August 21, 2015
Touring the Salt Mine
And then heading into the Carpathian Mountains
I checked out of the hotel this morning, and took the train to Wieliczka, which got me out of Krakow and to the Salt Mine. This train was newer, had a designated spot for bicycles that didn't block the toilet or anything else, had air-conditioning (although it didn't really matter for the 20 minute ride) and had an entry at platform level so I didn't need to unload the bike and lift it up stairs onto the train. All in all, it was a good experience that showed me that Polish trains are not all unpleasant.
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I didn't have a reservation for the mine, which all the information says is required, and hadn't been able to purchase a ticket for today, as the website said it was sold out. But I walked up to the ticket booth and was able to purchase a ticket for a tour in English that was starting in just 15 minutes.
I'm glad it worked out. The mines are impressive, and not what I expected. I had heard about the salt sculptures, and expected them to be natural formations of stalactites and stalagmites. But they were actual, man-made sculptures carved in salt.
We had a geology lesson, a bit of a chemistry lesson, and a history lesson, and even a linguistics lesson. The mines were started in the 13th century, and had been in continual use until 1997, when the commercial mining of salt was no longer cost effective. They go more than 100 meters deep. Back in the 13th century, the miners were paid with salt. The term "salary" goes back to the Latin for salt. We were encouraged to taste the walls and benches, we walked on salt floors and climbed salt steps, and saw the salt sculptures and salt chapels with crystalline salt chandeliers. They refer to the tour as the "tourist route", and it was definitely mobbed by tourists, as much as Auschwitz was yesterday, but it was definitely worth seeing. I was glad I made the effort to go even without an advance reservation.
The tour and the return to the top took nearly 3 hours. Afterward, I found the information center for the town, and asked about the road heading south and about which towns were likely to have accommodation available. Most of the smaller towns do not, but it's hard for me to tell from the map, and I've found that maps.me and Google aren't doing too well in this part of Poland. With some advice, I hit the road.
I'm in the Carpathian Mountains now. I have to say that the scenery is gorgeous, with green hills. I also have to say that I walked a bunch of hills today, and I'm going to end up walking more tomorrow and all of the way out of Poland and through Slovakia.
I stopped in Dobczyce, which was the first town that I was told would have accommodation, and also had another tourist information center. The woman at the info center spoke very little English, and we communicated using Google Translate on my phone, but she was one of the first people in Poland who went out of their way to help me. She called the next town where she thought some accommodation was available, but it turned out not to be. She said it would be best to stay in town in Dobcycze, and called the hotel to confirm a room was available. The hotel is across from the info center, so I wheeled my bike over and called it a day.
I got into my room and showered, and then went out for a walk around town. I took a trail I thought would go by the lake. It went up and up, and to an old castle which is now a museum. The trail never fully crested the hill, so I didn't see the lake, but went down through an old cemetery. Every Polish town seems to have a large and well-tended cemetery on the outskirts.
Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 1,381 km (858 miles)
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