WROCLAW A MINI GUIDE To help you enjoy your stay here is some information on the wonderful city of Wroclaw. Getting Around Trams and Buses: Tickets cost 1,50 zloty (for students under 26 who have a valid Euro26 card or ISEC card) or 3 zloty (a regular fee) for a single travel. You can also get time-limit tickets (from 30-min up to 72-hour tickets) and seasonal tickets (e.g. 7-day, 30-day, for specific line or all lines within city, etc.). Buy them in advance from grey machines placed at some tram/bus stops. In the machines the instructions are available in both Polish and English. You can choose a payment option: cash or debit/credit card. You need to validate the tickets in the tram/bus when you get on and if you are a student have your student card with you. If the ticket machine does not work or there are none nearby, you can get a ticket from a nearby kiosk ask for 'beelet normalne' (normal ticket) or beelet oolgove (reduced ticket). Only students with a valid student card (from Polish universities) or students having a valid ISEC / Euro26 card are entitled to use concessionary tickets! In all buses and trams they are also ticket machines, where you can only pay by pay pass credit card or normal debit card. Cycling: Wroclaw has its own bicycle sharing system, called Wroclawski Rower Miejski. If you know Paris s Velib or Boris bikes in London, you shall get the idea. WRM is operated by Nextbike and has about two dozen stations (opened from April till late autumn) scattered around city centre. It offers nice and eco-friendly alternative for public transport and it is cheap too! First 20 minutes of riding are free, next 40 min. cost only 2 zloty. If you are a fan of cycling, you can also get a cheap used bike in a special market. Please be cautious though, cause bike-theft is still an issue in Wroclaw. Food Shopping: There are multiple shops, smaller and bigger, around the city centre. On the Rynek (or Market Square) itself there is a small supermarket on the ground floor of Feniks a department store on the eastern side of Rynek, opposite the pillory (which is also a very popular meeting point in Wroclaw by the way). WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 1
There is also a supermarket (Carrefour Express) on the bottom level of Galeria Dominikanska on Dominikanski Square, where you can get all you should need: if you come out of the theatre and turn left then left again and walk for 1 minute towards the church and the railway station, you will get to Galeria Dominikanska. There is an indoor market close to the theatre - Hala Targowa. Come out of the space, turn left towards the Rynek and then right (in the opposite direction to Dominikanska). It is also a 2/3 minute walk. It s great - very colourful and full of good stuff though not that cheap these days. There are also small supermarkets and local groceries close to your flats. If you re fans of organic food, there are several places where you can buy it. In Hala Targowa there is a small food stall with organic vegetables, grains, spices, dairy and oils. It s situated on the left from the main entrance, next to a meat shop. You can also try Organic Farma Zdrowia, an organic shop on the underground floor of the big department store Renoma (on Swidnicka Street). This little shop is opposite Alma, another chain supermarket (which also has a small organic food section). The most luxurious supermarket, where you can buy food items from all over the world (including original Italian pasta, Greek feta, French cakes and much more) is called EPI. It s situated next to a big department store called Arkady on Powstancow Slaskich Street. It s got an organic fruit/vegetables section plus you can find organic items in all other sections. It s rather expensive but worth checking out in case you re organising a traditional food party. Eating: There are lots of decent places to eat in the centre; a majority of those have English menus and/or English language-speaking service... The ones on the Rynek are the most expensive and posh in the whole city, so try to explore the narrow streets of Old City maybe you will find some hidden culinary treasures. Here's a few you might try: Cheap and reliable: Pod Aniolami a cheap bar next to the theatre on Katarzyny Street. You can have lunches here; on low and moderate prices. STP on 10 Kuznicza Street, is a canteen style place where you are charged for food by weight. It has the advantage that you serve yourself and so don't need to know the Polish for anything. It isn't really that cheap in my opinion if you aren't a student there's a student discount if you are. Jadlomania on Ruska Street, quite similar to aforementioned. WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 2
Fancy and worth checking: Bistrot Parisienne - on Nozowiczna Street. A few years ago it used to be the company's favourite hang-out. It does really big, delicious salad bowls, wonderful ratatouille and Breton style filled buckwheat pancakes, but the prices have gone up and are far from moderate. Iguana on Nozownicza Street as well (a few steps behind Polanglo on Kuznicza see bookshops below). If you re still into Breton pancakes, try this place. Maybe not so astounding for your taste buds, but lenient for your wallets. Tawerna Espaniola - on Rynek 53/55 (northern frontage of the Market Square). Serves traditional Spanish food at moderate prices. Sarah on 5 Włodkowica Street (little bit further from the theatre, in the Four Temples Neighborhood, next to Mleczarnia bar see below). The only restaurant with Jewish cuisine in Wroclaw can show you bits of this culture once thriving in this parts of Europe. You need some luck in your menu choices (and patience as well!), but it s an adventure that s worth trying. Pesto an excellent Italian tratorria on 40 Kotlarska Street, just off Rynek. The food is delicious and the staff are really friendly. Plus you always get a piece of bruschetta for a starter for free! Pierogarnia Stary Młyn on Rynek 25/26 (near the post office on the Swidnicka/Rynek corner). If you would like to try famous Polish dumplings, pierogi, check this place. Although it is not the cheapest one in town, surely it serves the biggest range of different stuffing and tastes. Spinacz Wiezienna 21, first in the long row of bars and restaurants in that building. Serves great salads and baked pastas, potatoes, etc. Cegielnia - Wiezienna 21, further ahead towards the main University building. It says 'Big Tosty' in the window larger than the name. Lots of black wooden cutlery hanging from the ceiling. Cheap salads and pastas. Trattoria Capri same as above. Delicious Italian food. There are also plenty of pizzerias and sushi bars in the vicinity. WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 3
Vegetarian: o Green Way on Kuznicza Street, neighbouring STP (well, almost). The cheapest and simplest one. o Vega vegetarian (ground floor) and vegan (1 st floor) restaurant. It s on the central block of the Rynek, opposite Feniks. o Zle Mieso Wita Stwosza 16 (it s quite hidden in the courtyard). The name literally means Bad Meat. Serves the most sophisticated vege-meals. It s much cheaper though if you cook your food at home and bring lunch packs. I prefer my homemade soup from the flask. In the theatre we have an electric cooker and a pot so you can always warm up your lunch during the break. It only takes five minutes then Ice-cream: Wroclaw has quite a few good Italian-style ice cream places. The most popular is La Scala on the far corner of the Plac Solny (lit. Salt Market, also called flower square thanks to florist s shops occupying half of the plaza) you need to pay for your scoops (1, 2 or 3) in advance from the cashier and take your receipt to the server. In Przejscie Garncarskie in the middle of Rynek there s a good ice cream shop called Barton. These are traditional ice creams made by a Polish family. There is an almost legendary establishment called Mia Roma n Rydygiera Street the furthest place in this tally, a few minutes walk across the Uniwersytecki Bridge. It serves ice-creams for decades and still surprises its customers with many unusual flavours ever wonder how carrot ice cream taste? Drinking: WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 4
After a hard day you may want to spend a hard day s night with a warm beverage / cold drink in your hand and nice music around. But some places that Wroclaw has to offer are quite dull and banal. To avoid such disappointments, here are a few we find really extraordinary: Mleczarnia - Wlodkowica 5. Very cool (and chic) bar, with outside courtyard seating, two floors inside and lots of refreshments, drinks and sweets behind the counter. There s another atmospheric bar further down ul. Kuznicza - Kalambur which used to have a student theatre upstairs. It s quite small but great for a late night shot or two of vodka and a crazy dance on the weekend. It properly wakes up around 1am. Next door there is Kalambur s little sister Kalaczakra, a chill-out place, full of colour, music and good atmosphere. Kalaczakra offers soft drinks and very good teas. On the corner of the central block of the Rynek nearest the flower square (Plac Solny) is a bar called Spiz it has its own brewery and outside seating. Very nice it is too. Good luck on getting a seat. If you are really into beers, try ZUP on Ruska 34. The abbreviation stands for Zakład Usług Piwnych, which you may translate as Beer Services Establishment. Here you will find tens of different beers from all over Europe. But if you dare to try something really extraordinary, go to Miodosytnia, neighbouring Karczma Piastów. It serves famous Polish mead, a.k.a. honey wine, a beverage that once, in early modern period, was almost considered our national alcohol. But if you want to stay with non-alcoholic beverages or you just simply love coffee and good tea, you might enjoy one of my favourites: Afryka Coffee and Tea House on 24 Kielbasnicza Street. The place offers dozens of different sorts of tea and coffee, and it also has a small shop. For tea connoisseurs there is Czajownia on Bialoskornicza (by the main road between Ruska and Sw. Mikolaja), home of hundreds different teas: white, green, red, blue, dark, anyone you d like. You can also relax in cosy bamboo garden, by the waterpipe or play some board games. WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 5
Entertainment and leisure Sightseeing: Wroclaw captures many newcomers thanks to the variety of its architectural style. Whether you would like to see remembrances of early Gothic, gold-laden Baroque interiors or fine examples of modernism Wroclaw offers it all. Surely one of the first things you will see is the Old Town, closed within limits of old moat. The City Hall Ratusz is the most recognisable building of Wroclaw. But beside it there is still Church of St. Elisabeth with its tall spire (you can climb it for dazzling sights!), hundreds of lovely and colourful tenement houses and the University Main Building with remarkable Baroque-style Aula Leopoldina. To the north of it you will find the oldest part of Wroclaw the cathedral district with its 7 churches. And to the west, across the wide road with tramline (called Kazimierza Wielkiego Street) you shall see the Four Temples Neighborhood, a.k.a. The District of Tolerance, home of temples of four different religions: the Orthodox cathedral, Catholic church of. St. Anthony, Jewish synagogue and Evangelical church of Divine Providence. Further east past the downtown, on Wroblewskiego Street, there is our UNESCO Heritage Site The Centennial Hall (Hala Stulecia in Polish; some call it still Hala Ludowa, The People s Hall ), an astounding example of reinforced concrete architecture. And across the street you will find a really big zoo. You can get there by trams (lines 2, 4, 10 and 12 from Plac Dominikanski). Some people call Wroclaw the green city because of multiple parks and city gardens. The biggest one, Park Szczytnicki, lies near aforementioned Centennial Hall. But there is also very nice Park Poludniowy ( The South Park, which has nothing to do with some famous cartoon) between Powstancow Slaskich Street and Slezna Street in the south, remote Park Wschodni ( The East Park ) by Opolska Street and somewhat more wild than others Park Grabiszynski in the south-western part of the city (although better do not venture there after dusk). If you feel like it, we can organise a picnic with your favourite national dishes in one of the parks when it s still warm outside. You can also visit Botanical Garden on Sienkiewicza Street, only a few meters from the cathedral. Cinema: Wroclaw has five multiplex theatres, but only one studio cinema. This one is called Dolnoslaskie Centrum Filmowe (DCF) and stands in the backyard near the corner of Pilsudskiego and Swidnicka Streets. Films are shown with Polish subtitles, so if the movie s language is not English, you may not enjoy the display at it fullest. The multiplex closest to our space is called Helios and is by Kazimierza Wielkiego Street. Just go through to Rynek, along Ruska street - Helios is on the opposite side, to the left, when you come out of Ruska. In Arkady Wroclawskie (a big shopping centre on Powstancow WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 6
Slaskich Street, only a hundred metres from DCF behind the rail viaduct), there is Multikino, another big cinema. Tickets are about 15 to 20 zloty, depending on the day of the week (and films in 3D are of course more expensive). Theatre: Wroclaw is famous as a city of alternative theatre. It was home of Jerzy Grotowski s famous Teatr Laboratorium between 1965 and 1984. Now you can visit Grotowski Institute based in Przejscie Garncarskie in the middle of market square. Also we have a strong tradition of puppetry. On Plac Teatralny 4 (almost opposite the Mediateka see below) you will find our Puppet Theatre, Teatr Lalek, albeit it performs mostly for children and quite rarely for adults (unless you want to spoil your inner child! ;). And, of course, in Polish. There are also many mainstream theatres such as Teatr Polski, Teatr Wspolczesny (the one that holds DIALOG Festival), Teatr Kameralny and others. Oh, and if you are a big fan of music, we have an Opera House (in a very beautiful building) on Swidnicka Street, a stone s throw from Teatr Lalek and Mediateka, and a Music Hall on Pilsudskiego Street. Art: BWA Awangarda art gallery on Wita Stwosza Street, just a short walk from our theatre (interesting fact: it is located in building designed by the architect of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin), BWA Design on Swidnicka, the only gallery of glass and ceramics in Poland (in the lower left corner of Plac Kosciuszki) and just recently opened Contemporary Museum on Plac Strzegomski, about 1 mile west from the Old Town. Interesting museums: The City Museum of Wroclaw (in the Old Palace) http://www.en.muzeum.miejskie.wroclaw.pl/cms/muzeum_historyczne/palac_krolewski.html Museum of Contemporary Art http://muzeumwspolczesne.pl/ Sport: There are two major swimming pools: on Teatralna Street (again, only a few meters behind Teatr Lalek) and Aquapark (tends to be very crowdy) on 99 Borowska Street. Both of them offer aqua aerobic, massage, sauna, spa and fitness facilities. You can buy a single or multi-entrance ticket in both of them. Lovely routes for jogging and cycling are situated on the dikes along the Oder River and its canals, off Grunwaldzki Bridge, along the zoo and towards Opatowicka Island or further north. If you re really keen on cycling and have quite a lot of time, try some longer trips to the forests on the city outskirts. Resources WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 7
English language bookshops and libraries: You can visit bookshops Polanglo at 49 Kuznicza Street or International House on 9 Odrzanska Street. There are several small bookstores (situated in the city centre) that offer fiction in English along with a variety of English teaching and course books. Empik Bookstore is a huge chain with quite decent range of DVDs, CDs and books in English. Its online shop (www.empik.com) also offers even wider variety of books in English. But possibly it s much cheaper to order your books with free delivery from bookdepository.com. There is a British Council library in the English Department on 22 Kuznicza Street. On the first floor of the same building there is also a students library. Students of the English Department can borrow books for longer periods; others can only use the reading room and catalogues, and borrow books for one afternoon, provided that they leave the IDs with the library staff member. A Polish library MEDIATEKA on Plac Teatralny (near the Opera House) has a section with English books as well. You can also rent DVDs and CDs there (though you need to pay 40 zl per year for library ID card that allows multimedia borrowing; card for books rental is for free). Internet: Wi-fi is offered in Piesn Kozla study but also in the lion s share of bars and cafés in the city centre. You can use it for free in MEDIATEKA library as well. There are few Internet cafes, should you need a broadband connection you can find them on Kuznicza Street or nearby the Grotowski Institute. Besides, Wroclaw has its own network of hot-spots around the city. You can try to search for Internet City i.e. on the Rynek, in the cathedral district, around Centennial Hall, the Puppet Theatre or in the park behind our space. Please take into account that this is a very basic connection appropriate only for checking your emails. Emergency services: You should call these national numbers to receive help in emergencies: Emergency number for mobile phones: 112 Medical help / ambulance: 999 Fire station: 998 Police: 997 Also, please consider leaving an ICE (In Case of Emergency) number in your contacts list on your mobile. Maps of Wroclaw: There is a guide of Wroclaw in pdf format that you can download for free here: http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/city/wroclaw.html It offers maps and all sorts of information about transport, getting around, culture and events, landmarks, history, leisure, shopping, eating and sightseeing. You can also buy city plans in kiosks or in Empik shops. WORKSHOP VILLAGE 2013 Page 8