Wieliczka Saltmines

Tags

Cracow, Krakow, Poland, Travelling, Wieliczka Saltmines

A few kilometres outside of Cracow is a salt mine which has been excavated since the Middle Ages. Salt was a major income for Poland for many centuries. The mine is today a tourist trap, and a beautiful one as such. The numerous and long tunnels now have statues hidden around the odd corner, each statue carved from the salted rock. If you ever find yourself in Poland, I would absolutely recommend a visit to the Wieliczka salt mines.

We first found ourselves climbing down some 120 metres worth of stairs (follow that up with a walk around the city before ending the day in high heels at a fancy restaurant – and I can guarantee a pair of soar calves the following day – or three).

Beautifully carved ‘pictures’ decorated the walls.

Large structural beams support the ceiling.

A gigantic cathedral is also to be found, decorated solely with carvings from the mountains done by untrained masons.

Strolling through the park

Tags

Cracow, Park, Poland, Strolling, Travelling

How wonderful it is to stroll through a park, hold the hand of a certain someone, breath the (semi) fresh air, listen to the birds sing, and to simply enjoy every ounce of life.

We didn’t simply stroll. I was quite fascinated by the park, the large trees with their great trunks, and the green ceiling of leaves and branches. The benches were cute, the street lights were of the Narnia kind and even the garbage cans matched the rest. I took photos, both of the park itself, and the two of us together. Husband shook his head at me several times, but he did it while looking at me and smiling softly. I like to think that he finds my quirky little habits and childish enthusiasm charming.

Our little weekend getaway is something that will be done again, although the next trip will not be to Cracow. We have several other large cities waiting to be explored. Any many more parks to stroll through while holding hands and smiling at each other.

Cracow and the ice-cream curse

Tags

Cracow, Curse, Ice-cream, Poland, Travelling

Husband and I had a wonderful few days all to ourselves in Cracow, Poland. One of the days there we spent some time exploring the Wawel Castle. The castle was beautiful and all that, the buildings were magnificent and yadda, yadda. But, the place holds an ice-cream curse! Not a single sign said anything about this, neither did I find any information about this online before leaving. So now, I’m informing you, just in case you ever find yourself in this royal castle craving an ice-cream.

When in Rome you eat the same ice-cream they eat. That philosophy rarely gets me in trouble, but of course there is the occasional mishap. Husband and I bought an ice-cream each. He chose something safe, international brand, well known from paths travelled earlier. Me, oh no, I’m the tough one. I found something that looked cool, with a name I’ll never be able to pronounce and an illustration that left a bit to imagine. The ice-cream was chocolate covered, I didn’t need more information than that. I unwrapped it with a bit of difficulty as I had the strap to my SLR wrapped around my wrist. I tasted the ice-cream and turned away from the counter. In front of me I saw this:

I needed to take a photo, obviously. I put the ice-cream in my mouth, as one does, and used both hands to steady the camera. As I press the shutter, the ice-cream breaks (!). Apparently it has a soft caramel-filled centre. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla ice-cream, and soft caramel mixes in with long hair. Luckily, sporting a bit of a cleavage I was able to avoid littering the grounds. Needless to say, I, however, did not feel all that clever.

Husband dearest felt sorry for me and bought me a new ice-cream. Chocolate covered again, as chocolate and ice-cream always make everything better. We walked through this gate:

Entered this magnificent courtyard:

We walked to the centre and gazed around. Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to look. And there is Ms Trunchbull, or a petite, pretty and Polish version of her, pointing at my ice-cream and then pointing at the bin. The second ice-cream too had to go.

Now, as you can see, the castle holds an ice-cream curse. You might have to be Norwegian, female and in your twenties for it to strike, but you’ve at least been warned. I have not checked other Polish castles, but I cannot guarantee that such a curse might be in effect in other magnificent building across the nation. You’ve been warned!

Frederiksborg Slot (Castle)

Tags

Castle, Travelling

Continuing on the stories from our travelled path around Copenhagen, Denmark, I have to mention Frederiksborg Slot. A friend recommended a visit to the castle. I was very skeptical about bringing a two-year-old to walk in and around an old castle, but my two-year-old loved it. Of course it made it easier that he was the only (strawberry)blond little kid  on the site. I think by the time he left a japanese fan club had been established, he had talked to close to a hundred people, and had equally many photos taken of him, both of him alone and him posing with Spanish, Portuguese and American tourists.

The castle is not at all an ideal place to bring a toddler or wee child, unless the child is quiet, social and very eager to meet new people and knows the meaning of ‘don’t touch’. The water fountain outside can be recommended though, I don’t know if there’s always a fire-trucked parked just inside the castle gates, or a bus load of Japanese tourists greeting you when you enter the gates and wanting to play in the fountain with you, but these were definitely the main attractions for Son. After running about the castle for an hour and a half, the ‘børnemuseum’ (children’s museum) in the basement was a nice place to calm down. Son spent some minutes drawing while correcting one of the guide’s language, her Danish pronunciation differed from Son’s Norwegian pronunciation, which he did not approve of.

 

Copenhagen

Tags

Copenhagen, Travelling

Son and I visited Copenhagen. We stayed with my brother who lives a few minutes outside the city, but we did spend a few hours walking around in the city centre (not to mention the hours we spent driving in and around the city). It’s my first time in Denmark as a mum, and my first time in a big city all alone with my son. No plans were thus of the certain type. We had a wee list of things we wanted to see or do, and did what felt right there and then. One afternoon was spent walking up and down Strøget – probably the best known pedestrian shopping street in Denmark.

Famous buildings are not nearly as interesting as a water fountain when seen through the eyes of a two-year-old

We didn’t shop though. We walked about looked at things, people, buildings and, most importantly, dogs. We visited the few toy-stores we found (the lego shop being a bit of a disappointment) but had to give up the project of finding Son a pair of new shoes.

The weather was great and Son is the most patient two-year-old I have ever met, however, his obsession with birds was a bit straining at times (whenever he sees a pigeon he wants to pet it, which is rarely what the bird wants). We stopped for ice-cream and simply enjoyed each other’s company. A good day out.

The Bridge across the Belt

Tags

Bridge, Construction, Denmark, Storebælt, Travelling

Son and I spent a few days on the road earlier this month. One of those days we spent driving through Denmark. Son is a dream to have in the car, except that he talks non-stop from start to finish. However, for a few minutes, while crossing the bridge connecting Sjælland and Fyn, the Storebælt Bridge, Son was silent. Silent except for the occasional “Mummy, look!”

The bridge is an amazing construct. I’m always amazed by such man-made marvels which a bridge of that size is. Now, driving across it is still not something I would consider worthy of writing home about. Except for this time.

The bridge is long, very long. The first and tallest bridge is 6,7 km long, but not more than 65 metres above the sea (I have no idea whether that is far above or not, but it didn’t feel very far above).

Our crossing was very windy. I could feel every gust of wind on the car. Going 120km/h at what felt like very close to sea level was quite an experience.

Obviously I did not have the possibility to take any photos while crossing, so the images are found on various websites. The first is found here, the second here, and the third here.