Wrocław (pronounced "Vrots-wav")

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While in Prague, we noticed that the weather had become slightly chilly. After reaching Wrocław, we realized that this "chill" was not leaving Eastern Europe anytime soon.

Minutes after arriving in Wrocław (from Dresden, Germany; by train 4 hours) we started searching for a way to get to the Olympic Stadium to pick-up my packet for the marathon. We took a cab, and during the 20 minute ride from the train station we had a brief view of the city. It was during this ride that we noticed the drastic difference between the neat and tidy cities in Western Europe to this city which is in a former Soviet block country (Although Prague was also influenced by communism, we felt that it was very pronounced in Wrocław).

Just to fill you in - Wrocław was severely damaged by WW0II. Nearly 70% of the city was destroyedé it is also home of the Red Baron, Marie Curie, and has the second largest medieval town sqaure.

We reached the marathon expo, picked up my packet, and rented a dorm-room through the athletic university located near the starting line. Not surprisingly, I was 1 of 2 Americans participating in the run. However, what was surprising, only 10% of the runners were women which compares to the US marathons where at least 50% of the runners are females. That night, Matt and I shared an amazing dinner from a restaurant within the medieval town square. For under $25 we feasted on a plate of grilled meats (four different types), a coleslaw dish, fried dumplings, potatoes, bread...drinks -- and it was sooo good!! The medieval square was lit-up at night, and completely beautiful...with a nifty modern fountain, a beautiful church in the middle of the square, and a large flower market still selling bouquets throughout the evening! Even though I only saw it at night, Matt was able to spend some time in the town square the next day -- and he loved it!!

I was a little nervous about the run because the temperature was in the 50's and I wasn't as well-prepared as I probably should have been. But - 9 AM the next day arrived (Sunday, Sept 14), and I was out on the starting line, waiting for the gun to go off -- and listening to the funky techno-mixes of workout songs ("Eye of the Tiger", Rocky theme song, etc)(the Polish LOVE their techno!!). I also heard tons motivational cheers from the DJ (unfortunately, I couldn't understand them...but I tried to imagine what he was saying!)

During the three hours and 51 minutes of the run, I met some really nice Polish runners, saw a great bit of the city, and was enthusiastically encouraged by people who were yelling out words completely foreign to me. Even when I walked (which was a fair bit!) -- I had other Polish runners patting me on the back and encouraging me! It was quite memorable! After the marathon we grabbed some of the post-marathon goodies (including some awesome potato soup!), bought a jacket to keep my teeth from chattering (it was getting even colder!), packed up the bags, jumped on the local tram and was on a train to Krakow within four hours of when I crossed the finish line!

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Photos

Marathon expo!
YAY! -- I get to pick up my number!

We're in Vrots-wav
After our great dinner! yum!

phew...it's over!
Matt took this photo while I was talking to our new Polish friend, Matthew. (And, of course, I was enjoying my potato soup!)