Krakow, Auschwitz/Birkenau, Salt mines

Ahoj again,

Hasn't been long but I have a lot of catching up to do for my recent travels, and this weekend I have finally sent my Mom and Jessie home after a prolonged visit due to a certain Icelandic volcano...soooo back to a few weeks ago to Krakow, Poland.

I originally had a lot planned for my post on Auschwitz and Auschwitz II (Birkenau), but honestly I've become exhausted thinking about it. If Terezin was a moving place to visit, there could be no possible comparison to Auschwitz. Some of things I have seen there were disturbing, moving, and sickening. Needless to say it is a place that would be betrayed if I actually tried to contemplate it by writing a few hundred word blog-post, so I won't. Anyways here is the small bit of my post that I didn't cut out, its not much but its something:



"Work Makes You Free"- the infamous sign looming over the entrance gate

Here are just a few pictures of Auschwitz that I have decided to share.

(Top) Electric fences surrounding the barracks in the first complex.
(Middle) One of the ruined crematoria with the ruins of Birkenau in the background.
(Bottom) Ruins (mainly chimneys left over) and old barbed wire of the Birkenau complex.







Anyways...like I said I have more pictures etc. if you are interested, maybe I will even set up a flickr account or something but I'll keep you posted on that.

And now on to the beautiful city of Krakow, just under an hour away from Auschwitz and fortunately nearly untouched by WWII.
The main square is set up similar to Prague's, with a nice big central area with clock tower, St. Mary's Cathedral as well as a big market (under construction) in the center. St. Mary's was one of the coolest cathedrals I have ever seen on the inside, it easily rivals Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.



I've also been playing with the "panorama" mode on my camera, which has led to some interesting pictures, both good and bad. Here's one of the Cathedral in Wawel Castle that shows my incredible expertise as a photographer:



Failure.

But on the bright side I actually did get a few good ones:




Anyways, Krakow is an awesome little town with a rich history like Prague's, and it also has some interesting stuff for anyone interested in WWII and the Holocaust. The movie "Shindler's List" was shot in the old Jewish quarter here, which is nearly deserted now due to the events of WWII. But despite lacking a Jewish community there is a really area of town that still has the old Ghetto wall in place along with the old Synagogues etc. Also Oskar Schindler's factory is in Krakow so if you have seen the movie I have a bunch of pictures from actual places from the true events as well as from the movie.

Krakow also was the original place of preaching for Pope John Paul II, and the Poles are incredible proud of this (+90% Roman Catholic in this country), his image is all over the city in the form of statues, posters, and his old church and apartment are in town as well.

If you have a few minutes, check out the story of The Katyn Massacre , a story not given nearly enough attention and if you recall the recent tragic plane crash that killed around 100 Polish politicians including the president Lech Kaczynski, you will find that if you research a bit that this plane was on its way to commemorate the anniversary of the Katyn Massacre, which is still a huge issue that causes tensions between the Poles and the Russians.

On the way out of town we checked out the Wieliczka Salt Mine which was a small warm up for more underground activities in Budapest...but that is getting ahead of myself, I'll post on that a bit later.




Anyways hopefully this is making up for my huge lack of updates, time is flying by and I need to get outside to enjoy the wonderful Prague Spring! And I know it has been some time, but I did recently send a few postcards...many more are on the way, I promise to send them before I go to the airport on June 1st....

Na sheldanou, adios, and goodbye