Francuski Krakow

... remember, " "Rest in Peace" and the like. I noticed many high school students leaving their names as a way to tell the world that they were there to learn and pass on the knowledge to future generations. There were hundreds of pages where other people of other origins wrote their thoughts as well - but there was one page which literally made my heart stop.

One page had a swastika drawn on it with a message underneath which read (in Polish), "From fascists and antisemites ...

... Jesus Preaching. Salt was one of the most valuable commodities in ancient times, surpassing gold and silver, since it was needed to preserve food and feed an empire's army. Miss President of India was also visiting the salt mines and her security team blocked elevators, so we had to use the scarier rudimentary elevator to exit.

Then it was off to the train station and on our way to Prague!

... they had an argument down there & he'd checked himself into another hotel - must have been some argument to stay clear of his wife for 3 days!!! Anyway, apparently when we went we only saw 1% of the mines, which just shows the size of the place as we did a good two hours down there! We did have to walk down 54 flights of steps to get down though, but luckily there was a lift up! Great day out though & some amazing sights with the different chambers, sculptures & ...

... was going to be anyone left, could it be a case of last one out turn off the lights. At the first major stop on the bus route out of Lithuania I was joined in the spare seat next to me by a Polish guy called Jan. With his skin head and numerous tattoos on display I was praying he would sit at any one of the other free seats available, no such luck. He may have looked a little on the scary side but the outward rough exterior hid a soft centre and he turned out to be a real nice guy. He was ...

... soulful music down below the mezzanine where I was sitting and locals made requests and sang along. Later, 3 old gentlemen came in and ordered a glass of vodka, a cup of tea and what looked like a glass of water (but I guess it could have been another spirit) and the waitress lined up the 3 drinks in front of each and they worked their way through them. On my way back to Krakow I was stopped by the police for speeding (82 kmh in a 50 zone) but they let me off ...

so,this 10-hour train from Berlin to Krakow..............no comment....imagine living very very close to the same people for 10 bloody hours!including noisy/giggling teenagers,wailing babies,smelly garlic sandwitches etc etc...but at the end i saw a bit of Katowice bathed in a golden-pink light,beautiful...(it was dusk,not me being delirious...) note:using travellers cheques is a nightmare!in each city i have to try ...

... you an insight into life in the camp but also because it allows you to see the camp from the air The sheer mass of the camp stuns me. How many people could actually live here. Why did they have to sleep on their sides as if there was no room. They where continually expanding. Relocating Pols who owned land near the camp to expand. The tour started with a brief history. One thing that shocked me about this history is previously I ...

... have contact" they are off. Nothing will pry these guys apart. They're everywhere - train stations, parks, buses, riding bikes, you name it. After our voyeuristic episode we raced for the train, flicked the grumpy luggage guy a couple of Euros and headed onwards to Krakow in Poland. As the train was getting pretty full we did a bit of a dodge and grabbed a six seat compartment to ourselves. We put our backpacks near the glass windows, closed the door, pulled the curtains and ...

... way to spend the afternoon except I gave away my sudokus to another traveller who had gone away for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and handed gone home yet. Nice to chill out. Later a guy from America turned up with a Budapest marathon T-shirt on. I asked and yes he was here for the marathon. He is studying medicine in Budapest; his family are from there originally, so he has no problems with the language. He's done a few marathons and 50 milers. He wasn't ...

... famous Wieliczka Salt mines, about an hour out of the city. Having passed on the mines at Turda in Romania (who fancies going underground at a place called 'excrement'?) we were keen to lick the walls of this subterranean Unesco wonder. It all started very auspiciously when our guide, at the bottom of the 380-odd steps, whipped off her white miner's helmet, letting her blonde hair fall over her shoulders. Taking a deep breath she welcomed us with " Hello, my ...