L Rizzy's Adventures: Salt Mines in Poland with Uncle Matt and Aunt Jamie

Blogeorgians:

Following the harrowing experience of Auschwitz and Birkenau, we loaded back into our tour van moved and humbled. We needed to regroup because our day was, in fact, only halfway completed. The second part of our Polish excursion was to tour the Salt Mines of Wieliczka. However, prior to our descent into the dark depths of salty magnificence, we had to fill our bellies with qualifiable sustenance. We looked left, and we looked right. There was nary a McDonald's in sight. Thankfully, our noble tour driver, Karl, had the perfect joint in mind. In actuality, one of the attractive features of this particular tour company was the reviews of the amazing Polish lunch. Karl asked if we were game, and we replied with uniform approval.

We pulled up to a museum of wood architecture and a small mom and pop restaurant within. During the 40 minute ride, L Rizzy had fallen asleep in the car seat. So we delicately removed him from the vehicle and he was placed in my loving, sculpted arms. I carried him like a delicate egg all the way into the restaurant. Well, almost all the way. On the stair pictured below, there was a misstep and over forward I fell and down I went like a sack of rocks. Sacrificing body over baby, I barrel rolled left to land on my elbow and shoulder to save the baby seat. Karl, reacting with the quickness of a cat and speed of a mongoose, swooped in and grabbed the handle at the same time it hit the deck. He immediately rushed L Rizzy into the restaurant while my tour buddies let out a mix of laughs and screams. After wiping myself off the wood and brushing off a mixture of embarrassment and dirt, we all walked inside to find L Rizzy still sound asleep and Karl snickering like a circus idiot. Coulda done without that.

Thankfully, a feast was upon us. We shared amazing traditional, handmade Polish dishes, beer and brandy. We gorged ourselves, drank, and were merry. Once satisfied, we loaded back up and headed to the Salt Mines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine

After purchasing tickets, we had a 45 minute wait in the reception area. L Riz, refreshed from an undisturbed nap, sprung alive and proceed to laugh and clap, entertain and wave. He held court for nearly 20 minutes... until an unfortunate tumble and head smack on the ground that brought groans from the crowd. As parents, we were not entering our names for any awards. Finally our time came and we proceeded to walk down 378 steps to the beginning of the Salt Mine. During this 2 hour tour, we only saw 2 (two) percent of the entire mine. No surprise, though, since it has been open since before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The tour was really fun (thanks to a rapid-fire rotation for carrying L Riz) and the carvings made out of salt were gorgeous. Towards the end, L Rizzy, having downed a couple-o-bottles during the tour, managed to overflow the diaper and we have to let him Donald Duck it around the mine (shirt, diaper, no pants). We rode up in the Salt Mine shaft elevators packed in like absolute sardines and emerged at the surface happy, tired, and ready to head home.

It was an amazing day filled with sights to remember for a lifetime. Although, admittedly, I'd like to forget a moment or two.

SEE THE NEXT BLOG POST FOR UNCLE MATT AND AUNT JAMIE'S PICTURES!