A relaxing day

Saturday 14 April

Although the last blog was posted on Saturday, it was about Friday 13th – perhaps that's why I lost my sunglasses! Anyway, this blog is about Saturday.

It's a beautiful sunny day, quite warm in the full sunshine, but a bit chilly in the shade.

We decide to visit the Jewish Cemetery, which is about 15 minutes walk from our hostel. However we get a bit lost and ask a couple who are walking past if they know where it is. As with most other Wroclawians they are extremely helpful and friendly and we end up in conversation for about 20 minutes. They are a married couple who teach English, so they understand what we are saying! In addition to being a teacher, the man plays guitar in a hard-rock band called “Lady Perfect”, although, he added with a broad smile, the band wasn't perfect and it didn't have any ladies in it. This wife had lived for a time in Salisbury. We said our son and his fiancee lived there until very recently. The couple had also spent time in London and Wales but hadn't been to Bristol. We've yet to find someone in Wroclaw who has!

The couple direct us to the cemetery which is really just a huge rather neglected area with lots of tombstones and trees. There are some stone vaults where whole families are buried. There are, according to the guidebook, some very famous Jews buried here, but this is not a cemetery particularly for Jews who died during the 2^nd world war. They were simply Jews who lived in Wroclaw (which was German territory before 1945). Some of the tombstones date back to several centuries ago. There is an air of peace and tranquillity here, though we do not notice any birdsong.

I need my cup of coffee. We take a tram into the centre of Wroclaw, but as it's nearly lunchtime decide to forgo the elevenses and search for somewhere to eat. I buy a pair of huge purple sunglasses which I can wear over my normal glasses, having lost my optical sunglasses yesterday. Reg is feeling witty.

“Out of a crisis comes light. Or rather, darkness in your case,” he quips.

We have Polish dumplings stuffed with pork for lunch, with several “dips”. The food is delicious and we are soon full up. We chat to the waitress, who is studying Geology at Wroclaw University. Reg always asks all our young waitresses and waiters if they are university students, and invariably they are. They always seem pleased to have a chance to use their English, which is usually quite good.

After lunch we return to a shop we went to yesterday, to buy a present for one of the family (no details here, or it won't be a surprise). I persuade the friendly young woman behind the counter to post the present home for us (Elaine, watch out for the parcel). She couldn't really refuse as she remembered us from yesterday when Reg mended a stool for her (as you do).

After lunch we visit the botanical gardens. They are really special, and we spend a relaxing couple of hours here, stopping at a cafe for lemon tea (even I am starting to enjoy this) and a lodi (icecream). There is only one woman serving in the kiosk – she is cooking, making sandwiches and hot drinks, and taking the money. Talk about multi-tasking, not to mention food hygiene.

Today is much more relaxing than yesterday, which is how we planned it. We find that sightseeing can be extremely tiring if you try to cram too much into one day. We decide to round off our day, before going for our evening meal, with an hour-long boat trip along the river. There are lots of Italians on the boat, and two of them start waltzing on the small deck area to piped music, which is playing “Magic Moments”.

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After regaining our landlegs, we make for a restaurant which is recommended in the guide. It's quite classy, but it is our last night in Wroclaw, and in Poland for that matter. As we go in, the bow-tied maitre d'hote looks at us in our fleeces and walking boots and says in English “reservations only,madam.” So we beat a hasty retreat and go next door, which is just as classy, and where they welcome us with open arms.

The food turns out to be top quality. I have beef in mushroom sauce, Reg has pork knuckle,which has been slow-cooked and is delicious. We have some wine and a pudding, plus tea and coffee afterwards. The total cost for the two of us is £40, which is expensive by Polish standards but reasonable in England. The food is brilliant, the service first class, the surroundings elegant, and the young waiter enjoys talking football (European cup) with Reg. What more could you ask for?

As a bonus a tram arrives straight away to take us to our hostel – where we pack our things, ready to leave at 6.30 am tomorrow, to catch the 7.22 train from Wroclaw to Lvov in the Ukraine. The journey will take fifteen and a half hours, arriving in Lvov at 11.07pm Polish time (12.07am Ukranian time.) We'll be an hour ahead of Poland in Lvov.