Cat Cafes and Salt Mines

Today I spent the first of the day alone working on assignments because the rest of the group went to Auschwitz. They left for their visit early in the morning to drive about an hour outside of the city, tour the site and return to the old town for lunch; however, I opted out of this experience. I do not think many people understood my decision, but I do not feel the need to explain myself. While many felt this was one of the only reasons we came to Krakow (which I believe it is), I would have had a difficult time recovering from visiting such a horrific place. I understand and appreciate that people needing/wanting to see it whether to understand more or be in total disbelief, but I do not feel either of these things. It is one thing to visit battle sites, but it is quite another to visit mass graves, gas chambers and unbearable living conditions.

....instead, I filled my morning catching up on work and visiting a cat cafe. I have been without my cat (my best friend) for over a month now, and it was nice to get to play with some furry friends while drinking coffee and talking to other people.

To end this unusual day, we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. This was a very interesting tour! We had a great guide and we learned a lot about salt and how Krakow came to be such an important Polish city. Through out history salt has been one of the most expensive and important items people could buy because it preserved food. Salt did not become cheap until the invention of the refrigerator which improved salts storing ability. The salt mine is over 1,000 feet deep and roughly 178 miles long. If stretched out in a linear fashion it could almost reach from Krakow to Prague.

Within this mine there are huge cathedrals carved entirely out of salt. There are several intricate salt sculptures that add to the unbelievable spaces. Our guide showed us areas of the mine that have pure salt by shining a flash light on the wall and only the chunks of salt would become translucent. After the main tour was over we had the opportunity to visit the museum where original mining tools, maps, drawings, text and uniforms were stored.

Again, we had dinner in the old town square with a front table and a great view for people watching.

Total Mileage: 10.5