Wroclaw

Notes on Polish Trains

Posted by Jenna on Dec 13, 2011 in Poland, Wroclaw | 0 comments

When I first started teaching in Poland, my students asked me what I thought about the country. I answered that I really liked the train system. I thought it was great that there are train connections to nearly every city and town in Poland, and that I can live a car-free life.

They stared in response. “You like the 

What I Learned from Living in Wroclaw

Posted by Jenna on Dec 6, 2011 in Living Abroad, Poland, Wroclaw | 0 comments

Thirteen months ago, I began my life in Wroclaw with a walk. Drawn to walking as a way of getting to know a new place through the slow absorption of details, I’d hoped that I would also begin stepping toward a deeper understanding of place. I knew that I’d have the opportunity to do a lot of traveling during those thirteen months in Europe – two weeks in Croatia, one week in Budapest, a few days

Walking Through History: The Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw

Posted by Jenna on Jun 14, 2011 in Poland, Wroclaw | 0 comments

A big, black dog stands inside the entrance to the cemetery. Instinct stops my feet, and I slowly pull my hand away from the gate. I eye him and he eyes me. But he seems apathetic. As languid as his surroundings. His tail brushes my leg as I inch inside.

The door to the ticket office is ajar. The dim, dusty room

Community Paints: Wroclaw’s Street Art Weekend

Posted by Jenna on May 31, 2011 in Poland, Street Art, Wroclaw | 0 comments

A half-emptied bucket of paint, most of its former contents splattered on the pavement, marked the entrance to the alley connecting Ul. Ruska and Ul. Sw. Anthoniego. The nameless passage – officially dubbed the Nameless Passage – was filled with artists. Paint, in vivid shades of blues, reds and greens, dried in various

Thoughts from the Botanical Garden

Posted by Jenna on May 27, 2011 in Art, Poland, Public Spaces, Wroclaw | 2 comments

It’s taken me a long time – almost my entire lifetime – to learn to appreciate flower gardens.

I voiced this musing out loud while walking through the botanical garden in Wroclaw last weekend.

“You don’t like flowers? But it’s so beautiful

The Bars Under The Bridge

Posted by Jenna on Mar 27, 2011 in Poland, Wroclaw | 0 comments

I had dinner a few nights ago at a local Armenian restaurant. If I had to describe the experience in three words – and alliterally – it would be cozy, cute and comfy. And chic. With only enough room for six tables, the atmosphere was intimate, with hanging tapestries and mirrors to create the balanced illusion