Wieliczka, salty salt and more salt!

Wieliczka is famous for salt mine. The mine is no longer in operation. It is now a great tourist attraction and we fully took advantage of what the mine has to offer.

We a took guided tour in which we had only covered about 2% of all the mine trails. And we walked for hours!

I remember visiting it back in 80's when I was in elementary school. I still remember the school picture in front of the building. I think my parents have it somewhere...

The last time I was there, was in 2001, when Andrzej took me for an elegant dinner to a very unique restaurant around 350 feet under. To the dinner we were invited as a part of Conference that Andrzej attended.

This time kids were old enough to enjoy it and remember few hours spent in mines. And the mines are impressive !

I have a soft spot in my heart for this place. I was named after St. Kinga, who is patroness of Wieliczka's mine and also, as the legend says, she is the one who brought salt to Poland as her gift to Polish people from her and her Hungarian father, King Bela IV. When she was about to marry Polish Duke Boleslaw V the Chaste, she threw her ring into salt mine in Hungary. When arriving to Poland she asked the villagers to dig and there in the salt rock they found her ring. More or less that's the story. Here is more about her.

 

We walked 83 flights of stairs down

Level 330 feet under

Nicolas Copernicus - salt statue

Legend of St. Kinga 

One of many chapels. Kiki has mentioned that it would be wonderful to get marry in one of them!

Big chapel of St. Kinga

Salt Relief

Salt Altar

More salt

Zuzanna, the miner

Very modern chapel of St. John Paul II

In the museum

St Kinga by Jan Matejko, the most famous Polish painter. I like him a lot, but I have a feeling that he always had the same face model...

More of museum exponents

Salty Frederic Chopin :)

And more salt!

 

Kinga.



Krakow - the Wawel Castle

To visit Krakow and its wonders, one needs a month! But we had two days to cover the major attractions. On the first day we covered the Old Town, on the second we visited the Wawel Castle and Cathedral.
Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures inside the Castle nor Cathedral :(

 

First look at the Cathedral and Castle behind the Cathedral

Wawel diorama



Wawel is proud to own the original of Leonardo da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine"
( on this picture of it is only a photo of the painting ) 



Courtyard

Cathedral

 

The Bell of King Sigismund I the Old



Panorama of Old Town

 

Royal tombs



Dragon of Wawel

The oldest church in Krakow, St Adalbert's

Back at the Market Square for last souvenir shopping !

 

Kinga:)

Krakow - Old Town

The proximity of this beautiful city let us visit it twice in the short time we had in Poland.
The Old Town and Wawel Castle was a must!
After bravely navigating through unbelievable traffic and finding the impossible - parking spot, we were able to show Krakow to our children. They were impressed :)

Statue of Adam Mickiewicz famous Polish/Lithuanian poet ( I have never liked him )

 

St. Mary Basilica

Lesson in history :)

Florian Gate 

Art at the Florian Gate

Diorama of Old Town

Florianska Street

Diorama of Sukiennice ( historical market place )

Inside Sukiennice

Market Square

Diorama of old City Hall

Kanonicza Street

Relief in the wall  ( I've found it quite interesting !)



Kanonicza Street

Baroque church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Diorama of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Inside the neo-gothic church of  the Dominican Fathers'

Kinga.



The visit

We. Have. Not. Visited. Poland. For. Eight. Years !!!
Yes, I had to emphasize that.

Last time we went  Kiki was six years old, Zuzia was less than two and Kubus was in a far future!
I am so glad that we did it though. The tickets were bought five months before, and that was good, because having later doubts about going, I had no choice, but visit.

Poland herself I did not like. I have sentiment to the one that we left twenty years ago.
Now it has gotten too crowded, too busy, too chaotic!!!

But the family, that is completely different story.

I honestly can't say enough  praises and good things for those who welcomed us and God knows, that we did not deserved such hospitality and generosity !!! We all got the dose of family life in great amount. I am soo happy that we went and already thinking about the next trip in the near future :)


Below:
With some of the cousins !

 

Kinga:)