Holocaust Study Visit: Day 3!

Welcome back to my blog covering Bann Maine West's Holocaust Study Visit to Krakow Poland. Kindly funded by Triangle Housing. In today's blog I will be covering our third day in Poland, were we had some free time in the morning followed by our visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine.

8.30AM:

It was a later start on the 3rd day however I was down sharp as a few of us had planned on heading into the city centre to do a bit more sightseeing.

9.30AM:

After breakfast me and a few of the lads found an underground museum of Krakow under the main square and it was super interesting. We got to walk around and see what was hidden underneath the ground. It was super fascinating. There was different things you could play with i.e. and old anvil and hammer (Watch you can watch me having a go with!). We had gone around all of the first section and thought that was it however there was a massive, long corridor that ran the length of the cloth hall and along this they showed photos from the excavation of the site in 2006. Again, it was so interesting seeing where we had walked before. This was when we realised that the tiles on the centre square was actually the outline of the old buildings that used to fill the square. We finished our tour of the underground museum and head back up to the surface where we done a bit of shopping and then headed for lunch! For lunch we were able to go out and try something away from the group. So, we decided to try the iconic Hard Rock Caffe, and it was delicious. We sat outside on the terrace, and it was great having lovely chats, lovely food, and we enjoyed a bit of people watching! We also got to hear the bugler. Then next thing we knew it was time to head back to the hotel.

3.30PM:

We arrived at the Salt Mine around 3.30 and it was a lovely journey up through the forest of southern Poland. We then headed down into the mine. To get down to the start of the tour you have to descend 380 steps in the first section. This was one of the most physically challenging parts of the tour as it was straight down. However, we all managed well, and our tour guide was amazing at changing her pace to match that of the group. On the way down I got talking to the tour guide and I asked how many times they have to descend in a day. She told me that she is only part time so only has to do it once or twice a day during weekend and holidays ecectra however she has friends that could do 4 tours in a day! Once we got to the first level it was amazing. The path had been very much made for tourists which was great but didn't deter from the actual history of it. Along the way we got to hear about the history of the mine and even got to see a really cool showcase that had statues carved into the salt telling us about the mythology of the mine and Princess Kinga. Every chamber we entered into was breath-taking. Again, our tour guide was amazing and so knowledgeable.

One of the most amazing parts of the tour was the iconic St Kinga Chapel. This was a chapel that the miners carved into the earth so they could go and worship while hundreds of metres under the surface. We stopped here and were allowed to look around at our own pace. along the walls was famous religious paintings that had actually been carved into the salt! The next bit that I found really cool was actually the shops and caffe they had halfway through. So of course, I got a coffee because when else will I be able to say I had a coffee 125 meters below the surface! We then continued our tour learning evening more about the mine, its old history and its modern history and then we finished the tour in the ballroom. This is a massive room that has a stage and WIFI that was better than my WIFI at home! The room could be set up as either a theatre, a dining hall or a ballroom and used regularly for big events like formals and weddings. Then we got a lift up out of the mine. On the way to the lift, I asked the tour guide what the purpose of their uniform was as the uniform was like an army suit style. I was informed that it was similar to the outfit that the miners would have worn during special visits like royalty and the often wore caps with a feather that corresponding to the role within the mine! Then we got to the lift which went incredibly fast and before we knew it, we were back on the surface! We then made a quick stop at the gift shop before getting back on the transport and heading back to the hotel!

6.00PM

At 6 we headed out for dinner. On the third night we headed to the Klezmer Hois which is a traditional Jewish restaurant. The food was ok; it wasn't really to my taste however many did enjoy it. We then had some live music that is the traditional Klezmer music and we had dessert which was carrot cake now which I very much enjoyed as I love carrot cake. Then the music concluded, and we headed back to the hotel.

8.30PM

We got back at the hotel very sharp on the third night as we were very exhausted after a very long day. However, it was one of my favourites and such a change in atmosphere from previous day!

Thank you very much as always for reading my blog, I hope I managed to capture some of the grandeur and fun we had on our third day from exploring the underground museum to getting to hear traditional Jewish music as always it was all go from morning till night! As always, I would like to thank Triangle Housing for the funding, Bann Maine West for facilitating, Prime tours for looking after us and most importantly to the people I got to share this amazing experience with. Thank You.

Lenny.