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Published: August 27th 2006
Engaging self-portrait, Krakow
Moments after a proposition...Poland
Our time in Poland turned out to be pretty emotionally charged. Daren turned 33, we got engaged, and we visited Auschwitz. On their own, each of those events is a pretty big deal, but combined, well, it's enough to leave a very strong impression. Also, following our time in Germany where we started learning more about World War II, Communism and the Cold War, Poland was one huge history lesson for us. Please accept our apologies if this entry comes across as a bit of a history lesson, but it really has touched us.
It would be unfair to Poland not to mention that all the places we visited (especially Krakow) were vibrant and hip, and that the public face of Poland, at least as presented to us, was dominated by hordes of tall, willowy, and very attractive, glamourous young women.
Auschwitz
One of the guidebooks suggested that visiting Auschwitz was practically a duty. And having been there, we agree. It's possible to understand the horror of the holocaust, but when you go to Auschwitz you really experience it in a personal way. On display are glass cases full of spectacles taken from those sent
to the gas chambers which were intended for redistribution within Germany. There are bales and bales of hair shaved from those who had been gassed, used by the Nazis to make textiles. There are thousands of suitcases people used to transport their most precious belongings to the death camps, believing that they would be starting a new life. And at Birkenau there are barracks almost as far as the eye can see. It is partly the scale that makes a visit here so shocking.
A - I'm happy to confess that I cried my eyes out. It was the bales of hair that really did it. And I sort of expected to have my heart wrenched. What I didn't expect was the anger; real hot red rage. For the waste, the cruelty, and the cynical efficiency of it. It's hard to know what to do with anger about something that happened almost 30 years before I was born. It does give me a new understanding of the fundamental wrongness of rascism and where it can lead.
D - Yep, this was an emotionally charged day. Abbie is right about feeling angry about Auschwitz. I vented a small part
of my anger in the direction of an american tourist taking photos of the piles of spectacles (despite explicit instructions not to). I could see the scene now, upon her arrival back home; 'And this one honey, is like, so cool, it's like, 3,000 pairs of glasses of people, like, who were like, killed by the Nazi's'. I just wonder if she managed to get the shot of herself posing in the gas chambers. Just as well I sent her away with a flea in her ear after ranting about a lack of respect...
The Engagement
A - It's worth pointing out that we visited Auschwitz on Daren's birthday. This was largely dictated by timing (and the law of sod), and not something either of us would have chosen as an ideal situation. So once we were back in Krakow, we both felt the need for some emotion- numbing, birthday celebrating drinks.
We started with drinks in a quiet bar. Then a lovely dinner accompanied by lots of wine, and finished off with white port (see Portugal blog). Needless to say that with emotions still running quite high, and both of us quite squiffy, we ended up
Wawel Castle, Krakow
Daren calls this his 'rock and roll' shot... having a tiff. This continued into the nighttime streets off Krakow's Rynek (see below for explanation). In a truly admirable strategic move, Daren simply proposed. It was the coup de grace, putting me entirely on the back foot. I hadn't really been expecting it, so I was momentarily lost for words (only momentarily mind you - I did get the answer right of course). I had to keep checking that he'd actually meant it! So there you have it. Probably not quite the romantic moment of fairytales, but utterly perfect as far as I am concerned.
D - OK, so there might have been some booze involved, and this hardly sounds like the best use of a 'get out of jail free' card to win an argument, but it just felt so right. I may have run through my head once or twice briefly the ideal scenario of bended knee at sunset, but hey, that's Hollywood - real life is always better. I can only imagine what passers by thought as they saw two blubbing fools, hugging each other in the street at sunset, while the church bells were chiming nine pm...
Krakow
Obviously Krakow is more
than just the background to our personal story and a good base for visiting Auschwitz. It is quite beautiful, having escaped the worst of the damage wrought by World War II. It is centred around the cobbled Rynek which is a huge town square, bordered by baroque six storey buildings, and is over 4 hectares large. Walking here in the late afternoon is a treat; food and craft markets, historic buildings, outdoor drinking and dining and street entertainers - everything from breakdancing to fire juggling to classical accordion players and even 'guitar-solo' man!
Krakow is also full of funky bars and restaurants. And it has the usual range of gorgeous churches and prerequisite castle (the Wawel) on a hill overlooking town. We wandered through the pretty grounds but only bothered to look from the outside - castle fatigue has definately set in...
Wroclaw (VROTSwahf) and Warsaw (VarSHARva)
One question that has been puzzling us is to do with the names of towns. Why do we call towns and countries something entirely different to what the natives call it? Why is it Warsaw to us and Varsharva (phonetic spelling there) to the Polish? Why Paris to us and
Paree to the French?
We visited Wroclaw for a day and spent most of it checking out the Rynek and exploring the islands of the church district. It was a nice enough place, but we were in mooch mode so it probably didn't get the best of us.
We took an overnight sleeper to Warsaw. This was a really interesting place to visit, and an opportunity to learn about Poland's experience of the War. These poor guys were right in the line of fire. The Nazi's put all the Polish intellectuals and politicians in jail hoping to turn the Poles into a slave race. They built concentration camps; created a ghetto for the Jews of Warsaw (almost 300,000 - about 25%!o(MISSING)f the population); bombed the heck out of it; deported and killed most of the Jews; and razed the city to the ground (including the Rynek) after the population tried to defeat them.
In the face of this treatment, the decision by the population of Warsaw to rebuild their Rynek exactly as it had been before the war demonstrates fierce pride, and we think, flips the Nazi's the bird!
Vilnius, Lithuania
We departed
Warsaw early - 7.30am is early in our book. To Vilnius by train was a 12 hour daytime train trip - which actually passed quite comfortably and quickly - good practice for the Trans-Mongolian. We negotiated buying bus tickets, finding the bus, getting off at the right stop, and getting to our hostel (the cheapest beds yet at gbp 6.50 each), all without a word of Lithuanian.
We were intrigued as we’d heard about an unofficial breakaway republic - the Independent Republic of Uzupis - that the local artists, musicians and less savory characters of the city had formed. By accident, we came across their ‘official’ pub, and had a very good dinner and a few pints of wheat beer while chatting to Shelly and Vicky, a Kiwi and Aussie also staying at our hostel. There wasn’t much evidence of musicians or artists (unless you count long hair and talking a different language) in attendance. Maybe it was the pouring rain (yes we're back in rain country again), but we had a good old chinwag and were pretty impressed by Shelly's Silk Route tour from Asia, alone.
Vilnius is laid back. I imagine if we didn’t have the
Food Stall at the Rynek, Krakow
I like mine well done. Luckily. deadline of our Russian visas looming, we’d have stayed here a while, possibly even never left. Still, our only whole day was spent on a whirlwind tour of the town, taking in a tower, wandering the old town, eating and drinking, (I must have typed those words a hundred times already on this trip!), and visiting the amazing KGB Museum (aka the Museum of Genocide Victims), based in an ex-KGB prison. We learnt about the experience of the Lithuanian people and their 60 year resistence against USSR control. For all that time, almost 1 in 10 Lithuanians were members of an underground movement, fighting for independence from the USSR. It also gave a unique insight into the activities of the KGB. It's been the primary enemy of many a Fleming, Clancy or Forsyth novel, and the hard facts suggest that this is rightfully the case. The Museum building is the place where the KGB not only conducted beatings and executions, but also spied on the general populace right up until 1990. The Lithuanians never gave up though, and now they have their reward. Lithuania is fiercely proud of its identity, and we can only feel lucky to have visited at
'Work Brings Freedom', Auschwitz
This is the motto on the gate to Auschwitz. No one can miss the irony of that... this time, as it takes its place beside the other nations of the EU.
What Next?
We are now in St Petersburg, Russia - despite lots of nerves crossing borders on the overnight train form Vilnius. We arrive in Moscow on the morning of 28th August. 3 days there, then our mammoth, gargantuan, behemoth of a train journey; 75 hours on the train from Moscow to Irkutsk, crossing 5 time zones. Suffice to say that we will be uncontactable for this time. Normal service may be resumed at the other end. This should be on 3rd September...
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Carla
non-member comment
congrats
Good luck with your long journey ahead you pair of love birds! Were in Aberdeen from 18th Sept so spending Cassie's 3rd birthday with the Scots and Dad of course, she is speaking much more now even said Marky last week when he stayed and is at the stage of copying so have to be careful of what we say! Thanks for history lesson love the Clacton Pearces xxxxxx