Krakow

I didn't know that Krakow is so beautiful and romantic. But it is! When I arrived yesterday afternoon and I got myself settled into my hostel (called Submarine) I walked around the "Old Town" which was so pretty. There are beautiful old buildings, a clock tower, several churches (it is Poland), a market, horses and carriages and lovely outdoor restaurant spaces. So many people were out on a late Friday afternoon and evening. I noticed that all the men I saw were nicely dressed and well-groomed, making me believe that all Polish men are handsome. But they could have been tourists.....

Here's a traditional Polish supper I had--beetroot soup and perogies--pictured for Donna:

At 7:30, I went to a wonderful Chopin piano concert in an upstairs room in one of the old buildings in the Old Town (beside a jazz room and a karaoke bar!) where I met Maria from London, England and we went in together. The room had several pieces of art featuring Chopin. We were given a glass of wine to enjoy during the concert. A man gave an introduction of Chopin's life and music. We then heard the concert of various Chopin piano pieces performed by Pawel Kubica and it was spectacular.

He played the "raindrop" prelude (Prelude in D-flat, Op. 28, No. 15) so beautifully!

None of the pieces he played were on Youtube, but here he is playing the E minor prelude (Op. 28, No. 4) so you can experience the style I got to experience last night!

He also played Waltz, Op. 64, no. 2 beautifully, but since I can't share him playing it with you, here's Canada's own prodigy Jan Lisiecki playing it. My piano teacher, Ralph Elsaesser, adored Jan and gave him his piano. Maybe this is Ralph's piano?

(For those of you enthusiastic about Jan, he is performing in Toronto on April 1st and 2nd with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's 5th piano concerto, and then in Toronto on the 3rd and 5th playing the 3rd and 5th concertos)

Maria and I ended our evening with a tea. I enjoyed it so much!

Today, I went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine--a Unesco world heritage site. It was recommended by Captain Piotr since he knew I would be going to Krakow. I'm so glad he did! It was amazing. I was part of a group touring with an English speaking guide. She was funny and brought us through the history of the mine, referring to important historical figures, pointing out the interesting tools and methods of mining that were used. 

There were many statues carved out of salt, which were most often carved by miners and most of the beautiful art in the various passages we went through were carved by amateurs--you wouldn't have known, they were spectacular.

We went 130 meters deep and followed our guide through various passages. She told us that there are hundreds of kilometres of passages and we only went about 3 km in the three hours we were on the tour! I liked hearing the legend of St. Kinga. She was the Hungarian princess that married a Polish duke and "brought" the salt mine with her. She is now the patron saint of salt miners.

https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/the-legend-of-saint-kinga/85cdfd98-ceef-433c-8d0a-8bab13854c2e

I also really enjoyed the underground lake which we came to after our guide had told us how dangerous water was in the salt mine and the methods that had been used to bring water up to the surface. In the present day, they are still getting salt out of the mine, by bringing the water to the surface and extracting the salt from it. Then she explained that the water in the underground lake was thoroughly saturated with salt and could absorb no more, making the water safe, since the salt around it wasn't at risk of melting in the water. 

Our guide often encouraged us to taste the walls, and using her flashlight, showed us the salt in the salt floor tiles in various places--the salt church's being particularly pretty.

For a joke, there was a passage that used the salt blocks that cows and horses use (they lick them) as tiles on the floor which tickled my funnybone:

The chandeliers were made of wood and salt which was interesting and very pretty. We passed a catering team preparing for a wedding reception. Apparently a lot of proposals, weddings and receptions take place in the mine.

I breathed deeply while inside the mine, knowing that breathing that salt in the air is good for our lungs! There is a spa here for people to breathe in the salt all day!

I also enjoyed the gardens and castle around the mine. I came across some pieces "extracted from the deep" which were huge fossils from the time before the salt mine was discovered.

 What a lovely day here in Krakow!