Had a Polish breakfast in the hostel - cold meat & sourcrout (which I didn't indulge in but Reg did), lovely bread baked on the premises, scrambled egg, frankfurter, cottage cheese, Polish Edam type cheese, home made jam, and, of course, English tea. Gave us full tummies to start the day!
We've found people in Wroclaw particularly helpful and friendly. A woman rolled down the window of her parked car to tell Reg his camera had just fallen out of his rucksack (what are we like?!!) And thanks to a fellow passenger, we've finally figured out how to pay on the tram, since you don't pay the driver - he's shut away in his driver's compartment. You can buy tickets at newpaper kiosks, or at machines at tram stops (though we've yet to locate a machine at a tram stop). Or, you can buy the tickets from the machine on the tram with your credit card. You don't have to type in your pin|! Weird! The first time I've ever used my card in a machine without typing in my pin. However, the kind fellow passenger said, if the pay machine on the tram is out of order (this has happened to us twice) you don't have to pay at all. The mystery of paying for tram tickets has been solved|! By the way, once you've bought your tickets(s), you have to put them into a separate machine on the tram to validate them - or else, if the inspector gets on, you're in trouble. It's all quite easy really when you know how. We're old hands at it now of course!!
Once in Wroclaw we realise we've left behind in the hostel the details we need to collect our next train tickets from the town's Post Office. We have to collect them today, so Reg says we'll have to go back to the hostel and get the missing papers. Then we think about retrieving the email (which would have all the info we need to collect the tickets) through Reg's phone, using an internet cafe. We visit the Tourist Information Office to ask the whereabouts of an internet cafe. To our surprise we're told we don't need to do this, as we are in a free wifi spot. We are then able to retrieve the email and the information we need (which fortunately the organisation which arranged the train tickets has written in Polish), show it to the clerk at the Post Office, and, hey presto! The clerk disappears out the back and returns waving our envelope containing our precious tickets! We are mightily impressed!
Wroclaw is beautiful, unspoilt, and cheap to eat out in. We decided just to bring one backpack while out for the day and Reg is chivalrously carrying it. I only have my tiny handbag to carry, and my optical sunglasses don't fit in it. So they're in the pocket of my fleece. Or they were till they must have dropped out. So far we've lost our lunch yesterday (which I later found in my suitcase (why on earth would I put it in my suitcase?) and now my sunglassses. Oh dear. Retracing our steps and asking in the coffee shop brings no joy. Have asked Angela if she would kindly organise having my prescription emailed to me (it pays to have friends).
Reg then shouts "Uuuuh!" and looks down. I move my feet and step on his reading glasses which he's just dropped. He's not amused. Luckily he has another pair.
We have an interesting, enjoyable but very tiring day sightseeing. At lunch the couple on the table opposite (we discover that he is Scottish, she is Polish) offer to help us decipher the menu. We get into a long conversation about tracing our roots.
In the afternoon we visit Wroclaw university, which is a very beautiful building with ornate carved stonework and spectacularly painted ceilings. A steward approaches us and points out a couple of things, and we say "tac" (yes) and "dobja" (good). This encourages a further spiel, and we haven't the heart to tell him we don't understand a word he's saying, as he's enjoying himself so much, and he's a very nice man, we can tell.
By 5pm, as we walk along the by the river, I have a sick headache. We rest awhile, and after a couple of ibuprofen I feel much better. We decide to go for an early meal then back to the hostel.
We return to the restaurant we ate in last night as the food was delicious and extremely reasonable. By now I'm feeling better but decide just to have a starter (potato pancakes and 3 sauces) and icecream after. Reg has pork chop and bacon, which we are surprised to find comes cooked in breadcrumbs. Reg said he enjoyed it though, and I tried a bit - it tasted good.
After our tram journey back to the hostel (yey! the ticket machine was working so I bought all the tram tickets we need for tomorrow too) - we arrive home at 9 pm. Reg goes downstairs for a cuppa and further long chat with the hostel receptionist about Poland. I fall into bed and sleep soundly till morning.
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