Poland, Auschwitz & Birkenau

12/21/14
Day 1:
My good friend Courtney text me about a week ago and asked if I might want to go to Poland with her.  I have been wanting to go, and I wasn't sure if this would be the only opportunity I would have to go so I, of course, jumped at the chance.  She has been living in Madrid, Spain and flew in to Nuremberg, where I picked her up and we started off on our journey!

Our nice little room in Krakow

It was a comfy, clean, bright place and we were very happy!

The food was so cheap we never had a chance to use the kitchen!

Doesn't it look inviting?

It had a really nice renovated bathroom too!

When we first arrived in Krakow, after our 8 hour drive, we put our stuff in the flat and went out to find dinner.  Since it was Sunday, we were a little worried that we might not find anything.  We were very wrong.  We found an amazing Italian place that had marvelous pasta dishes and only cost us the equivalent of $12 US dollars!

After dinner, we made our way back to the flat so we could get some sleep before our tour to Auschwitz - Birkenau the next day at 7:00am.

12/22/14
Day 2:
On day 2 we got up early and got ready to walk to Main Square.  Unfortunately it wasn't going to be a white Christmas anywhere and Krakow was no exception.  It was cold and rainy but no snow...so we walked the 20 minutes in the rain.  Considering we were walking in Krakow, Poland, I was perfectly happy to walk in any weather!

Unfortunately we couldn't find the place we were supposed to meet up for our tour so we drove to Auschwitz and Birkenau ourselves which was actually much easier than I was expecting and it only took about an hour drive.  It is actually free to tour the camps on your own and as long as you do a little research before hand, I personally think a guided tour is unnecessary.

The front of the administration buildings at Auschwitz

The old administration building

Auschwitz - Birkenau arial map. (found at Auschwitz - Birkenau website)

As we walked from the old administration building and headed toward the gate that leads into the camp, I felt finally that the weather was appropriate.  It was about 15 degrees colder than in Krakow.  The wind was blowing wildly and the rain pelted us as we walked along.  When my son and I went to Dauchau, it was so sunny and beautiful...and clean...and anticeptic that it somehow felt wrong.  This felt right.

 I didn't take pictures of everything since there were more moments of quiet reflection than just the shock of all that happened in that place.  But I did take pictures of some of the things that struck me and that I wanted to have a record of.

The gate...the Germans meant, "Work will set you free" in theory.  NOT that freedom was possible.

This is one of the pictures I took of a picture in the museum

The back of the old administration building

Barracks buildings where the people were housed

Wooden Barracks that housed prisoners

These are the buildings that functioned for medical experiments, punishments, and other terrible business

Looking down the "death march" area

The electric fence guarding the premises and the "death march" area

The warning in front of the electric fence

Part of the rails that brought the prisoners to the camps 

Display of prisoner uniforms against a wall of pictures of prisoners

Most of the walls in all the buildings were full of pictures of the prisoners

The door to the cell where prisoners were left to die of starvation

A statue named Starving

A memorial to the children put to death here

Suitcases stolen from prisoners when they arrived at Auschwitz

Artificial limbs stolen from prisoners when they arrived

The "black wall" where thousands were shot to death

After we spent a good four to five hours wandering around, it started getting very dark, the wind picked up, the rain got heavier, and we headed back to Krakow.  We really needed to get some food so we found a very cute traditional Polish place and went a little crazy with food.  We had amazing food, hot drinks, and decadent desserts and it all only added up to around $21 US dollars!  Oh how I love the food prices of Poland!

There were such pretty Christmas decorations

I loved the pictures of Polish dancers on the wall

More pictures of dancing Polish people

I got Poland's version of Gluwein or hot red wine and Courtney got hot tea with lots of fruit.  Then we got yummy dessert!

Hot Apple Pie

Baked Apple

Day 3:
12/23/14
On day 3 we headed back to Germany.  The drive started out windy and rainy but it cleared up fast and it went faster than the drive there.  I am eternally grateful for opportunities like this.  I thank God every chance I get and I will continue to take advantage of these chances!