September 8-9, 2025
Monday, 9/8
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| All of the European Union has the same style of license plate. The country is differentiated on the left side. Very few American brands, like Ford or Chevy, are seen. |
This morning we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mines. The mines were in continuous use from the 13th century until 1996. They are over 1000' below ground and extend over 178 miles. Tourists can see about 2% of the mine.
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| There are 300 steps to get into the mine. Luckily, everyone's knees held up. |
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| The mines have 4 chapels with lots of religious carvings in the salt. |
In the afternoon, we toured Krakow's Jewish District. This district was named Kasimierz after King Kasimir III, who, in 1335, formally declared the area, then a suburb of Krakow, a town for Jews and ethnic Poles to peacefully coexist until WWII.
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Notice the white wall on the right-hand side of the picture. The top of the wall is street level. The white building with the green roofs is a synagogue that was built below street level because Jewish synagogues were not allowed to be taller than any Catholic church.
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| Jan Karski, who was not a Jew, is honored by the Jewish community because he worked to stop the Holocaust. |
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| Peaceful patio and fountain at our hotel. |
Tuesday, 9/9
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| This morning, before we left Krakow, we visited the Czartoryskich Museum. Czartoryski is my family name when my ancestors lived in Poland. Not really sure how or if we're related, but I thought it was pretty neat. The plaque says the museum was established in 1800 in the town of Pulawach, and then it moved to Krakow in 1876. My great-grandfather emigrated to the US sometime around 1905. |
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| Our namesake museum is located on our namesake square. |
Then we had a 2-hour drive to Zakopane. It was a good time for a little nap. Along the way, we stopped in Wadowice to see the boyhood home of Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II. We got some pastries called Kremowka at a local bakery that Pope John Paul II made famous by saying he loved them. So now they are better known as "Pope pies".
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| Pope pies. I'll have to agree, they are quite good. |
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| We had a nice lunch in the town square. |
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This is the view from our Airbnb for the night, looking at the Tatra mountains. We'll be hiking there tomorrow. We are in a small town called Kowcielisko, near the larger town of Zakopane. Zakopane in Poland is like Vail or Aspen in Colorado - a major ski resort town.
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We have a chance to do laundry here. The washer is about the size of a shallow dorm fridge. No dryer; dryers are almost non-existent here.
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| From Paola: This photo shows a black and white sign that is ubiquitous in
Poland. Every time you cross into a village/town/city, this sign lets you know you're in the district (and are supposed to follow the laws of said district). I
find the sign charming. When you leave, it's the same sign but with a red slash through it.
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