Saturday 21st August mileage 6020 Krakow Poland

Late morning get up and out for breakfast.  Ordered too much at the local cafe, cornflakes came with hot milk, toast had cheese and ham inside, omlette and scrambled eggs would have been enough on their own.  Still the whole lot only cost 60Zlty so you cannot complain.
Went to find hotel we would be staying at when we return from Zakopane  ( The Wentzel)   very nice, right in the centre of the old town area, then on to show Savi the hostel where I had stayed on the first night, and then on to the old jewish ghetto area.  Walked back shopping etc. and then on to the Salt Mines tour. Very good and very interesting.  Salt has been mined here since the middle ages.  We went down two levels to 130metres below ground, but overall there are 9 levels going down some 600metres.
The miners had over the ages created statues and huge murals on the walls all carved in salt.   All supporting construction work and machinery were made from wood because wood is preserved by salt wheras metal is corroded by salt.

Learnt a lot about salt and how it was extremely valuable because if you wanted to eat in winter you had to preserve food in summer and the only mechanism for preserving food is salt.  People in olden times were often paid in salt and this is where the term salary originates.

On the tour we met and went around with some people who were english but who owned a property in Zakopane.  There was the owner named Dina, her son Charlie, a friend for Charlie called Naomi  and Dinas mother called Jennifer.  Nice people and because we were going to Zakopane tomorrow we agreed to go and see their place.  They have built a large house that is divided into six individual apartments that the let.  Zakopanerentals.com   

More later

TOR