It’s sad to realize that today is our last day in Poland. This trip has been so amazing, and it’s crazy to know it’s about to end.
This morning, we toured the Wieliczka Salt Mines. Because salt was the only way to keep food fresh before the invention of the refrigerator, salt became very valuable. Salt was so valuable that the word for getting paid, salary, comes from the Latin word for salt. We toured the first three levels of the salt mine, seeing only 1% of the mine’s total area. As we walked through the tunnels, some people expressed doubt that all of the walls were made of salt. Our tour guide informed us that to disprove our doubts, we were allowed to lick the walls. I can say with certainty that the walls are really salt. It wasn’t me who licked the walls though.
Within the mine, we saw some of the tools used in the mine, and many sculptures. These sculptures were created by miners, and depict famous people and stories. They are beautiful, and it’s crazy to think they were carved by miners with no artistic training. Inside the salt mine, there is also a huge chapel. Art is carved into the walls of the chapel, and there are chandeliers made of salt crystal. There are even sometimes weddings in this chapel. Overall, the mine was really cool to see.
From the mine, we went to lunch, and from there headed to the train station. We took a bullet train from Krakow to Warsaw, and there were so many of us we had an entire compartment to ourselves.
Once we got to Warsaw, we had an hour to settle into our rooms and get ready for our closing dinner. We took the bus to a restaurant, and got the top floor to ourselves. There, we had some delicious Polish food, and people got a chance to speak to the group and share reflections of the trip. At dinner, there was a singer who travels around Europe collecting songs from older people from their childhood. Many of these songs may have otherwise been lost. She shared with us some Polish songs, as well as some Jewish songs. We even got a chance to dance. Dinner ended far too soon, and we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before our early flight.
Photos are from many Poland seminar participants.
Emma Stewart is a student at Winchester Thurston School.