Wieliczka Salt Mines/ Goodbye Poland

After our day at Auschwitz we were feeling pretty down because the tour was so overwhelming so took a few hours just to think about what we witnessed and after dinner we went out to a jazz bar for some Polish vodka. After such a depressing morning it was a nice calm evening listening to some live music at the Harris Piano Jazz Bar.

We each got a different type of flavoured vodka. 

Before the trip I did some research on what to do in Krakow (or the surrounding area) and saw that the Wieliczka Salt Mines were close by and looked pretty interesting. Even though Poland is in the EU, they have a different currency called the Zloty in Poland, and since it was the last full day we had in Poland and we had quite a bit of money left over we decided to do the Salt Mines. The best part of Poland is how cheap everything was, we all took about 560 Zloty which was equivalent to £100.00 and it was more than enough for three days where I actually had money left over after paying for the hostel, food, souvenirs and other tourist things.

We had to take the train to the Salt Mines as it was just outside of Krakow and had a guided tour. The mine was built in the 13th century and actually produced table salt up until 2007. Our guide told us that the reason they don't produce salt anymore is that they can get it cheaper from other places. We had to go through a tight winding staircase with over 350 steps to get to the bottom which reminded me of the catacombs in Paris, France. We were 64 meters below the surface, so if you don't like being underground then this tour is definitely not for you. During out tour we were able to actually lick the walls, which may sound unsanitary but we were all encouraged to do it. About 2% of the building is for tours which shows exactly how vast the mines are. All over the mine were salt statues depicting different stories that had to do with the history of the mine. There are also numerous chapels in the mines, the most beautiful and notable being the Chapel of St. Kinga with the crystal chandeliers. The chapel is used for private ceremonies including weddings, kind of a strange place to have a wedding in my opinion.

The pictures I took didn't turn out very well because the lighting down there was pretty awful and our tour guide kept us on a tight schedule so wasn't really time for taking a proper picture anyways.

Everything was made out of salt

Amazing chandilers  

Playing in the kids area

Back in Krakow we had to pack up for our next destination, Berlin. We had some time to kill before our overnight bus so we went and did a last walk around and got some pierogis (again) at a cute little restaurant.

Overall, I think Krakow was one of my favourite places to visit so far. It was so easy to get around, very affordable, everyone was so friendly and we had an amazing time!