With lively hotels and a creative dining scene, Wroclaw has risen from the ashes.

I probably shouldnt have been surprised by the frustrations of my genealogical hunt.

He gestured out at the pastel facades of the Neo-Baroque buildings beneath us.

Pair of photos from Poland, one showing neon signs and one showing two women walking on a street

From left: The Neon Side Gallery in Wroclaw; Więzienna Street.Credit:Sasha Maslov

Breslaus destruction, it should be said, was by no means inevitable.

This, combined with bloody street fights, left tens of thousands of civilians dead.

Hitlers Breslau commander held out until three days before Germanys unconditional surrender to the Soviets.

Guests walk past Flemish paintings in the National Museum of Wroclaw

The National Museum of Wrocław.Sasha Maslov

The more than 600,000 Germans who were living in what had been Breslau were driven west.

No wonder my grandfathers ghost would prove elusive in such a place.

Today it looms behind an outdoor flower market thats open 24 hours a day.

Pair of photos from the Monopol hotel in Wroclaw, Poland

From left: Monopol restaurant, at Hotel Monopol; the hotel’s facade.Sasha Maslov

My first night in town, I sat on a bench outside the microbrewerySpizenjoying an IPA.

(Wrocaw has no shortage of microbrews, kombuchas, cold-brew coffees, and vegan/gluten-free/low-carb menu options.)

I marveled at the somehow harmonious layering of past and present that surrounded me.

Pair of photos from Wroclaw, one showing hot drink with garnishes, and one showing a cathedral

From left: A hot drink at Mleczarnia; Wrocław Cathedral.Sasha Maslov

Down this street, the towering red-brick post office recalls Weimar Germany.

In what I considered proper Polish fashion, I ordered a plate of pierogi at the upscalePierogarnia.

The rest of the time I spent enjoying almost uniformly sublime meals.

A red tram crosses a street in Poland

One of Wrocław’s 23 tram lines.Sasha Maslov

That was perhaps the biggest surprise of all for me: the consistent excellence of Wrocaws food.

Look closely and youll find statues commemorating the animals butchered there over the centuries.

An impossible speculation, I accepted early on.

Shrimp risotto topped with salad greens

Risotto at La Maddalena.Sasha Maslov

But then thats how history works and nowhere so noticeably as in this tortured crossroads of Europe.

It razes and remakes and paves over and on top of what came before.

Sometimes there is continuity, sometimes rupture.

People walk in front of colorful building facades in Poland

The Rynek today.Sasha Maslov