The Mel Lang Log: Salt Mines, Old Town, & the Dinner of a Lifetime

Today started with a trip to the Salt Mines outside of Krakow, but while we were outside waiting to head in, I made a friend. This is Eva! She says, "I am here to be bugged!" And she loved to meet people, talk to them, learn their stories, and tell them her story. She reminds me a lot of my Grandma Monte. I showed her the design of my quilt which I make when I get home and she was very excited.

Then, it was time to head down into the Salt Mines. In elevators which each fit eight people on four levels at a time. It was... a squeeze.

Squeeze evidence. And these bad boys flew down the shaft!

We went through three parts of three floors of the mine, but there are hundreds of hallways and floors and places which it would be bad to make a wrong term. We then saw the first of many salt sculptures which was made by an ordinary miner.

These were another group of salt sculptures showing the fable of how the mine was founded. The mine was incredibly profitable. Think back to pre-refrigeration- salt was the only way to preserve anything. And this was the largest mine in Europe. At one point during the Middle Ages, it accounted for 1/4 of the European economy.

When in the Polish salt mine, you lick the wall. So Emily and I did. (Shockingly- VERY salty ;)

Made friends with a Polish king who had great hair.

Some of our group getting practice getting their salt excavation on.

Examples of the stairs miners would take. (I'll pass.)

Examples of stairs which we took on the tour (lotsa walking)!

Our charming little guide: "Here are the seven dwarves for the kids... Can you find Snow White? Come on, it's easy...

...I am right here!" She had jokes. :)

Krakow is a VERY religious city. For about a million people, including 200,000 university students, they have 200 churches. There are now twenty places of worship in the Mines, but there was once forty when it was an active mine.

Speaking of places of worship, here is another. It was carved by three ordinary miners who spent 67 years creating it. Yep. Three guys.

When we went down the stairs to examine the church, we found a little elf grinning at us and asking how our feet were holding up.

The nativity up above with an orange glowing Jesus who was given from another salt mine, not one which mines table salt.

Me in front of the alter of the church made of salt. :)

On one of the walls, a 3D recreation of The Last Supper.

A salt chandelier! The little pieces are all- you guessed it- salt from the mine! In fact, even the floor "tiles" were made of salt. If you held a light up to any of it, you'd find it was translucent.

Salt John Paul II. He was, of course, a very popular Pope and was from Poland. He lived many years in Krakow (more on that later).

A lake... it's 60% salt, so if you swam in it, like the Dead Sea- you would float.

A 19-foot salt chandelier.

All of the mine's friends.. like Yellowstone!

Me with Miner Man.

Remember where it was big and versatile? This was where our tour guide had her prom. In the salt mine. Not too shabby.

Another little chapel.

I love these stained glass windows.

Next, we left the Salt Mine and went to the Old Town Square to eat before another tour.

I had these veal parogies and they were incredible.

Nextwe went to the beautiful St. Mary's in Old Town. It was funded by the citizens of Krakow.

The ceiling is painted to look like the night sky.

My favorite part of St. Mary's- the stained glass windows.

Then to the town square where we saw the Poet in front of Cloth Hall (so named for what was sold there in the basement originally).

From the depth of this, you can see the original level of the square. But during the Middle Ages, people would just walk in the next layer, patting it down...

A model of two the churches including St. Andrews and the momentary cloistered nuns stay.

One of the law buildings of the university and also where the Art History professors' offices are.

Outside of this church are the twelve apostles. The one on the right is St. Peter and Pope John Paul II paid for jos restoration.

The oldest street in Krakow. On the left is Hotel Copernicus, known for Polish man Copernicus who discovers that the earth revolved around the sun. He wasn't popular here for his ideas which the Church didn't like.

On the right, where sporty John Paul II Lived when he lived in Krakow. (A nun asked him when he was a cardinal, "Cardinals shouldn't ski, sir!" And he said, "No, they shouldn't ski BADLY."

Then, we went to see Wawel church at the top of this hill. All kings but two were coronated well and those two had very short careers and were said to be unlucky.

We toured inside the beautiful Wawel Cathedral, but you aren't allowed to take pictures. It was stunning, and full of stories of Polish King coronations. Did you know that Poland was the only country which elected its kings?! I didn't. Kings were elected from the nobles and served for life. And once, thanks to an arranged marriage and little bit of bribery, a 14-year-old girl was also once elected King. Politics, am I right? They can really destroy eighth grade...

The beautiful courtyard set up for a performance.

A Polish queen covered the roof of one of the domes with gold and here it still is. Krakow miraculously had 75-80% of its architecture survive WWII. Even the Nazi official who lived here loved the place as if it were his. He planned to live there forever. Raise a glass to the fact that the Polish flag and not the swastika flies above the castle nearby!

What are these for?? Hint: They're outside every old building in Krakow...

They're sniffers for your torches pre-electricity!

Cloth Hall in Old Town.

Me with some classic modern heart which has the message: love is blind.

This is my new friend and partner-in-crime, Emily. She's an awesome English teacher at Terre Haute North. We sat by each other on our flights, clicked immediately, and have been together the whole time ever since.

Then, during dinner, I was blessed to sit by Eva. She answered all of our questions: What was the 70th Anniversary Commemoration like at Auschwitz? What did you think when they found Dr. Mengele's bones? Did you ever regret moving to the US from Israel after the war? Did they also experiment on Miriam, or did they only infect you? For more than two hours I listened, enraptured by her story. We also told our stories. I told her about how much I loved and love my high schoolers and how excited I am for my new job. She said, "You should not worry. You will do a good job because your heart is in the right place. And if you make a mistake, you learn and it's not the end of the world. It's not Auschwitz. You will be very good." It was a dinner I'll never forget.

One of the awesome CANDLES staff came to check on everyone and asked her, "Eva, was your meal ok?" And she waved her off and said, "Hey! It is always better than Auschwitz!" This lady has a spark, folks.