Arriving at Auschwitz

A road sign indicated that we were nearing our destination in Oswiecim.

Right on site was the famous quote that I had been trying to remember.

The infamous entrance to Auschwitz. "Hard Work Brings Freedom" are what the wrought iron letters spell out to those passing beneath.

Guards were never very far away.

A view of the doom and gloom.

The horrific gas chamber.

Auschwitz in pictures

A view of a pathway between the buildings. Though not beautiful in construction, the buildings are not formidable from the outside in any way. The barbed wire says it all, though.

This map shows from where the prisoners came...all over Europe...destination: Auschwitz.

The enormity of the 2 concentration camps. The largest, Birkenau, is on top and we didn't have time to see - though most of it is in ruins. The infamous railyard is between them. These are aerial shots taken during the war.

The firing squad wall outside of Block 11. Many people lost their lives here.

The doom and gloom of Block 11.

Formidable railing and fences were everywhere around.

Auschwitz

The sobering reality had set in as soon as we arrived in the town of Oswiecim. Just knowing that Auschwitz was here just gave me chills.

Flashes of Schindler's List went through my mind, and looking at the surroundings toggled between what I was really seeing and what I had seen in black and white...and something that my history teacher had quoted, many years ago. Something about not repeating history??

The well preserved site of Auschwitz took me off guard. I was expecting a place uninhabitable, a formidable surrounding and a sense of evil. None of this was true. As a sort of oxymoron, it was formidably beautiful!

Fortunately, or unfortunately as some might think, we arrived at the end of the day, and too late for a formal tour, so we did a quick education with a mini movie and a lot of sign reading and headed out for a self-guided tour.

What I didn't know was that Auschwitz was only part of the tour. The other, larger facility was Birkenau, or Auschwitz II as it was called. We did not get to tour that area, but we got some pretty great impressions of it as we took our tour...impressions I won't soon forget.

We started through the iron gate that deceptionally read "Hard work brings freedom" in German. I was incredulous at the site of the buildings, the housing facilities themselves. Built of brick and modest architecture, they just looked like normal buildings on the outside. I guess I expected deterioration. Signs of the suffering that had taken place.

We made our way down between the buildings, taking everything in. We then arrived at the first gas chamber and took an inside tour. I will say I just didn't feel that it was right to take pictures inside. As much as I want to share my experiences, it was horrid to stand in the middle of that place and even imagine any part of what went on in there. It was a small death factory. There was a small room to the right, presumably where the victims were told to stand. To the left was a room with several ovens and an entire setup to lay the corpse, strip it of all belongings, and burn it. Behind was a small storage space.

Behind the gas chamber was a facility for hanging. This was all very close to the buildings where prisoners were lodged. I had a hard time imagining it all being so close in proximity and the prisoners knowing exactly what must have been going on. The gas chamber was built into a small hill, though, so it was not detectable from the air.

From there we toured several of the buildings themselves, most of which have been made into mini museums, housing posessions left behind, letters, photographs, hope. They told tales of where the prisoners were from, the horrific day to day lives they had to lead, and everything from how cramped they were for sleeping quarters (the massive buildings were overstuffed, most slept on the cold, hard floor) to how the children were mistreated and abused.

Although it is in my mind's eye, I just can't describe everything I saw and felt and still feel. There were 3 places that I will never be able to erase from mental imagery. One was a mini model of the massive gas chamber at Birkenau. This was housed in a room by itself and though was a scale model, the story unfolded before your eyes - this was a massive death factory. The gas chamber I had just seen was nothing compared to this. It was able to gas hundreds at a time - and cremate them. Many arrived on their train, a long, stressful journey, only to be herded immediately into this place at Birkenau.

The other was a room I happened into. The room was long, maybe 30-40 feet. I didn't see the significance at first....then it hit me hard. The long wall was a long wall of glass, holding in a deep area, and it was filled with something. ??
The something...was human hair.

To drive the impact, they had taken human hair and woven it into cloth. Not cloth as you are picturing, but...look down at your shirt. I kid you not, you could not tell that there was any hair at all in this fabric.

So here is a room with thousands of innocent people's hair, and that is one thing they did with it, and it hit me so hard it brought me to tears.

We continued on our journey through the camp. The swimming pool placed strategically on the outskirts of camp, presumably to fool outsiders that this was a legitimate working camp. The tall trees and neatly designed walkways just don't equal that horrific image in your mind. And then I arrived at Block 11.

Block 11 was the area of experiments and reserved for the worst of the worst. The execution firing wall is located just outside. The inhumane treatment only worsened, and there were several solitary cells located in the basement. The worst, I thought though, were the 4-people holding cells. In the deepest part of the cellar, there were these individual compartments, all separated by brick walls. Picture your coat closet, free of the coats and shelves, with nothing but a small hole in the bottom, and brick walls all 4 ways around. Placed in that size cell were 4 people at a time, often for days at a time. They could not sit or lay down. They could barely breathe. It made me never ever want to complain about anything ever again, for these innocent people suffered things we can't even fathom.

After that, my mind just didn't, couldn't absorb anything else. It was time to go anyway, so we walked a bit more and left through the very same gate "Hard work brings freedom"...

May the knowledge of history prevent it from being repeated.

On the road to Auschwitz...

This picture may not look like much. Just a countryside, a landscape similar to Ohio, some electric wires and such.

But I have to tell you, this part of my trip I just dreaded... but with anticipation. I have watched the movies about the Holocaust, read books and even tried to understand how this could have happened.

Up until now, it was all far away. So far away from Heath, Ohio, I couldn't imagine ever being close or feeling some piece of what those hundreds of thousands of innocent people must have felt...on their way to what was promised to them as a safe place.

As I looked across the countryside, I couldn't help but notice the tracks. The very train tracks, that not that long ago, had carried these people to the very place we were headed...Auschwitz.

I was filled with a deep sadness. I had never related that this place was in Poland...I hadn't planned to come here or visit a concentration camp. I did not want to feel it, did not want to get close to it. The car was quiet as Jenny and I studied the landscape and pondered what lay ahead.

Krakow pictorial, continued

Though it doesn't look like much in this picture, this is the main square in downtown Krakow. What is significant are the rails that have been placed there, in anticipation and preparation for the Pope's visit!

This was a cool little spot we found during our tour through Krakow.

I love this picture from inside the Warwel castle, note Jenny and Bartosz staring up at the architecture!

The preparations for the Pope's visit could be seen all over town! Windows, doors, businesses all were preparing. Many times you would see the pictures of both Popes, as shown here.

Cool little cafe.

We stopped to eat at a local restaurant where you could try several different dishes. It was fun, Jenny got all different items so we shared a bit.

1/2 Day in Krakow, Poland Pictorial

Traditional entertainers on the square in Krakow.

Shopping at the downtown marketplace. Many here spoke English.

Those talented statue people in every shape, size and color - they are everywhere!

Street view in Krakow.

Bartosz' neighborhood - a suburban view.

Real pierogies for lunch. Do you know what the little bits on top are?

PS - a little off the trail...

I just want to make a really important note here, for those that know me well:

1. I made the entire trip, from London to Krakow to the Tatra Mountains to Barcelona to Paris to Scotland to England to Wales...with ONE carry-on size suitcase, and one shoulder carry-on bag. Thank you, Tide to Go!

2. I did not, for the entire trip, I repeat, I DID NOT .....have.....a....HAIRDRYER!!!!!!!! (Thank you Jenny, who did not fit it in her suitcase!)

3. I ALMOST made it through all security locations without losing anything important. (I did say ALMOST. The best is yet to come.)

I just really thought it was important that you knew that, those of you especially that know me very well (One suitcase is the first non-reality (ask Molly about NYC!), hairdryer the second, and I know you know the Boston knife story). And for any of the rest of you, who note that my hair may not be it's usual self... Although admittedly, some days it looked better...

All the way to Friday!

By now, the anticipation was building...the city was consumed by the Papal visit, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

I was reading about it and learning that this wasn't just any old visit made by the Pope himself. Pope John Paul was from Poland and dearly, dearly loved by the incredibly faithful Catholics that inhabit Poland. He is very missed and this is the first time the new Pope has visited since Pope John Paul's passing. Additionally, the new Pope is from Germany. Germany and Poland were not always the best of friends - think WWII, Nazi Germany, concentration camps, etc. This was better than history - this was witnessing it for myself!

So the buzz of the preparations and the news cameras filming downtown and the road closures and the anticipation...you could FEEL it in the air!

We awoke Friday morning to Bartosz' cell phone again. He insisted that we get up and go! So much to see and do, and we had to change hostel locations.

We did that first - we went from a private room with a shared bath, to a very shared, very co-ed dorm-style room with bunk beds and interesting folks. Our first night was an 8 bed room. We arrived with our suitcases (thank you Lord for helping me pack light!) and tried not to disturb the still-sleeping international guests. This hostel was located downtown, exactly 2 blocks from where the Pope was staying!

And then...we spent the first half of Friday seeing the rest of what Krakow had to offer...shopping in the marketplace, the large castle, dodging raindrops...and running into the Italians that we had met in the Salt Mine, of all the crazy things!

The second half of the day was a much more sobering experience...

The rest of the day in Krakow

After the Salt Mine tour, Bartosz took us around town. By comparison to what I had seen in Cardiff and London, his car seemed so huge! It really wasn't, but Poland seemed so much like a typical place I would see back home, by comparison to England.

He knew we would be hungry, so he took us to a food court where we could get what we wanted. I had my first official "Polish" meal from a Greek restaurant! It was delicious - kielbasa, steamed potatoes, and 3 types of cabbage. After that we went to the grocery store. He wanted to pick up some "essentials" before the Pope's visit - Prohibition would be in effect on Friday. This allowed me to peruse the grocery store and see what they had to offer. It didn't take long to find the kielbasa aisle! Jenny also loved the grocery stores and so we were having a ball.

Afterward, Jenny had some work she had to do via computer and I thought it would be a great time to touch base with home - having a computer at hand was another thing I missed! So Bartosz took us to his house, which he shares with his brother and brother's wife - Jenny finished some important projects and I e-mailed and touched base at home. Bartosz cooked us dinner and then we turned in since we were planning a long day on Friday! It was one more night at the "Rainbow" Hostel before we had to change locations.

The rest of the day in Krakow

One of my favorite things to do as an exchange student or when I travel is to go into local grocery stores. Here in Poland, there are lots of choices for kielbasa and sausage, as you can imagine! Every size, shape, and flavor to choose from!

Two really happy girls in a supermarket!

A drive through town. You can see the above-ground metro coming at us on the left.

Just a shot of the Polish people out on the street. Polish Chinese food???







This was inside Bartosz' house that evening. His brother is sitting at the table in the middle, and a girl that is renting a floor of their house also sat down to dinner with us. What did we have to eat? Hmmm...Polska Kielbasa!

Salt mine pictures, II

The huge common area, 500 feet below the surface of the earth!

The mine tour guides were taking a much needed break!

An ancient legend of a salt mine proposal - carved out of salt!

A depiction of how they first hauled the salt, before the horses were brought in.

Pope John Paul carved out of salt.

A view of the depths of the salt mine.

The Salt Mine in pictures I

One of my biggest questions was HOW they lowered horses 500 feet below the earth! Well, here is how...and the very ropes they used.

A little Polish humour...though nobody could translate it! One of those expressions that just doesn't translate well, but it is talking about salt!

A demonstration of how the miners were lowered into the mine. The ride down was excruciating and some would fall or pass out.

We survived the return trip up the elevator, sandwiched in with 14 other people. In the middle is our tour guide (who had been in the job 17 years!).

Salt of the Earth

The day dawned bright and Jenny and I awoke to a strange noise - it was Bartosz' cell phone and it was making a racket! He had let us borrow it so we could communicate and he was calling to wake us up! I had slept like a baby and finally felt refreshed.

He told us to rise and shine, he was taking us to the famous salt mine in Krakow, Wieliczca.

We had an English tour guide, who spoke very proper English. We were put into a cave of sorts and led down into an area that was cool and very dark gray - this was all salt we were looking at! I thought we wouldn't go much further, or at least be on an elevator of some kind. BUT then we came to the stairs! Down, down we went until we were absolutely dizzy! Thousands of stairs, or so it seemed, we gathered into an area so he could take us through the tunnels and the maze of the miners.

Salt mining was a very respected career in its time, almost a position of prestige. The miners were also very devoted, faithful people to Christ. The further we went down, the more and more statues of saints and chapels there were. When we reached about 500 feet below the surface, we arrived to a huge area that was used to hold mass and a common area for the miners to socialize. Here I saw the statue of Pope John Paul II and the Last Supper, all carved in salt.

At the end of the original tour, we were told we could take a more in-depth look at the mine and its inner workings. We agreed to wait a bit and had a snack and drink so far below the earth! You can actually mail postcards from there as well.

We continued on the journey after a break, there were 4 of us - 2 Italians joined us that were touring and taking pictures. I asked how they got the horses to go down all of those stairs (!) and it turns out they were lowered with ropes. Ooooch.

Our tour guide had been doing her job for 17 years in the mine. WOW. There is also a spa inside that is famous for people suffering from asthma and other ailments.

At the end we took the mine elevator UP - very cramped and very fast - and saw the light of day once again. It was early afternoon and the day still held surprises...

And THAT was the salt of the earth experience!

First night in Krakow, Poland

Okay...we survived the plane ride with more head rolling and drool. It was also my first lesson on Ryanair, the airline we had booked all of our flights on within Europe. Why were the tickets inexpensive? Okay, think Southwest Airlines. Take any frills you think of out. Add that your knees touch the seat in front of you, and they charge you for things like a cup of water. And you think they line up early for Southwest?? Ohhh boy. I fondly referred to it after that as "the Herd Airline". It wasn't bad - just full flights and lots of languages!

I woke to hear Jenny chattting away with her seat companions. They were telling her a few words in Polish. She was trying to say them with limited success! I wrote them down phonetically, and every time we asked someone, it sounded different to us!

We landed and I got my second stamp on my passport! The landscape looked like I flew to Columbus! Rolling hills, lots of green. Bartosz and Magda were there to greet us, colleagues of Jenny's. At this time I thought we were just getting a ride from the airport to our hostel.

As it turned out, nobody was at the hostel where we were supposed to stay. Finally we were able to contact the owner via Bartosz's cell phone. Our first save. Couldn't catch a word! We dropped off our stuff, the room seemed nice enough and we were sharing a bath.

Then Bartosz and Magda took us to get zapiekanki since we were hungry. It is a typical food when they go out. We were in the Jewish district. It is kind of like a French Bread pizza, but the ingredients were different. It tasted great as I was starving!

We stayed out talking for a bit and visited a few local pubs. Magda lived a bit out of town and we were tired so we turned in early; Bartosz offered to pick us up in the morning so we said of course!

And that was the end of Poland, day 1.

Our first Polish menu. I know one word!!! Okay, maybe two!

Our first Polish food, Zapiekanki, and friend, Bartosz

Jenny and her friend and colleague, Magda