A couple days in Krakow

We landed in Warsaw and met up with Ewa, Marcin and Kuba. Instead of heading directly to Krakow, we went to Marcin's brother's flat for the night and met his lovely wife, Anna and Sophia alnong with Jacek. We had a great time there and will see them on our return trip.

Monday, we drove to Krakow and scheduled a tour in the afternoon of the city center. It's an incredible city--a must see for everyone who travels. We walked the royal road, a walking tour of the city center. The square is the largest in Europe and comes to life after supper. WE saw St. Mark's Church where a trumpeter plays on the hour around the clock the same song played to warn the city of the invading Mongols. The playing stops abruptly at the moment in the song where he got shot throught he neck with an arrow--but the city was spared...There are huge bazaars in the square, selling everything imaginable. We also toured the Wawel Castle, saw where John Paul II went to school, along with Copernicus--sadly the university of Krakow would not admit Madame Curie because she was female. We also saw where all the kings of Poland are buried in the church--the same church where all the same kings were crowned--the same church where John Paul II was the Archbishop. Did I mention it's a gorgious city.

The hostel we are staying at is in the city center, close to everything. It's great talking to different people and visiting with them about their travels. It's also very quiet and comfortable.

We drove to the salt mine Wieliczka this morning and took a three hour walking tour through over 3 miles of underground tunnels, and we only covered 1% of the existing tunnels. They have churches carved out of salt over 400 feet below ground. In one of the chambers, a man carved the Bible history. In the middle of the chamber, there are about 4-5 chandeliers made from salt crystals. The mine is over 700 years old and many famous Polish people including John Paul II and Copernicus visited the place. Later in the afternoon, we walked around the Jewish area of town called Kazimierz. Many if the iron gates surrounding houses were shaped like menorrahs and had stars of David in them. Again, it was an old section of town with many memorials of Nazi victims of the WWII. We took a picture of one such memorial dedicated to the 88 victims of the Ferber family. Tonight, we will enjoy a Polish feast at the hostel. Actually, I don't know how much we will eat since that's all we have been doing in Poland. What a country...if you have a taste for sausages, kraut, potatoes, beets and any type of cabbage, this is the place to come.