Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Krakow 2
Our second day in Krakow and the last day of our travels. We visited the Art Museum to see their armor exhibit, which was stunning. Much of the medieval armor focussed understandably on the Hussars but there were examples of later era uniforms, the kind you see in Napoleanic era movies that a fat ass like me would never fit into. All braids and buttons with high collars and high waists.
We then travelled to a nearby salt mine that was in continuous use from the 12th century until only a few years ago. To say it's massive is a gross understatement. We walked for 2 hours and saw approximate 1% of it. Over the centuries miners have carved numerous chapels and statues out of the mostly black salt. The results are impressive. The site has a hotel, spa, restaurants and a ballroom for weddings. The air is clear and the temp a constant 61 degrees.
After a short rest we went out to try and shop. There was shop nearby that made us all drool. Armor, swords, garb...everything you could want, it was of course closed on Sunday. We toured the town square but only found a few items. Amber is in great abundance here and is of the highest quality. But the prices are pretty high. We made a few small purchases but Polands native crafts just didn't blow me away. Well, the Vodka did. And something called Krupnik.
We had our last dinner together. I've only had one good meal in Poland, the rest have been excellent. This had been a fun group to travel with. We walked out onto the square and watched an amazing drumming act. The drumming itself wasn't amazing, it was the fact that they were hooked up to a giant crane like a giant mobile and hoisted above the square. Very cool idea.
We then travelled to a nearby salt mine that was in continuous use from the 12th century until only a few years ago. To say it's massive is a gross understatement. We walked for 2 hours and saw approximate 1% of it. Over the centuries miners have carved numerous chapels and statues out of the mostly black salt. The results are impressive. The site has a hotel, spa, restaurants and a ballroom for weddings. The air is clear and the temp a constant 61 degrees.
After a short rest we went out to try and shop. There was shop nearby that made us all drool. Armor, swords, garb...everything you could want, it was of course closed on Sunday. We toured the town square but only found a few items. Amber is in great abundance here and is of the highest quality. But the prices are pretty high. We made a few small purchases but Polands native crafts just didn't blow me away. Well, the Vodka did. And something called Krupnik.
We had our last dinner together. I've only had one good meal in Poland, the rest have been excellent. This had been a fun group to travel with. We walked out onto the square and watched an amazing drumming act. The drumming itself wasn't amazing, it was the fact that they were hooked up to a giant crane like a giant mobile and hoisted above the square. Very cool idea.
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