We started in Krakow on Saturday night (after Ben had flown all night from Denver the night before, poor thing) and headed straight out to check out the city. Then on Sunday we hit up all of the hot tourist spots in the main part of town - central square, castle, fire-breathing dragon (not real and not real big). We had some great food and made some new friends to boot!
Main square - centuries old and the largest in Europe
Castle hill
Looking over the river
Fire-breathing dragon (told you)
Tasty treat
Monday we took a small day trip out of town to visit the salt mine. The mine has been in operation since 1300 something (I think) and has 9 levels. We were able to visit parts of 3 of them, but only saw about 5%!! The highlight of the tour was a massive chapel in the middle that was entirely made of salt - the walls, the floors, the pictures, the statues - everything! We both thought the mine was pretty sweet, but were happy to be back in some fresh air and a little sunshine at the end.
One of the caverns finished in 1666
The miners made many statues throughout the mines
In the chapel
By Tuesday we were realizing that we were going to want more time in Krakow than we had previously planned (until Wednesday). So we arranged to stay another night in our hotel. Since we were traveling by train to Warsaw, it was easy to postpone buying those tickets. So with all of that settled, we set out to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau - the Nazi prison/death camps. This was a very sobering trip and it didn't help that it was gloomy and rainy most of the day.
Entry to Auschwitz I
Birkenau - much bigger and more morbid, if possible
The Nazis burned most of the barracks (each of which held at least 700 people!) when they retreated. These chimneys remain as a grim reminder.
Ruins of the gas chambers where many Jews were sent if they were deemed unfit to work
Thankfully we had ALL DAY on Wednesday to still explore Krakow! We did a lot more wandering, especially in and near the park that circles the middle of town. We also did some souvenir shopping and just enjoyed the day.
A cute restaurant
People watching
The Park
Grilling our own sausage
On Thursday we boarded a train to Warsaw. This train was different than the trains I use in England. It was much more "old-fashioned", if you will, as in it had compartments with 6 (1st class) or 8 (2nd class) seats and a door that opened onto the hallway. We traveled 1st class and shared our compartment with only one other person, so we were very comfortable. We slept quite a lot and watched the countryside pass. If you must know, it looks a lot like Wisconsin - lots of deciduous trees, mainly farms and some small hills.
I'm going to have to take a break and show you Warsaw later...but hopefully this is enough to keep everyone happy!
1 comment:
Girl -- You look so great! :) London looks good on you. I miss seeing you and I'm so jealous of all your travels but I enjoy reading about them. Glad you had a fun visit with Ben. :)
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