Poland - Krakow and Aushwitz

After our first overnight train experience which was rather unpleasant due to sleeping sitting upright whilst managing not to slide off the seat or fall on one of the other five passengers in the tiny compartment, we arrived at 6 a.m. in Krakow, Poland. We got directions to a hostel called the Dizzy Daisy and with a few wrong turns finally found it to dump our things, shower and set off to explore the city. I hadn't considered going to Poland when we were talking about our trip to Eastern Europe, and only after Kirsty mentioned that we should go and also go to Aushwitz did we decide that it was a really good idea. The city itself is quite beautiful, it had a really peaceful feel to it. No one seemed to be in a rush, there wasn't much traffic or anything rushing by, people just strolled along and lay in the sunshine. The buildings were stunning and they projected a feeling that they'd seen a lot of history pass them by. It was such a lovely, chilled out day. We had a fairly relaxing evening after a really nice dinner in the main square. There was a stage set up and it seemed some sort of special forces celebration was on as there were a number of men dressed in uniform singing a number of traditional Polish songs. We sat and watched all the different parades go by whilst eating and drinking red wine. The lights that lit up the square at twighlight made the city look even more stunning.

The next day we went to Aushwitz. This was probably one of the most intense and mind blowing experiences of my life. It took us about an hour and a half from Krakow by bus, and when we arrived at Aushwitz I we were met by a tour guide. It is extremely hard to describe this place in words, it is something that needs to be experienced to understand, but you could phsyically feel the sadness in the camp, there was just nothing to say. Our tour guide took us around the camp, showing us numerous buildings - such as the the places that they had to live in under appalling circumstances, different rooms each filled with collected belongings of the people who were murdered, such as a room full of thousands of shoes, one filled with pots and pans, one filled with suitcases, one with childrens toys and clothes, and one hallway where all the hair from the thousands of women who's heads were shaved while they were in the camp is kept. It was just so devestating to see, and just too horrific to comprehend. I found it hard to accept whether the true horror of it had sunk in or not.

Aushwitz II is the imfamous campsite where the Jews and other victims were sent to by train and more or less walked straight into the gas chambers, killing over 2000 people at a time if they were women, children, elderly or disabled and otherwise not considered to be fit for work. Millions of people were murdered here. This place, like Aushwitz I also had a very eerie, somber feeling. We saw their living conditions in the various buildings that ran along each side of the railway tracks that cut through the middle of the camp. There was a choir standing in the open field inside the camp singing some really beautiful, sad tunes which made everyone feel really emotional about what they were experiencing and seeing, trying to understand in some small way just how terrifying it would have been for the people who were brought here. We were free to wander around for half an hour or so, so we just set off on our own in silence, trying to take it all in.

As sad and emotionally moving Aushwitz was, I am so glad I got to go and see it for myself. It actually put a lot of things in perspective, in terms of things that upset or had been upsetting me. It really made me look at life and how lucky I am in a different way. The ride back to Krakow gave me a lot of reflection time, and I somehow felt different once we arrived back. I don't think I could ever forget my visit to Aushwitz, it is a very special place to visit that I feel I am lucky to have had the chance to experience it.

That evening we had our train to Budapest, this time we were in beds luckily. We left Krakow with fond memories and only wished we'd had more time to explore more of Poland.