When you are looking forward to something it's a little easier to raise yourself of a morning. We'd read and heard lots of positive comments about Wieliczka Salt Mine and were looking forward to our visit. So an early breakfast. Scrambled eggs and toast for Angela, scrambled eggs and, wait for it, coleslaw for some of the other guests. Not sure about that one! At 9.28 am our driver Adam arrived at the hotel. We were his only pick up of the day, so it was just the three of us in an eight seater mini bus. Leaving the city Adam drove us through areas we had already walked, and then areas new to us further out. Adam was both charming and informative, and we were pleased we had the pleasure of being his clients for the day. His attentiveness and knowledge made our trip to and from the salt mines pass with ease. He even stood with us in the entry queue until we entered the building. Since we arrived in Krakow we have been impressed by the kindness, helpfulness and welcome of the people here. We have also been impressed by the cleanliness. Unlike Poole, you don't need to watch where you place your feet each step, and the public toilets are immaculate. Well worth the 38 pence paid to use them. Shame about Brexit. Why on earth did we drive these people away when they contributed so much to our economy. Their work ethic is second to none. At the mine we were sucked into a group of around thirty people. Our English speaking guide encouraged us to keep up, quipping she was only allowed to lose ten percent of the group. We began at the rear of the group alongside six Americans, who were like naughty schoolchildren. We didn't mind, they made us laugh.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine was absolutely fascinating. The sheer size of it mind-blowing, and we saw only one percent of the site.
The highlight, St. Kinga's Chapel which you can hire for weddings. Goodness knows what the cost would be? All the sculptures in the mine are carved out of salt. In this chapel, which took seventy years to complete, the carving of the last supper is amazing. Even the chandeliers are salt. And if the fancy takes you, you can lick the walls, the guide actually encouraged you to do so. Then after nearly three hours of walking down eight hundred steps, three hundred and thirty at the start, you are returned to street level, one hundred and thirty five meters up, via the old miners shaft in the original lift cage that held eight miners.
Today, it felt very snug with four adults, two young children, and Angela who counts as a half adult. Adam was waiting for us when we exited the building and returned us safely back to our hotel.
This evening a last walk around the Christmas market, buying a couple of items before eating once again at Dolabella Due. At the table next to us a young couple who wanted to own their own home. So we talked property. He was from Bournemouth and the head office of the company he worked for was in Amersham, an area we know well. Unbelievable. Enjoying the restaurants fantastic food whilst chatting, our allotted time of an hour and a half at the table ran into two. The waiter brought us complimentary hazelnut liqueurs, which Angela drank sceptically. Tonight Krakow old town is heaving. Christmas is just around the corner and the holidays have begun. Light snow is forecast during the night, so hopefully we'll see some before we leave tomorrow. It would be a perfect end to our time here.
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