Krakow Poland Oct 8, 2009

Friday 10-8-09

We had such a busy emotional day going to Auschwitz first and then the Salt Mines.


After Auschwitz, we all wanted some time to gather our thoughts and return life to some semblance of order. We stopped off at a nearby gas station which had a charming restaurant next door. I barely caught the name of the restaurant on the side of the building as we drove off as Goscinic Restaurant. The reason I wanted to remember it was that I had the best cheese and potato pierogies topped with caramelized onions, garlic and parsley that I had on the entire trip. Many meals included plates of pierogies, but none compared to those tasty morsels. Stan had borscht (beet) soup which was equally delicious.

Here are some photos from the Wieliczka Salt Mines. We were 3 levels down.



Next stop on this long day was the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It really didn’t know what to expect. I heard from my Mother-in-Law, Alice that she had to climb down many ladders when she visited Poland. She might have exaggerated about the ladders. I figured we would we visiting some type of factory view of the excavation of salt.

We waited patiently for the elevators that were to take us down a few levels of the nine level salt mine. We all crowded into the cage. I do mean crowded, body to body. Once down, the doors of the elevators were odd in that they opened on a different side and the people in front of them had to crowd even more so the doors would open. Very cozy.

We had heard from the tour guide that the salt was more black and grey then white like what we know from our table salt. The color is due to the impurities in the material. We walked through cheerfully lit tunnels noticing the dark walls and crystalline white veins from the salt on parts of the ceilings. We walked on smooth dark blocks which must also be salt. The temptation to lick your finger and wipe it on the smooth wall’s surface showed sure enough it was salt.

We came to the first exhibit and what do you know? This was not about the factory view of the excavation of salt, but art – sculptures made of the dark grey salt material that had been carved, not by artists, but by workers in the salt mines. They were amazingly well-lighted in the high caves of the mine. We walked through more tunnels into more enchanting rooms filled with salt sculptures.

Down flights of stairs to the most beautiful ballroom with giant chandeliers with delicate shaped crystal brilliantly set to light up the room. Relief sculptures were carved into the salt along the walls. The floors were polished to a rich patina. The whole room was salt, including the crystals in the chandeliers. It was breath taking.

I was finished at that point. More stairs. More sculptures. It was over the top. We meandered through long expanses of tunnels and about 425 steps down. My knees did pretty well for that many steps. This is truly a must see if visiting Krakow Poland.

In the evening we went across the street from the Salt Mine for dinner. We had soup served in a bowl of bread with a lid that had a bread button. The dessert was delightful - Raspberry mousse with ice cream. We were entertained all evening by folk dancers. This included some of us dancing along with the professional entertainers. This really topped off the evening and vacation.

Here is a sampling of the folk dancers we heard at dinner.






Itineary (changes to include Auschwitz and Salt Mine on the same day):

Morning at leisure for last minute shopping & packing .
2.30 pm. Meet in the lobby of hotel to depart by bus for Wieliczka
3.30 pm. Sightseeing of Wieliczka Salt Mines


6.00pm. Farewell dinner in Wieliczka at “ Karczma Halit “ with folklore .
Return to Krakow for overnight.