Krakow, Poland!!!

The BOY says:

Hey everyone!!!

Despite the long gap in posts, here is our latest post, from POLAND. We went to the city of Krakow last week and just came back yesterday, so here are some pictures and chronicles of our time there!

Our Poland Gang!! (I am of course holding the camera...)

We took a plane from Malmo early in the morning straight to Krakow. As it was in the wee hours of the morning, most of us were still groggy and dazed. However, as our plane was landing, all of us got a VERY timely awakening. As some of you might know, there is a huge hurricane, hurricane Emma right now in Germany. As Poland is right on the east side of Germany, we were hit by the remnant of the hurricane. As our plane was gearing up to land, the turbulence was so heavy that the plane shook extremely violently from left to right. It made numerous long and “stomach flying up to your throat” dips. Just when we were all grabbing onto our seats and praying hard, the emergency exit signs suddenly flashed on. Scenes from the popular TV show “Lost” began flashing across my mind as I begun to think what would I do if the plane suddenly split open. After another 5-10 minutes of the roller coaster ride, the plane slammed into the ground with a loud “THUD” and begun to decelerate. All our friends heaved a sigh of relief while many other passengers at the back began applauding unanimously. With that, we were officially in the city of Krakow.

After passing through the airport customs, which took EXTREMELY long for us non European Union residents, (I thought Singapore was a pretty well known country but the custom officers checked my passport like it might be counterfeit and slowly read through EVERY SINGLE page of it, even when it was obviously a blank page) we took a 2 hour bus ride from the airport and reached the city centre of Krakow. It was an extremely gloomy day, cloudy and drizzling and we had to walk in the rain in order to get to our hostel, where we’ll be staying at for the next 3 nights.

The gloomy streets of Krakow

Everyone scurrying into the underpass and away from the rain...

Trams are a major source of public transport.

One of many public parks.

The hostel, Greg-Tom Hostel was a pleasant surprise. It was definitely not what I expected. The entire place was well furnished and equipped and we had free TV, Internet access, DVD and PS2! The friendly staff there cleared the admin and gave us directions to get around town, pointed us to some of the famous sights and sounds of Krakow and recommended us places to get good Polish food. With that, we set off for a walkabout of Krakow.

Our hostel common living area....

.....TV & Games Room....

.... and of course, our bedroom!

First up, we went to the Jewish quarter of the city. There really was not that much of a difference between the Jewish quarter and the city centre, except perhaps the numerous temples or synagogues. This was pretty interesting for us because most of us, have never SEEN an actual Jewish synagogue, until now. We stopped at a café here for a short break and had some drink and snacks. I ordered a Polish Beet Root Soup and a Panna Cotta (yes I know, it’s not a Polish but Italian Desert, but I like it!) while Goon had a really aromatic and creamy iced coffee. After recharging, we went onwards towards Wawel castle, a local medieval castle built by an ancient Lord to his mistress or something. As it was evening time, it had closed for the day but we could still walk about its perimeter which was a great scenic experience on its own. All this would have been much much better if it had NOT been raining profusely. To make matters worse, I wasn’t wearing anything with a hood on and my head was soaking wet. Photo-taking was a chore was everytime I whipped out the camera, raindrops will hit the lens and thus, BAD blurry pictures. Nevertheless, it was nice to see this quaint town, one that is rather different from Sweden and Denmark which we’ve grown accustomed to.

The Jewish Quarter of Krakow.

One of the many Jewish Synagogues.

Another Jewish temple.

A small Jewish Memorial for those that died during the Holocaust.

A distant view of Wawel castle.

The Wawel Catherdral.

The Sukiennice or Krakow Cloth Hall, the world's oldest shopping mall!

Inside the Sukiennice.

The Basilica of the Virgin Mary, Krakow's principal church.

A town square in Krakow

The ancient city walls of Krakow.

The next day, half of our group went on an organized tour to the local Salt Mine on the outskirts of the city. This was a really fresh experience for Goon and I. Neither of us have EVER been in an actual mine of any sort. The mine is obviously no longer in operation, since 12 years ago when the salt deposits ran out. To start things off, we had to go down over 600 steps or about 56 flights of stairs to get to the “top” level of the mine itself which just happen to be over 100m below ground level! It was both exciting and scary at the same time and definitely NOT for the claustrophobic.

A peek over the railing...

Goon on the stairs!

At the first level, we were told about the mine’s origins. Geologists believe that the mine was actually full of sea water but due to tectonic movements of the earth mantle, the sea water evaporated, leaving behind salt formations. The locals however, have a much more exciting tale of the mine’s beginnings. Legend says that a certain Princess Kinga from another country (I forgot!) was concerned for the well being of the Polish people. As salt was an expensive commodity in the past (hence the nickname, white gold) she wanted to establish a salt mine for the Polish people. Before embarking on her journey, she accidentally dropped her engagement ring into a salt mine in her home country and was greatly saddened. Nevertheless, continued onto Poland. One day, at some obscure village of Wieliczka (which is where the salt mine is right now), she saw some spring water coming out of the ground. On tasting it, she realized it was salty. Seeing this as a sign, she ordered her men to dig a hole in the ground and not surprising, they found some salt deposits. Her men presented her with the salt deposit and lo and behold, embedded in it, was her engagement ring. The salt had followed her from her homeland to Poland and thus, was the origin of the salt in Poland.

A Miner presenting a salt block to the princess. (the glint there is the ring!)

In the mine, there are numerous chapels from the miners in the past. Salt mining was a dangerous job and the miners built chapels to pray for safety and to thank God if they survived at the end of the day. There were also many exhibits of the medieval machinery miners used in the past and also other ornamental statues within the mine. Hardly to anyone’s surprise, all these statues and decorations, were carved from salt.

The dark, dank mine passageways.

One of many chapels.

One of the exhibitions on medieval mining machinery.

A statue of a Polish King instrumental in the development of the mine.

These are medieval steps that miners used in the past.

Lastly, at the deepest levels of the mine, over 130m below the ground, there is a chapel. St. Kinga’s chapel (I think!) is and probably will remain in time to come, the LARGEST underground chapel in the world. What is more surprising, is that until now, the chapel is STILL being used for services, weddings and other religious events! The entire chapel was built over many years as there were only 3 men who worked on carving out the decorations on the wall and of course, carving out the chapel chamber itself. On one side of the wall are numerous carving of Jesus’ childhood while on the other, Jesus’ adult life. Also in the chapel, are numerous chandeliers, with the centre one being the largest chandelier in the world made entirely of salt crystals.

The St Kinga's Chapel, largest underground church in the world!

A nativity scene carved from salt. (the baby Jesus carved from pink salt)

A salt carving of Da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'.

The largest salt crystal chandelier in the world....

..... and the view of it from the bottom up!

After which, we were nearing the end of the tour when we were told that there is a postbox right in the underground mine. Seeing it as a novel experience, Goon bought and sent a postcard to her aunt. We took a quick walk around to see the underground ball room and restaurant, the only ones in the world 125m below ground before proceeding onwards to the elevator that will take us back to daylight. The elevator was a 4-storied elevator, each storey capable of taking 9 people. It was somewhat like a cargo life as it was not enclosed but had sheets of metals with holes as its floors and walls. It was also a rather fast elevator, going at 11km/h, adding to this already nerve-wrecking experience. And that was the end of the tour of the salt mine and we headed back to our hostel to meet up with our other friends for dinner.

A mailbox, 135m below ground!

The world's 'lowest' restaurant.

Fancy a 'down to earth' ball in this ballroom?

On the hostel staff’s recommendation, we went to try this quaint little Polish restaurant nearby and boy were we impressed. The food was excellent and the boss extremely friendly and accommodating. All of us ate till our bellies felt like bursting. There was complimentary bread with some buttery thing and lard. I ordered veal in crème & wine sauce while Goon ordered Pork Casserole. We also shared a Polish wild mushroom soup. It was extremely delicious. It made many of us want to stay in Poland just for the food. We quickly changed our minds on that when the bill arrived. It wasn’t expensive but if we had to pay that much everyday, we would be broke very soon.

The bread, if you can believe is an appetizer on the house...

This definitely beats Campbell's.

Pork Casserole!

Veal with Polish dumplings!

Our motley gang after dinner!

After a good night’s rest, we set off again toward our next destination, Auschwitz Museum or rather the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp which was used by the Nazis to detain and worse, to conduct mass killings of its prisoners, predominantly the Jews in what is now known as the Holocaust. This proved to be another unique experience. It wasn’t a scenic tourist attraction. Neither was it a fun and exciting place to visit. This was a walk through history itself, a re-enactment of the past, a sombre reminder to all about the atrocities of yesterday and a stern warning of how such horrific event might just come to pass again. Here we were shown in details the going-ons within the camp during World War 2 and evidence and remnants of what used to be a living nightmare to its residents. As such, I will comment less and let the pictures do the talking, as a fitting respect to this place. (photos aren't allowed indoors, so only outdoor ones are here.)

The entrance to Auschwitz.

These used to be charged with electricity at extremely high voltages.

The buildings within the camp.

A wall where the Nazis executed their prisoners by firing squad.

The entrance to the crematorium, where the Nazis burnt the dead bodies.

The entrance to Auschwitz II Birkenau, another camp nearby.

The prisoners living quarters, 6 prisoners to a bed.

Toilet for the prisoners, which they were allowed to use only twice a day.

An view of part of the camp.

After returning from Auschwitz, Goon and I took some time off to walk around the city centre and of course, grab souvenirs on our last day here, both around the city centre and the major shopping mall nearby. After that, we joined our friends for dinner at another nearby Polish restaurant. This was much much cheaper but the food paled in comparison to that of the previous night. And that just about wraps up our little tour of Krakow. We left in the morning the next day and headed back home where unfortunately, our term papers were waiting for us............