Loes (pronounced 'luce'), Jolijn and I hopped on the bus in the morning for a three hour journey to Wroclaw. Like Krakow, I had no expectations for Wroclaw.

After checking into our hostel, we walked ten minutes into the Old centre, Rynek. I noticed cute buildings right away and their cool moldings.   There are also little brass dwarves randomly placed all over the city...it's kinda like being on a scavenger hunt!

We walked past the Ratusz (Town Hall) and to the huge church of St. John the Baptist with about 400 winding steps leading to the top of a tower. We climbed the uneven steps, dizzy when we reached the top! The view was definitely a reward. I loved being able to see the market squares and amazing infrastructure. In the distance you could see a mountain range. At the top we met two older gentlemen - one from Vienna, the other from Dresden. They told us stories about the war and how their families (both originally from Wroclaw) were affected by the Holocaust, forcing them to flee.

Back in the square Jolijn washed her hobo feet in the fountain - classy! Wandering down a cute little side street we found a few little dwarves/gnomes and an AMAZING cafe, Monsieur Cafe, which marked everything with mustaches. We were all extremely amused and HAD to stop in for a hot drink.

We set out to find an old neighborhood/cathedral and came across Tumski Bridge, the best "locks of love" bridge I have yet seen! It was so beautiful! Later we saw a bride and groom putting their own lock on...romantical!!

"Milk bars" are famous in Poland. We found an AWESOME place where students mostly go. If you go a bit before closing, everything is half off. This place was buffet style, where you dish up and they weighed it per gram. I don't even want to reveal how cheap it was! And delish! Total gem.

In high spirits, we went back to the centre to find a pub/live music. We listened to a lovely street busker in the market square until he was stopped and fined for not having a license to play. I happened to see a few young lads walking by and asked for a good place to go for music. They led us to the most amazing little jewel of a pub. It was so cozy inside - everything was made out of old, dark mahogany. The furniture was vintage; curved-back couches, windowseats filled with cushions, old lamps, patterned wallpaper and old paintings. And all in good company! We were seranaded by Poland's X Factor's beautiful Ania Klys.

We went to bed that night completely satisfied, so happy, yet sad to part. Loes and Jolijn contributed to my growing love of the Dutch. Although, I have learned the Dutch think they're funny when they ask you to say the word for "sheep" in their language.

xx

Larae