Starting the Day
There are few things in life that make you feel like a responsible adult traveller: one is remembering to hydrate, another is successfully navigating public transport in a different language, and the third (for this holiday at least) is having the enthusiasm and the time to use the hotel breakfast. So today had breakfast at the hotel.
That small victory began my fourth day in Krakow because the tour I’d booked to Wieliczka Salt Mine had a more humane start time than the previous day’s effort. So I could approach the buffet like a man who had not spent the previous three days walking Krakow into submission. I ate, caffeinated, and presented myself at the hotel entrance at 9:15, ready to be whisked away to the subterranean wonders of southern Poland.
Naturally, “whisked away” in tour‑operator language translates to “driven in convoluted patterns around the city centre collecting other tourists.” After at least minutes of that we reached escape velocity and broke free of the town’s gravitational pull. 40 minutes later we were outside a mine.
Going Underground
Some people might get some pleasure out of salt….
The tour itself was interesting. And by “interesting,” I mean that the guide was clearly knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and probably very good at their job, but the audio guide they handed out was about as useful as a chocolate teapot in a sauna. Every few minutes I found myself edging closer to the guide like a teacher’s pet, trying to catch the actual words rather than the muffled, echoing nonsense being piped into my ears.
The mine is difficult to describe without sounding like I’m making it up. You descend into a network of caverns, some vast enough to host a mid‑sized music festival, others intimate enough to feel like you’re trespassing in a dwarf’s living room. Many chambers are decorated with stone carvings — saints, miners, historical figures, The Pope — all rendered in salt, which gives everything a slightly ethereal, “carved by a patient ghost” quality.
Worth it’s Salt
The chapel was the standout. A full cathedral‑like space carved entirely underground, complete with chandeliers, reliefs, and an altar (and The Pope). It’s the kind of place that makes you think that the miners had way too much free time when they were down here.
After a halfway break (because even underground tourism requires snacks), the guide abruptly abandoned us. “Walk that way,” she said, pointing into the depths. And off she went. We were left to trek half a mile through unmarked tunnels, following the trusty technique of just walking along in a straight line. Eventually we reached the lift, which had been upgraded somewhat from when it was a working mine, no doubt. It was all stainless steel and easy listening music now. The lift deposited us on the surface but nowhere near where we started. No signage, no instructions. It’s a good job I’m a cacher – it means I’ve always got a map handy. To be fair, the driver had told us we might emerge down the road, so we were prepared for it, even if it was a bit bizarre.
I guess one key memory from my days as a student of mining engineering – shafts are used for limited purposes. In a working mine, a minimum of two shafts allows one to lift workers and let clean air in, while the other takes dirty air and the mining products out. At this one they no longer take out any salt. So one entrance is used for clean air and entering people. The other is used for dirty air and exiting people.
All-in-all, a worthwhile excursion.
Back to Life
We returned to Krakow around 2pm, and as per my now‑established tradition, I bailed out of the minibus at the first stop. This placed me on the western edge of the Old Town — a region I had not yet properly plundered for geocaching opportunities.
A cluster of Adventure Labs with occasional physical caches awaited, including one particularly good one inside a bookstore‑cum‑coffee‑shop. I completed the tasks, ordered a drink, and sat for a moment enjoying the rare sensation of being both productive and seated.
I had originally planned to head down to Kazimierz and Wawel, but my feet staged a quiet but firm rebellion. They had endured three days of cobblestones and questionable detours. Today, it was payback time. My feet wanted to be heard. So I listened.
Instead, I wandered back through the main square and found an Irish pub. Nthing says “immersive Polish cultural experience” like Guinness and a pizza. Both were good. Most European cities (in fact, most cities) have an Irish Pub somewhere. I have limited experience of others, but this one was decent. Right up until…….
I was accosted by a drunk young man in a Blackburn Rovers shirt. His opening gambit was slurred but harmless. His later revelation, however, was that he’s a full‑on Nazi sympathiser. That conversation ended quite quickly after that, and he went away, presumably to try to convince someone else that the Nazis weren’t all bad and that Auschwitz was, in fact, just a badly misunderstood holiday camp.
When I’d finished eating I relocated indoors, where the only extremists were football fans arguing about tactics.
Argentina vs Egypt: A World Cup Interlude
Inside, the Argentina vs Egypt World Cup match was on. It was lively, unpredictable, and crucially was devoid of drunken fascists. I watched, decompressed, and let my feet recover from their earlier mutiny.
After the match, I walked back to the hotel. No detours, no extra caches, no heroic late‑evening exploration. Just a straight line, a quiet room, and the promise of an early start the next day. Tomorrow would be my final chance to tackle the remaining geocaching hotspots that still glowed on my mental map like little stars in the vast emptiness of space (too existential, maybe?). And for that, I needed sleep.
Closing Thought
Day four was a strange blend of geology, wandering, unexpected conversations, and tactical foot management. It was not the most dramatic day of the trip, but certainly one of the most varied. A reminder that travel isn’t just about the big sights. Its also the odd encounters, the quiet breaks, and the unexpected bookshops with a coffee bar.
