We actually did go “off to the salt mines” the morning after our last update. The Kopalnia Soli (salt mine) of Wieliczka, Poland - near Krakow - was a fascinating day trip. We descended 600 feet into the briney smelling earth with a Polish-speaking guide and toured chambers filled with statues, monuments and tableaux carved completely from the rock salt of the mines. Much of the work was done by miners who also happened to have an artistic hand. The carving began in the 18th century although the mining itself dates from the 15th century and continues today. Victor and I couldn’t resist singing a little “Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho, it’s off to work we go” as we followed our guide deeper below ground. The Chamber of Gnomes, full of child sized dwarf figures, was the most whimsical chamber. The Chapel of St. Klinga was the most impressive: a large ballroom-sized chapel with everything from the altar to the floor tiles to the polished crystals hanging from the chandeliers carved from rock salt. A definite jaw-dropping sight. (LOOKIT-DAT!).

A few days later we made a much more upsetting day trip, and the memory of this one won’t go away. We toured the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, which is about 50 miles from Krakov. The camp is a living memorial to those who died within its walls. Victor and I view museums and sights at different paces, so we often split up along the way and meet up at the end. This happened at Auschwitz, but walking around this place on my own was nothing like a leisurely stroll around the Louvre. When I reached the gas chamber I hesitated at the entrance. I was absolutely alone and, peering through the doorway, saw no one else inside the cement room. I stepped in by myself but immediately felt that tens of thousands of souls were in there with me. I found this camp more horrific than Dachau-something I didn’t think possible. The cold evil, which lurked just past the facade of the warm-toned brick buildings, was palpable.