We had a good tour guide and Colin stuck right by her side.
And from time to time I would find Colin touching the wall and licking his finger . . . okay so often I would see him and of course the tour guide was always mentioning that he could so he took her up on the offer.
I was in awe at what the carvers had created. If I did not know any difference I would have thought the statues were marble or granite but they are in fact all salt.
I really did think the chandeliers were amazing and the 'crystals' and made of the finest salts. This is one of the largest rooms that was carved over about a 65 year period . . . it is HUGE!
And before taking the super quick elevator back to ground level Colin took a quick break to send Papa a postcard from way down below ground . . .
We came back to the hotel and what do I do? What any tourist would do; book one last tour of course . . . to the Jewish Quarter and Jewish Ghetto. I really wanted to visit Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory . . . the one that was in the movie Schindler's List. It has been turned into a museum that was very impressive . . . too bad one little boy was about done!
And the gate leading into the original Schindler's Enamel Factory . . .
Our tour was on an electric car or golf cart so our guide waited while we were in the museum and then he took us around town. Okay now here is the totally crazy part. When he picked us up at the hotel he asked where we were from and I of course said Texas. He told me he lived in Texas . . . Brownsville or some town like that close to Waco. I was like, what? I explained those two towns were not close to each other and then he remembered the name of the town he really lived. Now even wilder was that he lived/worked in the town I grew up, now teach, and my parents still live in . . . which is a town with less than 2,000 people . . . those who live in that town know about the summer camp which is where he worked. Now how crazy is that? I go to Krakow, Poland and have a tour guide who has lived in my town. I asked him his favorite Texas cities and he told me Austin and College Station . . . I knew I would like him and he just increased his tip a little too, LOL. Anyway, the tour was okay and here are some photos . . .
At one point there were about 20,000 Jewish people living in Krakow in the 30s and now about 200. The last section of wall that once surrounded the Jewish Ghetto . . .
Our tour ended and we took a very refreshing swim before heading out for our last dinner in the center of town . . . we had a nice time while here. Colin made my heart melt and tears form while we were hanging out in the city center square. There was a lady doing these super big bubbles for kids . . . I asked Colin if she had a hat or bucket to put coins and he told me yes. I went to get him some coins to give the lady because he had a lot of fun and he said this, "Oh Mommy I already gave her my big 2 coin." Really? I could not believe that he gave his own money instead of asking me for some . . . maybe he really does pay attention and have a big heart . . . it was sure a proud and happy parenting moment!One thing that really stood out to me when walking around Krakow was everywhere I looked there was here a church, there a church, every where a . . .
. . . one of our tour guides told me there were over 280 Catholic Churches in Krakow . . . and not to discriminate there are several synagogues too.
It was a busy day . . . I think it was our busiest leg yet. We ended the night by taking a street train back to the hotel. The only problem was it did not really go near our hotel but Colin had been asking to ride one since we arrived. So we walked a few blocks back and rode it down to about where we started . . . he did not know and was happy! I still very much enjoy Eastern Europe and glad to see it has really progressed over the last 10 years!
Tomorrow we move out . . . we only have about 10 days left to travel . . . where did the time go?
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