Day 3 - The Wieliczka Salt Mine (also 'Highs and Lows')

I had a long and restful sleep. I went to breakfast at a more civilised time today. I have a tour booked, but not until 2 pm, so seeing the blue skies from my window I decided to make the most of the weather and take a nice long walk to the Krakow Mound. All roads lead from the Market Square again, which was just getting going.

The walk took me around 50 minutes through some lovely streets - it feels quite Parisian in places here. The wind was really picking up now. I crossed the river using a lovely old iron bridge. Every corner here seems to have a church on it, but I was soon at the Rynek Podgorski, a large square with a very impressive church at the end of it.

This area was the ghetto area for the Jews during WW2. I walked up past the church on the left-hand side and crossed a major road by footbridge. I was definitely walking up a hill!

I followed the signs for the Krakus Mound. There are a total of five mounds in Kraków, making it a worldwide record holder - what an accolade! The Krakus Mound is the oldest mound dating back to the 7th century and it measures 16 m (52 ft) in height. Legend has it that it is the tomb of the pagan Prince Krak—the founder of Kraków.
As I got to the foot of the final path which spiralled around the mound the wind really started to whip up. No matter, on I went. Halfway up I realised that this really was quite a foolish act. The wind was so strong that I felt as though I was going to fly away. I talked myself into getting to the top which I did and then I just sat on the floor! Later checks showed the winds were 40mph - silly girl.

Me sitting on the floor pretending not to be scared.

The views were really amazing, and I can imagine that on a less blowy day you’d be very happy here! I talked myself into walking down again and set off back to the river. I had read a little article about the Rainbow Steps, and a check on the map told me that I was less than two minutes away from them.

The colourful stairs were painted in 2013 and were called ‘Watch Your Step’ - the two female artists wanted to give life to these forgotten steps, which really are hidden away. It was only me around, so I guess they are pretty much forgotten. I think ALL steps should be like this. They are really pretty. One man watched me sit at the bottom and take a picture and he looked at me like I was mad. Maybe he will see them in a different light now. Maybe not!

I walked over a foot bridge on the way back, which I had spotted from the blue iron one earlier. They had beautiful balancing acrobats suspended on them.

I was very hungry from the walking and the terror from my mound episode, so I stopped for a sandwich and a coffee. I have no idea what I ate, but it was delicious. Shoarma vegetable rye bun - I was assured it was vegetarian!

Next stop is the meeting point with the driver from yesterday’s tour. She met me and a couple from Wigan (who she could not understand AT ALL - even I struggled) and drove us for 35 minutes to the Wieliczka salt mines. We met our guide, Kinga (I made sure to remember this time) and we descended the 380 steps, 135m underground (442 feet). The salt mines have been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1978. We walked through tunnels that were head height until we reached a huge chamber with the first carving from salt.

Everything in this area is carved from salt - even the floor tiles. Kinga was a stern, but excellent guide and she explained the history of the mine. She explained that salt production in the area is pretty much the reason that so many beautiful palaces and churches exist. It was a very valuable commodity. A third of the royal treasury’s income came from salt. The mines have been a tourist attraction since 1493. The mine now belongs to the Polish State. The mine was decommissioned in 1964 as a rock salt supplier and industrial salt production ceased in 1996.

There are still miners working there, but now it is just to keep it safe and in good condition. Visitors see around 1% of the mine’s 9 levels, which gives you an idea of its size since we took 90 minutes to see the tourist route.
Did you know that the word ‘Salary’ is derived from the word ‘salt’ - Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt instead of money.

The next stop for us was a chamber flooded by a lake which was green due to high salt content.

Finally we saw the huge Chapel of St Kinga - a chapel which was carved by four miners over 30 years (why weren’t they working I hear you ask?). It was huge, and when Kinga explained how hard it is to sculpt salt, it really did make for an impressive sight.

It was a most enjoyable tour, a LOT of walking. Our weary legs climbed back into the minibus and soon we were back in the Old Town.

There was a market on the square, so I had a little browse, bought some postcards, and went back to the room for a rest.

Dinner was a more upmarket choice tonight - an espresso martini, followed by Pierogi (dumplings), stuffed with lentils and in a forest mushroom sauce. Oh god, so filling. I looked like a dumpling myself when I finished and had to go for a walk to start to feel less uncomfortable. The restaurant was called Wesele - and apart from the waiter taking away every single side plate, knife, fork, spoon, napkin and glass from my table - leaving me with a huge expanse of white table cloth and my own place setting, it was very nice.

I’ve walked 30, 371 steps today and my little leg are fuzzing in protest. I’ve been to the highest and lowest points of Krakow today.

Sweet dreams x