You see, Wroclaw has a fascination with gnomes. That's right, gnomes. The little garden creatures that adorn many yards and occasionally help plan vacations online. In Wroclaw, they're everywhere.
When Nina first told me about the Wroclaw gnomes, I was incredulous. What kind of city is obsessed with little bearded men? More importantly, why gnomes?
Here's why...During the 80's, while Poland was still under Communist rule, a peaceful protest group out of Wroclaw, called the Orange Alternative, began using the gnome as its signature throughout the city. Apparently, any anti-communist graffiti or art was painted over by the communists. When the Orange Alternative saw the communist handiwork, they retaliated by painting gnomes over the covered graffiti. Thus, the Wroclaw gnome affiliation was born.
Today, you can find gnome statues everywhere in Wroclaw! They're symbolic, whimsical, and have definitely found a place in my heart. :)
But enough history, let's get back to the food!
I realize that some of you may not believe me when I say that breakfasts were quite boring. Here's proof.
Satisfied? I never was. But alas, we musn't dwell on lousy breakfasts...
During our endless bus ride to reach Wroclaw, we stopped at yet another gas station to refuel on junk food. (Because that's good for us...) This time, Mom and I went for potato chips. It was a dangerous choice, I know, because once you start eating potato chips, you simply can't stop.
We had particular fun with these because we spent the better part of five minutes trying to reason whether 'solony' was 'salt' or not, only to have the girl at the cash register point to the bottom of the bag, where it was written in English. Oh well...
This juice is so much better than any other juice you can find. It's like grape, but really not. The brand Cappy makes it the best, but the gas station only had this kind, so I compromised. The flavor is a little sweet and a little bitter. You will really have to try some black currant juice on your own to fully understand, as I am doing a terrible job of describing it!
Just know that it's delicious and should be on your things-to-drink list. (And as an added bonus, it's pretty readily accessible. We just bought some from Shop-Rite the other day. Not Cappy, but it's better than nothing! And Wegmans has Ribena, but that's a whole 'nother blog post...)
We arrived in Wroclaw ready to eat! This was a group-dinner night, so Ela led us to the market square, where we were seated in the outdoor dining area of a restaurant.
The first course was a salad.
I think we decided that the white tubes were asparagus. This was a strange salad, and as I recall, I merely nibbled it to get a taste of what it was. The butter at the bottom of the picture, however, was very helpful for buttering my bread.
Have I mentioned before that Polish bread is wonderful? It really is. When in doubt, go for the bread. Somehow, no matter where you are, it always manages to taste homemade. Why do we not have bread like that at home?!?
The second course was, for Mom and I, bland chicken with vegetables. Yum! I'm just confused as to why not eating pork means you get stuck with bland chicken at some places. We eat potato cakes and pierogies, too!!
After this meal, I decided that if I ever eat another boiled potato with dill, it will be too soon. You see, they eat boiled potatoes in Germany. They eat boiled potatoes in Poland. How many times can you boil a potato, put dill on it, and think it's exciting? I think I reached my limit on this one.
But there's always dessert!
This was another one of those pretty-but-not-sweet desserts that have been tempting us the whole trip. Ah well... At least we always have our lody!
That night, we went to the coolest ice cream shop ever. They had to have had at least 50 different flavors. Unfortunately, I only picked one good one, chocolate. And it was on top, too, so I ate it first and was left with Black Currant. Although I love the juice (hence the ode to it above) the ice cream was so tart it made my lips pucker!
Regardless, the ice cream place was delicious and the perfect way to end the day. But, a word to the wise: always get Chocolate ice cream in Europe. It will amaze you.
As I look back on this blog post, I realize that the food in Wroclaw was nowhere near the best food we ate in Poland. So why was this one of my favorite cities? Well, sometimes it's not just the food that influences your opinion of a new place (shocker!). It's the sights, the sounds, and the experiences you have, outside of those around the dinner table.
In Wroclaw, I felt so alive. The city has a great pulse, especially in the evening when the square is filled with performers and other awe-struck visitors like you. There's no hurry or stress as you walk around, enjoying the way the perfect night air kisses your face. It's magical. And I hope I'll be able to experience the Wroclaw magic again.
No comments:
Post a Comment