Commute Chronicles - Wrocław Poland - Old Town

I followed my usual business trip routine and got up an hour early in order to take a long walk and explore the town on my way to work.  I stepped out of The Granary hotel and into the Wrocław morning commute.

I spied church-like spires in the distance and stopped to admire them.  I learned later that this was actually a parking structure!

I encountered a small matronly figurine around the corner from the Granary.

I spotted a robust (and naked!) statue at the entrance to the Old Town.  It turns out this was Papa Dwarf and he would play a prominent role later in my visit to Wrocław.

I stopped for coffee at the Varesina Caffe, a kiosk at the Christmas Market that happened to be open early.

I spotted this unique wooden structure next door and wasn't sure what to make of it.

The outside of the market kiosks were painted with whimsical scenes.

I spotted what I thought were elves placed there for the holiday season.  Again, they would play a prominent role later in my trip...

Rynek was even more lovely by day.

The buildings along the square were brightly painted.

The Old Town Hall was adorned with statues.

I spotted a bear with an extra long tongue...

...and a rather well-endowed bar matron.

Hmm...more elves?  This seemed to be something more than just an installation for the holidays.  More on that later...

I took one last look back at the square and continued on toward the river and work.

I spotted other random statues on various facades.

I passed the Basilica of St. Elizabeth and couldn't resist popping in through the partially open door.

The inside was quite beautiful and reminded me of the Doms we'd recently seen in Cologne and Bonn.  This wasn't too surprising as Wrocław (formerly Breslau) was part of Germany for much of the town's history.

I passed the same military exhibition I had the night before but still couldn't make sense of it.

I walked past the university toward the river.

Crossing over, I spotted a ton of ducks and swans...

...including at least one species I hadn't seen before.

I definitely covered a lot of ground on my morning commute!