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Published: December 12th 2009
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Salt Mine
The tower for the lift which brought us back to the surface We visited the Polish city of Krakow for 4 days in December - close enough to Xmas to see the markets but not so far into winter as to be miserable. We wanted to visit the Nazi death-camp at Auschwitz and the salt Mine at Wieliczka - and maybe then find a Xmas market to cheer ourselves up a bit. We achieved these things - and a little more.
The flight left at 0730 which meant a 3.30am wake up - and a long first day. When we arrived we took the train into the city then a short walk to the Hostel - we turned the wrong way on the street and had to double back once we realised but it wasn’t too bad. The room was nice, the staff friendly and very helpful and the facilities just great (if anyone wants the details let me know). Not only was there breakfast each morning but on the first day there was free dinner as well!! Very nice. Anyway, we were booked onto a Salt Mine tour at 3.00 that afternoon so we headed for the local shopping mall to find something for lunch - it had been a long
Salt Mine
Chapel of St Kinga. I didn't take any photo's as you had to buy a permit - and they wouldn't have turned out any better than this photo I took of a postcard! time since breakfast! Couldn’t remember the last time we had McD’s but it tasted just the same as ever - and definitely filled that gap. Very soon we were on the way to Wieliczka.
The salt mine was just fantastic - mining started in the 13th century and commercial production only stopped in 1996 (falling salt prices and water problems - the salt was originally very valuable as a food preservative). Visitors started coming to the mine in the 18th century and in 1978 it was among the first places to be listed by as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first surprise was that the salt was not white - depending on the type of impurities it was different colours - some almost black. It is also very solid and hard - the floors were like concrete. The next surprise was that there is a huge amount of timber in the mine - to support the roof once the salt has been removed. We walked down a never-ending wooden staircase to 65 metres below then went through corridors (they were not tunnel-like at all) from cavern to cavern and ever-downwards via more steps and stairs. The guide had
Auschwitz
No escape. very kindly told us that there was a lift to get us back up - but not until we had gone down the first bit! The miners were very religious and with the job being so dangerous they spent a lot of time praying for good luck and protection from harm - there are many chapels in the caverns with everything carved from the salt rock or wood, beautifully decorated and preserved by the salty dry atmosphere. But the best of all was the huge Chapel of St Kinga. A sizeable subterranean church, it has absolutely marvellous decorations and icons - all carved of course from salt. Most striking is the floor - hexagonal flagstones all made of salt of course, as is the statue of the local hero, Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. We decided not to sample the dishes from the restaurant which was 125 metres below ground and instead took the lift to the surface where we soon found our mini-bus to take us back to Krakow.
We were back at the hostel in time for the free Polish dinner - and an early night. The next day we were taken to
Auschwitz-Birkenau
The railway which brought millions to their deaths. The prisoners were sorted into two groups - those fit for work went to the camp, all others went straight to the adjacent "showers" to be murdered. Auschwitz and while there was much that we were expecting, there were some surprises - the main Auschwitz camp is very small and, with the neat rows of brick “dormitories” not at all what we thought we would see. There were many displays in the buildings but the most striking was the piles of belongings taken from the prisoners - all sorted into different categories the most poignant was the huge pile of shoes, especially with the realisation that each pair had belonged to somebody who had probably been murdered in the camp. What went on was, of course, just horrifying and beggars belief but the truly staggering sight must be the nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. This was the one we remembered from the books and documentaries - row upon row of huts, some brick but most wooden each housing hundreds of prisoners in crude wooden bunks; the railway line ending near the remains of two gas-chamber/crematorium complexes where the prisoners were murdered in their thousands every day; and the stories of the abject horror and inhumanity with which they were treated. The day was cool with a little rain and helped create the perfect environment to contemplate what had happened
Xmas Market
Local talent performed for the crowd. here nearly 70 years ago - we came away thinking a lot and not saying much.
Our hostel was not too far from the main market square so in the late afternoon we walked out to find the Xmas Market - it was dark by 3.30 so it seemed more like early evening but with the lights and decorations there was a real Xmas feel to it all. We walked up and down, resisting all of the “bargains” as we had only brought hand luggage with us and had no room for anything more than the obligatory post-cards and fridge magnet! We found one of the food stalls where they were able to explain what each of the dishes was made of so we went back there for our dinner - ham hock, dumplings and a huge spicy sausage to finish. Yum! Then it was around the market again to see what we couldn’t buy - but someone couldn’t resist a nice wooden Nativity scene, promising to not buy anything else if she could have that!! Luckily we were able to find room and get it back without a problem. It was another not-too-late night as we were understandably
Xmas Market
Very colourful and Christmasy. tired and quite emotionally drained.
On the 3rd day we had arranged a walking tour of the Jewish Town, the war-time ghetto and Schindler’s factory. It was on the far side of town so, luckily, the guide bought tram tickets to get us there so we only had to walk back! The Ghetto no longer exists apart from a memorial square and a small museum in a chemist shop which had provided a lot of support for the inhabitants during the worst times - in fact, when Speilberg made Schindler’s List they had to film in the nearby Jewish Town and pretend it was in the Ghetto. Understandably, at the end of the war the ghetto and its memories were erased but the stories still survive. Once again, it was a sobering visit as we heard stories of the Jewish population kept in a virtual prison until there was room in the death camps for them - and the callousness of the Nazis who led them to believe they were being taken to be relocated, charging them for their ticket to a new life and instead taking them to their death. Another visit which left us thinking a lot.
Restaurant Dinner
One of those self service places - order at the bar and your number comes up on a screen. It was very nice. We were taken past the outside of Schindler’s factory - it has been refurbished and will open next spring as a museum telling the story of war-time Krakow. Should be worth a visit.
With another visit to the market, where we managed to catch a little of a folk-singing performance, and another longing look at all we couldn’t buy, we had dinner at a nice restaurant which was recommended by the hostel staff. After checking out on our last day we left our bags at the hostel reception and walked to the Royal Palace of Wawel. The walls and buildings are very impressive but we couldn’t just walk around it without paying to get into the displays so we satisfied ourselves with walking part of the way around then walked back to the shopping mall where we looked around until it was time to catch the train back to the airport.
We ate our lunch (cheese and crackers) sitting outside the terminal where the temperature display told us it was a balmy 3 degrees - so we didn’t sit around for too long once we had finished. The flight was on time leaving, early arriving and soon we
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Ruins of one of the 5 Gas Chambers. The Nazis blew them up before the camps were liberated - in a vain attempt to hide their crimes. had picked up our car and were on our way home - just in time for some supper before yet another early night.
We were so glad we had made the effort to visit Krakow to try and understand a little more about what had happened there all those years ago.
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