There were only a few things I really wanted to do when I
came to Europe for the semester. One of those things was take a trip to
Auschwitz. I’ve always been interested in World War II history and the
holocaust. I’ve visited the Holocaust museum in Washington DC and have read
several books related to the topic. I’ve
also heard from friends the Krakow is an amazing city. So Julie and I booked
our trip and were set.
We flew out
of Milan and made our way to Krakow and eventually to One World Hostel where we
stayed for less than $10USD/day. After our hostel owner became obsessed and
chatted with us for a solid hour we headed out to old town and wound up at a
kabab shop. The owner speaks 4 languages
and was just happy we were interested in his life.
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| kabab man |
Friday we
took a bus ride to the mountain town of Zakopone and spent the day ice skating
making it on polish television, taking a funicular up the mountain to overlook
the town, eating waffles and fried cheese from street vendors, and taking
pictures with strangers and Disney characters.
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| random characters |
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| ice skating with Julie |
We met up
with a few of Julie’s friends from LMU for a traditional Polish dinner of
polish sausage, potatoes and potato pancakes, sauerkraut, pork, and cabbage.
Julie and I shared a plate and were proud of ourselves for trying everything. We stumbled upon Coffee Heaven and discovered
an incredible chocolate carmel brownie. Bed
time!
Saturday we
went to Auschwitz with the tour company See Krakow. For $30 we had transportation, entrance
ticket and a guided tour. The whole
experience was really powerful. It’s one of those things you’ve learned about
since grade school, but never really thought you’d see in person. The most shocking part to me is to know this
occurred only 70 years ago. My grandma turns 90 this weekend so she was my age
when this happened. Walking into and out
of a gas chamber and also seeing the hair for millions of people used to make
blankets and other items to be sold in Germany touched me the most. People always want to have hope and millions
of people did because they did not know their ultimate fate. It’s important to
remember so things like this don’t happen today-but they are happening. Just
look at the genocide in Rwanda. Another powerful moment was at Birkenau when we
stood at the train tracks and our tour guide said “turn right and continue
walking down the path. You’re walking the same way millions of people did, but
those people never turned back.” As I
was cold all day walking around in my boots and puffy coat and I couldn’t help
but think of the millions of people who worked all day long in “pajamas” and
wooden clogs when there was snow covering the ground.
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| Auschwitz |
Again we
met up with Julie’s friends and ate a traditional polish dinner with cheese and
spinach crepes, chicken in cream sauce and apple pie. After wandering the town being harassed by
club promoters Julie and I headed back to bed.
Sunday
brought a free walking tour in the 34f degree “Hawaii winter” according to the
locals. The tour brought us around the old square which is the largest Medieval
town square in Europe, through the city streets and the first McDonalds in
Krakow which opened in the mid 1990s with a 6 hour weight to get inside. Later in the day we headed to the gothic
Wawel castle built in the 1300s. It
happened to be free admission day so that was perfect! All of Krakow felt like being in a fairytale. Castles, horse
drawn carriages, dancing in the streets and trumpeting from the bell
towers. The city reminded me of Cusco,
Peru and all our adventures there. Lots of night life paired with incredible
architecture.
We arrived into Milan and had to figure out how to get to get to Florence. Julie and I worked our feminine charm and smile to get a van to drive 9 of us back. Despite the driver going slowly and driving pretty sketchily we made it just after 2am.
Great
weekend with Julie and new friends.
Meeting people and exchanging conversation is my favorite part of
traveling. It opens your mind to a whole new world.
"May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.
May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth.
May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.
May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten and
blessed with the remembrance of who we really are."
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| dinner |
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