Wroclaw

In 1980, in a campground in Vienna, Austria, we met a Polish family from Wroclaw, Poland. In 1981 they escaped from Poland, we helped them immigrate to the USA, and in 1985 we were in Wroclaw to visit with their family and friends.

We drove into Wroclaw, through the downtown area and found the campground right next to the Olympic Stadium. It was named that because a portion of the 1936 Olympic Games were held in Wroclaw, then a part of Germany, called Breslau. We had names and addresses for several of the family and friends, but only Emil, a friend, had a telephone. The young boy at the office spoke English, so he made a phone call, and at 8:30 PM Emil and his wife appeared. The boy from the campground office served as interpreter, so we did communicate a little.

The next morning we found a map of the city and drove to the home of Dana’s mother. We saw a car with a driver who looked familiar, then found Emil had intended to bring her to visit us, before we left for the day’s sightseeing.

We went to her apartment and talked with them as best we could, using pencil and paper. We drew pictures and used pantomime, but we communicated. The apartment is small but comfortable. There’s carpet on the floor, TV, radio, etc.

With Grandma as the navigator, we drove across Wroclaw to visit Dana’s sister, then to Uncle Ted’s house. Marian’s mother answered the door. There are many private homes in this area, across the street from more apartment buildings.

After a short visit we took Dana’s mother to her home, went to a couple of small stores and bought some groceries. At 6:00 PM Emil appeared and drove us to his home. He lives in a very large old house they are renovating. Uncle Ted arrived 30 minutes later, and he could speak English. We discussed many subjects, and easily determined they dislike their government.

We left the campsite early the next morning and drove around downtown Wroclaw. In spite of the rough streets, we drove here and there and took many pictures. We saw the RR Station, the Opera, and much of the downtown area, then we left for Kraków. The highway was fairly nice most of the time, but we had to drive slowly enough so we could dodge an unexpected pothole.