My Polish Weekend

A few weeks ago, I couldn’t have found Krakow on a map, but my visit this weekend was another amazing adventure. :-) I went with four other exchange students from WHU. On the first day, we walked to the Krakow Market Square, visited the Mariacki Church, which was filled with amazing golden statues. After a full day of sightseeing we had a large traditional Polish Dinner, at Pod Aniolami and drank Zubrowka bison grass vodka before heading to the underground bar/club scene in downtown Krakow.

Sunday was a day I'll never forget. I saw two extremes of what men are capable of. I spent a few hours in the morning taking a guided tour of Auschwitz and in the afternoon I visited a mammoth salt mine filled with sculptures dating back to the 14th century.

I can’t do justice in describing Auschwitz. It felt cold beyond the January winter temperature. I took a couple pictures of the remaining buildings and as we went on a formal tour of the compound. I’m glad I witnessed it, but I never want to go back.

...


We spent the afternoon in the Wieliczka Salt Mine. A salt mine doesn’t sound like a very interesting place, but it actually was really great. First of all, it was about 60 degrees and after spending the last two days walking outside in the snow, it was a welcomed change of pace.

This mine was incredible. The rooms sparkled as light shined into the semi-transparent salt walls. It smelled like the ocean, and you could taste the salt as you breathed. It has been in operation as far back as the 14th century, and many chambers were filled with amazing salt sculptures and pools of brine.

Some of the chambers were many stories tall, and large enough that they are often rented for weddings. After dinner I was so exhausted I actually was excited to return to the “Bling Bling” Hostel. I posted some great pictures from this trip, and I tried to add some captions to hopefully make them more interesting.

2007-01-28 Trip to Krakow