A Polish breakfast buffet! Novotel Wroclaw Centrum Hotel

After a long-haul flight — and I had been in four countries in one day — I usually awake famished. I know that even modest hotels put out a breakfast spread. Novotel Wroclaw Centrum Hotel in Wroclaw, Poland, is in the crossroads of history: the intersection of the prehistoric Amber Road and the medieval Via Regia. I figured there would be a cornucopia of cuisines at the breakfast buffet, and I was right! I was happy to be hosted to experience it.

There was a congee setup for their many Asian guests, as well as rice noodles:

They also had a beans and hotdog setup for British guests, but no mash or stewed tomatoes. There were white wurst and also, smoked kielbasa. If you just want a hotdog, here are the condiments:

Pickles, jams and honey figure prominently in Polish cuisine. The hotel has its own beekeeper! I sampled the raw honey and honeycomb each day, because that’s supposed to be healthful with enzymes. They had a mellow sweetness. They also make their own chocolate sauce, but I didn’t have the chance to sample it.

They had a bread station. I was surprised to see the breads were more like Italian bread, instead of like Scandinavian breads (with seeds).

Vegans would be happy with the large selection of seeds and also hummus/bean pastes (which they confusingly call “pasta”).

There was a smaller deli type section, with cold cuts like ham and white cheese, a smoked fish and a salad that I regretfully only saw once: it was creamy with mayo, cucumber, cheese, corn and scallion. Totally high in fat and low in carbs, but tasty!

They do have a made-to-order omelette station. But the part I really got into was the make your own juice setup! They had a selection of two apples, pears and then, several veggies to juice. I eagerly made my own style of V-8 each day, with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets. The first day, I saw hunks of fresh horseradish to add, but I stayed away. However, I quickly determined that the juice needed a little something . . . I was soon adding two hunks of horseradish! If given the opportunity, I’d add a third to my recipe. For other beverages besides make your own, there was a ready-made juice machine and an Italian coffee drink machine.