Krakow, Poland Day 4

Krakow, Poland Day 4

Today was not full of emotional or depressing events like yesterday at Auschwitz. It was time for a change. We took a packaged tour to the giant salt mine just outside of town. The van came to get us in the morning and it was 40 min to get there. The tour was about three hours long and then we returned to the center of town. This is the oldest fully operational mine in the world. It has been mined for salt since the 1500's. Never ,has it been looted or destroyed, so everything in there is in great shape. We entered through a mine shaft about 90 meters deep, but we did not take the elevator down. We walked down a rickety staircase into the abyss. It was like a fire escape in a very old building. The wood was in decent shape and seemed to support all the tourists making their way to the bottom. Down below, there were several flat routes through the mine. The guide told us that there were over 300 KM of routes, so be sure to stay with the group, or else it would be a long night down below. I found that difficult to believe, but they have had 500 years to carve them all. I guess maybe that's possible. We saw rooms that opened up into large expanses and some have been converted to little chapels. The miners were very religious and wanted places to pray while taking a break from the work. Horses were used to hoist salt up and wood down the mine in these intricate contraptions. At times, hundreds of horses were used in the mine to work. Most lived their entire lives down below. One giant room even looked like the inside of a cathedral complete with a choir balcony, altar, and decorative walls. Chandeliers even hung from the ceiling. The guide was a young Polish woman that had a dry humor that we found to be hysterical. She was able to answer a few questions that I had and made the tour entertaining. The temps down below were cool and the moisture had been sucked out through the ventilation. Water is not good for the salt. The ride out was a little easier with a lift. When the lift went up, the lights went out and it quickly zoomed towards the surface. The air rushing by and the people tightly crammed inside made it a blast. We said goodby to the mine just as quickly as we got there and were headed back to Krakow.

When we got back we were hungary, so a stop at the grocery store was necessary. This is where hostel living really pays off. A whole entire meal that filled a bucket was made for just a few bucks. We made pasta with veggies, meat, and cheese. The weather outside was so nice, we just sat out back and chilled. This made for an easy evening of relaxing and blog writing.

Tomorrow, we go to Prague on the night train.