TigerSalad

Ideas-Photographs-Sounds: Home and Away

Posts Tagged: photography

Wroclaw Art and Architecture Tour

On August 26, 2026 2 Comments - Photography, Travel

***please try to look at these photos on a bigger screen. Your phone will crush all the details***

The last full night and day in Wroclaw revealed some historical gems in the heart of the city…

Neon Side Gallery

A dark alley between old concrete buildings opens up to a narrow courtyard awash with the glow of vintage neon light. Wroclaw’s Neon Side Gallery is a collection of neon signs from the communist era: rescued, restored and put on display in this otherwise nondescript alley.

Even though colour is the main attraction, I thought these might look good in black and white…like they might appear in an old movie.

In full colour…former department store, restaurant, business and cinema signs showing the bright colours and characteristic lettering of neon advertising in Polish cities from the 60s to the 80s.

My now almost 12 year old Fujifilm X100T is still an amazing little camera. These shots in difficult lighting are just beautiful.

Communist era neon next to communist era grey cement building. These signs must have been some of the only splashes of bright colour in an otherwise washed out grey cityscape. This alley is worth a visit, especially at night. There are a couple of bars in the courtyard so you can stretch out in a beach chair, sip cocktails and smoke a cigarette in the neon glow. Pretty glamorous!

On the walk home…

Lonely streetlamp downtown late at night.

Zabka! (Polish for frog). This is pretty much the only convenience store in the country and they are on every corner. They have **everything** in these tiny shops, like a Polish version of the Japanese 7-Eleven.

A Polish gas station glowing green. This is a BP station, a brand we haven’t had in Canada since I was a kid.

The following day we had dinner at this Polish Milk Bar called “Miś”. A “milk bar” is a cafeteria-style restaurant with fresh homemade dishes cooked with local high quality ingredients. You order from a menu board on the wall (no English), pay and stand in line for your food then carry it to your table to eat. When you are done, you bring your own dishes to the dish-pit and move on. There is no service, no washroom, no tipping and you are likely to stand in line for awhile during busy times. Worth it? 100 percent. The food is incredibly cheap but fresh and healthy and home-made. As if your mom cooked it just for you!

Slightly scary statue of Pope John Paul with a big moon over his shoulder.

A 19th century monastery, restored beautifully into the Arche Klasztor **Wrocław** hotel. This was our home base in the city.

Centennial Hall

Designed by Max Berg and built between 1911 and 1913, this is an amazing building made entirely of reinforced concrete. It’s original purpose was to host exhibitions, concerts, theatrical and opera performances and sporting events. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2006.

From the courtyard. This is a massive building. I though black and white would look good here, as if it was photographed the year it was finished,

Domed and windowed ceiling of reinforced concrete. There are no posts inside supporting anything. It is a massive wide open space.

At the bottom, you can see a few rows of the spectator seating in curved natural wood.

You can clearly see the traces of all the wooden forms used to shape and support the setting concrete.

Park Hotel at WUWA Wroclaw

In the late 20’s, several local architects were asked to design and build examples of their vision of “standard” buildings to meet the need for housing in the city. Simple, efficient form and function were key to the designs. This particular building, the “Park hotel”, was intended as a “hotel house for childless couples and single people”.

Park Hotel which I thought might look more of it’s era in black and white. I like the Polish woman smoking near the entrance…a perfect detail!

These two shots of the lobby lounge are very similar but different enough that I couldn’t decide between them. I love the colour and the placement of furniture and plants and the shadows in both.

The End

I am sitting at a desk in a crappy airport hotel late at night as I write this. My alarm is set to 4am so that I can safely make the first leg of my return trip home. This has been a short trip but it was packed full of great company, good conversations, tons of fresh air and delicious food. Poland is quickly becoming one of my favourite European countries. The people are friendly and polite, the food is top quality everywhere, transportation is easy and Poland’s cities are as pretty as anywhere in Eastern Europe (except maybe Prague) I hope to spend a lot more time here in the future. Thanks to my good friend for keeping me company and making this trip possible : )

A pretty outdoor restaurant in a central courtyard hidden away down a narrow alley. A typical scene in Polish cities.

To see the previous post in this series CLICK HERE.

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photography, Poland, travel

Frankfurt and Wroclaw

On August 25, 2026 0 Comments - Photography, Travel

***please try to look at these photos on a bigger screen. Your phone will crush all the details***

Afternoon stopover in Frankfurt

During a long stopover in Frankfurt, Germany we rode the bus 10km to the small town of Hörscht, famous for it’s 400 original timber framed houses.

Survivors of the war: houses of Hörscht. Being so old and made of wood, many are noticeably crooked. They are all unique in shape and colour. The weather was badly overcast on this afternoon so the bright colours are muted in these photos.

Little wooden houses along the old stone moat wall.

Later on we headed back to Frankfurt for dinner…

Main square in Frankfurt. Showcasing a few different styles of architecture, all of these buildings were rebuilt after WW2, the originals having been destroyed in the war.

Traditional restaurant outdoors in a courtyard under a big plane tree.

This was a premium A+ Euro-feast. Pork knuckle, liver sausage, blood sausage, potatoes of all kinds, sauerkraut, Frankfurt green sauce, pork belly, pickled herring, veggie salads, Handkäse (a local cheese dish) and home made apple wine (a regional specialty).

Onwards to Wroclaw…

Wroclaw is the historical capital of Silesia, located in southwestern Poland. It is a beautiful old city with rivers, bridges and historic buildings in all shades of pastel colours. In little corners, the unmistakable grimy grey stucco buildings of communist era Eastern Europe still remain.

Tour guide in his monastery hotel office.

This old concrete apartment complex has been decorated with paintings and sculptures all along the ground floor. The colour here really stands out against the stark grey of the old concrete walls.

Handmade sculptures create a miniature village in the centre courtyard.

Historic buildings of Ostrów Tumski (cathedral island) Wroclaw.

Intricate brickwork details around the windows.

Street art owl on a block wall near the Oder River.

Historic churches of Wroclaw on Ostrów Tumski.

Around the Centre…

This is the colour of communist era Eastern Europe. It is a very particular gloomy shade of grey.

Communist era classic…just subtract the air conditioners and new vinyl windows.

Wroclaw Market Square (Rynek). Reminds me of Krakow but a little less busy. Large ornate buildings in all different colours line the square.

More to Wroclaw to come…

For the previous post in this series CLICK HERE.

For the next post in this series CLICK HERE.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please leave them below. I always look forward to hearing from you.

If you enjoy the content and would like to contribute towards website maintenance and development, you can make a donation here.

Germany, photography, Poland

Amsterdam at Night / Delft

On August 23, 2026 0 Comments - Photography, Travel

***please try to look at these photos on a bigger screen. Your phone will crush all the details***

Prinsengracht Concert in Amsterdam

Once a year, the largest free classical music concert in the Netherlands happens on a canal on the Prinsengracht. A big orchestra is set up on a floating barge in the canal where the public can gather around for a night time serenade. The rich and influential Amsterdammers get front row seats on the water and anyone else who wants to see it has to camp out all afternoon to secure a good spot. There were so many people by the time we got there that we couldn’t get close enough to see anything at all, but at least we could hear it.

Crowds of people fill the narrow streets and bridges surrounding the orchestra barge. Packed like herring!

People come out in boats to listen too. I messed up my camera settings so many of my pictures were blurry but I thought this one looked like an oil painting so I included it here. If you zoom in on the boats or the people you will see what I mean.

Amsterdam cat way up in a window watching all the people below. I don’t see all that many cats outside in the city but lots of window kitties.

Almost all of the boaters had a table of wine, cheese and other snacks on board to enjoy with the music. I like the way the people on the bench are all watching this floating picnic pass by.

Outdoor restaurant patio right on the edge of a canal.

Patio glow. There is a lot going on in this picture if you look around. Good action and good faces too.

Quiet canals at night lit by old lamp posts and a near-full moon.

Anne Frank House

A glow of blue light above the orchestra in the distance. The tall tower belongs to Westerkerk church. This is the church Anne Frank writes about in her famous diary. She could see the clock face from the attic of their hiding place and hear the church bell ring every 15 minutes which, she wrote, was a source of great comfort. The church sounds gave her some small connection to the outside world during her two years in hiding.

Day Trip to Delft

Delft is the centre of production for the famous Dutch blue on white Royal Delft Pottery. It is beautiful small town. Canals, bridges and bicycles…just like Amsterdam but on a much smaller scale. It has a slower feel to it too. Only 1 hour from Amsterdam by train, it is a nice place to spend a relaxing afternoon.