Kraków, Poland 5
Day 5 was another excursion day. We visited Wieliczka Salt Mine! It's located 10 km (about 6.2 miles) south-east of Krakow city center. We bought tickets for a tour starting at 8:30am online. We left the hotel in the early morning to catch a public bus to get there.
On the way to the bus stop, we ran into Kraków Barbican, a 15th century defense gateway, once linked to the city walls.
At the end of the Matejko Square was St. Florian's Church, one of the oldest churches in Kraków. The original Romanesque church was founded in 1184.
Traveling by a public bus was no problem. We got off the bus at the nearest bus stop to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. However, somehow we entered the property via the gate that was apparently far from the entrance to the salt mine tour. Anyway, we had a chance to see the brine graduation tower as well as the yellow electric locomotive and the T2D SLA Śląsk steam locomotive.
We walked through a huge green space and found the meeting point to the salt mine tour finally.
Only six people (three couples), including us attended to the 8:30am English-language tour. I felt it was almost a private tour. The Tourist Route began with descending approx. 380 steps to level I (64 m) to enter the Mine. We followed our guide. The narrow square spiral staircase made me dizzy...
The guide stopped us at the places that displayed old mining tools and machines as well as the historical underground chambers and told us a story about them. The route was about 17 Celsius (63F) degree year-around. The humidity level is carefully controlled to prevent salt from melting. I usually feel uncomfortable in a narrow or dark or non-ventilated place. The combination of the three is the worst, and I was worried the salt mine would be such a case. Well, it was surely dark and closed, but pleasantly breezy, which was a surprise. Also, the cool and dry air was so comfortable, in fact much better than on the ground that was pretty hot and kinda sticky.
A lot of wooden structure were found there because salt doesn't cause wood to decay. Instead, salt preserves wood.
The salt rock statue of the renowned Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus welcomed us. It is said that he visited the mine in 1493 as one of the early visitors. Needless to say, all the statues we saw in the route as well as the walls, the ceilings, and the floors there were made of salt rock.
The excavation of the Wieliczka Salt Mine began in the 13th century and lasted until 1996 for over 700 years. According to the legend, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was caused by Princess Kinga's wish. She was the daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary, married to the Polish Duke who ruled Kraków and later became a saint.
Princess Kinga was receiving a lump of salt from a miner in Wieliczka in the scene. She found her engagement ring that she threw into a shaft in a salt mine in Hungary while she was wishing to bring the Hungarian mine to Poland. A miracle happened!
The white salt buildups on the walls are called "cauliflowers."
The endless corridors... The Tourist Route is about 3 km long, which we see only 1% of the entire mine!
There was a big chamber that displayed how important horses were to power treadmills in the mine.
King Casimir III the Great was the visionary monarch who utilized salt revenue to transform Poland.
Salt Dwarfs! They were my favorite.
Groundwater is the enemy of salt. There was a system to collect and control groundwater in the mine. Operating the system by hand continuously looked hard but the operators were well-paid. Fair enough?
We reached Level II, 90m deep!
The mine had four chapels, which miners regularly visited for prayer.
The largest chapel is the Chapel of Saint Kinga, located at 101 meters deep.
The altars, bas-reliefs, and sculptures were all carved by the salt miners, not professional artists. Very impressive!
The giant chandeliers were made entirely of salt crystals.
More to go! We marched on the salt tiled corridor for a while.
The mysteriously-colored underground lake (9 meter deep) was artificial and fully saturated with salt.
We reached the Michałowice Chamber, located at 110 meters deep, which was our guide's favorite chamber.
Another underground lake had a music and light show. The music was Poland's most well-known composer Chopin, of course.
The steep staircase above the lake wasn't included in our tour. Was it good or bad?
Again, an underground lake was on our way. A boat ride through the tunnel used to be available here, but not today.
We took more steps down...
The enormous chamber was the last chamber of the tour. It was at Level III, 135 meters deep while the Wieliczka Salt Mine reaches a depth of 327 meters. Amazing!
The tour group was dismissed at the Level III that had a gift shop, a restaurant, and a banquet hall. We haven't had a breakfast yet but we decided to eat something when we get back to the ground.
Going up to the ground level was easy. There was an elevator, not a staircase. However, it's not simple to get the elevator. You need to stand at the "Exit" lane and wait for a guide who takes you to the elevator. The path to the elevator was pretty long and complicated. Without a guide, you would easily get lost in the salt mine maze. The guide was the same lady who took us to the Tourist Route.
The elevator was very small. About six people could stand inside tightly, but it was a short ride since the elevator moved pretty fast. The elevator box had the lattice walls. I enjoyed the cool air coming in. It was like an amusement ride at a theme park!
There was another gift shop at the ground level. We bought a bag of semi-coarse rock salt as a souvenir. I think the Wieliczka Salt Mine was definitely worth a visit!
When we came back to Kraków by bus, the first thing we did was having a late breakfast. Zaczyn was a local bakery near the river, outside of the Old Town. Their vegan sweet and savory pastries looked well-made with fresh seasonal ingredients in a Polish traditional but creative style. I could immediately tell they won't disappoint me.
The bakery had a small cafe space. Many tables were already taken but luckily a couple of tables were available. It was unfortunate that those tables were burning in direst sunlight. No wonder nobody didn't want to take them. I chose a plum bun with oat crumble, hazelnuts and cinnamon icing. The bun looked fluffy but had an extra weight because it held a whole fresh plum (cut in half and seeded) and rose jam (I think) inside. It was absolutely delicious!
J had a savory bun with potatoes, almond cheese and black sesame seeds. He told me it was very tasty. The challahs on the cooling rack looked lovely, too. It was a kind of bakery that I would love to live next to.
Then we walked in the Planty park again. The park around the Old Town was a real oasis in Kraków.
We stopped by a church at the foot of the Wawel Royal Castle. I mistakenly had thought that it was the Wawel Cathedral. When we were inside, I started feeling it might not be the Cathedral. No, it wasn't.
It was the Baroque Church of Saint Bernardine of Siena with the monastery of the Bernardine Fathers, built in the second half of the 17th century. The Wawel Cathedral stands on the castle hill, by the way.
Lunch time has already come. J chose Klezmer-Hois, another Jewish restaurant in the Jewish quarter. Klezmer-Hois means Klezmer’s house in Polish. The restaurant is situated in the 15th century building that used to be a Jewish ritual bathhouse and the dining room recreate the atmosphere of the prewar thriving times.
In addition to the restaurant, the building also houses the office of Austeria Publishing House that offers books related to Jewish subjects as well as European literature and also a bookstore that sells various books, including those published by Austeria, maps, posters and stationaries. The dining room's walls were filled with books, maps and photos, just like the interior of a cafe or a social club in the old days.
The restaurant serves dishes of the traditional Jewish cuisine. I tried a broad beans and capers salad as a starter. It was literally broad beans and cappers, dressed with a light creamy sauce. It tasted ok but it was unexpectedly pretty garlicky and salty. It would have been better to be served with bread or as a part of a simple fresh tomato and leafy salad.
J's starter was a mushroom soup, I think. Our table was tilted. The soup was almost slipping out of the bowl. Hurry up and eat!
My main dish was trout roasted in herbs and garlic. That was simple and tasty, not garlicky at all. I chose Ptitim, also known as pearl couscous as a side.
J had stuffed goose necks, a part of both the Jewish and Polish culinary traditions. I tasted a bit. It somehow reminded me of thanksgiving stuffing. His side was a potato pancake. It wasn't as good as Ariel's, according to him.
J had a glass of vodka, too. The lunch was enjoyable. Another lovely choice, J!!
For a dessert, we moved to Ciastkarnia Vanilla, a cake shop near the restaurant. Various cakes were displayed in the showcase.
Some were recognizable but many were what I had no idea what they were. The deep cake (cheese cake?) with figs attracted me but I wanted to taste a very traditional one...
Kremówka Budyniowa (Cream Custard) was a winner! It's a Polish traditional dessert with the vanilla pastry cream sandwiched between crisp puff pastry. It is't also known as Kremówka Papieska (Papal Cream Cake) because it was a favorite dessert with Pope John Paul II.
It tasted as it looked. There was nothing surprised me in a good way. J was still full with the lunch. Almost all of the custard square was mine!
To be continued...
