Wroclaw Trains

There are streetcars everywhere, in lots of cities. I never gave them much thought before today. Something about the streetcar as accent to the fading houses and serious people of Wroclaw made me feel that they were something more. They are symbols of both modernity and the past. They represent progress and successful planning, but also seem quaint. Somehow, in that way, they are like phone booths - though more functional, nowadays. I haven't given it more thought than that, but here are some pictures of streetcars in Poland's fourth largest city. (It's also the second largest Polish city you've never heard of, right?)

Wroclaw is a city that could use a fresh coat of paint. A great deal of the buildings are beautiful - just a little scuffed up. As we wandered out into the area around the center (which is quite spiffy), we were amazed at how many very pretty facades there were. This is going to be a city famous for its looks - once it freshens itself up.

Wroclaw is, surprisingly, the fourth largest city in Poland and it has its share of tourists. Of course, it's not touristy so much as tourist accessible - this is Poland, after all, not Italy. I feel as though they are hoping for tourists, instead of actually hosting them. We haven't heard many people speaking English, but most people we've talked to know how to speak English.

It's nice that people speak English, by the way, because Polish is a mostly impenetrable language. Take the name of the city: Wroclaw. It's pronounced "vrot-swav," with a tricky rolled "R" to make it a little more fun.