I have found inspiration to write about queues in Wroclaw when I came across a fan page at one of social networks that ridiculed people who queue to Polish Lody in Plac Bema. In the summer, you can see people stand there from dawn till dusk. I have to admit that I have stood there myself. It turns out that there are more such places in Wroclaw.
I queue because I like it!
I will start with Polish Lody, my initial inspiration to write this article. By the way, this particular queue can be seen in a number of photographs. In fact, the line of people stretches all the way from Plac Świętego Marcina to a little window in the house at Plac Bema. This is really impressive. To get a helping of your favourite ice cream (I assume it is your favourite, otherwise there is no point standing there), you sometimes have to stand there for more than an hour.
Those who queue to Polish Lody in Plac Bema have already been ridiculed on the Internet. Photograph: ulaj
Interestingly, it is not the only queue in Plac Bema. The other, and the more important one, has been there since I can remember and is formed by people who queue to the Stafan Ząb's bakery. They stand regardless of the season and regardless of the weather. It turns out that people often queue to bakeries. "I often see people crowd in front of bakeries," says Alek.
People queuing to the bakery in Plac Bema. Photograph: Paweł Wojdylak
Speaking of people who queue to food places, there is a separate category of those who flock to milk bars. "The queue I know best forms at 1 pm in front of Mewa," says Krzysztof, the resident of Wroclaw. "Why at 1 pm? This is when they start to serve pierogi with potatoes and cheese," he says. Queues to milk bars mean that students are back in town. This can be easily seen at lunch time in front of Miś in ul Kuźnicza or Słoneczny near the University of Economics.
People often queue to milk bars in Wroclaw. These people are flocking to Miś. Photograph: Janusz Krzeszowski
When asked about queues, every second resident of Wroclaw mentions the second hand shop in Plac Legionów. Second hand clothes are also second in importance, right after bread, to those who like to queue. Before the clock strikes nine and the door to the shop opens, a crowd of people literally storms the entrance. "The same happens in ul Kościuszki," says Ania, who lives nearby. "People queue every Monday. Probably because of new deliveries," she recaps.
A queue to the second hand shop in Plac Legionów. Photograph: Adam
There are also spectacular queues to various attractions in Wroclaw's Rynek and, more precisely, Plac Solny. Before Christmas, people stand in extremely long queues to Christmas trees that are distributed free of charge by one the nationwide radio stations. The residents of the city also flock to environmental programmes to exchange rubbish for cultural events. People stand in line with bottles, jars, paper and other recyclable materials to exchange them for tickets to the cinema or the theatre.
People queuing to Christmas tress from RMF FM. Photograph: Janusz Krzeszowski
"These queues are nothing like those our parents or grandparents used to know. They would stand in line to get almost anything as there was almost no choice. Now we want to get something better than other people have," says Tomasz Grzyb, PhD, a lecturer in Social Psychology at the Wroclaw branch of the University of Psychology and Humanities in Warsaw."If people form a queue, they seek quality. This serves as a social proof that they are right, and by standing in a crowded queue they start to believe that they have made a good choice. They stand and wait, and they feel rewarded when they finally manage to buy the product. You have to be careful, though, because marketing specialists employ queuers to promote particular products," ha adds. One more reason for joining the queue is the desire to meet new people. "These days our contacts with other people are reduced to a bare minimum. In order to do shopping, you have to drive to the supermarket, walk with a trolley between the aisles, pay in a check-out and return home. You don't get to speak to anyone at all. That's why some people prefer to join a queue to speak and sometimes to complain to others. Of course, if people had to queue all the time, queuing would definitely lose its aura."
Queues of the second type, those that people join even though they don't want to, is the best evidence to prove this.
I queue because I have to...
Unfortunately, such queues are also rife in Wroclaw. The most notorious one is that at the post office. No matter whether it is your housing estate or Rynek, you almost always have to queue. There are even songs about this. One such song has been recorded by L.U.C., a local musician and performer.
Another notorious queue always forms at the same time of year in front of the Urban Card Customer Service Centre in Plac Legionów. At the turn of September and October it is probably the most crowded place in Wroclaw. The queue in front of the local job centre is just as bad. Both former and current students also mention the queue at the Technical University of Wroclaw. "Especially when you have to sign up to your seminars," says Wojtek immediately. "People sometimes make a barbecue as they wait for their turn to register," he adds. So as you can see, every queue has a silver lining, even those you do not like.
Ula Jagielnicka
