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Published: October 15th 2007
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Krakow
Castle Gate Krakow
Krakow in Poland is a base for some remarkable experiences. After we had booked into our hotel just a five minute walk from Krakow’s main square, the second largest in Europe. Eniko took us to meet up with our bike tour guide. After selecting our bike’s, again Roxy and I rode the tandem, we were guided through the historic city with its walls, gateways, attractive buildings, castles and churches in the centre, before heading out to what remains of the Jewish quarter, the Jewish chair memorial and Schiendler’s factory. Krakow’s past is blotted by the horrors of the Nazis and the second world war and the essence of this tragic story was told to us sensitively by our tour guide on our way around.
On the tour we discovered a culinary secret in a Granny’s restaurant. Attached to the city university this eatery served up wholesome Polish food at student prices, which was both delicious and great value, we were to eat here again before our visit was through.
The next day the five of us took a 40 minute bus ride out to a 700 year old salt mine, climbing down shafts of stairs which took
Krakow
Poland's National Theatre us 130 metres below the surface, we came across caverns which held statues and mining memorabilia all made out of salt. One of the most amazing sights being an underground cathedral with salt alters and paintings, finished off with grandeur chandeliers.
During the evening we fought for a table at Eniko’s favourite Polish restaurant where I discovered the dangers of Polish beer with sunken cherry vodka. After getting a taste early in the evening this became a theme for the rest of the night which took Roxy, Eniko and Kate on to a live music club where we enjoyed contemporary pop songs sung in English. Feeling very much worse for wares around 3am.
The following morning I had a rood awaking when I was reminded that we had to vacate our rooms, which I shared with both Freemont and Carl by 8am before we joined our arranged mini bus trip to visit Auschwitz and Berkenhaur. I ended up in the front seat with the driver which was probably my saving grace as I felt a little worse for wares during the hour and 50 minute journey. When we arrived we went straight to the Auschwitz cinema to watch
Krakow
Polish Workers Museum a half an hour documentary before looking around the camp. This whole tour of central Europe became a strong reminder and history lesson of the ills of the Nazi regime and today’s visit was sure to bring home the horrors of their policies.
First we entered the main camp, which was originally a Polish army barracks under the famous arched gateway which all appeared to be in good order. We were told of the cramped living and harsh conditions the Jews lived in, visiting the triple bunk beds which were shared by three people each bed, the prison rooms and the guards quarters.
Jews were rounded up and sent to a number of work concentration camps from all over Europe. As they arrived the Nazi officers would simply ask what they did? If you were a doctor, teacher or professional you were not seen as being useful to the slave labour that the Nazis used and if in ill health these people went straight to the gas chambers. In fact all children under 15 years old and people over 60 would all be exterminated as soon as they arrived as a matter of course. If you were an
Krakow
Buggy ride in Krakow's main square engineer, builder or seen to be relatively fit you were put to work on the land, in local factories and to basic slavery work.
It was not long before the Nazis realised how big a task it was going to be to imprison and exterminate the 1000’s of Jews arriving in Poland and Germany and the built hundreds of holding sheds and horse stables to accommodate the masses arriving. This is when Au
Auschwitz was extended across the town to the Barkenhaur camp which also had four gas chambers and cremation furnaces which could handling the killings up to 700 Jews at a time. In all it is estimated that over one million Jews were murdered in Auschwitz and Berkenhaur alone. In all over six million Jews died at the has of the German Nazi’s during the second world war.
An number of rooms at Auschwitz are used as living exhibitions of the 1000’s that died in the form of hundreds and thousands of suitcases, spectacles, shoes and even children’s toys which were left as the Nazi’s hastily fled the camp at the end of the war. They did blow-up four of the gas chambers
Krakow
Main square at night at Berkenhaur to try and hide the horror’s they had committed, with only the first trial chamber at Auschwitz remaining in tacked.
On our way back the mood was somewhat sombre before we collected our suitcases and headed for the railway station at Krakow to join our overnight train to Prague in the Czech Republic.
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