The Salt Mine

Earlier this week we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine). I was scared to go since I am not all that fond of small, cramped spaces and I had heard that the 380 steps on the way down and the elevator on the way back up were pretty tight. In fact, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep until 2 am the night before. What? I worried myself into not being able to sleep? Hard to believe, I know, but totally true. In fact, there may have been some inability to breath on my part when thinking about it, but lets not dwell on that. I considered not going while we were standing in line, but when I looked around at all the young children and senior citizens around me (some of whom had problems walking) I decided not to chicken out (did you hear that Dana...I did not chicken out! I thought you would be so proud!) In the end, the stairs were easy peasy and the descent was not a big deal. The elevator back up was actually kind of fun.

Now you are wondering why we would visit a salt mine, given that we have never shown much of an interest in the excavation of salt before. But what you don't know about this particular mine is that after working an eight hour shift underground, some of the miners decided to stay and carve the salt.

And, as it turns out, they were master sculptors. My pictures do not do it justice. If I were you, I would check out some pictures online or wait for Krista to post hers. Alternatively, you could come here and see it for yourself. It is truly amazing and you won't be disappointed. In the end, we did learn about the history and logistics of salt mining, which is much more interesting than you would think. However, it was the dedication to and creation of beauty that was most impressive about this place. Julia and Lily have already decided to get married in the mine (which people do), so start saving your pennies for the flight over here.

Gotta love a tour where you can lick the walls!