So Much Salt

Nobody woke up until 12:30 after our long night at that bar/club.

We had bread and Polish sausages for breakfast and then ventured into the world to buy bus tickets to go see the Wieliczka salt mines. There we paid for our 2nd guided tour (because we had to). The tour guide was really adorable though and she gave us a great tour. Unlike the Budapest caves, I did not feel ripped off at the end of 2 hours.

The salt mines were crazy cool!! I've never seen anything like it. They were very, very different from the coal mines we visited in South Africa. It was pretty touristy with lots of well lit chambers, but that doesn't change the fact that all the chambers, statues, monuments, etc. are literally carved out of rock salt! You could lick the wall (I didn't). You could also touch the "salt cauliflowers" and I did do that. Real salty. It kind of turns to normal salt-ish powder as soon as you touch it. A lot of the salt looked dark but if there was a light behind it the salt was actually fairly opaque and kind of clear. It was really amazing to see entire chambers and statues carved out of salt. They also had other figurines in the mines to help show what it was like to be a salt miner and how they mined it. Some of the stairs made out of salt that were used in the 17th century are still there. Tourists walk on mostly normal wood stairs. The best part about the salt mines though were the chapels. They literally had CHAPELS carved out of salt. They have electric lighting, but the chandeliers (which are stunning) are made out of wood and salt crystals. Salt, salt, salt. Our guide said it used to be called white gold I think. Apparently lots of people get married in the main chapel. Also, I guess salt chambers have really good acoustics, so there's a big chamber that is used for concerts down in the mine as well. Sometimes that chamber is also used as a party venue. Oh yeah, and the air is supposedly really good in the salt mine. This is because nothing can really grow around that much salt, so there is no other life. Just salt. And I think something about the composition of salt helps make the air especially clean/good too. It's supposed to be really great for your lungs and there is even a rehabilitation area in the mines for people with asthma or other health problems. I don't think I explained that well - but yes, the air was good. Anyway, it was very cool to see! I definitely got some salt from one of the gift shops (a rock salt grinder and some fruity smelling bath salts). What cool souvenirs :)

By the way, I have way too much stuff now. And way too much of it is breakable. I blame my father for making me start this silly plate collection. And of course it's ridiculously expensive to ship it home, and I'm paranoid it will break, so I am just carting around a bag full of breakable things. Awesome.

After the salt mines, Laura and I came back to Pawel's flat. It was around 8 or 9 so the boys had already eaten. We set off to go find food. We pretty much stopped at the first place that was still open that looked like it would serve us food. It was a funny restaurant because the prices were high (for zlotys; exchange rate 3 zlotys = $1) and the restaurant had nice table cloths and a fancy ambiance. But Laura's napkin was dirty, my glass was chipped, and the tablecloths also looked dirty. But the food - oh, the food...Amazing. Everything was SO good. Laura got a garlic soup that smelled fantastic. She also got a pork-steak with fried onions, bacon, and garlic butter on it. Best heart attack food ever. I got turkey in a white wine sauce that was delicious. Then we shared the most amazing dessert. It was called "Every Color of the Rainbow: fruit, ice cream, chocolate." It was a large plate with whipped cream in the middle, surrounded by 7 scoops of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, mango, strawberry), with kiwi and strawberry slices around the edge. Oh yes, and drizzled in chocolate and caramel sauce. AMAAAAZING. The best part is that we can eat a meal like this here (which was definitely a splurge for us!) but it only cost us each about $15!!! Yummm.


Quotes:
"Air is free; you can breathe as much air as you like." - Our tour guide at the Salt Mine

Hilary: "I like that we're being silent right now." (While stuffing our faces with dessert)
Laura: "Words would ruin it."

Accomplishments:
I have been trying to learn Polish - just a few phrases and words. I can now say
1) Hello, how are you?
2) Thank you
3) Do you speak English?
4) I don't speak Polish
5) Please
VERY EXCITING FOR ME!!

Travel Tip:
Ok...so some guided tours are worth it...