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Archive for December, 2015

where’s cinderella? ;)

It’s definitely no small feat to out-Disney Walt but Krakow does… it’s Disney – but not fake – so more wondrous – and cheaper – than the real thing 😉

cinderella's carriage?

cinderella’s carriage?

There is no Cinderella though.  She would not really look out of place, but if you want a princess lunch, you need the real Disney.  You will be more wowed by the sites in Krakow though…

Like Rome and Paris, you can just wander and see spectacular architecture on an ordinary street.  Certain sites though are required stops.  You can do them in any order but they are all worth your time.

The largest is the Cloth Hall.  It is located on the Old Town Square and was one of the first shopping

szopka

szopka

malls.  Apparently they got their start in the Renaissance 😉  In those days it was stone instead of glass and narrow staircases instead of escalators but the general concept hasn’t changed.  These days it’s full of tourist souvenirs.  Dragons are very big in eastern Europe and Krakow has one, which you can take home in a variety of fabrics and sizes.  One of the most colourful creations is the szopka – a Krakow version of the nativity scene that features colourful representations of actual Krakow buildings in addition to the manger.  The most classy, discrete souvenir is amber.  The Cloth Hall is a great location to check out different designs at competitive prices.  I ended up with earrings in three different shades.

It’s not clear the true impact of religion on global progress (or decline) but there is no question it has resulted in a lot of spectacular architecture.  The Catholic Church would be totally at home running a Super PAC but at least it funneled most of the funds into an ostentatious display of wealth that could be enjoyed by the masses instead of cringe-worthy campaign ads.

just part of the altar!

just part of the altar!

You can visit any of the churches no matter how you feel about the Pope.  You may just need to pay a few zloty.  The most magnificent is St Mary’s Basilica.  It is just off the square near the Cloth Hall.  It just looks like a church from the outside.  Not unimpressive but it is not until you get inside that you appreciate it is not just any church.  You have to pay an extra five zloty to take photos but it’s totally worth it – except, of course, that it is full of ornate stained glass, over-the-top ornamentation, intricate wood carvings… it is impossible to do it justice in a cheezy tourist photo.  It is better to put your camera away for a few minutes and just take in the workmanship and the grandeur.  The altar is one of the grandest I have seen – and I have seen a lot of churches 🙂

Krakow is full of churches and you should seek out some of the less famous ones.  One of the most

a tiny piece of the amazing art deco stained glass

a tiny piece of the amazing art deco stained glass

impressive is St Francis’ Basilica.  It is off the tourist path so you can enjoy it without crowds.  What is impressive are the spectacular art deco stained glass windows.

the shoes! :)

the shoes! 🙂

Krakow is full of delights like that.  You can score a pair of shoes that will make your friends envious.  There is an opera house modelled on Paris.  There are horse-drawn carriages where the horses are perhaps better attired than the patrons.  You might encounter a spontaneous polka being played.  There are various venues where you can enjoy classical music in a historic setting.  Cinderella would feel right at home 🙂

I never even managed to get through all the experiences I was hoping for.  Kazimierz was the Jewish quarter until World War II and houses Shindler’s famous factory.  Apparently it has re-emerged as a cool, bohemian quarter, the kind of neighborhood I gravitate to in cities.  I also wanted to check out Nowa Huta, a model Soviet city from the Cold War era.  Of course, the other thing to do in Poland is try vodka.  I’m not really a fan but it’s always fun to try and experience the local culture.  I did do some vodka tasting on Florianska Street but it was a tourist scam.  Find a bar – or if you have a long layover in Warsaw airport like I did – try some high end vodka there.

I was driven back to the airport by the same driver who brought me to the hotel.  He had also given me recommendations.  I confessed that I had not realized how much there was to do in Krakow and my visit had been far too short – but that did provide the perfect excuse for a second trip.  Perhaps this time I could even leave the airport in Warsaw.  I hear good things 😉

 

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Heigh Ho – to the mine we go ;)

One of the highlights of a trip to Krakow is actually not in the city itself.  The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a UNESCO world heritage site.  Like Wawel Castle, it is one of the original twelve.  UNESCO has gone the way of Beatles tribute bands but Poland boasts two of the original band members – and they are spectacular.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

You can get to the salt mine via public transport but you will have to join a guided tour to see the mine so there didn’t seem to be a huge advantage to not just signing up for a tour from Krakow.

If you are on a tight budget, you can save a little organizing your own transportation.  The full tour is not expensive and you can relax and fully enjoy your day.  It also looked like the tour group we joined at the mine was smaller than the ones assigned to the public tours.

The salt mine is fascinating.  The deposit of rock salt in Wieliczka has been mined since the 13th century.  It is one of the oldest of its type in Europe.  The mine illustrates some key historic stages in the development of mining techniques in Europe from the 13th to the 20th centuries.  It’s hard to believe in the 21st century world of cheap, often iodized, salt that in medieval times it was currency in some economies and many important milestones in human history came about because of the production or transportation of salt.

http://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/

under the earth…

What is really astonishing is how long the mine has been a tourist attraction.  Each year it is visited by more than a million visitors!  Tourism began in the 18th century and there is large roster of famous guests.  Some – like Pope John Paul II and Goethe – have special salt statues to immortalize their visits.  It is also interesting as the temperature is more or less constant and the salt in the air is supposed to be good for your health.  There is a cathedral with excellent acoustics and fascinating subterranean ponds.  You can even spend New Year’s Eve in the mine!

Who knew mining could be so glamourous 🙂

It is definitely not an attraction for anyone with the slightest sense of claustrophobia.  The mine is a giant maze.  You start your journey on a train that takes you into the mine to start your explorations.  It starts like Disneyland but you also need to be comfortable walking as it’s a journey.  You walk about three kilometres and do some serious stairs.  At the end, you are herded like mineworkers into an extremely crowded elevator that is the real deal used to take workers into and out of the mine.  It is freaky but very fast!

The mine itself is interesting but what has enticed the millions of visitors are the sculptures created by the workers.  The sculptures are all composed of rock salt from the mine.  They are incredible.  Famous people are immortalized in salt.  The most whimsical are the sculptures of the Seven Dwarfs – mining of course 😉 and lit by coloured lamps.

resisting disney is futile ;)

resisting disney is futile 😉

not your ordinary piece of salt!

not your ordinary piece of salt!

One of the rewards of the long journey is that you eventually emerge into a cathedral built entirely of salt.  Mining is not without danger so, in this deeply Catholic country, the workers built the cathedral to pray for their safety.  It is impossible to describe.  You are several levels under the ground but you are in this majestic space full of glittering salt (even a claustrophobic would be fine it is so large).  It is one of the most unique sights you can witness anywhere in the world.

This is a tourist attraction, not a mine, and one has to be impressed at how creatively they are trying to push you to buy salt in the gift shop.  Who knew you could do that many things with rock salt…

In addition to the wonders of the mine, you learn about the place of salt in human history and how the value and role of commodities in society is always open to disruption from new technology or changing tastes.

If you do a group tour, you may also be exposed to the new tourists of the 21st century.  We had a professor from Oman and a family from Mexico as part of our group.  The roads are being increasingly diversified.  It can only be an advantage to the planet for more people to go and see it and get to know each other.

One of the wonders of travel is discovery.  Most of the discoveries are small and personal.  But sometimes you stumble by accident upon something unexpected that is truly worthy of international fame.  Go check it out!

 

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