Hey, Nice Airport Wrocław! Or! Day #1 for an American Ex-Pat in Poland.

Yep, I'm back in the PL, and it's not quite as freezing as I'd expected. The apartment is new and bright, though there's still enough earth-tones to please my hunter-gatherer instincts. Haven't gotten a chance to explore the neighborhood, but I can definitely tell you there were no homeless people armpit deep in the trash like there were when I lived in Ferio Gaj. The courtyard is awesome, but unfortunately there's no grilling allowed so as not to annoy/suffocate the upstairs neighbors. I'm gonna take the kid to daycare, maybe see about getting an MPK pass since we haven't found a permanent car yet. Anyways, I'll be letting you guys know how things go, and if you've any Wro-related tidbits or words of wisdom for me, let's have em. Glad to be sharing a county with you that are here, and sorry to see you go, to those I left behind.

Welcome back! From what you've written, I guess you are American and you lived in Poland some time before now. But what 'Ferio Gaj' is, I haven't the slightest idea. Is it perhaps a new state that has successfully joined the Union recently?

Ha, thanks! No, Ferio Gaj is a shopping center inside Gaj, an older area that's riddled with soviet blokowiska and -abka stores. Way back when, it was where Napoleon's brother and his troops headquartered when they laid siege to Frederick II in Wrocław (then Presslaw). An okay area for a bachelor or a poor family, but not the kinda place you wanna wake up and go home to everyday, y'know?

The Gaj:

Welcome to Poland

Let the games commence..

Thank you, sir. We shall see. I might surprise you and wind up thriving, here. Here's hoping.

Talking of hunter-gathering, if you're near a Biedronka, some have really nice walnuts for sale (29zl/kg - not cheap but they're mostly good)

Do you feel like you've come home or do you still feel drawn back across the Atlantic?

Neither, really. I feel like I'm lost on an island, but it's really nice island. I gotta get an MPK pass, but the price structures are confusing the hell outta me. What are the two prices for? One being twice the other. Is one the student price?

international.uni.wroc.pl/en/trams-and-buses

Early days, and you've come back to some nice weather. Hopefully a good omen for ya!

You need an Urbancard, as it's the cheapest way to travel.

I'd recommend a one month city card at 90zł, or it you need to go beyond the city limits, use the ABCD express buses or use certain suburban MPK buses, I think it's 98zl (monthly).

Probably you remember this site, but if not:
urbancard.pl/en/index.html

(If you're a student, perhaps there's a reduction you can get -- I don't know about that myself)

Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out the easiest way to get to the application station on Ślężna. My wife has the tablet computer, so that means I either gotta draw a map from Google, or see if the Biedronka down the road has one. Alright man, thanks.

for those who care.

the ticket prices in one of those links above are out of date.

adult single = 3zl

this one might seem odd. ..... when putting coins in the pavement/sidewalk ticket machines....... sometimes the coins need a little help... use a second coin to push in the first coin.

also, the coins don't go straight in.... they should be slotted in at a slight angle.

the machines give change, but they won't return/refund coins for any other reason.

Hi jason, I'm guessing you may already have discovered this site but useful never the less.

inyourpocket.com/poland/wroclaw

Good stuff, InWro; Wro; and Maybe; my Polski bookmark folder is getting stuffed, rapidly. Thanks.

something most folk are unaware of.

the remains of the original castle/big house will be open to the public when the tourist season begins proper.

the building is on ostrow tumski and it was built by the czech guy who gave his name to the city.

i could waffle on a bit more about this, if need be.

This is a website many Uk folk use and I must say it is pretty good when it comes to reviews and recommendations.
So eating out in Wroclaw.

tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g274812-Wroclaw_Lower_Silesia_Province_Southern_Poland.html

Any schools

fem.org.pl/main.php?lang=en&siteid=WIS&site=about

Great first day! Language snafus were at an all-time minimum and weather was at an all-time high. Wandered into a Mobil parts station in the middle of nowhere, just a flight of stairs that leads down to a door which hides a counter and rows of old carburetor throttle plates and stuff. There was an older lady behind that counter and an even older gent sitting in chair in front of it, making small talk from a conversation that I think must have been continuing for decades. I waited for a break in their talking, exchanged "dzien dobry's" and asked for "mapa Wrocław". The woman and the old man both looked at each other, then back at me, then laughed simultaneously. I felt my cheeks grow warm, excused myself and began to leave. The counter woman then opened her eyes wide, held up a finger and shouted "Moment!" and fled to the rear of the store. She opened a drawer, pulled out the most dog-eared map in creation, smacked it against the shelves a few times to clear the dust, and returned it to the counter, where she slapped it down in front of me in triumph. "Ile to kosztuje?", I asked, dubiously. "Nic!" she shouted, gleefully, then her and the old man laughed again. I said my thanks, we said our goodbyes, and back on the street I went. I found my map. It was dated 1990, but still... Gift horses and mouths, and all that.

Seriously, you should write a travel column or something like that. You have the knack of drawing readers in with interesting language. Perhaps you could do your own version of Around Poland With A Fridge amazon.co.uk/Round-Ireland-Fridge-Tony-Hawks/dp/0091867770 or give Bryson a run for his money amazon.com/Bill-Brysons-Travel-Books/lm/15FBI4H84RNJZ

If it's just your natural flow of words, you're exceptionally lucky. If it's a skill you intentionally apply, it's well executed. I'm not sure people who aren't English language natives can fully appreciate the above craft in your writing, but they should take my word for it that generally you do exhibit quite a talent for leaping off the page.

Keep posting Jason. I agree with InWrocław- you're natural :)

I'm going to be a pedant! The phrase is always You're a natural.
EG: wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=892

Yes, I realise this may add to the weight of evidence to suspend me.... :o)

The funny thing is that at first I wrote "a natural" but then changed my mind :)


Oh boy, you have no idea :) I'm pushing the button right now ;)

As you have so far resisted that temptation, I shall herewith reward you with a link to an alphabetical list of idioms! Enjoy! :O)
idiomconnection.com/mostfrequent.html

You want to keep me busy in order to make a mess of PF ? ;) It won't work :) One more word about my bad English and you're gone ;P

Thanks for the link :)

I found it entertaining... "language snafu's" ^_^

Well,Jason,you're finally in Poland huh?I hope it works out well for you and yours.

Thankee sir, and thank all of you for your encouragement. I haven't got an urbancard yet, and so I've been flat-footing it everywhere the last two days. Today I decided to put the weather and my new buty to good use, and hoofed it 4.5 km to the IKEA in Bielany. It was easier getting there than getting back, since I was loaded to bear with a shower curtain rod, a spice rack, a salt and pepper shaker set, and a lidded trashcan. The temperature was so warm coming back, that I had to take off my jacket and tie it around my waste, exposing this t-shirt:



So, yeah, I got some looks. Anyways, I took a slightly different route home than I did coming, and ended up on Buraczana, where I found myself in front of a very old gray apartment building, empty but for the pigeons poking their heads from the shattered uppermost windows. The balcony was in such disrepair, it was buttressed by wood that looked rather past its prime, itself. The street number was 20 or something, but you could still see 129 in the cement above the door, hearkening back to an earlier, more German occupancy. All along the southern side of the house was riddled with odd pock marks, that I couldn't discern the meaning of, until it hit me: bullet holes. The house had been shot by several calibers of ammunition, and a long time ago, at that. The things you find when you take an odd way home, huh?

Jason,what is an urban card?scratch that,I just read what it was.We have the charlie card in Boston,buses and subway.

good thread.

I wonder how many recognised the name Easy-E.

Did you walk up/down Powstansow Slaskich at all? (the main road in and out of cetrum from the South).

I just snipped this from google street view, its the main cobble stoned round about, i actually really miss Wroclaw looking at these images.

• 
  Youll never forget this round about
  

quite a lot of that in wroclaw. some of it might add something/a talking point to a photograph.
some folk do try to document it.

btw. the fall of wroclaw was after that of berlin.


a decent walk.
for the less fit, i think there is a special, free, bus that goes to bielany.

Nah. I started in Krzyki, so I just cruised down Krzycka, hooked a right until I ran into Czekoladowka and just sailed south to Tesco-Town. And because of this horse debacle, I didn't even get to gorge myself on Swedish Meatballs at the IKEA. What a world.


It wasn't a dire situation that I get there, I just kinda wanted to push myself and surprise the old lady. I.E; Americans don't have to be homeless or immigrants in order to walk somewhere.

But yeah, I need to get this urbancard sorted out. As soon as I got home, the in-laws wanted me to take a stroll around Park Południowy with the kid. How could I say no to that? So, off went the boots, on went the sneakers, and it was one foot in front of the other, yet again.

Priceless, indeed you are quite the cunning linguist.

IF you have the stomach for it, a formal blog would be stunning coupe. I'm sure in the months a head you will find both the material and the time to write.

Crack on.

p.s are you sure you aren't English? ;)