Wednesday16th September
On our last day in Krakow we had a quiet morning shopping and mooching around to prepare ourselves for the excitement of an afternoon visit to the Salt Mines at Wieliczuka.
It would be fair to describe this as a once in a lifetime experience so Andy and Graz, who have been before, were left to their own devices.
Jude, Graeme and I set off to catch the train which soon proved to be somewhat of a challenge. Firstly the ticket machine didn't appear to sell tickets to the Salt Mine which seemed a little strange as the Salt mines are a major tourist attraction. Then Graeme and I went to speak to the lady at the ticket office whose message was "Go to Platform 1" followed by some Polish which was well beyond Graeme and I.
So off we trotted to Platform 1 as instructed and it was a desolate platform with no-one in sight and no ticket machines. Jude and I both stepped onto different escalators to return to the ticket office and somehow Jude ended up disappearing into the bowels of the earth whilst I found myself on the ground floor. Very odd! After this debacle we finally discovered that the train is specifically for the salt mines and you buy the tickets ON THE TRAIN!! Yeeish!! A simple sign for dumb tourists would help! (When I am in charge of the world I will fix that! ).
We arrived at the station and followed the trail of tourists to the mine ticket office where I had to purchase a special ticket and sticker to allow me to take photos. We joined the English language tour, plugged in our earpieces and for the next couple of hours listened to the dulcet tones of Andre our guide as we entered the fabulous world of salt.
Now when someone says salt mines I imagine you would think about punishment and torture, emaciated workers hacking away in despicable conditions close to death
...... well let me stop you right there!!
These salt mines are the oldest continuous mines in the world as they began in 1250. The guide made a point of saying that all workers have chosen to work there since their inception.
We climbed through many tunnels and down stairs to finally be 110 metres underground. All of the walls, ceilings and floors are made of salt and, if licked, tasted salty! They looked like grey marble streaked with white, as the salt is mixed with sandstone and other rock. The sculptures and carvings in the photos are also salt.
As we moved around we came to a number of different chambers including several chapels, a couple of shops selling salt related products, a beautiful green lake and finally a huge Chapel complete with religious statues. You can even get married and have your wedding reception underground surrounded by salt. Why? I hear you ask. Well, good question!
The tour was also corny: a lovely tableau of dwarves complete with Snow White jokes, a people-eating dragon and one of our group intent on singing "Hi Ho" at every available occasion - there's one in every group! ( and this time it wasn't Graeme! )
After we'd reached our limit for facts, figures and jokes about salt we headed for home.
Once reunited with the others we wandered through the park and had an Italian meal in a beautiful garden restaurant complete with live musicians. It was a beautiful balmy night and a very fitting end to our adventures in Kracow.
Thursday 17th September
As I write this I am sitting on the plane to Lyon and assuming that Ewan is similarly on the plane from Porto to Lyon. We thought it was terribly clever that our planes are both due to land at the same time in Lyon, but ours was delayed so that plan may not eventuate!
Before we left for the airport we had a last look around town and a wander through the grounds of the very impressive Castle. Lots more turrets, which will forever make me think of Kracow, a lovely Chapel and beautiful grounds overlooking the river. It is the key point in Kracow and there were plenty of tourists.
But now it is time to change countries and polish up my abysmal school French - you can only feel sorry for the French who will have to endure it!
Your correspondent who highly recommends a trip to Zakopane and Kracow,
Dianne
No comments:
Post a Comment