Kudowa-Zdroj, Poland

With Dep and Stephane we took a trip for three nights to Kudowa-Zdroj, a town on the border with Czech Republic. In a tiny nearby village, Czermna, is the Skull Chapel.

The Skull Chapel was built in 1776 by a Czech parish priest, Waclaw Tomaszek. It is a mass grave of people who died during the Thirty Year's War, other wars, cholera and syphilis epidemics, and the plague. Because of the large number of dead, there wasn't enough space in the cemetery and people could not keep up with burying the dead. Father Tomaszek decided to build this chapel to honor the deceased and to prevent the further spread of disease, as bodies had been abandoned in the streets. Unfortunately, taking photos is not allowed inside the chapel, but there are plenty of photos online.

But first, on our way to Czermna, we stopped in the town of Nysa for lunch and a little sightseeing.

Church in Nysa:



Inside:



Beautiful Well, one of the oldest wells in Poland, built in the late 1600s:



More of the drive to Kudrowa:



Finally made it to Czerma! The skull chapel is the smaller building on the left:



Cemetery by the chapel:



Skull Chapel:



Inside:



In Czerma, we stayed in a guesthouse, Chata Rysiowska, with a wonderful couple, Basia and Rys.

The guesthouse:









Kudowa-Zdroj is known for its curative water which can be purchased from the springs in town. The downtown is very nice, with parks and cafes.





Curative water:



The park:



Dep standing on the border line between Poland and Czech Republic:



Ducks in Czermna:

Krakow, Poland

With Dep and Stephane we spent a lot of time exploring Krakow.

Here are some pictures of the main square:

The main gate, the only remaining part of the old city walls:



St. Mary's basilica - the largest church on the square:



Inside:



St. Peter and Paul's:



St. Andrew's, the oldest church in Krakow:



Another view of St. Mary's:



The main square and a man dressed as polish cavalry:



View of Wawel, the king's castle:



Ratusz tower, the old City Hall:



Some traditionally dressed polish musicians:



And Dep and Stephane's favorite pastry shop, Cafe Mini:





Festival celebrating May 3rd, Constitution Day:





And an opera on the main square celebrating the 650 year anniversary of the Jagiellonian University, the second oldest university in Europe:



Barbakan, or fortified outpost, outside the city walls:



And here's an obwarzanki stand. Obwarzanki are delicious pretzel/bagel like bread things. These stands are located all over Krakow, a godsend when you're running around and want a delicious snack:

Krakow, Poland

For the first two weeks of May we were lucky to have Caryl's mom, Dep, and her husband, Stephane, join us in our travels. It was a busy two weeks. We first took them to see the old salt mine in Bochnia, the oldest salt mine in Poland, complete with an underground hotel, restaurant, basketball court, and even a slide!

Machinery of the mine:



Salt statues:



Since the miners had a very dangerous job (accidents, flash flooding, lack of oxygen, methane gas explosions, getting lost, etc) they never knew if they would be coming out of the mine at the end of the day. Because of this, every mine had an underground chapel to protect the men:



Miles and miles of tunnels:





Now crystallized water wheel once used for power:



And after the mine we drove to a nearby castle in Nowy Wisnicz, though by the time we got there it was already closed:

Tarnowskie Gory, Poland

We've finally made it to Poland! After a short flight from Malaga, we were picked up by my cousin (thank you Bartek!!!) at the Krakow airport. A few days later, my cousin Kasia, her husband and son took us to do some sightseeing in Tarnowskie Gory, a town close to Krakow.

First we went to the old silver mine, which included a boat ride through a partially flooded mine shaft:







Followed by a visit to the castle in Tarnowice Stare:



The owner of the castle collects many things, including antique metal details and keys: