Moszna Castle and Wrocław, Poland

Hello everyone. During our trip to Poland, we visited Wrocław, a wonderful and warm city. It’s full of new fountains, sculptures and historical buildings. A place you’ll want to explore for hours. What we liked the most was the vibrant nightlife.

We passed through Katowice, a strong city with a population of around 300.000. Compared to Kraków and Wrocław, it didn’t seem very interesting. So we didn’t stop and headed straight for Moszna Castle. But traffic was very heavy there and for the size of the city, the situation was strange. It started to rain. There was thunder and lightning as we approached the castle. Interestingly, this castle now serves as a hotel and also as a psychiatric hospital. Supposedly it has 99 towers, but fewer were visible.

There were fewer tourists because of the rainy weather. The castle looks like the ones in Disneyland commercials. It’s a beautiful place to grow old. If you’re stressed or mentally drained, you can come here to recover. It’s actually a kind of treatment center. After resting under a tree to recharge a bit, we continued on our way.

We arrived in Wrocław and rented an apartment through Airbnb for two nights. We paid about 80 dollars. It was a 19th century house located right in the city center. Choosing Airbnb over a hotel saved us about two and a half times the cost. I’m not sure why hotels are so expensive here. Maybe that’s why Airbnb is a real lifesaver in Wrocław.

Later we went looking for a place to eat. We found two pizzerias, one open until 11 pm and the other until 2 am. But the second one looked a bit gloomy.

The next day we explored the city. There’s construction going on everywhere. One of Wrocław’s famous monuments is the people entering the ground statue. I don’t know what it represents. Bicycle use isn’t as common as in Kraków. Instead electric scooters are more popular in Wrocław. Generally one might think everyone in Europe could afford a car, since income levels are high and cars are relatively cheap. But maintenance is very expensive. For example, an oil change at an official service center costs around 200 dollars. So I’d say most people don’t own cars.

Kraków is considered Poland’s picture-perfect postcard city, clean and ideal. Wrocław on the other hand, is a regular, large city. One of Wrocław’s symbols is dwarfs. You can find them all over the city. At first they were anti-communist symbols, but now they are used more for tourism.

As for Wrocław’s history the city has over a thousand years of it. Since it’s close to the Czech and German borders, it has changed hands many times. Among the historical buildings, there are modern ones as well. St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral looked small from afar, but its real size becomes clear as you get closer.

The Oder River gives life to the city. The view is really beautiful, though some areas are a bit messy. Even outside the center, there are charming sights. We found the bridge where lovers hang locks. It’s filled with tons of them. We thought we had left the city center, but after crossing the river, we found even more lovely places.

Wrocław has a well-developed infrastructure. Poland has progressed rapidly over the past 10 years. In response to the question of how much we spend daily as tourists, our daily expenses were around 100–150 dollars. Food and drink are cheaper in stores, but more expensive in restaurants.

We visited Wrocław’s Zoo bridge and Japanese garden. It closes at 7 PM. There are no turnstiles at the restrooms, entry is free and there’s a basic level of internet access. While we were here, our plans changed. Initially we were only going to travel within Poland, but then we went to Prague and after that, we drove through high mountain roads in Slovakia.