I couldn't say that I'm a huge fan of Eastern European cuisine. The ingredients of dishes on offer are usually limited to meat and potatoes. There is always a distinct lack of vegetables. After a weekend of eating such fare my system is usually in serious need of detox.

(Interesting. Several countries that used to be in "Eastern Europe" are now suddenly in "Central Europe". There aren't that many of them: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary to be exact. Maybe they are distancing themselves from the Communist connotations of the words "Eastern Europe".)

In the interests of being kinder to our tummies, while visiting "that side of Europe", we usually try to order a salad along with our main meal (knowing that our selection probably won't come with any green stuff.) Although, a few trips in, we now know that the tomato salad is just a plate of sliced tomato, cucumber salad is just a plate of sliced cucumber, etc. (Imaginative!)

After our visit to Krakow, I've discovered the secret to enjoying Eastern European cuisine. It has to be consumed in cold weather. Cold means freezing, below zero temperatures. Every meal we ate in Krakow was delicious. I love Polish cuisine! A bowl of hot soup and a plateful of pierogi was the perfect way to warm up after a few hours out in the bitter cold.

While in Krakow, I fell in love with Zur or Zurek. Zur is a Polish soup made from soured rye flour, and it comes with a side of sausage and boiled egg, which can be dumped in the soup. It was delicious and I'm now totally obsessed with it. Traditionally the soup is eaten at Easter time, but I think it's the perfect winter meal.

After doing some research on the internet, I've found several recipes for the soup. Unfortunately, it's all a bit complicated for my limited culinary talents (and patience). I'll just have to find a Polish restaurant in London to satisfy my Zurek cravings. Or I could always wait until the next easyJet sale. There is still Gdansk and Warsaw to explore.

On our final day in Krakow, we wandered around the old town for a little bit. We had planned to join a guided tour of the city. However, we decided that we were too cold to wait around in freezing temperatures to then complete a three hour walk in the snow.

The historic centre of Krakow is also on UNESCO's World Heritage List. It too was one of the first 12 items to be added to the register in 1978. UNESCO really loves Krakow!

On our wanderings we visited:

The Main Market Square
The square is the site of the cloth hall, which contains stalls selling mainly amber jewellery and wooden toys, and St Mary's Basilica. The basilica has two towers which are of different heights. Every hour a trumpet call is sounded from the taller of the two towers. The tune stops mid-bar. The legend goes that in the 13^th century the trumpeter was shot in the throat by the invaders when sounding the alarm of the impending Mongol attack. It's been played the same way ever since.

Wawel Castle
Look, it's a castle! I now know how to say castle in 6 foreign languages. Japanese (Jo), Polish (Zamek), Czech + Slovakian (Hrad), Danish (Slot), and German (Schloss). While on Wawel Hill we visited the cathedral and climbed to the top of the bell tower to have a look at the Zygmunt bell. The bell was cast in 1520 and is now only rung on special occasions. The last time it was rung was to mark Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Krakow.

While we were in the bell tower a tour guide was giving a spiel about the bell in Polish. When she had finished everyone in the tour group rushed to touch the bell's clapper. We figured touching the clapper was good luck of some kind so we made sure to give it a rub before we left.

By this stage we were frozen solid. So we headed indoors for the afternoon to thaw out.

My curiosity about the Wieliczka Salt Mine was the main motivator for our trip to Krakow. It just sounded so cool! A salt mine to explore with lots of underground chambers, a few churches, a ballroom and a health spa. It's practically a whole city built underground.

The mine was in operation as a mine from the 13th century until 1996, but it has also been a tourist attraction since the 14th century. In 1978, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, making it one of the first items to be added to the register. (Eleven other items were added that year. See the UNESCO site for more information.) Now the mine's sole purpose is as a tourist attraction and function centre. Wieliczka has over 1 million visitors every year.

Our guided tour started with stairs, lots and lots of stairs. To get to the mine you have descend a staircase consisting of 378 steps. Looking down the stairwell was a dizzying experience.

We met up with our guide at the bottom of the stairs. Our tour guide was quite funny. At the beginning he mentioned that there are over 300 km of passageways in the mine and only one person knew the way out... him! It was in our interest to keep up.

Points of interest:

Chapels
Working underground was a dangerous occupation. So, the miners built underground chapels where mass was heard every morning. I guess they were hoping for a little extra protection.

Everything in the chapels is carved from salt. The tiled pattern in the floor, the crucifix and even the chandeliers are all carved from salt. The chandeliers are particularly impressive. Made from salt crystals they are works of art.

The oldest preserved chapel is St Anthony's chapel which was built between 1690 - 1710. Mass was first heard there in 1698.

The most impressive of the chapels is St Kinga's chapel. It is over 54 metres long, almost 18 metres wide, and 12 metres high. It took three different miners 70 years to create. The walls are decorated with reliefs carved into the salt walls. There is reproduction of Da Vinci's Last Supper which is quite remarkable.

Mass is held at St Kinga's chapel every Sunday morning and on special occasions. They also host weddings here. While on our tour, we actually saw a Bride and Groom heading off to be married in the chapel. Our guide joked that the journey down to the mine represented some extra escape time for the Bride and Groom.

Horses
Horses were used in the mining operations. They built stables underground so they didn't have to transport the horses up and down each day. I wonder how the horses fared living underground.

Miners' lift
Luckily, to reach the surface we didn't have to climb up 36 flights. Instead, we were treated to a ride in a miner's lift. The lift consisted of 4 compartments, stacked vertically. Andrew and I were first in the queue so we squished into the tiny compartment on the top. It only just fit 9 people and it was close quarters. While we boarded level 1, downstairs people were herded into level 2. Then the lift jolted upwards so that levels 3 and 4 could also be filled. This movement cause quite a bit of bouncing from the lift and extracted a few startled screams from the girls (me included).

Was visiting Wieliczka worth a trip to Poland? Maybe not. But if I hadn't been interested in Wieliczka then we may never have had visited beautiful Krakow and had a fun weekend in the snow.

More photos on Flickr...

After our visit to Auschwitz – Birkenau we were left with one overwhelming question – "Why?" How could anyone have such capacity for hatred? How did people let this happen? I can't understand how anyone could treat another human being in this manner.

Six million Jews were murdered in the holocaust. During our visit, our guide never once used the word "executed". Execute implies a legal process; a punishment for a crime committed. Our guide always used the term "murder", for that's what it was.

Over a million of that figure died at Auschwitz – Birkenau. One million is just a number though. At Auschwitz they try and quantify that number. They want you to realise that one million means one million individual victims.

One building, named Crimes Against Humanity, houses some objects which belonged to victims of the gas chambers. A room about 30m long, filled with shoes. Piles of suitcases marked with names and addresses. A display case filled with human hair. Hair that was sent to Germany to be turned into cloth or rope.

Along the corridors of the building hang pictures the Nazis took to identify the prisoners who were used as slave labour. Each photo has the date of arrival at Auschwitz and a date of death. The longest period between these two dates is a year. The most common break is a few months. Every photo has a date of death.

The worst is the photos of the children. You can see that the children, some look only six years old, are holding back tears. You want to discover that there was someone to rescue and comfort them. That they survived. But no, they too were worked until they died from exhaustion.

Walking through the camp, we were bitterly cold. We were freezing wearing three layers of clothing, a beanie, a scarf and a pair of gloves. The prisoners at Auschwitz were clothed in thin cotton.

The saddest thing is that you leave Auschwitz thinking "that could never happen again". But you know you're wrong. Such hatred still exists in the world. Our evidence? The Killing Fields of Cambodia. The Rwandan Genocide. Srebrenica Massacre. September 11. 7/7 London Bombings.

"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say." -- Primo Levi, writer, holocaust survivor.

Speaking of mini-breaks, we're off to Poland this weekend for a quick holiday. It's definitely a flying visit.

We're only spending two days in Krakow. On day one we're going to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine (my curiosity about this attraction is what prompted our trip). We're also going to pay our respects at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Although we've already been to Dachau (the first camp and the model for all subsequent concentration camps), I feel it's our moral duty to visit Auschwitz. Especially since we're going to be so close. On day two we're going to walk through the old town of Krakow. We fly back to London at 8pm on Sunday evening.

Wondering what to pack, I checked the five-day forecast on BBC weather. I was a bit surprised to find that it's currently snowing in Krakow and snow is also predicted for the weekend. The temperatures are bit on the chilly side with a forecast maximum of 0 degrees. Brrr! I'll have to remember to pack the thermals.