Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Opole – Veroni Cafe

    This cafe looks out onto a square which is a little dominated by the Solaris Center, which has its own Costa Coffee which seems to be generally busy. I can’t help feel that’s a slight shame, these independent cafes must find trading a challenge against international competition. I’m sure many people like the taste of Costa coffee, although I’m not one. I’ve always thought that the Costa coffees I’ve had in the UK taste insipid and seem just a little pointless. But, each to their own.

    This photo didn’t come out particularly well, it was quite dull and cloudy outside which didn’t help. The seating was all comfortable and the cafe felt clean. Unfortunately, there were no other customers in the cafe when I entered, so the atmosphere was a little muted.

    The service was polite and I liked the clarity of the menu board, which was kept nice and simple with clear pricing. I don’t like menu boards which are so small it requires a camera to zoom in on.

    One of the walls has an historic image of Opole on it, which I think is from the seventeenth century.

    The coffee was excellent, at the right temperature and with a slightly bitter taste which gave it a depth of flavour and a decent aftertaste. Although I think I’ve started to overthink coffee now, my faffing about with craft beer tastes is bad enough without my now starting on coffee.

    It poured with rain whilst I was in the cafe, so I just stayed for a little longer than I probably needed to. A few more people came in, everyone seemed content and there was a pleasant farewell from the staff member as I left. All a little understated, which is just as I like it.

  • Opole – Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej (this went a bit wrong)

    I had a great plan for today, I was going to walk to Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej, which is an open air museum. These are some of my favourite museums, I loved Den Gamle By in Aarhus and also Weald & Downland in West Sussex. The photo above shows where I wanted to go, it’s about a four mile walk from the hotel (the museum is the red circle, the hotel is the blue circle).

    So, off I go. Most people would have got the bus or a taxi, but I’m far too tight for that. And I like walking, with four miles not being far really.

    Then I find a problem. I get really near to the museum and the roundabout was shut to pedestrians. I think the construction engineer was telling me in Polish that it re-opened later, but other people were turning around, so I didn’t progress that plan. I have on good authority that anyone senior in civil engineering sits inside drinking tea and I didn’t want to disturb them.

    I didn’t worry too much about this obstacle as I had already come up with another plan. It was to walk up to the nearly parallel road, going by the left of Sephora Karolinka and then onto the road to the north of the museum, before walking back around.

    I was very pleased with myself about this little plan, even though that was an extra twenty miles of walking each way. Google seemed confident of this route, although it hadn’t been entirely accurate throughout the morning if I’m being honest, so off I merrily plodded. The road I wanted was a little country lane, I checked it on Google Streetview. It looked quite quaint, so I thought that some countryside walking would be nice.

    And then I get to this little quaint country road. It has been replaced by a wider tarmac road, which goes underneath some major new road, which Google didn’t tell me about. And this tarmac road was shut to cars, pedestrians and bikes.

    So, I wasn’t best pleased about this arrangement. I was half tempted to get a taxi for what would have been a two-minute ride, but I don’t like getting taxis as they’re a faff. What I did have was an eight mile round-trip around the Polish countryside, nearly all of which was very lovely.

    However, perhaps it was just meant to be. Just I got back into the centre of Opole, it poured with rain, so I would have got soaked walking around the open air museum and then walking back. Fate is sometimes a marvellous thing. I must say though, the museum reviews are excellent, but it seems they’re struggling with visitor numbers. I can’t imagine many people walk to the museum, but things like this can’t help their numbers…..

  • Opole – Hamburg

    Back to my usual tradition of visiting the highest rated burger restaurant in any city that I go to, this is the interestingly named Hamburg in Opole. It’s a relatively small restaurant, with around ten seats, but it seems popular and there were plenty of takeaway orders completed for customers when I was there.

    The interior had modern decoration and was clean and organised. The service was efficient, although my Polish seemed unintelligible to the staff member (he’s not alone if I’m being honest, indeed he’s in very good company) so we dispensed with that since he spoke English. A very informal atmosphere, it felt welcoming and all rather on-trend.

    The chicken burger, which was larger than the photo suggests, French fries and a drink, which came to just under £5. There’s a choice of buns and I think the default one is sweet, which I went for.

    I liked the burger, which was three pieces of coated chicken, as the meat was tender and had a flavour to it. I wasn’t entirely sure that the coating had that much flavour to it though, it could have perhaps done with something else to give it an extra taste. I was going to use the word “zing”, but I think I’ve ort KFC on the brain there….

    But it was all entirely acceptable, the onion added texture, the tomatoes were flavoursome and the BBQ oozed out nicely. The chips were quite salty, but I liked that, so this was no negative for me, with the chips having a nice firm exterior and a fluffy interior.

    All told, this was entirely fine and I can see why the restaurant is popular, it’s friendly, comfortable and the food is decent. Although, if I come here again, I think I’d try the beefburger instead.

  • Opole – Sopelek (Solaris Center)

    I’d read that Sopelek is something of a local institution and it’s a chain of dessert restaurants which started in Opole and has now spread to some other Polish locations. They have several outlets in Opole itself, with this particular restaurant being in the Solaris Center.

    The ordering process was very clear, namely, just sit at a table and wait for service. A friendly staff member came over soon after I arrived and I merrily ordered my coffee and dessert option. There’s a large menu of different items, so there’s certainly no shortage of options for visitors. Some of the sundaes looked really tempting as well, as did the spaghetti ice cream (it had the look of spaghetti, not the flavour).

    The coffee incidentally was excellent, at the perfect drinkable temperature and with just the right amount of bitterness.

    This is the Bueno chocolate dessert option, with scoops of chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, nuts and also a Bueno bar subtly sticking out of the side. I’m not really much of a dessert person, I’d rather have a heap of chicken bakes on a plate, but this was neatly presented and tasted quite lovely. The ice cream had a richness of taste and smooth texture, whilst the nuts added texture and the whipped cream was just a little decadent (I’m easily pleased).

    All told, this was around £5 for the ice cream and the drink, which seems reasonable value as it’s quite a premium location at the Solaris Center. It was certainly popular with families, or at least, popular with the kids at least. I can think of two children who would have enjoyed it here….

  • Opole – Opole Beer Festival

    I noticed this large marquee in the city’s main square soon after I arrived in Opole, but I hadn’t initially realised the purpose of it. I was pleased to discover it was there as Opole’s annual three-day beer festival was taking place.

    The inside of the marquee and it got a lot busier than this later on. There were around twenty stands offering food and drink, with the event being free of charge to enter. I didn’t stay into the evening when things might have changed, but the music from the stage was tolerable throughout the afternoon and not too loud.

    Some of the various stands at the festival.

    The diesel dry stout, although I’m not sure exactly what brewery it came from, it had a rich taste. There weren’t a vast number of dark beers available across the stands, which was slightly surprising, but there was still an interesting selection of different options to choose from.

    All in all, it might not exactly be like the Norwich Beer Festival, but it’s a welcome addition to the calendar of any city. Very lovely.

  • Opole – Statue of Karol Musioł

    The statue of Karol Musioł, a local resident who was the founder of the National Festival of Polish Song. The statue was designed by local artist Witold Pichurski and it’s rather chirpy and informal, having been installed here in 2008.

  • Opole – Photos of the City Centre

    Some photos of Opole city centre….

  • Opole – Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Cross

    This beautiful church dates back to the fifteenth century, although there was a previous thirteenth century church on the same site which was destroyed by fire. It’s the tallest building in Opole and is easily recognisable from its two towers, although these were only added towards the end of the nineteenth century.

    The side of the three-naved church.

    The main nave, with the size of the current restoration project visible from the work on the left hand side of the church. The restoration has the exciting aim of removing heavy layers of plaster which for centuries have covered the brick walls. This “regothicisation” has the aim of returning the building back to its medieval origins, showing the original fittings which were in the brick walls.

    The font is from the fifteenth century.

    The pulpit is from 1805.

    This is the grave of Stefan Baldy, a priest from this church who served from 1977 until his death in 2003. He made a substantial contribution in terms of offering private assistance to those involved in the solidarity movement in the early 1980s and he also made public announcements against martial law in the country.

    In 1999, the city gave him the ‘Merit to the City of Opole’ award and Pope John Paul II awarded him the title of ‘Honorary Chaplain of His Holiness’.

  • Opole – Museum of Opole Silesia

    I’ve been greatly impressed over recent years about the quality of museums across Poland, they’ve been redeveloping and refocusing their collections to a wider audience and making them more accessible. The Silesian museum in Katowice, which isn’t all that far from Opole, is exceptional in nearly every regard, including the staffing, the presentation, the quality of the exhibits and the explanations.

    Since I haven’t moaned about anything in a while, I feel the need to note that this museum in Opole was an exception, I thought it was pretty third rate.

    The first problem that the museum has is that it has its exhibitions dotted all around the building. The above photographic exhibition was in one of the basements, and there was a ceramic exhibition located in another set of separate rooms. The museum has made pretty much no effort here to bring it all together, there was no map handed to visitors, no clear signage and no staff member directing visitors. There were some orientation maps on the wall which helped slightly, but not much.

    I’m fairly convinced that I missed some parts of the museum, as I found an exhibition that I wasn’t allowed in (and was ushered out of quite quickly) and I’ve noticed photos of sections that I didn’t see. I kind of like these mistakes now, I feel that I’m a useful reminder to museums that visitors sometimes need assistance.

    I also had the unfortunate issue of three sets of Polish visitors asking me questions. I wasn’t much help with my answers, and I understood little of their question, but they were clearly all asking for directions. So if the Poles can’t find their way around the city’s main museum, there was little hope for someone who is as incompetent, and British, as I am.

    Anyway, onto the main exhibit (or at least, the main exhibit that I was able to find and be allowed into) which was a series of rooms detailing the history of the region. Above is a model of the city in the eighteenth century, and this was the stand-out part of the museum for me. It was inter-active, interesting and a really useful way to get an impression of how Opole used to look.

    This granite plaque was placed outside of the city hall and it commemorated the occupation of Opole by the Red Army in 1945. It was taken down in 2008 and the museum will be its permanent home.

    A display of old weaponry from the area.

    A sixteenth century bell from the city hall.

    A stone used as a counterweight which assisted in the weighing of heavy items.

    Items of interest to the Jewish community.

    A carved stone head from the city’s church, dating back to the fourteenth century.

    A photo from the early twentieth century of the town’s main square.

    The English translations in the history section of the museum were excellent, well translated and clearly put together. The museum skipped sections of history, there was little about the early twentieth century and the First World War (although a lot about the plebiscite after it) and not much about the Second World War, although there was a little.

    So, I’m left none the wiser about whether troops from the area went to fight in the First World War, not particularly clear about what happened in the city during the Second World War and perplexed about why the museum say that Opole was liberated in two stages by the Red Army (it might well have been, but this isn’t what other history books suggest). There was some brief mention of the mass transfer of German people for Polish people when the borders moved, but perhaps there could have been more. Perhaps the information was there in the Polish text though to be fair.

    I found the ethnography section of the museum, which had some interesting pieces in, but that was pretty much the end of the tour for me. There was probably more to the museum, but the entire operation of this place seemed to be a throwback to the bad old days of poor customer service, so I was content to just give up.

    Overall, I thought it was all pretty inadequate. Entrance was £2, moderate enough by international comparison, but not cheap by Polish standards. Perhaps a decent compromise here would be to shut this museum down and for the Silesian Museum in Katowice to open something new and exciting in Opole instead.

  • Opole – Shanti Indian

    This Indian restaurant opened earlier in 2019, on one of the main streets in Opole, specialising in more street food type dishes.

    The menu was relatively short and this is usually a good sign, as complicated menus rarely bode well for decent cuisine. The menu was also easy to understand, they’ve avoided the temptation to make everything overly-complex. And, although they haven’t translated all of the ingredients, the name of each dish is in English, making it easier for non-Poles to understand what to order.

    The interior was clean and comfortable, with an on-trend feel rather than a unnecessary nod towards stereotypical Indian restaurant designs. The service at the counter was excellent, with the staff member being engaging and helpful, then bringing the food over when it was ready.

    Freshly made lemonade, not exceptional, but still refreshing and it had a clean flavour.

    This was a bigger portion size than I was expecting, a combination of chicken curry, rice and some salad elements on the top. The curry had a depth of taste to it and wasn’t too spicy, whilst the chicken was tender and plentiful.

    I’m not sure that it’s overly authentic Indian cuisine, but it was quite a decent lunch, which cost around £5 including the drink. Hopefully the venue will do well, the contemporary structure to the whole operation looks towards the future rather than the past.