A Weekend in Poland

Last weekend, I made a trip from Leipzig to frosty Wroclow in Poland with a group 20 fellow students. Coming from Ireland I was still getting used to the -2 temperatures in Leipzig nothing could have prepared me for the -10 that hit me like a bus when I stepped off the heated train. Once I got used to that, I was able to focus on the city. Wroclow is immediately recognisable for it's upkeep of it's old buildings, picturesque in its Church Towers and the town-hall in the city centre.

Arriving in the middle of winter wasn't without it's perks the whole town was decked out in lights and Christmas market taking up the whole town centre. Mulled wine and coffee was flowing from old fashioned wooden huts next to Stalls selling handmade wooden toys and woolly hats. Really doing Christmas right.

We checked into Grampa's Hostel. Cheap and cheerful accommodation in walking distance of the city centre, friendly staff, great facilities including a kitchen with free tea and coffee, breakfast was provided in the morning and comfy beds.

After the seven hour trip first order of business  was to get fed and watered. The group of about 20 and I were eager to try to local delicacy of dumplings with meat fillings. We ate at the highly recommended by are designated guide 'Pod Złotym Psem'. Right on the corner of the town square  Really nice warm, relaxed, old fashioned  interior (great attention to detail was paid even the electric hand dryers in the bathroom had wooden panelling). The food was great, chicken dumplings in mushroom sauce and a coffee with caramel syrup, perfect preparation for going back out into the frosty evening. And most importantly for a traveller on a budget, it was very reasonably priced.

The next day was set aside to see the sights which are in plentiful supply in Wroclow, the highlights being the  townhall and Wroclow Cathedral which was built and expanded on over 250 years from  the end of the 13th century though to the middle of the 16th century. It stands in the city centr

No trip to Wroclow would be complete without ascending the tower of Wroclow Cathedral for a Panaramic view of the city and beyond to get to top will only cost you the equivalent of about a €1.50 and it's well worth it. It was the last thing I did and was a perfect way to round off the weekend.

Most places I've travelled to, I;ve had a few words and phrases to get by on. "Wie Viel?" "Merci", "Uno Cervaza Por Favor" etc I had absolutely zero polish however, but this was never a problem. Everyone in the service industry has a decent handle on English so I rarely had to resort to awkward hand gestures.

Wroclow Poland was definitely worth the visit and I’d love to go back to see how it looks in the warmer seasons.

Highlights: Cheap food and accommodation and beautiful architecture.

Tips: Be prepared for the cold if you’re there in the winter.

One Year in Leipzig: Week One

On Monday the 24th of September I set off for my Erasmus year in Leipzig University in East Germany. I was nervous to stay the least. While most students had gone out in groups of three or four UCC had seen fit to send me all on my tobler. So after a four hour bus journey I popped on three of my jackets and stuck four books in pockets to get past the Rynair luggage weight allowance (scraped by by half a kilo, Success!) I jetted off to Berlin Airport.

I got off the plane and walked to towards the entrance I was shouted at by an airport security official for being a foot and half to the left of the designated walkway. I was definitely in Germany.

After two hours on a train I arrived in Leipzig. It's immediately a very distinctive city. Some really great looking old buildings with a handful of sky scrapers jutting up above them. After setting my things down and getting that much needed post-12-hours travelling-shower I headed out to rustle up some grub. I very nearly turned back towards the train station where I had seen the usual array of Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC but something told me to take a left instead and after a couple of minutes I saw it. The absolute pinnacle of kebab engineering. A branch of the ever delicious Ali Baba Kebab chain. I was so hoping there'd be one in the area. I greeted the Kebab man like an old friend an ordered my usual (one with everything).

The next day was all about finding an apartment. My confidence in my language skills that I'd established after being able to order a kebab the night before was quickly dashed when I realized that the vocab for doner preferences was a lot more basic than that of apartment preferences. I started a game of seeing how far I could get into a conversation before the person I was talking to gave up on me and switched to English. Eventually I got it organised.

So after that I went about exploring the city that would be my home for the next year. Leipzig is really a beautiful city. One of the defining structures is the the town hall which is built from the ruins of a former castle. Making for this really unique visual of having a castle in the city centre. Near this is the newer building that acts as the front of the university. It's this huge glass cathedral in the square right at the heart of the city. The original was destroyed during the bombings of East Germany and this is the modern day remake.

 Surrounding these are many other fantastically detailed buildings and cathedrals the architecture of the city is really striking.

Leipzig as I was told by someone staying in the same hostel is "the new Berlin." People are supposedly getting tired of the influx of hipsters into Berlin and are moving en masse to Leipzig.The people who liked Berlin before it was cool presumably.

After a couple of days I'd had enough of wandering around and went for some home familiarities in the form of the new Batman flick. To kill an evening and to get used to hearing German. In case you were wondering, Batman sounds ridiculously cool speaking German. "Ich Bin Batman!"


So a couple of days in and I'm excited. Much still to see, much still to do. Can't wait to see where the year takes me.