A Sobering Few Days At The Death Camp And The Salt Mine

The day after our double-header was somewhat of a non-event. Mike and I wrote the blog - the most rambunctious one to date - and we ate some nuggets and chips. We saw the castle on our wander and then all got struck by the hangover that we totally deserved. All in bed for a few hours - me paranoid about wetting the bed - and then back out for the play-offs. Mike had a naive beer, we all had Fanta. Back to the hostel for 2 films ('Intermission' and 'Monster's Ball') then beddy-byes.

The next day Mike left. Bye.

We also sorted loads out. Coach to Prague, hostels, day trips, all sorted mate. With another few days left in Krakow we decided to have a little wander and chill out. We saw the Dragon's Den and the castle again, then grabbed a Fanta on a docked boat/restaurant. Got our cook on - bolognaise - and Walshe went for a run. Got lost, sure. Monty and I watched the play-offs again then met Doug for a bit of poker and another film. 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'. Blaaady hilarious, and Aga watched it too. Bed.

Up at 9.30 for the trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Big day. At last we had done something of huge value on our trip. I'd been to a concentration camp before with the school, but it was nothing compared to the magnitude of this one. Spread across two camps - Auschwitz and Birkenau - we saw where the POW's slept, worked and died, as well as learned a hell of a lot about the history that I was unaware of previously. The second camp, Birkenau, was built because Auschwitz had got too full, and was predominantly used as a place of execution. The Nazi's destroyed the gas chambers before they were driven out, but their remains are preserved as a constant reminder. It is both haunting and compelling in equal measure.

We got back on the coach and left Doug chatting to a 60 year old American gentleman for the whole journey. Rich watched Garth Marenghi's Darkplace on his iPod and I looked out of the window for an hour and a half. Back by 7 and a spot of grub and we were ready to go and watch another football game. Doug stayed in the hostel with some Canadian girls. After the football Rich went to bed and Doug and I went out for a few drinks with the girls - Emily, Jen and Sarah. They played rugby and basketball. Fit. Sarah was off her face and needed constant propping up. For fu...

After a quiet few we watched YouTube for a bit and hit the hay, ready for a big day at the Salt Mines. This was probably the best thing we'd seen all trip. After a short mini-bus ride, a Cornetto and some persuading from Doug, we stumped up the 10 pounds entrance fee to the mines. Our tour guide was an amusing mix of Graham Allcock and Borat and was the only member of our 25-strong tour group to be given a hard hat. Cheers.

We descended 54 flights of stairs, which took ages. 'Twas worth it. We were taken through various caves of different sizes and shapes, all made purely from natural salt. You could lick the wall. There were some pretty bad waxworks and a few stuffed horses, representative of the type of work that was performed over the hundreds of years the mine had been in operation. The next bit was amazing: the chapel. These mines are home to the largest underground chapel in the world, carved completely from salt. Even the chandeliers are made of large salt crystals, lighting up the numerous carvings and the magnificent alter. It was constructed by three men over the course of 65 years, all working alone in shifts. Mental.

There is also a main hall which is enormous, home to a stage, bar and restaurant, all deep underground and made from salt. Concerts, weddings and other functions take place down here. It's awesome. We also indulged in the deepest beer we have ever consumed, 100 metres underground.

Back at the hostel we got our lash on with the hostel ladies again, this time with a few of their Polish friends. One of the guys was taking photos constantly so we called him Paparazzi. We also called him Napolean Dynamite. Because he looked like him. Eventually the guys left because the hostel girls kept talking to us in English, and we stayed up until 6am. That was Krakow. We managed to eek out some culture eventually dear readers. Next stop, Prague...