Salt mines of Wielichka
Trip Start
Apr 29, 2006
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48
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Trip End
Nov 15, 2007
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Krakow,
Poland
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Our drive through Krakow led us to a fabulous little market, not under cover, unfortunately, as it was raining. However, Lynn and I braved the drizzly conditions to stock up with essentials and yummy fruit, especially strawberries, a huge bag full, so red and juicy and soft, they had to be eaten pretty quickly. That night Lou hailed down a 'Mr Whippy' (ice cream delivery van, for the benefit of my non Australian or young readers) so we could have strawberries & ice cream for desert.
Our tourist spot for the day was Wielichka Salt Mines. After a tour through the countryside because we took yet another wrong turn, we finally found the mines at 4pm, just in time for the English tour with Mya. We went down 800 steps (by that stage my knees were jelly) to a depth of 130meters, one third of the mines worked depth. At every level there were chapels as the Poles are very religious people (There are religious statues and crucifixes in the fields everywhere in Poland). The salt had also been carved into huge statues, pillars, halls and entertainment areas where functions and church services are carried out regularly.
The mine is reinforced with timber beams as forestry is a huge resource here. The walk through the mines took about 2 hours during which time we met Sabine and Thomas whom we were to share a caravan park with 200m from the mines. They have a 4WD Toyota troop carrier converted for long distance travel and accommodation. They have 2 fuel tanks with a range of 2,000km. They felt they needed it when they toured through Libya. Their Troopie is called Dundee and yes, they have traveled extensively through Australia.
