The Happy Wanderer still in Poland

Upon leaving Warsaw and putting the sad reminders of what happened there seven decades ago behind us, we headed south for the city of Cracow and the Salt Mines at Wieliczka, which is situated about 8km south east of Cracow and can be reached using the local buses. The rich salt seam which has been worked from the 13th century until 1990s was one of the major sources of income for the Polish monarchs over the ages. The workers who worked the mine found it so exhausting to climb out of the mine each day they stayed down for the whole week, so dwellings and every day living items were provided for their use. The dangerous nature of their work often made them turn to God, their devotion motivated the miners to create the Chapel of St Kinga who legend says “was a Hungarian Princess and responsible for the salt”.

One of the Galleries in the Salt Mine

Everything in the chapel and the rest of the mine is carved from salt all beautiful decorative reliefs, statues and altar carvings even the chandeliers are carved from salt crystals of diamond like clarity. Some parts of the mine have been adapted for use as a Sanatorium due to the therapeutic qualities of the micro climate found in the salt chambers far underground. I found the whole experience down the mine extremely interesting.

Cracow, the formation of this town began in the 9th century although there are signs of human habitation there dating back 5000 years on Wawel Hill where the Royal Castle now stands. Cracow is also the main tourist destination in Poland and was added to the UNESCO Heritage list in 1978 as one of the twelve most precious architectural complexes in the world, the same year that the Archbishop of Cracow, Karol Wojtyla became Pope, known to us all as Pope John Paul 2nd, a very sincere and much loved man throughout Poland and the world.

Altar piece in St Mary's Church

The town had so much to offer it was impossible to see it all in the short time I was there, but it is on my list of places to revisit. In the central square where the horses and carriages queue up to take you sightseeing around the town, is the Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary. Inside is the most valuable medieval sculpture in Europe, the Altar-piece of Veit Stoss carved about 1477.

Moving on we headed for the Carpathian Mountains which are on the borders of Poland and Slovakia, stopping for a while at the town of Zakopane which sits at the foot of the Tatras, which are said to be the crown of the Carpathians due to their height. It is a Polish ski resort in the winter months, on the edge of the small town is a ski jump which I was told was used for the 2006 winter Olympics, it is also very much a tourist spot due to all the things to do and see in the area. In some ways it was very similar to the seaside towns on the Baltic that I mentioned earlier in this saga “which I seem to have been writing forever”. These are very much like our seaside towns in the mid 1900’s, lots of small shops, stalls and street venders selling every thing a tourist might need or not in my case.
While there I took a funicular rail trip up to the mountain ridge overlooking Zakopane and across into Slovakia, this ridge area is used by skiers in winter. Another day was spent rafting 23km down the river Dunajec in the Carpathians, really enjoyed that though it would have been more exiting had the river been in full flood, well perhaps not quite full flood! This river is also part of the border between the two countries. Another day we took a local bus ride, then a long walk up into the mountains to a lake called Morskie Oko (eye of the sea). It was possible to go part of the way up and back by horse and carriage, but needing the exercise I decided to walk, or perhaps I was being a bit tight fisted as they were quite expensive! It was while in Zakopane that I acquired my taste for trout (boned and then a very small amount of Thai green curry paste spread very thinly on the inside, fold back and shallow fry on both sides so the skin is nice and crisp) delicious, well I think so! I often use it as a starter.

While in the area of Debno Podhalanskie I visited a small Gothic Church built of larch wood in the 15th century, no nails were used in its construction just joints and dowels. It was one of the most beautiful small churches I have seen, a wall painting in the church is a valuable polychrome which dates back to the end of the 15th century. It was made in gothic style with 33 colours and 77 different patterns and with a Jagellonian above the cross, the paintings have kept their colour and fastness for over 500 years. The secret of their fastness has never been found out. The beautiful crucifix on the rood-screen, so called tree of life dates back to 1380, and a Gothic wooden tabernacle is the only relic of its sort and dates back to the 14th century but has not been used for over 300 years.

Archangel Michael's Church

We were not allowed to take photos inside the Church which I can fully appreciate, but please take my word for it, it was really beautiful and I could have spent hours in there. This is a post card view of the interior that I purchased at the Church, which I hope will give you some idea of what the inside was like although it cannot give you the feeling of love, beauty and devotion, it was almost like you were there with all the people who had prayed there for over hundreds of years. The feeling is hard to explain!

Well that’s it for now, next time I hope to reach home after visiting Prague and Strasbourg.

Christine Culley