We left Germany by train to Linz in Austria and then back up to Prague where we stayed for the night before taking a coach to Wroclaw in Poland. The journey was fairly uneventful. We were supposed to have a half hour wait in Linz, however the German train stopped for 25 minutes just before arriving there which meant another mad dash to get our connection.

The coach trip next day was nice and relaxing. The countryside in Czech and Poland seems very similar to Devon. It is very green and with lots of woodland. After Germany it is reassuringly untidy in places, it doesn't have the manicured look of Germany but is very attractive to look at. Wroclaw is an interesting city. The centre is made up of a series of islands and bridges linking these islands together. A lot of the city was destroyed in the war and was rebuilt. It has some attractive buildings, but is mostly modern new build. The city has changed hands several times over the years. During the war it was occupied by mostly German people but as part of the peace treaty the Germans were all relocated (600,000 of them) and Polish people were moved in in their place.

The emblem of the city is a gnome that originates from the communist period when people were not able to protest against the regime publicly. As they were not allowed to meet in groups anti communist protesters hit on the idea to use a public holiday that they celebrated with children. Walking among the families they would pass these bright orange gnome hats out out to everyone until everyone was wearing one. Nowadays they have lots of these gnomes characters scattered about the city on street corners, up lamp posts etc. Some of them are quite funny.

The cathedral area is lit by gas light and a man still walks around lighting each one every evening. The bridge that you walk over to the cathedral is covered in Padlocks, some have obviously been there many years.

There are lots of trams and for about £2 you can buy a 24 hour ticket that let's you travel all over the city.