gastronomy.” It took form via food stands during the food shortages of the 1980s. The foods were simple, cheap, and calorically dense– exactly what you need to get through hard times. Zapiekanka was one of such foods.
It’s simply a toasted open face sandwich that’s made on a long bread roll or baguette. Mushrooms and cheese are the classic topping, but today, you can get all sorts of combos. We went to Bar Witek, and got one that had mushrooms, cheese, sausage, jalapeños, and some sort of hot sauce. It was simple, tasty, and just under $5usd.
Paczki from Dobra Pączkarnia
Paczki are so much more than “a Polish doughnut.” They are made from a yeast dough that has butter, eggs, sugar, milk, and flour. Doughnuts, on the other hand, are made from a more cake like dough that has fewer wet ingredients. This gives paczki a denser, richer, brioche like texture.
After eating one, I can’t comprehend why there are so many doughnut shops in NYC when there should in fact be Packzi shops. They have an amazing melt-in-your-mouth texture hours after being fried—- something you can only get with doughnuts when they jump from the fryer to your mouth.
We tried them at Dobra Pączkarnia, which happens to be a chain across Poland. They were so darn amazing that we went back the next day.
Total Cost of Our 2 Nights in Wroclaw
Hotel: $76.65USD
Bus Ride from Prague: $71.95USD
Food: $124.86USD
Groceries: $16.34
Attractions: None
Transport: $21USD
Total: $310.80
Final Thoughts on Our 2 Nights Wroclaw, Poland
Wroclaw, Poland has been my favorite stop on our Euro trip.
Next stop… Krakow!
