Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
I feel like I let myself down during our time in Krakow. We did hit some bumps that I couldn’t have foreseen but I definitely could have planned our time better. But here’s an overview of the things we saw and did on our visit.
First, the bumps:
– While our original flights had us landing in Krakow at 4:20 PM, due to the air traffic control issues in Chicago we missed our original connection and didn’t land until just after 5 PM. While that’s not much of a delay, in itself, the sheer fatigue we were feeling after not departing from Chicago until nearly 11 PM really knocked us out.
– My traveling companion had a bit of a sinus bug which left her feeling worn out for about the first week of our trip. Thus we didn’t stay out and experience the city as we otherwise might have. That lead to us dining at the hotel more and experiencing local restaurants less.
– I asked ChatGPT for things to do during our stay. I had it exclude Auschwitz since we’d already visited Dachau a few years ago. Since I don’t drink alcohol I also had it exclude wineries and breweries. While it gave us a good plan, I left it at that and didn’t follow up to see if we needed to buy tickets online ahead of time. That caused us to miss one attraction we’d have like to have seen, Oskar Schindler’s Factory.
We didn’t have great weather in Krakow. It rained off and on our whole first day, a Friday, and eased off on the weekend. But it was overcast almost the whole time and quite humid. In early-to-mid-October the temperature was in the upper-50sF which meant a jacket felt nice.
Wieliczka Salt Mine
Getting There and Back
While this had been on our agenda for a later day, since it was raining we thought this would be a good place to stay dry. While it’s possible to reach the salt mine from the hotel using public transit, it would take quite a long time, so we opted for an Uber. It was only about $11.25 going to the Salt Mine at 9:30 AM on a Friday but it was about $22 on the way back around 1:30 PM. I guess because the salt mine is a tourist attraction? It just seemed odd. I was fortunate that the salt mine has a couple of areas with strong WiFi: the cafe and the gift shop. I was having issues with my data-only eSIM card but was able to use the WiFi to pick up an Uber for the return trip.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online although we just bought ours at the ticket office. Tours in various languages leave at different times and are limited by size, so you may have to wait some time before your tour leaves as you must go as part of a group. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait but about 15 minutes until the next tour in English departed.
There are two tours, a Miner’s Route and a Tourist Route. With the Miner’s Route you will actually put on coveralls and a helmet with a headlamp. We did the Tourist Route and our ticket was 143 PLN or just over $39 USD. But I think it was worth it.
The Tourist Route Tour
The tour is quite extensive and some may consider it demanding. There are over 400 steps down to begin the tour and other staircases within other parts of the tour. If you have limited mobility, only a certain portion of the tour is available and only during the first or last tour of the day. As space is limited, you’d do well to make a reservation ahead of time to be sure you can grab a spot.
The tour guide will talk about the history of the mine and how far back parts of it date. The oldest parts date to the 15th century and it’s amazing to think about how the mine shafts were carved out using the limited technology that was available at the time. In the early parts of the tour you’ll learn about some of the techniques used, how valuable the salt was (and still is!) and in the later parts you’ll visit some truly amazing sites like two separate chapels, see all kinds of items made with or decorated with salt, including artwork.
Throughout the mine we’d see sections like this. It reminded me of the popcorn ceilings at home and indeed it’s referred to as popcorn here.
In some spots it even looked like a glacier flow.
While in the early days humans powered the machinery and pulleys to lift the giant salt blocks to the surface, later on horses were brought into the mine to provide the power. Though humans returned to the surface each day, once a horse was brought down into the mine, it stayed there for the rest of its life.
Saint Kinga’s Chapel is the oldest and largest chapel in the mine. The salt sculptures, altars, a pulpit, and even a copy of da Vinci’s The Last Supper all reside here, having been carved underground by miners. Today the chapel is even used for weddings on occasion.
Altar, JPII
The salt mine is well worth a visit the next time you’re in Krakow.
Old Town (Starówka)/Main Market (Rynek Główny)
We took the tram to Plac Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints Square), which put us right in the middle of the Old Town area. One of the points of interest is the Cloth Hall, which dates to the Renaissance and is one of the great features of the Main Market area. On the ground floor is an open-air market with all kinds of stalls. It looked to be mostly tourist stuff and we did not stay long. Above is a branch of the National Museum which focuses on 19th-century Polish painting and sculptures. We decided to give that a pass but had it rained more, we might have stopped in for a visit.
We were looking for somewhere to stop just to sit down for a bit and we actually found that the McDonald’s was a great choice for us. We were able to get a soft drink and use the facilities. Sure it cost more than a pay toilet somewhere but the restrooms were definitely nicer than most public stalls. The restaurant is not far from Dominkanska, where the tram stops, along Grodska street.
One of the first buildings we noticed was the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, a Roman Catholic church built 1597-1619 in the Baroque style. We just popped inside for a quick visit.
The church of St. Andrew is another Catholic church just a short distance from the previous one. Its origins date to 1097-98, and it fell victim to several fires over the years which fortunately did not harm its exterior. In the 18th century a thorough update of the interior was performed. We did not stop inside for a visit.
The Town Hall Tower, built at the end of the 14th century, is the only remaining part of the old Town Hall which was demolished in 1820 to open up the Main Square. Its cellars once hosted a city prison complete with torture chambers! There is a viewing platform at the top but with such gloomy weather we did not go up.
This is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, aka St. Mary’s Church, built in the 14th century. It’s also known as the Trumpet Tower because at the top of every hour, every day, 24/7/365, a trumpet is played from the top of the taller of the two towers. The tune breaks off in mid-stream to commemorate a famous 13th-century trumpeter who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before a Mongol attack on the city. (source: Wikipedia)
Wawel Castle
On our final day we visited Wawel Castle, considered by some to be the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. It’s comprised of many buildings and sits atop Wawel Hill overlooking the Vistula River. To reach the ticket office you may enter via a portcullis, sign of a proper castle, if you ask me!
There are a number of different ticket packages, so I’d advise looking online, and even purchasing there, to be sure you see exactly what you want. Fortunately we did not have difficulty getting the tickets we wanted. We chose the Castle I (Royal Private Apartments) and Castle II (the State Rooms and Ottoman Turkish Tents) packages. An audio guide is included and it’s the cool kind where it starts the narration when you enter a room. So nice not to have to bother with entering numbers for each exhibit. There are free tickets offered in November but those are only available a week in advance so plan accordingly. As this is a very old building it’s not naturally friendly for the mobility-challenged. If this applies to you I would consult the castle’s website for more details about what accommodations can be made.
To begin the Castle I and/or II tours, go up the hill into the courtyard and you can see where those tours begin, up a small flight of stairs in the center of one side.
Here are some things I found interesting on these tours.
The Old Synagogue
The Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) is not in the Main Market area but is not terribly far away. It’s no longer an active synagogue but is a museum of Krakow Jewish history. The building itself dates to the 15th century and is the oldest synagogue building still standing in Poland. During World War II it was completely ransacked and devastated by the Germans and its relics were looted. It was then used as a warehouse and 30 Polish hostages were executed at its wall in 1943.
Jan Karski Bench
While out wandering through the Jewish Quarter we ran across this Jan Karski bench. He was one of the first people to provide eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust to the Western Allies. On the other side of the bench, impressions of human bodies were made, to symbolize absence and the emptiness after victims of the Holocaust. There are several copies of this sculpture throughout Poland and around the world though it was created by Krakow-based sculptor Karol Badyna. After the war Karski emigrated to the US and taught at Georgetown University for 40 years. His was a fascinating life I knew nothing about but it’s well worth reading about.
In the end
Krakow has a rich history and I feel like we barely scratched the surface due to a couple of factors. I’d love to return with a guide and gain a better understanding of this fascinating place.
2B Traveling 
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