Dec 28
Wroclaw to London
It snowed quite a lot overnight and it was still snowing when got up. We packed, left our bags at reception and ventured outside for breakfast. Everything had a new white overcoat and there were lots of people out shovelling snow and scattering sand and salt.
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It took quite a while to find breakfast as Valerie wanted something slightly healthier than the diet we had enjoyed since our arrival. We eventually found a small café offering a "fit breakfast", featuring muesli, carrot juice and fruit. Even I avoided the sausages and had scrambled eggs and cheese.
It took quite a while to arrive but was good when it did. The coffee was particularly good, just about up to New Zealand standards.
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We walked back to the shopping mall we visited yesterday, walked through it and out the other side. The park looked very pretty but it was also very icy. Valerie fell flat, luckily without doing herself any lasting damage. A large, fit looking and well shod young man stopped to help and nearly fell flat himself. The surprising thing is that I managed to survive the whole visit with very few slips and no falls at all.
The Panorama is a painting produced in the 1890's, depicting the battle of Raclawice in 1794 when, for once, the Poles defeated the Russians. It is 120 metres long and 15 metres high and the circular concrete building was constructed in the early 1980's to house it. We paid our money and, at the appropriate time, we passed through a tunnel and into the centre of the auditorium. The impact was amazing. At ground level was something similar to a film set, with a mixture of scrub, soil and old carriage wheels. It was very difficult to tell where the 3D set joined the 2D painting. |
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We had electronic guides to lead us round the story in a host of languages and point out the significance of different parts of the picture. We would have liked to stay longer but we had to leave. Our group of about ten was about to be replaced by a large school party. It was just as well that we arrived when we did.
Outside, it was still snowing. I had fun watching a man sweeping snow off the glass canopy of one of the big shops and also watching the snow ploughs rushing around the square. |
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The walk back to the hotel was uneventful and allowed us to stop at the hat shop which had been closed on the previous days. Unfortunately, we failed to find what we were looking for.
We collected our bags and waited outside for a taxi that the man on reception had ordered. This arrived in a few minutes and drove us very circumspectly to the airport, a trip of about an hour along horrible roads. My guess is that the trip would have taken half as long under less snowy circumstances.
On one off ramp, we passed a large truck which had ground to a halt on the way up. In the UK, everything would have ground to a halt in these circumstances but the Poles are made of sterner stuff - and have vehicles equipped with snow tyres etc etc.
When we arrived at the airport, the taxi meter showed 61 pln (zloty). I extracted the money from my wallet and the driver waved his arms about & then produced a printout which showed the charge to be 45 pln. I gave him 50 and he refused to accept the 5 pln tip, which was merited by his having to drive us in such bad conditions. Quite remarkable and I still don't understand how it all worked.
Check-in was easy and we settled in the lounge for tea and coffee from the café and sandwiches purchased from one of the shops as the café only sold cakes & biscuits. Valerie was very sleepy and definitely under the influence of her cold/flu.
Right: Wroclaw Airport |
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The incoming flight arrived on time, we went aboard, got good seats near the front and took off from a very snowy airport. Not having access to my camera, I missed out on some good shots. The flight was smooth but Valerie got progressively sicker. We landed on time and the baggage then took an hour to join us. We descended into a freezing cold station with a 25 minute wait in prospect and nowhere selling hot drinks or anything to keep us alive.
The train arrived, very grubby and with no luggage racks. How strange for an airport express! Valerie slept most of the way as we sped into London. The tube got us back to Wimbledon efficiently enough and I abandoned my poorly friend in the care of Steve & Sara before beating a hasty retreat and caught several tubes and a train to Little Kingshill. Farewell Poland. Will I ever return?