Salt mines and hair cuts and layers - oh my!
Trip Start
Jun 30, 2006
1
15
42
Trip End
Jun 30, 2007
Krakow,
Poland
Monday, July 31, 2006
I wonder if Morrison ever got his haircut in Poland?
Today finally ended the quest to get our hair cut. It had begun to grow into something of a saga and the finale certainly didn't disappoint - in terms of a good story and a new experience, that is.
Now I am not a Goth in the traditional sense, however I do tend to wear gothic fashion and make-up quite frequently - which is to say, I wear black and dress-up in frills (no, I don't perform vampiric rituals) and wear a lot of dark make-up with red highlights. I've also had very long black hair for the last five years or so, but thinking it was time for a change I decided to cut my hair short and spent a good few hours on the internet at different intervals coming up with the exact hair cut I wanted
Charis and Water Feature
. Finally I found it - something short and anime-like, with blunt edges, symmetry and a low straight fringe. Something perfect. I printed out the photo and set off to find a hairdresser to cut it - considering the plethora of hairdressers that sprung out of every crack and hollow in Krakow, I didn't think I'd have a problem.The first place we went to didn't have a hair straightener, which is a bit of an odd thing not to have when your business is hair and the two types that people need are curly or, well, straight.
Next, Ona embarrassed herself spectacularly by asking the husband who looked gay for the price of a hair cut (Ona may have mentioned this in a previous entry), thinking he was the hairdresser.
Then, we finally go to Jean Louis David (sharing the name of the artist who painted the most beautiful arse in the Louvre can only mean good things, right?). It looked nice enough, modern - with hair straighteners and all! I'm even nearly positive I've heard of the Salon outside of Poland. Alas, it was booked out for the day. Not a problem, we thought, we'll get an appointment for tomorrow and just start sightseeing now. The receptionists didn't seem too happy but they grudgingly gave us an appointment and then we were off to experience Krakow old square and join our fellow backpackers for a night on the town (on a side note - the Irish are the new Australians. They're loud, they're drunk and they're everywhere! - they are nice enough, though).
When we woke at midday the next day, we realised the folly of booking a haircut at 10am on a Sunday morning, or one that followed a Saturday all-nighter in one of Europe's liveliest cities, anyway
Charis' Hair
. Rather embarrassed, we even made sure not to accidentally walk past the salon. We needn't have worried - as we found out later that day, Krakow, being a good Catholic city, closes down on Sundays. Salons included. Which means those receptionists gave us a dud appointment! Luckily, I wasn't quite as offended/angry as I might have been if we'd actually tried to make the appointment. Monday and we thought we'd try our luck again. Unfortunately we got trapped in Auschwitz (I'm not actually joking, but that's another entry) and ended up getting back to the city far too late.
And then today. We actually got up early so we'd have time to fit everything in! We went to another hairdresser we thought looked quite reasonable - it even cost a little more than the last one. They were also booked out for the morning but the lady informed us (very nicely) that there was space in the afternoon, so we got our second appointment, swore to make more of an effort to get there, and headed off to the Salt Mines in the meantime.
The Salt Mines were larger than expected. As we began our 360 stair climb down into the mines, our guide informed us that the tour would take a good two or three hours. It was just past twelve and our appointment was at three. There was an hour bus ride back. The walls echoed with our laughter.
Since returning from the hairdressers, every person we've talked to has said 'what did you expect, getting your hair cut in eastern Europe?'
To which we reply, 'why didn't say anything before we went to the hairdressers?!? It's not like there wasn't ample time for a warning!'
To be fair to them, we really should have known better
Dragon's Lair 1
. Just last week we were discussing how strange it was that any Actor/Actress that gets on the front page of a Polish gossip mag gets 'Polish-efied' (i.e. Keira Knightly, Angelina Jolie to name two). If they can do that to A-list stars, it's no wonder they have no problems doing it to us.When we arrived at the hairdresser I got Ona to give the girl a photo I'd previously printed out - she point blank refused to cut my hair that way. I asked Ona to ask her why and she dodged the question for a good five minutes before I stupidly gave in and said, 'Just let her do it how she wants, then.'
I now have layers - with flick-y ends and 'volume'. I am embarrassed to be seen in any of my normal clothes as I look like an Eastern European playing dress-up in her friends clothes. I am tempted to get some scissors and hack the bottom of it off, thankfully, for some reason the girl insisted that the cut was too short so she refused to cut it shorter than my shoulders. Which means, when I get to England, I can get it done properly. And when the hairdresser looks at me strangely, I will break down with 'It's not my fault, I didn't know, please just fix it!'
As for Ona - we were pretty sure she'd be fine even after I left to go cry in the hairdressers bathroom (tripping on mountains of my own hair on the way - why? why?), how wrong can you go with a trim?
See, the Polish just really love their layers. Even when you've got hair down past your navel and you ask for a 'neaten up'. Ona now has layers that start about ten centimetres from the top of her head and layer down neatly till at the end she has thinner hair that I do - and to 'style' her hair at the end, the girl emptied a can of hairspray in and shook her hair a bit, kind of like if she'd had a roll around in some hay. She has about four years of growing out to get it anywhere near how it was but, looking on the bright side, at least it looks nice in a braid!
