Part 1: Lufthansa Business Class and Air Canada to Wroclaw, Poland
Part 2: Exploring Prague, Vienna, and Krakow including the Red and Blue Design Hotel, Pakat Suites, Holiday Inn Krakow, Monopol Wroclaw
Part 3 Coming soon: United Airlines Business Class and Lot Polish Airlines back home
My whole family was at the airport for my arrival and we drove to my aunt’s house where we shared stories and feasted on perogies.
I love homemade perogies stuffed with either cheeses or mushrooms
Wroclaw is one of the host cities for the EuroCup this summer. They have built an enormous stadium, new airport, spruced up the city, and extended the public transport system. A massive investment into infrastructure which I hope doesn’t crumble and gets used in the future.
Fountains on town square
The shops and restaurants in town have changed since my last trip here 4 years ago. Wroclaw has one of the nicest town squares in Europe. It’s large and houses hundreds of different cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops. The buildings in the town square are all recently restored and it’s a nice place to people watch.
Wroclaw
Breakfast for two at grandmas 
After a few nights in Wroclaw we rented a car and were off to Prague which is about a 3 hour drive away. The morning of our departure I booked the hotel on Expedia for only $68 a night. This ended up being one of the best hotel deals I’ve ever scored.
The Red and Blue design hotel is a 4 star property which has only been open a few years. One side of the hotel is designed with blue rooms and the other red. The hotel sits right along a park on the east side of the river about a 15 minute walk to the Charles Bridge.
When we first arrived we got a bit nervous when they said their parking lot was full but luckily we ended up getting a spot. The lot is a few hundred meters up the hill from the hotel and parking was a reasonable charge.
This hotel is also used as a check-in area for many different condo rentals so it may get back logged once in a while. We were given a room on the top floor facing the park on the red side. For Prague, the room was a good size and the bathroom was large. The fixings and furniture were in good condition and contemporary.
Top floor on the red side
Digital TV and good wifi
Modern and open WC
For the price we paid I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again. Since it was my other half’s first time in Prague I showed her the main sights and we enjoyed dining out. The city has changed so much over the last 20 years. There are quite a few tourist traps including the majority of currency exchange spots and pick pocketers which you have to be careful of.
Prague
Very close to Charles bridge this is the Mandarin Oriental hotel
Castle from the Charles bridge
The bridge from the Four Seasons Hotel Prague
The original Moser store. The Rolls Royce of Crystal
There are a few very nice hotels near the castle. Great place to stay if you want to get away from the major crowds.
After four nights and too many pilsners to count we headed to Vienna. The night before we left I booked the Pakat Suites hotel on booking.com for $128 a night. The hotel is located in the embassy section of Vienna so not where the bulk of hotels tend to be. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the action near their town square.
The Pakat Suites was advertised as a 5 star hotel. Check-in was smooth and we entered our room on the top floor. This hotel is very new so the furnishings were all spectacular. The bathroom had black marble and we had a little sitting area and bedroom separated by a wall with TVs on both sides. The balcony overlooked the interior garden courtyard and we never had any noise issues.
I didn't knock my head on the slanted wall!
Very nice large shower on the left. From the shower you could reach out onto the sink in case you needed to grab your toothbrush or soap which was nice.
Flatpanel TV in bedroom and sitting area on other side
View from the balcony
Looking down at the courtyard of the Pakat Suites hotel
For the price we paid we would return to this hotel. The only negative is there aren’t many dining options within a short walk of the hotel. Once we got our fill of schnitzels at Figlmuller it was off to Krakow for three nights. We stopped for a night in Wisla which is a Polish vacation town and made it to Krakow during rush hour with a temperature outside hovering around 37 degrees.
5 minute walk from our hotel
The only part that wasn't being renovated
After we entered Krakow, we asked a taxi driver to lead us to the Holiday Inn. The hotel is located on a one way street and with our limited map it made sense to ask for help. Occasionally I’ll ask a stranger at a traffic light and next thing you know he leads me right to my destination and drives off before I can hand over some $$$ as a thank you.
The lobby of the Holiday Inn Krakow used to be the house of a successful business man. It was very nice and cozy and had a comfortable bar. We were handed our keys to a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the entrance area of the hotel. The air conditioning worked very well so this was a relief. I hate hotels that advertise AC and then when you arrive it’s in an old building and barely works.
Wall in the lobby of the hotel
Nice Entrance
Over the past week we had been visiting historical landmarks so it was my turn to pick an activity. It was so hot outside that we got in the car and went to my favorite water park. I paid the small fee for 2 hours of use and was ready for fun. The slides here are colour coded according to difficulty just like ski resort runs. It’s an adrenalin blast and made me feel like a kid again.
Water park entrancec
Town square from Wierzynek restaurant
Krakow at night
After 3 nights of visiting Krakow and an excellent dinner at Wierzynek we made our way back to Wroclaw for a few nights before heading home to Canada.
Last breakfast at grandmas
In Wroclaw we found an extraordinary spa at the Monopol Hotel. Compared to treatment costs back home it felt like hitting a homerun. We had the whole place to ourselves on a weekday morning. After our treatments we enjoyed the complimentary glass of bubbles and a nice fresh berry salad. The restaurant on the top of this hotel is also a worthy of a detour next time you end up in Wroclaw.
Monopol Spa pool and jacuzzi
Salt room
Bucket shower
