More of the waiting...

It's kind of hard to believe that I booked my camps for Zambia 8 months ago now and here I am now just about 8 months out from departure.  It's gone by pretty fast but I've been busy and it's been the beautiful, enjoyable spring, summer and fall months here.  Now I have the winter slog to get through.  The January-April months feel like a year some years.  Ugh.

In mid-October my travel dates were finally available on Emirates for the Zambia safari.  I'd spent some time on SeatGuru taking a look at where I might be most comfortable in Economy class for 12 hours from Boston to Dubai and then 8 more hours from Dubai to Lusaka, and back again.  One interesting twist and benefit to this route is that because the layover in Dubai is over 8 hours (it's 14) Emirates will put me up in a hotel at no cost for the overnight, so that does break the flight up some and give me a chance to sleep in a bed, have a shower and spend time on solid ground before the second leg.  But the return flight is not so lucky, it's only 2 hour layover, so a 22 hour continuous trip in essence.

Traveling solo, I can take advantage of sitting anywhere I want without considering a traveling companion.  I did find a seat that didn't have a seat in front of it for the longer flights and I wanted to buy the fare early in order to get that seat.  Then I really started to think about it and thought maybe this might be an opportunity to take advantage of Emirates' Business Class experience, which is widely known to be best  in the business and will let me take two bags on as carry-on (which is a must since I'm a carry-on only flier now). I read that they have a Business Class lite fare which didn't have concierge, seat assignment, lounge or chauffeur as part of the fare.  Wait, what? Chauffeur you say?  Yes, they will pick me up at my home, deliver me to the airport at the appointed hour and return me to my home, included in the fare.  That could save me upwards of $200 for airport long-term parking for that trip.  So then I started looking at the full Business fare.  Picking a seat was a plus too, so I know I'll be on a window by myself.  At that point, the Business class check-in, champagne bar and dining in the lounge won me over.  How could I not do this?  After all, I only have this milestone birthday once.  And one feature unique to this fare which I don't get with my usual Economy fare is that I can cancel for a very small fee, so no need to add the fare to my trip insurance.  So while the various extraneous savings didn't add up anywhere close to the increase in fare, I think it'll be an exciting splurge.  I so enjoyed the lie flat beds going to Kenya last year, but that Business Class wasn't nearly the caliber of this.  Now the deed is done and the waiting continues. 

Turning 49 again should be fairly painless with all this on the horizon!!

Day 11 — The Journey Home

Somehow I managed to sleep a pretty deep, restful sleep.  I think the walking and fresh air yesterday made a difference, not that that’s not what I’ve been getting all along.  It just felt good to be going home.

It seems that Munich’s transportation system continues to vex me.  I had a nice leisurely breakfast, expecting a quick walk to the S-Bahn and the 40 minute ride to the airport for a mere 11 euro.  After successfully managing to cram everything back into my carry-on suitcase without expanding it, I exited the hotel and walked past the long line of taxis thinking to myself, “ha, I won’t need you at your exorbitant rate” in the heavy rain, the first I’ve seen this trip.  It’s only about 800 feet to the S-Bahn, so I wasn’t too wet when I got down there.  I bought my 11 euro ticket and headed to the underground.  Except I kept bumping into gates and signs and other obstacles keeping me from getting to the S-Bahn.  It’s then I realized that my lack of German meant that I missed all the signs saying the S-Bahn out of this station is closed this weekend.  Doh.

I asked two guys in orange “Information” vests how else I might get to the airport.  They said “just” take the U-Bahn one stop and then take a bus to.... Wait, wait, wait.  Bus?  I’m out.  Forget that.  I have enough commuting nightmares at home, I don’t need one now.  I whipped out my ATM card, took out 100 euros and ran back to the previously eschewed taxi queue.  The driver was a cute little old guy who spoke almost no English.  I asked how much and he said 70 euros, but then used his hands to show me sometimes a lot more, sometimes a lot less.  I hopped in at 9:15 and off we went.

Cute little tax driver guy asked me if I was American and from where.  I said Boston and he said “east side”, so we understood each other.  I then felt the need to say “No Trump, bad man” and waving my hands back and forth.  He laughed and said “American, all legal”.  Interpret that how you will, but I think he’s saying “that’s what you get for everything being allowed in your world.”  Then he said “Mauer, 3000 kilometers Mexico” and I knew Mauer meant wall and I said yes, yes, bad.  He shook his head and tsked-tsked.  That was the sum total of our conversation.

We pulled into the airport at 9:50 and it was 70 euros on the dot, which he proudly pointed out to me. I tipped him well and headed in.

Security here is piloting a new product that allows you to stay fully clothed and leave everything in its bags while it goes through.  I opted to try this out and made it through.  I half thought I’d be up for inspection given how tightly packed both my suitcase and personal item are.

While I’d prefer not to have spent the extra cash, it was worth the expense not to have the hassle.  Some things are.  I hope that’s the extent of my challenges getting home.

Day Ten — Day tripping

Friday, May 10

The last day of this epic vacation is finally upon me.  Honestly, Toronto and Krakow both seems like months ago and it feels like I haven’t been home for a year.  I think that’s the sign of a good vacation?

I didn’t sleep long last night.  I was up before 6:00 just waiting for the alarm.  With my train tickets in hand, I went off to Hauptbanhof today and all transiting went off without a hitch.  I left here at 8:00 and was seated in my seat on the train by 8:20.  Go figure.  It was a quick 1 hour 45 minute ride to Salzburg.  I left my hotel in blue skies and sun, left the Munich train station in overcast and it remained overcast for the entire journey.  The weather situation here is quite changeable quite quickly.  Even though it looked gloomy I had a hunch if I waited long enough I’d see some sun.

I arrived at the Salzburg train station, exited and bought a bus ticket out front.  4 stops to the river and I got out to walk across.  From the bridge, you get a great view of the Old Town, with all its church spires and steeples and the fortress up on the hill.  It was really quite pretty.  The Old Town itself isn’t terribly big; it’s maybe 4 or 5 streets deep and if it’s a mile long, that’d be a lot.  It’s the interlocking squares that make it fun to stroll around.  I started the journey in the overcast and wet sidewalks, rain having just passed through, following Rick Steves’ audio tour again (makes it easier than reading while walking) and saw most of the main sights in the Old Town, then got hungry and decided to find a place for lunch.  

I ate my big meal of the day here and it was excellent.  I had cheese dumplings, which was basically like macaroni and cheese only it had fried onions on the top, which really just made it perfect.  There was a side salad too, which I picked at but couldn’t finish.  The waiter was deaf and had trouble hearing me, but he yelled at me about getting a Muscat rather than a Riesling, and I was fine with that.  I’d have ordered dessert there but I really didn’t want the whole joint hearing what a glutton I am while on vacation.

I went back out to walk some more, picked up a three-pack of Mozart balls (like Lindt chocolate truffles) and strolled.  I found a cemetery shared by five churches and it was tiny and oh so peaceful.  The graves were very well taken care of, but I learned that they are on 10 year leases and if they’re not paid up and taken care of, the inhabitants are dug up and booted out.  There was one interesting grave of an American army sergeant who appears to have died there during WWII, and his wife.  It’d be interesting to know that story.

By now the overcast was nearly gone and I could see blue sky and strong sun, so I retraced my steps and retook some of the photos from earlier with blue skies.  It got so warm that I shed my jacket and was glad I opted not to wear extra layers this morning.  I definitely didn’t need them.

I took the funicular up to the fortress and was figuratively knocked off my feet by the spectacular view of the Alps from the back-side of the fortress.  There is a panoramic terrace up there and I had no idea we were that close to those snow-covered peaks.  I don’t think I’ve ever been that near to the mountains like that, so I took time to really appreciate that.  There was a storm coming in over them which reminded me of what it is like to watch the storms creeping across the savannah in Africa.  I could just see it coming right toward the city.

I slipped around to the town-side of the terrace and was struck by that view as well.  Salzburg really is something to behold, but especially from up high.  It really is picture-perfect.  And I don’t say that about many places!

More strolling and window-shopping for a while and stopping to listen to a couple of buskers, including a 4-piece tuba oompa band, until I’d made enough room for dessert.  I stopped in to Cafe Mozart (how touristy can you get in his birthplace anyway?) and had a slice of apple streudel with ice cream and a cappuccino.  A delightful way to end the daytrip.  All in all I’m really glad I chose to do this on my last day.  It was a refreshing, relaxing way to wrap it all up.

I hopped back on bus #1 and headed back to the train station, ready to depart at 4:55 p.m.  It was a quick and efficient trip back to Munich.  I’m still full from lunch and just finished packing (I got it all to fit, I think!) so I’ll settle in and read tonight I think.  My flight’s at 12:30 tomorrow so I’ll leave here around 8:45, I think.

Day 9 — Traveling Like Kings

Thursday, May 9

Up and at ‘em bright and early today.  I was to be “on the bus” at the main train station by 8:10 for an 8:30 departure.  While I was fairly certain those were somewhat fluid times, as it always seems to be, I also wondered if German promptness would reign supreme and that thought was tucked away in the back of my head as a minor transport glitch tripped me up.

I normally never have a problem with public transportation, especially subways.  This was to be a cut and dry two stop ride on one S-bahn line from Marienplatz to Hauptbanhof.  Easy peasy.  Except when I got to the stairs to go down to the S-bahn, the one I thought I needed was closed, so I used the other.  The train pulled up and even though the direction on the train sign was headed the other way, I took it, thinking surely they wouldn’t send me down the wrong stairs, right?  Wrong.  It was the wrong direction.  So I got off at the next stop, switched platforms and then waited and waited....and waited.  The trains were backing up and not arriving.  I should have been at the bus in just a few minutes from my hotel, and here it was 8:15 already and I was 3 stations away!  Gulp.  I tried calling the number on my reservation to let them know I was coming but it wouldn’t go through.  Gulp.  Finally a train showed, I got on, and I made it to the train with 7 minutes to spare (before 8:30, not 8:10).  I also wasn’t the last to board, so I’m not alone in cutting it close.

After the cattle car of the last bus tour I took, I was relieved to remember that I’d paid for the “premium” tour to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof.  I knew that meant a smaller group, snacks and a bathroom on board and better service.  I had to smile when I walked up to a line of big Gray Line coaches and only one had a red carpet rolled out from its staircase.  That was mine!  The coach was huge but had half the number of seats.  Lots of legroom and a cappucino bar to start!  Snacks like chocolate and cookies and pretzels and bananas were constantly being offered.  Bottled water and coffee flowing freely.   This,  THIS my friends, is how to do a bus tour.  And it was worth whatever it was that I paid extra for it.  There were only 19 of us, so everyone got a window and there were fewer of us to keep on time.

Annette was our tour guide and she laid down the law from the start.  Lack of promptness will not be tolerated.  The bus will leave without you if you are not there at the appointed time.  Duly noted, we all said.  And off we went.

It was about an hour and 15 minutes to Neuschwanstein. This it probably the most famous of Mad King Ludwig’s three castles he built during his short reign (Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee being the others; we’d see Linderhof later today).  Ludwig was never really into the king thing.  His parents thought he’d grow into the role, but he was a dreamer and not very serious about what he needed to know to be king.  He never married or had children and was passionate about the composer Wagner and his operas.  His father died when he was 18 and he took the throne and apparently hated it.  He devoted his life to building these castles.  He designed and decorated them himself.  By all accounts he was a great boss, forming the first trade union for his workers.  Only the architects feared him for all the changes he’d make once they’d finalized plans.  The government grew tired of him spending money on the buildings and not doing much work, so they declared him insane and ultimately, at the age of 40, he was found drowned in a knee-deep lake along with his doctor.  That’s sort of suspect given that he was a great swimmer.  The exhumation of his body to determine an exact cause of death was refused and the “official” story is that he killed himself, although the circumstances certainly lend to another ending.

Anyway, we could first see Neuschwanstein as we wound our way through the beautiful Bavarian Alps and down into the flat near the town.  At first I was struck by how small it looked, but I truly think that was in comparison to the massive mountains it was set against.  It has 200 rooms, only 18 of which were actually finished.

We parked in the lower lot under Hohenschwangau, Ludwig’s father’s castle.  We wouldn’t visit this one today, but in retrospect I don’t think that’s a bad decision.  More on that in a bit.  Annette said that given how gorgeous the day was, with bright blue sky, sunshine and white puffy clouds we really ought to go up to the bridge for that quintessential Neuschwanstein photo.  Of course I was going to.  So rather than walk the 40 minutes up (we only had an hour to make it to our assigned tour time), I took the shuttle bus which took only 10 minutes to where the trail to the bridge is.

“The bridge” is Marinebrucke, which is a wooden footbridge that crosses a pretty deep chasm nearby the castle.  I hadn’t thought too much about it until I saw it and didn’t have too much time for my vertigo to set in before I was halfway across and taking photos.  I didn’t dare get close to the edge or look down, I was there to get my business done and get off before too many other people got on.  But man, it was an incredible sight.  The weather was indeed perfect for this part of the journey and I’m thrilled the weather gods smiled down on me for this part of the day!

It only took 10 minutes to walk down to the entrance to the castle.  While waiting at the turnstyles for our appointed tour time, I looked across the chasm to see the bridge and realized that good glory, that is damn high, and precarious looking!  I’m glad I didn’t see it from that angle before I went!

The tour of the interior of the castle was crazy.  First, it was just as well-organized as the Salt Mines tour last week: regimented and strict tour times, no dallying.  We went in at 12:10 on the dot.  It did not take long to be completely awestruck by the interior design of this place.  Ludwig knew nothing about restraint.  If he wanted gilding or 10 colors or feathers or fabric, he did it.  He held nothing back.  He painted rooms to match Wagner’s operas, he built a hallway like a grotto from one too.  His chandeliers were massive and beyond anything I’d ever seen before.  It was as if he’d decorated it all on a sugar high.  And I loved it.  All too quickly the tour was over (no photos allowed) and we had about 40 minutes to make it to the bus.  It was a 20 minute walk down from the castle.  I grabbed a cheesey pretzel and off I went.

To put the size of Neuschwanstein in perspective, the guide said that the Nazis used it to store their stolen art (that the Monuments Men recovered).  They found 9000 boxes of art stored here.  That’s a whole heck of a lot of art and just goes to show how much room there is there for all that!

Oberammergau was our next stop, really because it’s a nice mid-point between Neuschwanstein and Linderhof.  I’d heard about it from travel research over the years and was perversely curious.  The town is best known for its commitment to hold the Passion Play every 10 years here.  During the Plague, the townspeople made a deal with God that if they don’t all die from the Black Death they’d do the play every year.  Over time yearly became every 5 years became every 10 years.  Now it’s such a draw that they built a huge open air theater with a sliding glass roof to cover the stage in inclement weather.  They run the play for several months, 5 days a week.  The theater holds 4800 people who sit there for 6 hours watching this play!  Crazy.

Anyway, I didn’t think much of Oberammergau to be honest.  I liked the story about the tiny cross at the top of the mountain and how on Mad King Ludwig’s birthday, they’d climb up there and light a bonfire in his honor (normal citizens seemed, and still seem, to like Ludwig better than his colleagues did).  But the town is really touristy.  The buildings are pretty but everything is a shop selling tourist stuff.  LOTS of Christmas stuff, wood carvings, cow bells.  We only had 40 minutes here, so I walked to the little church where the Passion Play was first held and back again.  Then back on the bus.

20 minutes later and we were at Linderhof.  This castle is meant to be a smaller version of Versailles, and it is indeed small when compared to Neuschwanstein.  But still exquisite.  The exterior appeared to be carved marble with classical statues.  Inside though had Ludwig’s sugar-high, unrestrained hand all over it.  I couldn’t help but think of the Coco Chanel saying about how you should always look in the mirror before you leave the house and take one accessory off.  I think Ludwig was the type to put a few more on.  He just did everything over the top.  It’s like if a little kid were allowed to design it, no holds barred, no questions asked.  The most breathtaking room was the last, his hall of mirrors, which was gorgeous.  There was one spot where you stood and it appeared as if the room went on forever in either direction, which was of course the effect of the mirrors.  But lost in all the gilded carvings and ornamentation were the 90 vases propped among them.  I’d have missed them entirely if the guide didn’t point them out.  Crazy.

Back to the bus again and the driver offered us our choice of beer or wine.  So we got to enjoy a tipple on the drive back to Munich.  Yes, I think this is truly the way to do the bus tours!

I was back in Munich by 6:15 and after much deliberation I’ve decided not to visit Dachau tomorrow but instead take a train ride to Salzburg.  I had a hard time recovering emotionally from Auschwitz last week and I think I want to end my trip on an emotional high note.  So I bought my train ticket while I was at the train station.  I’m looking forward to a day there!

A quick pizza and glass of wine tonight and I’ve started packing to leave on Saturday.  Early to bed for another early morning!

Days 7 and 8 — Bouncing Back

Wednesday, May 8

Yesterday ended up a bit rocky.  As I was writing my blog on Monday night I felt myself falling victim to some sort of traveler’s ailment and ended up sleeping most of the day away, hence no blog from yesterday.

I did manage to get out and not make a total waste of the day though.  I took a cab to Alte Pinakothek primarily to see their Caravaggio exhibition.  This was meant to show how the Utrecht school of painters were influenced by Caravaggio.  I think it did that well enough, except the focus was beyond just the Utrecht Caravaggist painters, because one of my favorites, Valentin de Boulogne was well-featured and I’m pretty sure he is French.  Gerhardt von Honthorst was also featured and I became a big fan of his many years back when we saw an exhibition on him in Florence.  The collection of paintings they had was excellent and the program definitely delivered on the theme, but the layout was miserable.  The space was adjoining boxes that you could easily skip past without knowing.  Crowd control and a bunch of confused senior citizens really made it hard to move around.  But other than that I’m really glad I saw it.  There were only 4 actual Caravaggios in the show, as is likely to happen with a big name like this.  One from the Vatican Museum (which I’d seen in Rome, but I was surprised they loaned it out for this!), one from Montserrat (which I’d likely never see otherwise), a Medusa shield from the Uffizi which I’d seen before, and The Fortune Teller  from the Capitoline Museum, which I’d also seen.

After that show, I strolled through the permanent collection which had a couple of nice highlights like a da Vinci portrait, a nice Botticelli, and some Rembrandts, including a cycle of Jesus’ life, which were excellent.  But man, there were more Reubens there than I’ve ever seen in any museum.  Ugh.

After that I still felt ok so wandered over to the Nazi Documentation Center nearby.  (The Neue Pinakothek is closed for the year so no luck in seeing Impressionists collection here).  The Nazi Documentation Center chronicles the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler, all of which happened here in Munich.  It’s not a claim to fame at all, and they are not celebrating it.  They are quite clearly documenting it in extreme detail, probably to ensure it doesn’t happen again.  I found it interesting that admission is free this month due to a large EU election happening at the end of the month; probably encouraging people to visit to remember what happens when you vote the wrong way.  There were a few school groups there doing presentations on various exhibits.

The one thing about this place is that it would require HOURS to read it all.  Every panel was text-heavy.  There were table displays that were all text and 31 tall floor panels that were a lot of text, plus the excellent audio-guide that went into way more detail on each one.  I wanted to read it all but I started to lose energy and felt crappy again so I sort of breezed through as much as I could before I headed back to the hotel, where I slept the rest of the day away. I will say that what I did make it through was well worth the effort for people interested in that point in history.

I woke today feeling somewhat better but didn’t rush to get up.  I had yogurt and toast with tea for breakfast and headed out again.  This time I decided to tour the Residenz, which was home to kings and royalty from the 1300s until 1918.  I did both the main residence and the treasury tours and they were pretty good.  I don’t normally find treasuries terribly interesting but some of the pieces in this one were really beautiful and ostentatious.  I was surprised by how many stones had been replaced with colored glass in order to sell the original stones for money.  Yikes.  It was also interesting how many pieces came from other royal families and weren’t returned for any reason.  

The residence was opulent of course, but it, like so much else of Munich, was hit hard in WWII and had to be reconstructed.  If there were photos of what ceiling paintings looked like, they were repainted but if there weren’t, they were left black.  Almost none of the furnishings are original to the palace, but I think you can still get a good idea of how they lived.

After this I grabbed a yogurt and a pretzel for lunch and then walked around the Marienplatz area more or less window shopping and people watching.  I came back to the room to rest for about an hour and then headed out for a pizza.  I needed something more substantive but didn’t want German food just yet.  It hit the spot and so far is agreeing with me.

I’m going to try to get a good night’s sleep since tomorrow is a long bus day to Neuschwanstein.  I’ve been looking forward to this.  Hoping for good weather!

Day Six — On to Munich

Monday, May 6

Today was pretty much a transfer and settle into Munich day.  That said, I did see and learn a lot.

My pre-arranged transfer to the airport came early (which is good, as I’m chronically early) and getting to the one-terminal airport with 90 minutes to spare was nice.  I managed to fit in some shopping in the terminals.  It was a bit odd though, absolutely no one ever checked my passport along the way....  I had it out at every stop and no one looked at it. Yikes.

I took the S-Bahn from Munich airport to Marienplatz, which was a 38 minute trip and landed me right next to (literally!) my hotel.  I’ve never been so conveniently located!   I’m right off the square where the two city halls are and convenient to underground.  My room was ready at the hotel here and I unpacked a bit, threw on another layer (it’s cold here!) and headed out. 

I did Rick Steves’ Munich city tour on my own.  This time I did it audio style on my iPhone rather than read along.  It went well, although the directions were a bit convoluted a few times.  But I learned a TON.

On the main square, there is Old City Hall (Alte Rathaus) and New City Hall (Neue Rathaus).  Except Old City Hall is newer than New City Hall.  Much of Munich was leveled by bombing in WWII, except in the square, the Old City Hall was mostly destroyed while New CIty Hall survived a lot of the hits and the city rebuilt Old City Hall making it newer than New CIty Hall.  A lot to follow, I know.  But several of the churches I visited today were leveled, or nearly so, by bombing and reconstructed fairly quickly, relatively speaking.  It gives me hope that Paris can do the same with Notre Dame which was far less damaged than these churches!  A few of these churches had before and after photos from just after the bombings through the reconstruction and it is simply amazing how they rebuilt here.

The walking tour led me past and through most of the churches around the square.  One was the home church of Cardinal Ratzinger turned Pope Benedict (so now I’ve been in the home churches of both of the previous two popes).  Another had many of the tombs of the German royal families, including King Otto and Mad King Ludwig.  The styles of the churches varied greatly from Jesuit to Catholic, Baroque to NeoClassical to Renaissance.  An interesting side-note is that my hotel is surrounded by 5 churches, all of which ring bells on the hour 24 hours a day.  This ought to make for interesting sleeping.

One of my more interesting stops was to Dallmayr, which is a giant, high-end food hall that caters to the Munich elite.  It has everything from chocolate and wine and spirits to prepared foods, teas and coffees.  Yes, I did some damage there, but I’m none worse for the wear.

The walking tour looped around (but didn’t visit) Residenz, which was the former royal family’s winter home right in the city (Nymphenburg Palace was their summer home) and ended up in the Odeonplatz, which is the square where Hitler and Goering held an uprising, both got shot, Hitler got arrested and spent 9 months in prison writing Mein Kampf.  Right before the square there was a small lane to the left that had a wavy trail of golden bricks through it.  That was the last spot where Germans could duck through to avoid having to enter the square and give a Heil to Hitler on that day.

For dinner I popped into a beer hall across the street that had a fair number of vegetarian offerings on the menu.  It was seat yourself so as a party of one I tried to find the smallest vacant table I could, and that was a table for four, unfortunately.  The server wasn’t pleased by that and she let me know.  The service was not really great but the food was good.  In all the market stalls I passed on the street today, it’s obvious that white asparagus is very much in season right now.  So my main was white asparagus and boiled potatoes with a Hollandaise sauce on the side.  My starter was called obatzda, and it was a blend of three cheeses and some spices and butter into a spreadable cheese that you put on a pretzel or bread.  It was really good.  I had apple fritters for dessert.

I did another loop around the square but at 8:00 it wasn’t even close to dark enough for the buildings to be lit up yet.  Maybe another night...

Day Five — All Pierogied Out

Sunday, May 5

Today was a much-needed return to levity and mental escape.  The day started off well when I got a solid night’s sleep, probably the first I’ve had since I got here.  One thing is for certain is that jetlag isn’t nearly as easy to cope with as it was when I first started traveling 25 years ago.  Taking 5 days to feel normal again is a pain.  Remind me of that when I get home and go through it all again.

Anyway, same hotel breakfast as before and I was picked up at 8:50 by Comfort Tours Krakow for Wieliczka Salt Mines, arranged by my hotel.  Oh how nice it was being escorted around in a Mercedes SUV with just four other guests.  Yesterday’s nightmare of the massive tour bus full of 60 infirm passengers was long gone (though I did check to confirm that I booked a small group tour in Munich for Neuschwanstein, phew!). The driver dropped us off at the entrance to the mines with the appointed English speaking guide and saw us off on the tour.  We joined a group of about 20 other English speakers with our one Wielickzka guide.

Now in an effort of full disclosure, I’ll admit that this wasn’t even on my radar for this trip.  I read about it and thought it looked sort of kitschy and not my thing and I had plenty else to do here.  And then I had Sunday free and I’d seen all I’d planned to, so that’s when Wieliczka Salt Mines came into play.

The carvings and chapels and grottos in the mine have been built over the last 200 years or so by miners who wanted to memorialize themselves and their time down there.  Rock salt was extremely valuable to the Poles at one time (more expensive than gold)  but now the miners who still work down there are primarily maintaining the chambers and features of the carvings.

The entire system is kept at a constant 57 degrees which is what is best for maintaining the salt.  The earlier exhibits (all made of salt!) explain how the mining worked, showed how the horses moved the salt that was quarried out of the shafts and the role salt played in history.  The statues are of people from mythological characters to religious scenes, politicians, poets and Pope John Paul II.  We saw two grottoes or lakes that are as salty as the Dead Sea.  One they used to let guests take a boat on until 7 soldiers went out and started to dance in the boat, the boat capsized and yes, I know what you’re thinking, that’s ok because you float in that water, right?  Well, no, not if you’re stuck under the capsized boat.  They died and ruined the fun for the rest of us.

Anyway, the tour group makes its way through a series of tunnels.  Everything is rock salt except for the wooden beams and structures supporting the shafts and everything around it.  Wood is used instead of metal because it doesn’t corrode like metal does in the presence of salt.  There were long sections of tunnel that were split by doors periodically. Due to the air pressure in the tunnels, we’d all have to get into one closed section and close the door behind us before we could open the next door in front of us.  I was surprised by how temperate it was, how not grossly humid and how fresh the air seemed.  I wanted to ask the guide if her hair or skin benefit from the constant exposure to that environment but she’d disappeared before I had a chance.

The grand finale before a series of gift shops was a large chapel that had to be four stories high and so ornately carved and decorated, it was breathtaking and at the same time hard to realize that it was all below ground.  They also have a pretty large function room and a few smaller chapels.  The guide said people frequently get married there (and they take advantage of an elevator installed for the handicapped guests so no one is traipsing down 800 stairs in a wedding gown).

It really is its own little village down there.  There were a few toilet stops, at least two snack bars and a larger cafeteria.  And somehow, credit cards worked in the gift shop.  Hmmmm....

The guiding there is really well choreographed (Auschwitz could take tips from them on this).  They let the groups go about every 4 minutes.  None of the explanations at any of the caverns took much longer than that.  The groups were kept tightly together (especially when it came to the pressurized doors) and any stops for toilet, snack, souvenirs or photos in the largest rooms) were strictly timed.  That meant it was never really crowded at any stop and that we didn’t have to wait for an elevator like the general public has to if they go on their own.

So I came away suitably impressed.  Who knew?  We did get a bit stuck because where our guide led us outside was a place we didn’t recognize and she disappeared before we could ask how to get back to where we were meeting our guide to return us to Krakow.  I plugged it in my iPhone maps and 10 minutes later we found him.

It was misting heavily when we got back to Krakow.  I decided to walk back to the National Museum and just poke around the exhibitions there but on Sundays it’s free and between it being free and the rain, it was a madhouse.  Plan B was to walk back to the hotel and just pop into all the churches along the way and see what I could see there.  That was fun.  It occurred to me though that when I went into one right around the corner from my hotel, that I’d been in it earlier in my trip.  Indeed, it was Pope John Paul’s church when he was here and it was across the street from the building he stayed in when he came to Krakow as Pope.  I’d approached it from a different direction on my first (jetlagged) day here on my walking tour, and had been by there a few times coming and going to other places and not even realized it.  Hmmm. So then I decide to revisit castle hill and pop into the cathedral there, because I now doubted what I remembered from that church, but it all came back to me when I saw the relic of Pope John Paul’s blood on the altar.  Yep, I’d been there.

I’d heard about a restaurant with some good vegetarian options from the ladies on my food tour, so I headed there around 3:00 for a late lunch/early dinner.  It was wonderful!  It was about 2 blocks in off the Old Town Square and called Zalipianki.  I had carpaccio of veggies (zucchini, cucumber, beets, radish) with goat cheese and cranberry sauce that was to die for.  I have been craving veggies and this really hit the spot.  My main was pierogis filled with sheep’s cheese and topped with caramelized onions and beets.  Dessert was a massively deep dish apple pie.  That Winnaca rose that I have had here twice now was on the menu, so who was I to say no?  All in, it was my most expensive meal at $35.  It has been incredibly cheap here to eat incredibly well.

After dinner I poked around the stalls in the market in cloth hall, walked up Florianska Street one more time just window shopping.  There’s a little vodka shop on that street that will sell you shots of vodka, so I tried a caramel infused one, which was interesting (but warming, much needed with it drizzling and cold!).  I made it back to the square to hear the bugler do his hourly call at 5:00 and checked out the flower stalls in the square on more time.

I started to flag about from walking around and the cold and wet was getting to me so I had one more drunk cherry drink at the little shop closer to my hotel and called it a day.  

That’s it for Krakow.  I’ve enjoyed it here and have certainly eaten well.  I’m checked in for the flight to Munich and all packed.

Day Four — Auschwitz-Birkenau

Saturday, May 4

Today started at an absolutely ungodly hour for vacation (although oddly I have no problem getting up at 5:30 a.m. on safari!).  Too early for breakfast to be available here, so I ate a donut I’d bought last night and took a few protein bars with me along with OJ and a bottle of water.  Today was the day I’d planned to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Let’s get the logistic out of the way.  You can’t visit Auschwitz I without a guide from the museum there.  I signed up with a local tour agency to take a bus to the site and from Auschwitz I to Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and back to Krakow.  That part worked out fine.  So for those considering going to Auschwitz from Krakow, it really doesn’t matter which company you go with, as they’re only driving you there and facilitating your entry to the sites (reserving your spot and paying your admission).  The guide who takes you around the site is from the museum.

The tour starts at Auschwitz I, which was primarily use to house Soviet prisoners.  There are 28 barracks and the camp held “only” 15,000-20,000 prisoners.  It is disconcerting to say the least though to see how well landscaped it is, with new (since the camp was closed) trees and lilac bushes.  Combining the landscaping with the bright blue skies and brilliant sun when visiting on a day like today almost feels wrong.  I felt like it should have been overcast.  And cold.  At one point I saw a pigeon gathering straw to build a nest somewhere nearby and marveled that life is going on there in light (or in spite?) of all that has come before.

Our guide led us through several of the barracks that helped him weave his story.  Indeed, they were mostly quite effective.  He explained how the Zyclon-B gas was tested here, how the barracks were originally one story and the prisoners built the second stories on them.  There was one corridor with the official intake photos of some of the prisoners (about 200 or so) with their newly given prisoner number which would become their identity for the rest of their stay here.  It was hard to see the photos of them, knowing that they were being told this was all temporary...yet all of them had a date of death on them too. 

There was a room of photos that were taken by prisoner who were working at the crematoriums.  They’d snuck cameras and film and were able to document women being forced into the death chambers.  They played such a role in proving that this all actually happened.  I wondered if they could even believe it themselves.

There was a very large scale display of “prisoners plundered” which was all of the belongings taken from the prisoners.  When they arrived at either camp, they were told to leave their belongings, mark up the bag if they must, but that they’d get the belongings back after a disinfecting shower and some food.  Of course none of that happened, and for some new arrivals at the camp, their shower was really the gas chamber, because the weak or useless prisoners were killed upon arrival.  What we saw were immense piles of eyeglasses, prosthetics and crutches, prayer shawls, brushes, cookware and horrifically enough, two tons of human hair.  The Nazis kept all the hair that was shorn off the prisoners for reuse in textiles.  Two tons of hair?  That had to have been from an ungodly amount of people.  It was horrifying.  To think that what we were seeing, these ridiculously large piles of belongings, were from only a small set of prisoners is mind-numbing.  And sad.  It puts humans behind the numbers, and the result is chilling.

We were taken into a barracks that had cells in the basement for punishments.  Some were just solitary confinement, some were starvation cells.  The point of either was to drive the prisoner crazy or have them die under inhumane conditions.  In the basement it was so narrow that it was one line of people weaving through the hallways.  It was somewhat sign-posted for way-finding but we were meant to be following the guide.  At one point, the young twenty-something in front of me took a wrong turn and we (half of our group of 30) lost our guide, and we were doing the same circuitous route we’d just done.  We were wearing remote headsets so we could hear him no matter where we were within range and by now we’d lost him.  He and the first half of the group had made it outside and were moving on.  He never stopped to count his charges or wait for us. I finally got us outside and he was already two barracks away, and we had to run to catch up.  I thought we were all there and started to pay attention to him again, wondering what I’d missed in this 5-7 minutes of lost time.  Suddenly an elderly Jewish couple came up and she yelled at the guide, “you need to wait, you can’t just leave us.”  Her husband yelled “I’m angry, you had no right running off on us, I lost people here and I’m not even getting to see it, you’re going too fast.”  The guide was completely nonplussed and said in his monotone drone “there are groups behind us we must keep moving.”  The gentleman countered “I came here to learn too, I deserve to see.”  At this point a younger guest said to the guide “we asked you to slow down, we told you we’d lost the group.”  Ugh.  The older couple were both so visibly upset, my heart just broke for them.  It had to have been bad enough to be here at all, to be reminded of what they’d lost and how, but then to add insult to injury.  It took every part of me to swallow that down and refocus.

We ended this part of the tour by seeing the only gas chamber and crematorium still standing in either Auschwitz camp.  The larger ones at Birkenau were destroyed by the Nazis as part of their attempts to destroy the evidence.  It was more than a little bit creepy to be in the gas chamber and then see the adjacent ovens.  While the Nazis claimed Zyclon B was the most humane way to kill, it certainly didn’t sound that way to me.

We had a quick break before we boarded the bus to Birkenau.  Thankfully they don’t make us walk the 3km between camps.  Who knows who the guide would have left in the dust on that walk.  During the break I let our tour operator know what happened and that the couple was very upset and I found what had happened inappropriate.  She said she’d reach out to them.

Auschwitz II or Birkenau was much larger.  And completely desolate.  The land is barren.  You see the tell-tale main gate and the rail road tracks leading to the sorting platform, and then it’s nothing but barracks or destroyed barracks as far as you can see.  This camp was massive and bleak.  As the largest in the camp system, it had 300 barracks.  Towards the end of the war there were over 99,000 prisoners here and 3,500 Nazi workers.  I think of everything, I was just not prepared for the scope of it, how large it actually was.  We saw the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria and walked past many of the barracks.  We were allowed in one to see the three-high bunks and how primitive the structure was.  How anyone lived in there in the winter is beyond me.  Even today I found it cold in there.  To say that this is all beyond comprehension is really an understatement.  Even reading back all that I’ve just written, it doesn’t seem to do the experience justice at all.

We boarded the bus for the hour-long trip back to Krakow.  We arrived at 2:00 and I was ravenous and feeling pretty crappy from not having eaten well since the food tour yesterday.  I went back to the really good Polish restaurant we went to yesterday.  I had the potato cakes again, pierogis stuffed with sweet cottage cheese, spinach and caramelized onions and a glass of that rose.  I felt so much better with food in my stomach, but mentally I was still off.  It was only 3:30 and too early to crash at the hotel but I needed to do something to clear my mind.

I decided to pop over to The Europeum, the national museum’s European painting collection.  It was only 4 rooms and their prized Rembrandt landscape is on loan to Warsaw (dang it) but I did stumble quite literally over a Vigee Lebrun!  I love seeing her portraits and I was thrilled to see an old friend in her here.

That wasn’t quite the dose of museum I needed so I just walked.  I went back toward castle hill and walked along the river.  I watched little kids playing and bigger kids running around the stalls at a market on the green there.  It was warmer than the morning and the fresh air felt good.  So I continued my big circle around the Old Town and headed back toward my hotel.  I popped into an ice cream shop and had mint and chocolate on a cone.  Continued my stroll a bit more and still felt it too early to pack it in for the day.  That’s when one of the most fortuitous things happened...

I looked up and saw a wine bar.  Seriously, I had no intentions of doing anything but people-watching with a glass of wine.  When I said I’d be interested in trying some Polish wines, the server poured me a flight of 5, from white to rose to red, and a plate of Polish cheeses to go with.  She told me about the origins of each and what makes them good.  It was amazing!!  What that sweet lady didn’t know is how a little extra TLC sent my way was just what I needed.  It wasn’t the wine or the cheese, but a friendly person willing to talk wine with me.  And that made all the difference.

This whole day reminds me of something my travel guru Anthony Bourdain once said that resonates so strongly with me today:  “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Today travel wasn’t pretty or comfortable.  Until the wine bar.