Poland > The salt mines of Wieliczka

The worst of the morning rush hour is already over when we leave Warsaw around half past nine. Today we are traveling to Krakow in the south of Poland. The navigation system suggests taking the highway. This is quite a detour, but still the fastest route. Even so, the navigation expects it will still take us four and a half hours. Via the highway we drive westwards towards Poznan. At the junction with the A1 we head south towards Katowice. Along the way we stop once to refuel and have a coffee. Around two o’clock we approach Krakow. Before going into Krakow, we first visit the Wieliczka Salt Mines. The salt mine complex is located just past Krakow. Since we already reserved tickets for the English- language guided tour, we don’t need to stand in line at the ticket counter.

Poland - A huge cathedral carved in the salt mines

We are directed to a separate booth. Our tour begins at four o’clock. We are early, so we still have time to eat something. In a restaurant we order beetroot soup with a croquette—probably a local combination. At exactly four o’clock Svetlana welcomes us. She guides us into the mine. The mine shafts reach depths of up to three hundred meters. However, the tourist route does not go deeper than 140 meters. First we have to descend to level 1. For this we take the stairs. More than fifty times we descend a small flight of seven steps. It seems endless. Looking down between the railings, the staircase appears to go on forever. At a depth of 65 meters underground, Svetlana shows us the salt mines. She explains the salt rollers carved from the rocks, the wooden constructions for hoisting, and various salt sculptures in different settings. By descending more stairways we reach levels two and three, ending up at a depth of 140 meters. The temperature is a pleasant 14 degrees Celsius. Usually, in summer, visitors are warned to bring warm clothes, but today it feels nicer than outside. The highlight of the tour is the “Salt Cathedral”: a huge hall carved out as a church. Magnificent! All the statues, the altar, and the staircase are hewn from salt. After almost two hours the tour ends.

Poland - All decorations are carved from salt

Svetlana asks if anyone is interested in the museum. We had read about it in the guidebook. Strangely, only two other visitors besides us are interested. For Svetlana this is no problem. She leads the other people to the elevator and takes us to the museum. She explains the exhibited tools, the colorful minerals, and we pass halls with large wooden hoisting constructions. We would not have wanted to miss this extra tour. This tour also ends at the elevator: a tight, somewhat outdated lift for nine people. With some squeezing, everyone fits. The lift safely brings us up through the old mine shaft. Back on the surface it is already dark. The grounds are almost deserted. We find our car again and drive to our hotel in Krakow’s Jewish quarter. Reaching the hotel is not easy. There is a no-entry sign with a Polish note beneath it. At first we do not enter. When it turns out this is the only way to the hotel, we decide to drive down the narrow street. We park briefly on the sidewalk to bring our luggage to the room. Afterwards, we park the car in a small lot three hundred meters away, belonging to the hotel. By then it is half past eight, and we don’t really feel like having a full meal anymore. We walk towards Krakow’s old town. In a small basement pub we order beer and reflect on the wonderful visit to the salt mines. Tomorrow we are going to Auschwitz. That will be an excursion of a very different kind.