Day 235, 24 February 2013, Wieliczka Salt Mines, South of Krakow, Poland. This is one of the "must see" locations when in Krakow. Auschwitz-Birkenau is the other, but we confess to missing that off our itinerary. The Salt Mines were excellent. James now understands what Margaritas feel like - he was positively crusted in salt after 4 hours underground. The mines were established in the 13th century and continued to produce salt until 2007. We both thought s...

Day 234, 23 February 2013, Krakow, Poland. Da Vinci's "Lady & Vermin" OK, OK, Strictly speaking it's called "Lady with an Ermine". As one of only 3 (possibly 4) female portrait paintings done by Leonardo, this was truly a must-see while we were in Krakow. And today was the day for a lazy morning, a long breakfast and a slow start. We eventually took a tram to Wawel Castle where her ladyship is currently on display. One room. Velvet drapes, lots of guard...

Day 233, 22 February 2013, Krakow, Poland. Waking Tour of Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) and Podgorze (the Ghetto). Pictured you see Selection Square in Podgorze, where the Jewish ghetto was until the final liquidation. Even allowing for the insistent snow and -5 C. temperature, this was a bone-chilling place to stand. A doctor whose home and practice was on the corner of this square wrote an account of what he had seen during the two selections that were held he...

Day 232, 21 February 2013, Krakow, Poland. Walking tour of the Old Town, finishing at Wawel Castle. (That's pronounced Va-vill if you're trying this at home. And Krakow in Polish is more like Krakoov(f). And the currency really is called the zloty and is pronounced just how it looks. Roughly 4 zlotys to 1 euro). As with the Czech Republic and Hungary, the lack of the Euro is a blessing to travellers like us - whilst not super cheap here, there are bargains ...

Day 231, 20 February 2013, Krakow, Poland. (Pictured is our sleeping compartment from the overnight journey from Vienna). Our opinion of Polish rolling stock has soared. We're not sure if it was the height of our sleeping compartment or the massive width (by sleeping car standards) - we're pretty sure it was't the extreme firmness of the beds. It might have been sheer exhaustion or the knowledge we had to wake up by 6 am for a 6.40 am arrival. Who knows? But ...