Krakow with Helen!

So, on our journey over the hills that form the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, we began to notice a slight noise coming from the front left wheel. Suspecting a worn wheel bearing – we dropped Ernie off at the ford dealership in Krakow on a Friday afternoon, where they informed us that no, it was probably a nasty issue with the driveshaft - GREAT. Perfect timing though, as the dealership essentially provided secure parking while we met up with Helen, who was flying into Krakow for the weekend.

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Helen, Hayley and I were staying in an AirBnB in the Kazimierz district, which is essentially the Vesterbro of Krakow, full of bars, restaurants, hipster shops and kebab places. Perfect. Helen’s flight didn’t arrive until 10:30pm, so Hayley and I decided to wander around a bit and get a feel for Krakow. We stumbled into a shop chock-a-block full of maps, so we stocked up on maps for Hungary, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and the Balkan countries. Essentially, I’ve lost a little faith in our Garmin GPS after some crazy dirt road detours – so back-up maps were acquired. Then, it was off for dinner. Since this was Poland, I decided on spaghetti carbonara, it was great. The Jack Daniels promo girls were wandering around the restaurant giving out free shots of their new ‘Honey’ version, also great. Slightly tipsy Hayley and I went off to pick Helen up from the train station. And then, of course, we went straight back to the AirBnB for a good night’s sleep before tackling Krakow proper tomorrow…

Nursing hangovers, we found a great breakfast place about 2min stroll from the apartment. Bacon, eggs, sausage and coffee was ordered all round. Eventually the plan of attack became the Wieliczka Salt mine – about 20min outside of town by train. To get down to the salt mine required walking down 54 flights of steps, to a total depth of about 130m below ground. This rather large salt deposit has been exploited by the local people for hundreds of years. Given the value salt had in preserving food, this one salt mine once provided one third of Poland’s entire income! One slab (or loaf) of salt about the size of pig could buy a small village back in the 1600 and 1700’s. Gradually as iceboxes and refrigeration came onto the scene salt began to lose its value and thus the mine began to morph into a tourist attraction. Miners would carve statues, create beautiful chandeliers, and even create a giant chapel underground – all out of salt. Yes, if you lick the walls, it does taste salty.

Into the mine

Salt Chandeliers

Salt Chandelier

Salt Sculpture

Scaffolding

We headed back into town, essentially running along trying to find some cover before this very imposing black cloud dumped its contents onto us. We found shelter in the nick of time on the main square, where, pivo in hand, we could watch other tourists scatter as the storm unloaded. A typical polish dinner of far too much meat and potatoes followed thereafter.

Check out the before, during and after images:

Impending Doom

Pouring Rain

Rainbow Finish

Blue Skies Again

Sunday brought a walking trip out to Shindler’s Factory, which was typically WWII depressing. It gave a look into life in Krakow before and during the Nazi occupation. It’s well worth a visit, but the sombreness of the place was interrupted by some rather loud individuals. In a completely unrelated point, we decided we should write a book titled ‘Shit American Tourists Say’. Classics to be included are ‘Well it’s not as big as our Statue of Liberty’ (when referring to the Little Mermaid), ‘I can’t believe they don’t take American Dollars here’ (in Poland) and ‘Do you do tours in American?’ (right after the tour guide has said this is the English tour).

After the factory tour, we headed up a rather large hill overlooking Krakow for a fantastic view in the sunshine! After some more random wandering and Pivo sampling, we said goodbye to Helen and went off to see how Ernie was doing after his wheel bearing surgery, and had the wonderful experience of being told that it WAS indeed the bearings! Nothing better that being right AND on the road again.

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Oh my it's the pope! This is the window where he once waved, and now there is a permanent picture as a reminder. They really love their Polish Pope.

What is this sunshine??? Enjoy it while it lasts!!