Poland-Day 2 Bastei Bridge

Day 2- We left Dresden, and went to the Bastei Bridge- a rock formation that towers 194m over the Elbe River. There was a bridge built in 1824 to link all the rocks together. It was about an hour from Dresden, then Krakow was 5 hours from there. We had all intentions of just seeing the bridge, then leaving, and making it to the 7pm Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy for the Divine Mercy Mass (It was Divine Mercy Sunday). However, we had gone to Mass the night before in Dresden just in case we didn't make it. This was wise, as the bridge was so amazing we spent longer than we thought, and did not make the mass.

We all LOVED the bridge and rock formation. It was a great start to the day, taking a good 3 hours walking through the rocks. The rock formations are breathtaking. It is said that it use to all be under a large sea bed and this is what is left behind. The other great thing was that it gave all of us something "fun" to do for the day instead of 5 hours of driving, and it made the kids a bit tired for the 5 hour drive. After visiting the rocks, we got some ice cream for the kids, a coffee for Jon and a cake (due to low sugars) for Aimee.

We were able to make the long drive to Krakow with only one stop to stretch legs and use the bathroom. We found our apartment and parking, which was a struggle to some degree. I said in my last post it was not a place I would recommend. We made the reservation through booking.com. I normally have great experience through the rentals. This one said all children 6 and under stay free. When I entered our numbers, booking charged me for the two under six, so I booked for 4 and immediately sent the owner a message verifying that we had 6, and was this ok. He said not a problem, let him know a few days in advance. I let him know 5 days in advance, then again 2 days in advance when I heard no reply. He replied to that message telling me parking was available. Also, it said that our card would be charged prior to arrival, and the fee of parking was included in the total.

When we checked in, he had his friend show us the apartment. NOT what we were expecting. There was a bed made up, and blankets laying out for another. He said they did not know we were a party of 6, so only had 4 pillows. We said that was fine, as we brought our own. After he left, we realized there was a set of sheets for one pull out couch, but those sheets 1- did not fit that couch, and 2- there was none for the other couch. We made due, using duvet covers to cover the beds, and the duvets as blankets themselves. When we pulled one of the couches out, it was so incredibly gross I about gagged. They had three gross mattress in a balcony area that we used one of to make the nasty, sagging couch a bit better. There was also only 4 bath towels and 1 kitchen towel for our 5 night stay. I put fresh socks on one morning, and by the time we left, the bottom of my feet were b;ack. The rug was covered in spots. The apartment had the potential to be really nice, but they didn't try very hard. Broken pieces were just laying in corners. Good thing was it was super cheap (you get what you pay for!) and it was super close to the downtown area. Also, we were asked for cash when we arrived. Thankfully I had read a review from 3 days before we left that said they expected cash and didn't charge the card like it said, so I was prepared. Parking was in a guarded lot a block away, and we had to pay them, so it was not part of the rent. The apartment met our needs, but I was very excited to go to our next hotel that was spotless and clean.

Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

The bridge that was built in 1824 from the other side of the rocks.

From the bridge looking down at the rocks you can walk through.

Looking how far down it goes.

Stretching their legs at the rest stop.