Ward Goes to Poland, The Salt Mines

 Ward recently took a trip to Poland. He is sharing some of his travels here.

As soon as I decided that I was going to Poland, anyone who had any knowledge of the area said I had to visit the salt mines. I had been in coal and lead mines before and wasn't sure I needed to visit another kind of mine. However, we dutifully added it to our agenda. In my wildest imagination, I couldn't have guessed what the salt mines were like. 

Salt has been known to be present in the area since Neolithic times, when briny springs were discovered. Evaporation methods were used to harvest salt for preserving meats and as a form of currency. (During that time, many transactions were paid using salt, which is why nowadays, the term “salary” is used to describe earnings.)

There are several large salt mines in Poland. The oldest and best-known is the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow. We visited this one. It was definitely unique, but parts of it did remind me of limestone caverns I've visited, like Luray Caverns in Virginia.

The entrance to the Wieliczka Mine.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine has many large caverns that were created with tunnels and shafts connecting them. Over the centuries, miners created statues and carvings in the walls depicting religious scenes and famous people. These are the main tourist attractions now. They created several chapels where Catholic masses are still held today.

This mine has produced salt since the thirteenth century (1200s). In the Middle Ages, the Wieliczka Salt Mine generated one third of the Kingdom of Poland’s income under King Casimir III the Great (he reigned from 1333 to 1370). Tourism began in the late 1700s, and dignitaries started visiting the mines, and they were developed more and more for tourism as time went on. Mining continued into the 1990s. 

The mine was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and remains a major tourist attraction today.

You have to go down a stairwell to get into the mine. There were 300 steps to get to the main tourist level. I twisted my knee on the first day, so I am happy it held up for all the steps. There is an elevator to get out of the mine.

We walked down old corridors of the mine. Salt walls, salt floor, salt ceiling.

Part of the mine had been turned into a museum. This diorama exhibit shows the early days when salt was processed from brine.

At one point, horse-drawn sleds brought salt, miners, and tourists out of the mine.

Some of the exhibits were carved from salt.

There were many salt statues of kings, saints, and famous people.
This one is Nicholas Copernicus.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famous in his day,
traveled throughout Europe, including Poland.

There were many religious scenes carved in the walls.

There were even four chapels in the mines where they hold services.

This is an overview of the ballroom, which you could rent out. Notice the carvings in the walls. Carvings were everywhere. Chandeliers were made of halite (rock salt) crystals.

After this visit, I understand why this is on everyone's must-see list.

Until next time...

A Backyard Flower Walk

We've finally had some rain with milder temperatures, which has revitalized some of the things in our yard. Even though leaves are starting to change, there are still flowers putting on a show. Here are some I found on a walk around the backyard.

The vincas in the flower boxes have died,
 but the ones planted in the ground are still thriving.

After looking sick all summer with no blooms, the daliah is reviving.

The mums are starting to bloom. These flowers were here when we moved in and are slowly dying off. However, there are still enough of them for a nice display.

Instead of planting lantana in a pot, we planted it in the ground this year, and it is doing much better.

I got the seeds for this Peruvian zinnia in a seed exchange. I only had one seedling survive, but it has grown into a large plant.

Most of the spirea blooms are spent, but a few are still making a show.

The first blooms of this new rose plant got eaten by a critter, so we put a cage around it. However, it seems determined not to be fenced in. :)

The anemone has very nice fall blooms, but unfortunately, it is invasive and has taken over other plants. This is not typical for this plant, so I wonder if we didn't get the variety we thought we did. 

Mums are starting to bloom in another part of the yard.
 I rescued this bunch from a trash can a couple of years ago. 

If you look closely, you can see the proboscis of this silver-spotted skipper butterfly inserted into the butterfly bush bloom.

And because I love to see pollinators, here's another picture of one. Notice the pollen sacs on the honeybee's legs.

In the three years since I planted this iris from my aunt,
it has bloomed in both the spring and fall.

Until next time...

Ward Goes to Poland, Overview

 Ward is going to be doing a few posts about his recent trip to Poland. Here is his first.

As you may know, recently I took a trip to Poland with my brother and sister-in-law. The motivation for the trip was to see where my great-grandfather immigrated from. After much consideration, we hired a guide for the entire trip. That way, we could personalize what we wanted to visit and make it to the remote town of my ancestors. That was one of the best decisions we made. Jarek, our guide, was great. He drove us everywhere and arranged all of the tours and contacts for what we saw. 

Jarek, our guide, and the van he drove us around in. He kept it spotless.

If you're like me before the trip, you may not know much about Poland. Here is a bit of background information.

--How big is Poland? Poland is larger than the UK or Italy. If it were part of the United States, Poland would be the fifth-largest state, bigger than New Mexico but slightly smaller than Montana. Poland is the fifth most populous member of the European Union.

--Bordering countries - Germany lies to the west, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia border Poland to the south. Ukraine and Belarus border to the east, with the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and a small bit of Russia (the Kaliningrad Enclave) to the north.

--Northern and central Poland is relatively flat, while the southern portion is hilly and mountainous. These are part of the Carpathian Mountains, locally known as the Tatra Mountains, which are a major outdoor recreation area for skiing, hiking, and other activities.

We hiked in the Tatra Mountains one day.

--Polish uses the Latin alphabet with 9 extra letters we don't use in English (these extras are English letters with diacritical marks). Some of the letters may look the same as ours, but they make different sounds - for example, W sounds like V, and Ł sounds like a W. I found that very confusing. Once again, I am so happy we had our guide.

-- Poland has a long and complicated history with many wars and boundary changes over the last thousand years. One thing I noted from the various histories I saw was that the country was very tolerant of different religions (Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities coexisted peacefully, except when the country was ruled by outside powers).

Driving east from Wroclaw to Boleslawiec.

--Overall, my impressions of Poland were very positive. The cities and countryside were very clean, with no litter. People were polite and friendly. It seems to be a modern country with superhighways, windmills, and cellphone coverage everywhere, etc.

Until next time...

Home Again From Near and Far

 I've just come inside from sitting on the porch listening to heavy rain as dusk turned to darkness. This was just what we imagined when we added a roof to our porch. Even though it was only for a short while, I enjoyed how peaceful it was.

But last weekend was a different story. Miss Landers, her friend, and I went to West Virginia for our annual family reunion. It was great to catch up with my cousins and their families; however, when we make a trip to WV, there is always too much to do in too short a time. It's a six-hour drive each way, so we travel the day before the reunion and leave after the reunion to head home.

Eight of the twenty-three first cousins were at my family gathering. Sadly, three of them have already passed.

One of the things we did this time was to visit two different cemeteries to clean markers, trim the grass, and decorate with flowers. It was a lovely opportunity to reflect on those who have come before us. But to tell the truth, I was distracted by the heat. The sun was bearing down, and I got a little cranky. I would like to say that I rose above my discomfort with a complete show of reverence, but I wasn't that evolved. But in the end, I honored my relatives. And my mother would have been happy, as that is what she taught us to do.

We try to get to JR's Donut Castle if we can. Their bakery products can't be beat. My Uncle Skip used to go there every morning before work, so we always think about him when we visit. And BTW, when was the last time you saw a working pay phone?

We also visited a homebound cousin and went to various stores to purchase West Virginia products that we can only find when we visit. 

Mr. Bee potato chips are the only chips made in West Virginia.
They are made in Parkersburg, where my family is from.

Sometimes, we stay two nights to break up the travel, but not this time because Ward was coming home. I left Friday morning, and he came home Friday evening from his vacation in Poland. Needless to say, we were anxious to see each other. I wouldn't say that I spent the time he was away pining after him, but boy, was I happy to see him.

However, there was a little adjusting to do, also. He was totally mixed up from jet lag and long travels, and I had started sleeping in an "L" position in our bed with my legs making a 90-degree angle and filling his space. We're back to normal ways now, and all is good. 

Until next time...

Book Reviews

Here are a few books I've been reading lately.

I finished the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer and liked each book more than the last. The series concluded with a satisfying ending to the story arc across the books. 

Specifically, 

#4 The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, 2008. Enola saves a young girl who is being forced into a marriage for money by evil people.

#5 The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, 2009. Florence Nightingale is featured in this mystery with interesting codes.

#6 The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye, 2010. This book finally answers the question of what happened to Enola's mother.

Mrs. Endicott's Spendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen, 2025, adult historical fiction. 

Rhys Bowen is a prolific author who is mainly known for the various mystery series she writes. This is a standalone novel.

In 1938 England, Ellie's husband tells her he wants a divorce. After the shock wears off, she decides she is going to visit the south of France, where she had been as a girl. She ends up taking with her her housekeeper, who has an abusive husband, and a cranky church lady who is dying. Along the way, they pick up a young pregnant hitchhiker. 

Their car breaks down in a small fishing village on the Mediterranean, and they end up staying there. The women all blossom as they become a part of the town. Then WWII happens, and life is not idyllic anymore. Ellie becomes part of a smuggling operation that is trying to relocate Jews to safer places. The little village cannot avoid the horrors of war, but when the war is over, they all set about rebuilding their lives.

I enjoyed this book. I always like reading books in which the characters are troubled and slowly work their way to a better place. In addition, Ellie and her friends redo a rundown villa, which had the feel of the Secret Garden rebirth to it. 

This was an easy read, and the story and characters kept me interested. However, the writing is simple (not that there's anything wrong with that). This was especially apparent after reading the Enola Holmes books, which had a much richer vocabulary and descriptions. I found that ironic, since the Enola Holmes books are classified as children's books.  

I will read more Rhys Bowen and already enjoy her Royal Spyness series from time to time.

James by Percival Everett, 2024, adult historical fiction

This book is the retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave. It was a New York Times bestseller and won the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Award for Fiction, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

After only a few pages, I thought that this was not the book for me. There was difficult language ("nigger" for one), bad treatment of Jim, and a dialect that was hard to read. All important to the story, but not what I wanted to deal with at the time. However, the words of my 8th-grade English teacher came back to me, "You can't decide if you like a book or not until you read at least 100 pages."

So, I read a little more, and a little more still, and was hooked. The story of Jim and Huck trying to escape on the river was exciting, and the characters they met along the way were interesting. There were also thought-provoking insights into the slave culture. The book did not shy away from the horrific treatment that slaves/black people endured during that time. Important events that we need to remember. Even with all of that, the book ends with hope.

It's not always a comfortable read, but I recommend this book.

Atomic Habits by James Clear, 2018, Adult nonfiction (155.24)

Miss Landers told me about this book after it was recommended to her. I thought I could use some advice on keeping and breaking habits, so I ordered the book from the library and read it. Atomic Habits has been on the NYT Bestseller list for five years straight.

Clear's premise is that habits are achieved in very small increments. He gives very clear and detailed instructions on the four basic parts of controlling habits: Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy, and Make it Satisfying.

It's been a while since I have read a self-help book, and I found this one somewhat boring at first. However, I soon found that I was interested, as Clear cited numerous studies, anecdotes, and neurological explanations about how habits are formed. 

I didn't have anything in mind that I wanted to work on (although there is plenty I could do), but I found myself making small changes to some things to make them better after reading suggestions in the book.

While I got this book out of the library, it might be good on a home reference shelf. I could see myself referring back to it again and again.

Until next time...