Auschwitz and Birkenau really made you look at the history of the war and the terrible things that happened.  You cannot help but feel sad as you tour the buildings.  It is not something you can really do justice on a blog.  We will be happy to discuss what we saw in person when we get home, but it is not a topic you can explain and posting pictures seems inappropriate. 

Today was all about Krakow.  We started off having breakfast in a bakery (yum) and then wandered down to the main square in the old town to buy a few trinkets.  After that we headed straight to Warwel Castle where all of the past Kings of Poland resided.  We chose not to go inside since you had to have timed tickets booked ahead. Instead we enjoyed the grounds and the views along the river.

A huge lunch of various perogies (and beer) got our energy up before we spent the rest of the day at Podziemia Rynku, the archeological museum underneath the main square.  This is a very recent addition to Krakow, since it was started in 2006 when they started resurfacing the square.  The original project was supposed to take 6 months, but it was quickly halted and the scientists were called in when they uncovered artifacts.  Six years later the whole area had been excavated and thousands of years of history were unveiled.  The museum they created is all underground and incorporates all of the artifacts and the foundations of the original buildings.  It was totally unique and incredibly well done. 

Now we are all relaxing since all we did today was walk around town.  Tomorrow will be an interesting one as we are touring the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps.  

The salt mines were absolutely amazing.  You first need to walk down 406 steps, which none of us enjoyed.  Luckily Colin taped his ankle in preparation so that was not an issue.  Iwanka (our tour guide) walked us through the whole process.  There were all sorts of carvings of famous visitors to the mine from Copernicus to Pope John Paul II, along with various chapels and other rooms.  Everything was carved out of salt and the hallways are held up using wooden beams.  The older the beams, the more petrified they have become due to the salt exposure, so they are basically solidifying over time.  In the main chapel they have services for all of the main Christian holidays (Christmas, Easter etc), you can even get married down there and host your reception.  There were also models showing the various ways they mined the salt over the years and how they moved it to the surface.  At the start it was “man power”, but eventually they lowered in horses.  Since lowering the horse into the mine was really hard to do they built stables underground for the horses to live in permanently.  Even when they started using more modern methods they couldn’t get the horses out safely, so they cared for them until they died (the last one only died 12 years ago).  The best part was the elevator back to the surface.  They packed 10 people into the elevator that was 1m x 2m.  It was VERY cozy!  I have never been that physically close to Daen in my life (even when I have hugged him).  If you ever visit Krakow these salt mines are a definite “must see”.

After the salt mines we relaxed in our room for awhile since we were all tired from the miles of walking we did.  Some cool drinks and a little time lying on your bed can do wonders for your energy levels.  (Ok, we had a nap too).

We wandered around the square and some of the side streets until we found a great Georgian restaurant for dinner.  It was interesting, tasty food!  Actually it was probably some of the strongest flavours we have had since we got to Poland (please don’t be insulted Eva). 

So now Vicki is writing the blog while Colin & Daen are snuggled in their beds chatting (I would tell you what they are discussing, but most of you would rather not know).  Thanks for checking in with us!

Our last day in Gdansk can only be described as HOT.  It was 31^o plus humidity, so it had to be closer to 40^o C.  Yikes!  We went to watch the blacksmith, but we didn’t last long since it made things even hotter.  The work he did was excellent, however.  More wandering around the stalls where Colin bought himself a leather satchel to use while we travel (Vicki has agreed not to call it his murse or man-purse).  We ate a huge dinner before heading to the airport to leave Gdansk and head to Krakow.

In the airport we were worried we would be delayed when they cleared it out while they dealt with a bag left unattended.  It was all very confusing since we didn’t quite understand what was happening since there was a language barrier.  Colin was also a little heat stroked and was not feeling well at the time.  Eventually we got on the plane and arrived in Krakow without any problems. 

We didn’t get into bed until 2am by the time we checked into the hotel and got organized.  So we slept in today then walked down to the old part of the city to check out the square.  Wow!  We will include a picture, but it will not do it justice.  We had some lunch and wandered around for quite awhile.  We got back to the hotel just as it started to rain to see Daen climbing out of his taxi.  Perfect!  He was pretty tired so he had a short nap while Colin & I went to a bakery for a tasty treat (what we do to help out a friend).  A good dinner and some drinks in the old city wrapped up our evening.

Tomorrow we go to the salt mines on a tour.  Need to get up bright and early!

Yesterday we spent the day enjoying the stalls and beverages again.  If you every come to visit this town we would highly recommend coming during the festival.  We had a late start, so we missed breakfast service.  Sadly this meant Vicki had to have Chateaubriand (basically a steak with béarnaise sauce) for brunch...so painful (NOT).  We ate down by the river where there was some great people watching. 

Afterwards we checked out the Gdansk crane more closely.  It is basically two giant wheels that were turned by people walking inside of them to wind the rope and lift up to 2000 kg.  The crane was used to load ships in the 1600’s.  It is a very impressive design. 

We spent a little time drinking beer and shanty’s while watching the bungie jumpers.  A few people chickened out (we didn’t even consider it) but lots jumped.  Seemed to be safe enough during the actual jump, but it took a long time to lower the people down afterwards, so they hung upside down in the air for a long time.  That part didn’t seem like too much fun for the participants.  Spanish tapas for dinner (well, some were a little more French then Spanish, but still OK) and ice cream treats rounded out the day. 

There has been lots of walking the last few days, mainly on cobblestone streets so we are both feeling a little more fit.  Colin has been taping his ankle which seems to be helping a lot with the pain.  Today will be a little lazy since we check out of the hotel at 3pm and fly to Krakow later tonight.  In fact Colin is napping right now!  We are looking forward to a new town and meeting up with Daen tomorrow.

Gdansk is a beautiful city.  We have been wandering around enjoying the amazing architecture and the street festival going on right now.  There are vendors and street performers everywhere.  Today was mainly about exploring the town and trying all of the different types of beer.  Rather hard work really. 

We also stopped into the Amber Museum and the attached Torture Museum (yes, we know it is a weird combination but we just visited it, we didn’t design it).  The Amber Museum was full of beautiful specimens and great descriptions, but LOTS of VERY steep stairs.  Can’t say Colin enjoyed this part completely.  In fact we skipped the last floor due to fatigue.  Vicki did buy a very nice pair of earrings in the store (thanks to Dad’s Polish money donation last Christmas).  The Torture Museum was an interesting collection of artifacts outlining the ways they dealt with anyone who broke the law.  Based on what we saw we don’t know why anyone would bother.  Scary! 

Thanks to Zack for teaching us all of the Polish we need to know!  Pywo (Beer).  "Nice Driveway!"