On a recent visit to Iceland we learnt about the elves and trolls that live there but we didn’t see any because they are invisible but here in Wroclaw we very soon came across the dwarfs because they are not nearly so shy and can be found posing outside buildings and along the footpaths all over the city and this afternoon we bought a dwarf map of Wroclaw and went looking for them.
The map must be rather old and out of date because it lists only seventy-nine of these little people but the dwarfs own web site (http://krasnale.pl/) says that there at least two hundred and five and some sources claim that there are as many as two hundred and fifty so the chances of seeing them all in one afternoon seemed hopelessly ambitious.
Dwarfs have long held a place in Polish folklore and their current iconic status as symbols of Wrocław actually has political and subversive origins. Under communism gnomes became the rather unlikely symbol of the Orange Alternative movement – an underground protest movement that used absurdity and nonsense to stage peaceful protests. Armed with paint cans the group specifically ridiculed the establishment’s attempts to censor public space.
During the communist era any anti-establishment graffiti or public art was quickly painted over by the authorities but upon seeing fresh censorship paint the Orange Alternative quickly painted over them yet again…with dwarfs. The first gnome in its modern statuette form was placed on a busy crossroads near a subway where Orange Alternative demonstrations often took place in 2001.
We started in the Market Square and at first it all seemed incredibly easy and within a few minutes we had spotted at least twenty using our guide pamphlet as a sort of ‘I Spy Book’ that we used to have when we were children but then the going got tougher as we were forced into the adjacent streets to go in search of our quest.
To the south of the Market Square we walked as far as the old city moat and then back to the centre via the Four Temples District and then we went north again back towards the University searching high and low for the little fellows.
As we walked around we were impressed by the discipline of pedestrians when it came to crossing the road and we were surprised to see crowds of people standing obediently at a crossing waiting for the lights to change.
Kim suggested that this might be to do with having grown up under an authoritarian regime but we discovered later that the reason for obeying this rule so diligently is the fact that the local city police will quite freely hand out a 50-100 zloty fine for crossing a road at a place where no crossing is marked or, where there is one, a minimum 100 zloty fine when the ‘walk’ light is red and we considered ourselves very lucky because many times during the day we had ignored the red lights and casually strolled across the road when the road was clear as we tend to do back home.
There is however a good reason for this police road crossing enforcement because Poland has the worst pedestrian road deaths statistics in the European Union and accounts for 25% of all such road fatalities whilst the population of Poland only constitutes a disproportionate 8% of the EU total. In the major cities pedestrian deaths account for 60% of all road deaths and in 2010 three hundred pedestrians were killed on designated controlled crossings.
Looking back I can see the sense of the rules now because the crossings all have a confusing arrangement of converging pavements, streets and tramlines and the traffic use does not always conveniently coincide so it would be quite easy to watch for cars and then get run down by a forty-tonne tram and there is only going to be one realistic outcome from that sort of encounter.
I suppose we had almost doubled our dwarf spotting total to about forty when the light began to fade and we were sure that we were missing some now and it had begun to turn colder so we abandoned the dwarf hunt and made our way to the ‘Drink Bar’ which had already, even after only one day, become our favourite bar in Wroclaw.
We didn’t stay long because Kim had an appointment at the hotel spa for a massage so while she went back I found a mini-market and bought three different cans of Polish lager, Zywiec, Tyskie and (I had to be careful with this one) Warka and then took them back to the room to conduct a beer tasting experiment and later that night when I had finished them all I decided that I liked them all equally.
Later we walked out again as far as the Market Square where the workmen were putting the finishing touches to the stage scaffolding and then choose a traditional Polish restaurant for evening meal. It was a pleasant place and we ordered wine and a two course meal but as the first plate arrived we immediately realised that we shouldn’t have because the portions were positively massive – the people of Poland it seems have very large appetites.
It had been a good day and as we walked back under the stars we looked forward to completing our sightseeing tour of the city the next day.
Andrew I would love this dwarf hunting treasure hunt! As a Canadian I am. Well trained in waiting for pedestrian signals so that should give me extra points right? As far as a beer tasting evening I can appreciate how they all taste very good after consumption of all samples. 🙂
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I did say before hand that you wouldn’t catch me hunting for dwarfs but I did it anyway and it turned out to be a good way to find things around the city.
In the UK we tend to see pedestrian crossings as advisory rather than compulsory and waiting for the green light as optional.
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Nice to see different parts of the city by following the gnome trail…
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Some of them are too far out of the city to search for on foot!
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How imaginative to have dwarf statuettes all over the city with a city map to track them down. Kind of gets you investigating what the city / town has to offer. Of course, I love the little characters because they have such personalities. ;-0
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Now that’s a sort of city tour I wouldn’t mind.
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Venice has some advantages over Wroclaw: no cars, no traffic lights. 🙂 Very unusual.
Instead, it has tides.
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Nowhere can hope to compare with Venice Victor! I remember that you told me that you don’t like Poland.
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I think I will not like Poland, but I have never been there. 🙂 I read your posts instead.
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Did your trip to Iceland get you interested in elves and trolls leading to a natural “progression” to searching for dwarfs? Maybe you need a rest? 🙂
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It all started when I bumped into Elvis in Las Vegas! I am going to Ireland next so am sure to find the leprechauns!
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I bought that same map, Andrew. It was rubbish but a nice souvenir.
You’re not appearing in my Reader but still shown as a follow. I had to come looking for you. 🙂
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It is an OK map – now consigned to my memory box!
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So ingesting to read of the history of the gnomes. I saw quite a few when I visited (nowhere near as many as you), but didn’t know they were associated with subversiveness! I like them more now! Thanks for sharing. It is a favorite city of mine to visit.
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Following the gnome trail is an interesting way of exploring the city! Thanks.
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Thank you for taking us along 🙂
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Thanks for coming along!
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Pingback: On This Day – Searching For Dwarfs | Have Bag, Will Travel
We never made it there as the train timetable didn’t seem to work for us. Your comprehensive tour is almost as good!
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I would go back to Wroclaw in the blink of an eye. A fabulous city.
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Luckily you have a rich vein to mine in your archives
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Lucky that no one read the posts the first time around!
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I’m sure that’s not the case!
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It took a while to take off and I have a new blogging pals group now.
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Makes sense to dig into your archives then.
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Take this post for example. Originally posted in March 2014. Eight blooggers commented but only one of them is still around.
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Some people have no staying power
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People come and go for various reasons.
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Hey ho. Hey ho. Hey ho
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Exactly. Thank you Derrick!
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What a lovely idea! Those little fellas are so cute.
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It kept us busy for an afternoon.
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A fun treasure hunt, for sure, Andrew. And I was amused by you beer tasting experience. Sounded like a great excuse to quaff there beers as opposed to one. 🙂 Do they do flights of beer in London where they bring you out five or six 5 ounce samples? –Curt
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Some pubs serving real ale will give a taster or two during the decision making process.
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This is more formalized, Andrew. Many of the tasters are accompanied by a sheet that describes the different beers. A holder has been designed to hold the beers, and they generally go from lighter, fruiter beers to dark beers. –Curt
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It sounds like you were lucky not to get a fine! What a fun day though, wandering the streets and hunting dwarves.
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Next time, I will be more careful.
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I’m glad I found this post as I’m reading them backwards, i.e. your latest post and then taking re-direction from there. This one makes for fascinating reading. It seems to be only in England and the unruly Mediterranean countries that we obey the street-crossing rules, the Scandi countries are very tough on it as is Japan.
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Oops, missed a word out. I meant to say “we don’t obey”. Hey ho, first time on WP in over a month and already I’m faffing about and making silly mistakes.
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