This whimsical little arrangement is on the Mikołaj Rej library and the mural was created to mark the 75th anniversary of the library. It depicts Mikołaj Rej in three different forms, namely reading a book, riding a bicycle and walking a dog. He appears against a backdrop of the city’s distinctive towers to add some local charm.
As an aside, that whole section of wall is new, it’s possible to see where it all joins onto the original building. Above is Google Street View of the same location in 2011 and I’m not entirely sure why I’ve felt the need to look back at this, but yet here we are. The mural has certainly perked the area up a little.
Rather than have a decadent meal out, I went for a few little things from Aldi. Although that was really just an excuse to see what flavours of Müllermilch they have, since I appear to have accidentally got a series of posts on this blog about them.
This one has a creamy milk base with the warmth of toasted nuts and sweet caramel. It paired well with the ham and I’m aware that I should probably get out more…..
I thought that I should get myself a cup of coffee and this was the best rated cafe that I could find in Oleśnica.
It was clean and comfortable inside, with a refined and relaxed atmosphere. I’d note that it was busier than this for most of the time that I was in there.
I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth, but I thought I’d have a little something whilst I was there. The team member was friendly and engaging, with my attempts to order entirely in Polish actually working out this time. I’d suggest she did well to understand what I was saying, but it all worked out.
The cake was as rich and decadent as it looks, as well as being nicely presented with the cream and nuts. Very filling, very sweet and it complemented the latte nicely. I’m not entirely how healthy this is, but there we go, I had done a lot of walking.
The prices were towards the higher end of the scale for Poland, the coffee and cake was £7, but the quality was high and the surroundings were comfortable and inviting. And I was able to people watch for half an hour, well, and look at my phone as well obviously.
Standing near the Basilica of St. John the Apostle is this two part memorial.
The left side, adorned with bronze reliefs and a crown of thorns, is the Golgotha of the East (Pomnik Golgota Wschodu), unveiled in 2003 by the local artist Wiesław Piechówka. It is dedicated to the victims of the Katyn massacre and those deported to the Soviet interior during the Second World War. Small stone plinths at its base act as silent anchors, each bearing the name of a site, namely Siberia, Katyń and Charków, where thousands of Polish officers and civilians met their end at the hands of the terror regime of the Soviet Union.
In 2015, the memorial was expanded to include a second granite wing on the right, dedicated to the Smolensk air disaster of 10 April 2010 which killed 96, including the country’s President. The design, by the same local artist, uses the negative space between the two halves to form a symbolic cross, visually linking the original 1940 tragedy with the crash of the presidential plane seventy years later.
It’s one of the cleverest put together monuments that I’ve seen, with no shortage of meanings that might not be evident at first glance.
In a city, and indeed a country, which has very little litter, this seemed a little bit odd. Either someone has fly tipped a heap of water bottles onto the tracks, or one of the containers has had a sub-optimal situation and disgorged its recyclable materials onto the track….
Having been to Wrocław many times before, including four times over the last year, I thought that I’d get the train to somewhere new as I move across Poland to get to Warsaw Beer Festival. Here’s Wrocław Główny railway station looking rather lovely in the morning sun.
Wrocław Główny was originally constructed between 1855 and 1857 according to the Neo-Gothic designs of royal architect Wilhelm Grapow. At the time of its completion it stood as one of the largest and most architecturally ambitious railway structures in Europe and served as the primary gateway for the Upper Silesian Railway. Throughout the twentieth century the station underwent several significant expansions and survived the Siege of Breslau in 1945, being comprehensively restored in 2012. It now also has a rather lovely shopping mall attached to the back of it, which is also home to the city’s coach station.
And there’s my train, which is a regional service.
Very shiny, this is part of the Koleje Dolnośląskie (KD) fleet.
The journey to Oleśnica takes around forty minutes and costs around £3.
I bought my ticket at the railway station as it was a short and regular regional service, I normally buy them in advance. The train was clean and comfortable, with power points available under the seats. My ticket was checked by a cheerful guard as she meandered down the train.
It’s a reasonably beautiful journey across the Polish countryside.
Safely into Oleśnica railway station which officially opened on 28 May 1868 as a key stop on the new line connecting Wrocław Nadodrze with the industrial regions of Upper Silesia. Its arrival marked something of a transformative era for the town, prompting the removal of medieval city gates to accommodate increased transport and establishing the station as a major Prussian transport hub between the Oder River and Greater Poland. This reminds me of the hole in the city wall that they punched through in York for the city’s railway station, then promptly built the new railway station outside of the city walls…
Like seemingly many things in Poland, the railway station has received a large investment and the building is being restored back to its grand former past.
And this is what it’ll look like when the work is completed.
