MAP OF GOOD PLACES - WE GO TO WIELICZKA!

The decision was made - we are going on a trip! Suitcases packed, tea in a thermos filled with lemon, I feel sandwiches with Krakow wrapped in breakfast paper on hand. They are in my purse, because I start to be hungry as soon as we move, of course. There are sweets, of course, favorite and begged by boys. Sunglasses on the noses, summer hits from the radio, and " Wieliczka Salt Mine " on the navigation . Let's go! Straight to the goal. Let's say, because along the way our children will want to stop several times. In addition, they will ask about 50 times if it is far and whether we really, really, will walk so many meters underground. As for the level of excitement, mine and children are at a similar level, Tomek has no opinion

The Wieliczka Salt Mine will be the right place to bring back a few years ago on the blog - A Map of Good Places, which is our family's subjective guide to charming towns, attractions for entire families and those ideal for a weekend in two, proven restaurants and other places that according to put us in your sightseeing or leisure plan. We very often use the commands of friends, we ask others about their favorite destinations or places worth visiting. I also want to share such commands on my blog.

We're going to Wieliczka! We are 3 hours away.

We get to Wieliczka in the evening and unfortunately due to accidents on the way and traffic jams caused by them we are late for the last underground ride. The kids were disappointed, because our first night was to be in an underground hotel. The boys prepared warm clothes and flashlights and were fully prepared for the adventure, but unfortunately they did not succeed.

If you have the opportunity to use the option of sleeping underground, be sure to try it. This must be an amazing adventure. You can read more about the underground hotel on this page

We stayed on the surface in the beautiful Grand Sal Hotel  located in the mine, which turns out to be a very big logistic facilitation. We will be close to everything and the parked car will not move from the place for the next days. Full play 
Grand Sal Hotel  is surrounded by a beautiful park. There is a fountain in front of the hotel to the delight of our sons, who on Friday evening undertook the task of catching all ants from it

 
On Saturday morning, the sound of the alarm clock indicates that it is time for breakfast. This time we can't be late, because it's a great day of going underground. The emotions in boys reach their zenith. Before this happens, we will visit the Saltworks Castle. Żupa or former mine - hence the name. Kindest guide tells us about how it used to be, who was the lupine and whether he really was so rich, whether the king visited the mine, whether food was given away for free and whether it was true that salt was more expensive than gold.

It often seems to us that a museum is a great boredom for kids. I do not agree with that. It all depends on how the kids present the story, whether they are interested in something, drawn into the story, and move their imagination.

All this was done by the guide in the Saltworks Castle. Great applause! In her story she drew not only boys but also us. We kept asking her questions.
The boys liked the huge, beautifully made mockup, depicting Wieliczka several hundred years ago. The tiny houses, railways, roads, fields, meadows, trees, churches, mine shafts made the imagination to work at top speed and I saw the gleam in their eyes at the thought that they might there "let" their Lego minifigure 
me captivated salt shaker from Tiffany, who, in addition to being unearthly expensive, is still so delicate that apparently one collector was blown away by a gust of wind and broke.
And the opportunity to try on elements of heavy knightly armor - it was a great attraction. Just look at Marcin's face - full of happiness.

On the right, a salt shaker from Tiffany.

    
From the Saltworks Castle we went to the Daniłowicz Shaft  (we are constantly moving in the same area and walking everywhere). It was there that the guide would wait for us to take us underground with the whole group. We chose the Discover Solilandia route . It is a trip organized especially for children, although as it turned out adults do not have to be bored at all. On the contrary. The kids are assigned various tasks throughout the route, they must solve puzzles and quizzes, look for hidden treasures, dragon eggs and signs from the Mine Treasurer. In a word - they have what to do and are very busy. At this time, parents do not bother them and can listen to a second guide who at the back of the trip tells curiosities about the mine. After all, he was once a miner here and knows every nook and cranny of this mine. And this is called a perfectly organized trip!

 
Well, now stairs 130 meters underground.

And this is Saint. Kinga and miners handing her a lump of salt with an engagement ring embedded in it - life-size salt sculptures that I remembered from a trip to primary school are still standing here! They are fenced off from tourists, because touching them would make them melt quite quickly. It's salt after all

Horses were present in the mine from the very beginning of its existence. A few hundred years ago they were lowered down on ropes and there they helped miners with mining work.

The mine has almost 250 kilometers of winding corridors, underground lakes, mysterious chambers and the most beautiful of all the Chapel of St. Kinga. I don't remember if she made such a huge impression on me in elementary school as now. It's just beautiful! Miners themselves worked on her decor. It is full of salt sculptures, huge crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the whole room looks like a huge, magic ballroom.
On Sunday at 6:30 there is a mass here. Participating in it is supposedly an amazing experience. Perhaps due to the unusual acoustics that prevails here. I remind you that we are still over 100 meters underground

 These beautiful floors are also made of salt.

In the photo on the left you can see pickaxe marks and salt that condenses on them.
Today, we walk around the mine through underground corridors, still searching for wifi and it seems that we have forgotten that someone once dug this mine and these tunnels by hand. That once, when this mine was dug with these pickaxes, there was no electricity, only muzzles with tallow and wick, which light lasted for about 8 hours. Can you imagine how these people had to have determination and courage? I was still thinking about it during our trip, seriously. Today, everything is at our fingertips. Even the delicious pork chop in the restaurant - also underground. It's such an abstract picture: a gentleman arguing with a restaurant employee that he waits too long for his food (6 minutes) and memories of people who with a piece of candle slipped on ropes 60 meters into the ground,

At the end we stopped at fantastic models. Meticulously made, with tiny people in different situations, with lanterns that went out and lit up depending on the time of day, with buildings and trains moving along tiny tracks, it made my sons and Tomek stand there for a minimum of an hour. They did so, and in the meantime I returned to one of the rooms where you could buy souvenirs and read on the salt board that the Wieliczka Mine was inscribed on the first UNESCO World Heritage List.
I took the last pictures there that day - amazing salt crystals carved by nature.

The good news was that we didn't have to walk those 100 meters back on foot. An elevator was waiting for us. Big emotions

    
It was a very long day, and the boys fell asleep as soon as they hugged their faces to the pillows

Sunday - our last day in Wieliczka. After breakfast we went for a long walk. First around the Park of St. Kinga surrounding the hotel, then the obligatory ice cream and strolling the streets of peaceful and intimate Wieliczka, and finally a visit to Tężnia Solankowa. It seems from afar that it is a tower carelessly covered in dirty plaster. However, when we get closer, it turns out that it is not plaster, but branches piled up, over which salt water pumped from under the ground flows, and on which this salt condenses. A stay in the graduation tower has a beneficial effect on our airways. It is such a spa available to everyone who wants to breathe a salt aerosol that cleans the respiratory tract, reminiscent of sea air. An additional attraction is the lookout tower from which we can admire the entire panorama of Wieliczka.

    

The "Wieliczka" Salt Mine and the town itself is a trip not only for one afternoon. There is so much attention for children of all ages and adults that you can spend several days here. We have a choice of different tour routes. Is Solilandia for children, is the most popular Tourist Route and Mining Route. The latter for the most demanding and adventurous. Each participant gets a protective suit, helmet and lamp, as well as a task to do underground. It can be measuring methane levels, paving the way in the dark, or extracting salt. Everything to get to know a bit and see what the work of miners looked like.

Finally, a handful of the most important information needed before heading to the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

1. I recommend buying tickets online in advance. We will avoid standing in queues. Separate entries are available for online ticket holders. Tickets can be bought here 
Regarding the "Discovering Solilandia" route - tickets cannot be bought online before, but you must book them.

2. Participants of each trip are guided around the mine with a guide. There is no possibility of sightseeing on your own.

3. It is much cooler underground than outside. Warm sweatshirts will be useful.

4. Each trip is a lot of walking. Let's remember about comfortable shoes.

5. There is a restaurant with homemade dinners in the mine. Everyone will find something for himself.

6. If you buy a ticket for the selected route, keep it, then you will enter the brine graduation tower at a lower price.