Cracking Kraków: Visiting the Salt Mine

What with all the HiveFest activity, my recent trip to Poland was almost forgotten. I had gone there for a few days en route to Amsterdam and on the last day managed a little trip down the famous salt mine…

There were a few reasons why I went to Kraków before my Dutch adventure. Not least that I hadn’t been and simply wanted to go. Add in the fact that there was a previous Hive/SteemFest there a few years ago that I couldn’t make which irked me slightly, and I had a score to settle. There were also some funky entrance policies still hanging on for the Netherlands from outside the EU, which I decided to avoid to be on the safe side. 

So why not? As I say, it seems like a distant memory and it was only a few weeks ago. Those 5 days in Holland were busy, hectic, intense and all the things you’d expect (and lived through yourself and/or read about around these parts). 

There be white gold beneath that ground

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Kraków and Poland, a Polish Historic Monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s no longer operational but was for many years and is steeped in history. 

The town of Wieliczka and mine itself, can be reached in about a 30 minute bus ride from just outside Kraków centre and costs around 20 euros for the English tour (in Polish currency) which lasts about 2.5 hours. 

I almost didn’t go as I was wandering around the old town and had some things to sort out that evening before jetting off the next day. I realised I did in fact have plenty of time and it would be a shame to miss something so obvious whilst in a place. I quickly figured out where and when the bus went, jumped on - and despite getting off a couple of stops early and giving myself an extra walk in the sun - arrived at the mine with plenty of time before the next tour. 

Tours are hourly and I had just missed the 2:00pm which is fine as it would have been a rush, so now I could chill and do the one at 3. Time to get a ticket, head for the cafe and indulge in a beer and some snacks. 

3pm rolled round and in we went. There must have been 20 people on our tour, more in total as we were split into 2 groups. First thing's first - getting down to the thick of it. I don’t know how many steps there were but there were many and it went on for quite a while. Alarm bells should have been ringing when they asked before setting off if we had any physical ailments, as that could have been a bit of a pain for some. 

No dramas, we got to the bottom (or somewhere near it) and we could begin our tour with ‘Sarina’.

Salty Sarina

I didn’t actually get the name of our tour guide, but she reminded me a little of Sarina Wiegman (albeit a younger version), the England women’s football team manager. A bit stern and business-like but she did loosen up a bit and cracked a smile or 2.

Either way, she did a great job. Kept us informed and in check although I always got that more ‘corporate’ feeling (rather than a fun/laid back vibe) if that makes sense. That’s the nature of the beast I guess, and all tours are different. For a start, safety is paramount and you can’t be losing people and finding them mummified in salt. There's also the personality of individuals and nations collectively to consider. Not a judgement, but interesting to observe. 

The entire mine is made of salt and it is somewhat of a labyrinth, with all the passageways along with displays of historic salt mining technology. Not to mention (I am mentioning it), an underground lake, chapels and numerous statues carved by miners and more recent contemporary artists. 

The rock salt itself is varying shades of grey, resembling granite, rather than mounds of the white substance you might be picturing. It's a shame I've got a dodgy camera on my phone but you get the idea…

There were neolithic scenes, Copernicus was in there, and we were even treated to the sounds of the Polish composer Chopin. 

As ever, I can’t remember half of what was said but it was a pleasant experience to see it with my own eyes. A very impressive structure (of which only a small percentage is open to tourists), like a veritable Willy Wonka factory of the salt world. At one point looking over the edge into the lake I imagined one of Charlie’s associates coming a cropper. 

I also had flashes of that 60s song ‘Big Bad John’, where some chap (that’ll be Big John) got stuck and perished down the mine. Too many movies and songs made me rather keen to get out again after a few hours. 

For more of the nitty-gritty, facts and stats and what have you, you can check out the Wikipedia entry. And also see their website for a less dry version and for what exactly they offer. They also do weddings and other functions there, which would be great. In fact, I believe the final dinner at SteemFest 2018 was there which would have been cool.  

Back up we go…

All that was left was to get out of there. There was the option of going to the museum first or just going straight out. Now, I’m not sure about navigating all those steps back up, fit or not. 

Fortunately, that wasn’t on the cards and we made use of the lifts. One wasn’t working of course which delayed things a bit and then there were 4 sections to the lift that had to be filled before going up. So a bit of a back and forth… and we were packed in like sardines. Good thing there are no dodgy bugs about!  

Back out on to higher ground, on to the bus then back to the hotel. All in all a good day out and a worthwhile trip in general. That was really a precursor and ‘warm up’ to my main Amsterdam event which eclipsed this little Polish expedition in many ways. 

I will be back to Poland at some point. Kraków probably, but less urgency to return (although I’d like to check out more of the nightlife as I held back on that), plus Warsaw, Katowice and potentially other places. An interesting country to be explored a bit more. 

I’m looking to fill a gap of about 3 weeks towards the end of this month - where do you think is a good shout in Europe? And have you been to Kraków and the salt mine in particular? What did you think?

Adam
@adambarratt
www.AdamBarratt.com

Images my own 

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