Wieliczka Salt Mines

I didn't know anything about the fabled, UNESCO listed Wieliczka Salt Mines before arriving in Krakow, but once I arrived at the hostel tons of people were talking about it so I decided to take a day trip there with Tyler and B. Tyler and B. had traveled all over Asia before making their way to Krakow and were quite jaded about UNESCO sites. They said that many of the UNESCO heritage sites that they had been to had been pretty lackluster, and they speculated that it was some giant money making conspiracy with the tourism industry. Their beliefs were almost confirmed when we arrived at the touristy, Disneyland style entrance complete with overpriced souvenirs and food, but I wanted to hold my judgement until we descended into the mines...

And descend we did. Down and down and hundreds of steps. With each step down the air would get cooler and cooler. It was a spiral staircase and you could peer down the center, but there were so many flights of stairs that for a long time it was impossible to see the bottom of the mine.

Finally we reached the bottom and started walking around. To call this place a "mine" is like calling St. Peter's a "church" -- this place was simply incredible. There are over 200km of passageways and scores of cavernous rooms with decorations carved right into the salt walls. There is even a post office and a bar/restaurant hidden within the labyrinthine complex. It was not hard to see why this place has been a huge tourist attraction for hundreds of years. I don't feel like words can do this place justice, but check out the photos and if you are ever in Krakow definitely come check this place out!