The pictures I have of Krakow do not do it justice. It is an amazing city. The buildings, parks, and the numerous churches are spectacular. The buildings were not destroyed during WWII like most of the other cities in Europe.
The food is good too. Lots of perogies.
I did a walking tour around the city yesterday. It was a bit chilly but good for checking out the sites. The walk was five hours. I went to the salt mine today. The mine is underground and was a working mine for over 700 years! It closed down operations in 1996 and now is a tourist attraction. It was very interesting. The salt is black. It is called green salt as the lighting wasn't good back then and they thought the black colour was green. There are fasinating sculptures made out of the salt and it was miners that created them. There are three chapels in the mine. One of the small ones is called Holy Cross Chapel and then there is this amazing one that is quite large and still holds weddings and special ceremonies. It was spectacular to happen upon. I knew nothing about this mine before going so I was pleasantly suprised with the whole visit. Did I mention there are churches everywhere? They also have more masses a day then we do at home, so yes I made it to mass and oh yes the former Pope is from Poland, so there are statues of him everywhere too. Even underground.
On the way to the salt mine I was on the public bus with a group of Scouts from Sweden. They were between the ages of 17 and 20 and were earning their "international adventure" badge. It sounded cool. They were dropped off in pairs around Poland and give seven maps. They knew the end location and had to figure out which map would work and where they were. They had 10 days to walk 160 km's with their gear. They had to carry camping gear, food, water etc. Around 20kg's of stuff each. They could stay with people along the way and eat with them but only if the people invited them. All of them earned their badge and were supporting new belts with a compass as the belt buckle. A present for finishing. Each year two countries are chosen as the adventure country. They said next year is Spain and Italy but that you can only do the adventure once.
At the mine I went through with a couple and his parents from England. They too were cool to talk with. It was his birthday and she suprised him with a trip to Krakow. She woke him at 2am and told him to get up. She didn't tell him anything, just get dressed and ready. At the airport she gave him a present to open and it was a guide book for Krakow. Then once at the hotel in Krakow they went for breakfast and there were his parents. They had flew in the day before. I have always wanted to be suprised with a trip, so if my future husband is reading, oh forget that. Anyone can do it. I have always wanted to be told to pack a bag for hot or cold weather and then taken on a suprise trip, hey they could even pack a bag for me like this woman did for her husband. They were having a great weekend away. Must be nice to jet set like that and go to Poland for the weekend.
Enjoying the city. I have to say it is fantastic.
Click on the following link for Krakow Poland pictures
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