Destination 》Europe 》Central and Eastern Europe 》Poland
Year Visited: 2011 – September
During my two-weeks business trip to Heidelberg, Germany. I decided to take a road trip through Eastern part of Germany and drive to Poland for a night.
Poland, a Central European country that has, for the last few centuries, sat at the crossroads of three of Europe’s great empires. As a result, it has a rich and eventful history. Its heritage is reflected in its architecture, museums, galleries and monuments. With a population of more than 38 million people, Poland is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union. Poland has a developed market and is a regional power in Central Europe, with the largest stock exchange in the East-Central European zone.
This was a very short visit to only one city, Wroclaw, and for only one night. I would definitely like to go back and backpack through the country again. Wroclaw is a city on the Oder River in western Poland. It’s known for its Market Square, lined with elegant townhouses and featuring a modern fountain. Also on the square is the Gothic Old Town Hall, with its large astronomical clock.
The history of the city dates back over a thousand years; at various times, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945 as part of the so-called Recovered Territories as a result of the border changes after the Second World War.
Hunting for Dwarfs: Wrocław’s dwarfs are small figurines (20-30 cm) that first appeared in the streets of Wrocław, in 2005. Since then, their numbers have been continually growing. Each statue is actually a nod to the Orange Alternative, an anti-Soviet resistance movement born in Wrocław that used dwarves as its symbol and helped topple Poland’s oppressive communist regime in the 1980s.
After a night in Wrocław, I drove back to Heidelberg, Germany for another week of Business Meetings.
Window on the World 