Wednesday July 4th, 2007
Europe > Poland > Wieliczka
I took a minibus to the little city Wieliczka. It's about 15 km southeast of Krakow. The city is mostly known for it's salt mine.
After walking down a really big number of steps, you reach some halls/rooms. Many of these rooms has sculptures made of salt. Most impressing down here was the underground church. After some more smaller stairs you ultimately reach a level of 135 metres below ground.
Visitors here have to walk together with a guide in a group. No wandering on your own. I walked in a Polish group with a Polish guide. It was a bit to understand him, since I only know about 7 words :). But it did not matter that much because on the bus to Wieliczka, I met a Polish family: Lucas 10 years, his mother Sophie and grandma Regine. Regine emigrated to France under the war. They are now Polish residents in France but are here in Poland to meet relatives and do a bit of touristing. Back to the salt mine. Sophie's english was good so she could translate what the guide was saying. Really nice of her. Regine didn't know any english but I actually could understand some of here French.
After visiting the salt mine we ate dinner together. Traditional polish food at a restaurant. I can't remember the name of the dish. It looked like ravioli. Tasted really good.
Tomorrow I will visit Oswiecim, maybe better known as Aushwitz.
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