DAY 123 - Wroclaw or Breslau?

July 20 -An "almost" Virtual Host

As you may or may not know, we are "couch surfing" around Europe for 7 months.  In order to do that, you have to really stay on top of requesting hosts in each city, giving references afterwards, and working daily to keep organized.  We have had marvelous experiences, but we have had a couple of disappointments of missing a connection, having a bus cancel and not being able to get to another city, or just not finding a host.  We've been lucky to stay in only 4 hostel/hotel situations so far, however.

In Wroclaw, we had an invitation to stay at a young man's home who was not going to be there.   We actually thought it would be nice to meet him, so we set up a meeting on Skype (a "virtual" meeting on the computer.")  It was not to be, though, because we arrived earlier than expected and he hadn't left on his trip yet.  We got to visit with them for a few minutes before they took off.  Interesting - huh?

Borys & Tranka from Wroclaw were nearly our "Virtual Hosts"

Borys's Dreadlocks that he displays

Our host used to have "dreadlocks" which are very popular right now with the travelers in Europe.  You see many who are traveling with backpack like us.  I guess it's an easy way to keep your hair...don't have to wash it very often (or comb it).

Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing. Additionally, leaving long hair to its own devices by not brushing or cutting the hair will encourage it to tangle together as it grows, leading to twisted, matted ropes of hair known as dreadlocks. The latter method is typically referred to as the neglect, natural, organic, or freeform method.

This is a poster hanging on the wall of him before he cut his hair.

One method is the rub method which is best used on very short Afro-textured hair by washing the hair in circular motions going in the same direction and also drying the hair (with a towel or fibre cloth) in circular motions going in the same direction. This will create tiny neatly parted coils around the head and will grow into small locks resembling sister-locks but with more of a circular coil-like diameter.

 

 We see many young people with dreadlocks, so I try to take a picture of them whenever I can.  I'll post more as I organize my pictures.  The Black people are the best ones.  The children are so cute!

There was a bucket of plastic lids from water bottles in his kitchen. I asked him why he was collecting them.  He said everyone does because once you get four tons, that means one wheelchair for the elderly.  I wondered why I was seeing older people go through the trash cans and collecting the lids, not the plastic bottles.

 Off to the city of Wroclaw to enjoy our 1/2 day before we take off tomorrow for Denmark. At various times it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, Bohemia, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, and Germany; it has been again part of Poland since 1945, as a result of border changes after WWII.  Breslau was the name in German and was the last major city in Germany to surrender, only two days before the end of the war in Europe. Breslau was transferred to Poland in the aftermath of the war and renamed Wrocław

Old town Market Place

In August 1945 the city had a German population of 189,500, and a Polish population of 17,000; that was soon to change. Almost all of the German inhabitants were forcibly expelled between 1945 and 1949 and were settled in Allied Occupation Zones in Germany.  A small German minority remains in the city, although the city's last German school was closed in 1963.

 Wroclaw is seeing tremendous economic growth and tourism.  I enjoyed going through the Market Place and meeting a nice gentleman selling his wares.   He was lucky to have escaped when he was a young boy.  He went to America and is now home again after 55 years of being away.  I bought a couple of jewelery items that he had made.

He is on the far left.

The bracelet on his wrist he made from a tin spoon.  I bought it.  :)

                           

Beautiful fountains

Wrocław is now a unique European city of mixed heritage, with architecture influenced by Bohemian, Austrian, and Prussian traditions.

This young man entertained the tourists for hours - he was quite good.

I wish I could hear this woman's stories - she looked so sad!

Cute Polish girls playing in the fountain

More entertainment for money - playing on the drums

Tomorrow we travel by trains through Germany and into Denmark.  It takes all day, but we have to hurry and get out of the European Schengen countries and spend almost two months in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.  Then our clock re-sets (after 180 days being in Europe) and we finish our journey by going into France, Spain, and finally Portugal.  Lots of adventures await us!