Here is one great way to “trail.” When your spouse has a business trip, grab a bag and go along! The hotel is free, and the train tickets are cheap, so why not?

Last weekend, a business trip took us to Wroclaw. So, of course, we had to go dwarf-hunting!

Wroclaw’s dwarfs (or gnomes, as we might call them) originated in the 1980s as an absurdist political statement by an anti-communist group called the Orange Alternative. Basically, whenever the police covered up political graffiti, the movement’s members would spray-paint a dwarf on the spot. It was their calling card. When the Commies got upset about a bunch of gnomes and spray-painted over them, it just made them look foolish. It was brilliant in a very European sort of way.

The movement spread to other cities in Poland, but remained primarily identified with Wroclaw. In 2001, a bronze dwarf was erected by the city to commemorate the Orange Alternative movement. Others soon followed, and now there are about 300 dwarfs scattered throughout the city representing everything from professions to political movements. There is a even a website with profiles and a map of their locations.

The dwarves are a major tourist attraction—and super cute!