Windrush Cove Photography

Our first few days in Poland

On June 14th we left Toronto destined for Poland. We flew to Frankfurt and then to Warsaw. The flights were uneventful aside from the occasional turbulence. Once arriving in Warsaw we rented a car (Volvo S60) and drove an additional 4 hours to Krakow only making two short breaks. Once of my favourite random things about Poland is that at almost every gas station there is also a zoo of some sort. In this particular case there were Peacocks and Peahens and other exotic birds. The best part was we got to watch the elaborate male peacock shake his tail feathers while he tried to attract a sexy peahen he had his eye on! He would march around her in circles and rattle his feathers. It was hilarious! The Polish landscape while we drove was breath-taking. Huge forests with huge trees mingled with flat and hilly farm land. You really must visit so you can understand the magnitude of beauty this country side has! When we got to the hotel we were beat and ready for bed. in total we traveled over 2 days because now it is the 15th! After we ate dinner at the hotel, which was delicious might I add, we all crashed!

When we woke up in the morning (June 16th) it was time for breakfast! (complimentary and amazing) We got our butts in gear and went to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. It is the only place in the world that has had continuous mining since the middle ages! There are nine levels in total that stretch 300 km and go 327 m deep. There are chambers and lakes as well as traverses and shafts.WE descended 380 steps into the first chamber. We only got to explore 3 km of the mine. We saw 2 salt water lakes. We also got to see and hear the acoustics in one of the chambers to the music of Chopin. I even saw stalagmites and stalactites. We saw fantastic sculptures made from the salt stone and chapels carved right into the stone. It was beautiful and cool too! Some of the chambers were really huge! After the tour we took the elevator shaft (really neat 4 level elevator most likely used by REAL miners) down and explored the out door gardens and sculptures.

After the tour we went to the Krakow city center where we ate lunch and explored more. We saw Florianska Gate which was the main city gate in the 13th century to protect the northern part of the city. This became an important royal route. It lead us to our lunch! We ate our lunch on Florianska street in the main market square. We ate a a restaurant named Virtuoso and we all enjoyed it a lot. We listened to street musicians and trotting horses while we enjoyed getting to sit for a while! The Florianska street and market were first planned in 1257. The street leads to the main market where the largest medieval market place in Europe is. With old buildings surrounding us from all sides it wasn’t hard for us to feel the history around us!

Here are some pictures of our adventures!

: Stalacmites from the constantly dripping salty water

: I know its an artistic representation but the steepness is accentuated this way.

: To process the salt rocks the miners needed salt water and used evaporation methods to extract the salts.

: Beautiful carved christ in one of the many chapels at the mines. Almost all of the art created in the mines was created by the miners themselves.

: The tour guide said that the lakes here had as much salt as the Dead Sea in Israel. The only difference is that this particular lake is only 4 degrees celcius and the dead sea is warm!

: A breezy ride back up after our long tour!!

: I thought this was super cool!

: Many artists contributed to the plethora of art and sculpture around the Mines.

: I thought it was neat the way the bronze was tension suspended between the salt rocks in this particular sculpture.

: Jeremy, I think this is a sculpture of you!

: I thought the upper body in this sculpture intriguing.

: The beautiful roses creeping up the lamp post are so delicate and make the miner symbol more meaningful.

: How ROMANNNNNNNNTIC!

: Look at the cute birch trees making their home on this old broken roof!

: I thought of you michelle and couldn’t resist taking a picture of these orange shoes for you!

: Hasn’t everybody always wanted a new red bike… THAT BLOWS BUBBLES!!

: Built in 1660!

: I loved the Baroque spires.

: I bet you just asked yourself… OH MY GOODNESS nuns still exsist? well of course they do! and most of them are well travelled as well, going on pilgramages to special sites. Poland is special because Pope John Paul II was polish. (he’s dead now in case you didn’t get the memo. )

: Move over Jeremy and Julieanne! It’s mom and dad’s turn! Mom deciced to get a HUGE panther tattoo sleeve and dad totally got his septum pierced! RAD. (just joking)

: mom and dad (darkly in the foreground) with St Andrews church in the background.

: I couldn’t get enough of the cute horses pulling the most beautiful carriages! More of these to come! They just looked so ROYAL with their majestic feathers on their heads!

: I loved his tossing head and elevated legs.

: The red stands out so nicely against their dappled coats.

: I think this lion was in front of the former city hall but if i am wrong i will correct this mistake!

: Mom and dad posing with the fierce lion statue gaurding the old city hall (as far as i know)

: Made by a student from a nearby art university!

: These beauties remind me of the wild mustangs in the west.

: This church was built in 1287-1320 on the vestiges of a Romanesque church that was destoryed by the tartars. It was built in the Gothic style (architecture) and has a baroque interior. Some of the Friezes are painted by the famous Jan Matejko

: Jer, If you don’t finish school, dont worry! You can form and awesome Duo with this guy and bang on the bongo’s for the rest of your life!

: Romantic Street Views.

: Big Bubbles to entertain the kids! Well, They also make great pictures!!

: Adam never visited Krakow, but 35 years after his death he was shipped to krakow and buried in Wawel next to other famous Poles (including kings!)

: This bike made me think of you again Michelle!! Isn’t cute! I wonder if the people who were crocheting the trees in central park NY did this in Krakow?

: Before you Knock they already know who’s coming!

: Chapel attached to the Basillica.

: The beautiful carving of Christ is set against the elaborate decoration of the ceilings in the church. Notice the Gothic pilasters versus the Baroque friezes.

: I found her/his gaze intoxicating, even though the placement was very high on the wall.

: We caught one song from the service at the Basillica and it was breath-taking, a once in a life time experiance.

: Look at the tasty, creamy colours!

: Considered one of the most beautiful churches in Krakow, it was repeatedly destoryed and rebuilt. Currently it’s interior is neo-gothic. (it has a monastic order)