Poland and Germany: Tributes and Farewells


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Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Kraków
October 15th 2006
Published: January 17th 2007
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Hello Everyone!

Three weeks left in Europe, one more week of traveling around with Alan, and two more weeks of doing absolutely nothing in Berlin but relaxing. In the one week left of touring we decided to squeeze in a few days in Krakow, a few days in Berlin (to give Alan a proper city tour), a couple nights in Heidelberg to visit a college friend of Alan’s, before ending back in Munich on the last night of Oktoberfest—thought it was a good idea to end where we started! We saw many things in these last weeks so sit back and enjoy our traveling tales…albeit a bit belated.

We arrived in Krakow, Poland without any problems. We found our hostel (a very clean one this time) located close to Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter, and grabbed something quick to eat before calling it a night. The next morning we were off to visit the infamous and tragic concentration camp, Auschwitz. After an hour and a half bus ride we arrived and decided it deserved going for the guided tour option which include a three hour tour of both grounds, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau), as well as bus transfer
Arbeit Macht FreiArbeit Macht FreiArbeit Macht Frei

"Work brings Freedom" The prisoners first welcome into the concentration camp.
between the two camps. We also purchased a little book for 3€ that talked more about Auschwitz…and was well worth its cost in the end.

Well, not sure if our tour guide was having a bad day or had just been at it for too many years, but it was disheartening and seemed slightly dishonoring to hear a recitation of the camps’ history in a dry, monotone voice coupled with sighs of impatience. Meanwhile, I followed along in the guidebook we had purchased and decided it would have been better to pass on the guide and just use the guidebook. You can spend as much time as you’d like instead of being herded around like sheep and the book had the same info the guide provided and then some. (This would also save a bit of money for the budget traveler.)

The grounds of Auschwitz were interesting to walk around and see all the buildings and exhibits with photos and prisoners’ personal effects collected by the Nazis. Items the prisoners had brought to the camp were heaped in piles—shoes, eyeglasses, pots and pans, even human hair—and what was displayed was only a mere fraction the Nazis had originally
Rynek GlownyRynek GlownyRynek Glowny

The Grand Square (downtown) of Krakow.
collected. However, it was moving on to the next camp, Birkenau, which was the most sobering. It was there that you really got a sense of the inconceivable horrors that took place. Most of the buildings there had been torn down, but the vast remains left behind were powerful—the sheer enormity of the place and its deeds were daunting. Birkenau was designed and engineered for mass extermination. It was there that they had the sorting station right off the train where it was decided who was to be left alive for labor and who was to be sent immediately to the cleansing room (gas chamber)—a majority sent in that direction. When the word was out what was really going on at these camps, the Nazis blew up the gas chambers and tried to cover up what they were doing. The remains of the explosion were left untouched and you just stand there and stare in silence. Next to the gas chambers is a pond that is still gray with the ashes of the dead—a constant reminder of what happened there.

After our day at Auschwitz we returned to Krakow and took a quick tour around the town square before
The Last SupperThe Last SupperThe Last Supper

Could someone please pass Jesus the salt?
the sun had fully set. We decided to go cheap for the night (easy to do in Poland since everything is quite cheap) and found ourselves a nice little pizzeria and afterwards a little grocery store where we bought a few Piwo (beer) and headed back to the hostel to watch a movie and relax.

The next morning we toured the city a bit more, checked out the impressive Wawel Hill, also walked a bit more around the town square and souvenir shops, before grabbing a bus and we headed out of town to check out the Salt Mines in Wieliczka. When we arrived, we were we were a bit put-out to find the prices had changed—the Tourist price that is. The Tourist price had increased to almost five times the local/Polish price, but since we had made the effort to get out there we decided to pay the high price. What we saw was unique and unlike anything we had seen before. The earth was mined there for the rock salt, but what made the sight unusual was what the miners had done with their spare time. After working hours the miners started to carve the rock salt
Berlin's famous little green manBerlin's famous little green manBerlin's famous little green man

The walk/don't walk signals in Berlin are well know for their unique design.
into many different shapes and statues and they also carved out a few underground chapels. The largest one was amazing with many statues and chandeliers, complete with The Last Supper carved into one of the walls.

It was great to check out, a bit too expensive (especially for the budget traveler), but we were glad we made a stop there. We returned to Krakow and called it a night since we had an early plane ride to Berlin in the morning. We could have taken a train to Berlin, but we found flights for the same cost of a train ride and made our traveling time one hour instead of the eight hours it would have taken by train! Gotta love EasyJet!

We were greeted at the airport by Daniel and we headed off to his place to drop off our bags and lounge around a bit to unwind. We went and did a little grocery shopping, found some Mexican food and made a large feast of delicious Nachos! The next day we gave Alan a tour of Berlin that kicked all our butts because we walked and walked and walked, but we were able to view all
Old friends catching up!Old friends catching up!Old friends catching up!

Christine (3rd from the left) attended Boise State University with Alan where they became friends and we were able to meet her on multiple occasions. It was great to catch up!
of Berlin’s famous sights (Reichstag, Berlin Wall Memorial, Charlotenberg, TV Tower, etc.). We also made an important stop later that night for Alan at the house where the first computer was built. The plaque outside the house was a bit marred, but Alan was satisfied with this stop.

The next morning we grabbed a train and head to Heidelberg to visit a friend of Alan’s from college, Christine. She had done some studies abroad in Boise, ID and we had met here a few times before as well so it was great to see her once again. She is now living in Heidelberg with her boyfriend Chris who is in Germany with the US Military. We couldn’t have picked a better time to visit though because Heidelberg was having a Stadtfest (city festival) and the streets were lined with beer and sausage stands as well as stages with live music. We had a lot of fun, maybe a little too much fun because I actually fell asleep in a bar. It wasn’t from drinking because I only had a couple, I just think all the traveling in the last two weeks caught up to me!

The next morning
Goodbye Alan...You will be missed!Goodbye Alan...You will be missed!Goodbye Alan...You will be missed!

Thanks for the fun time and great memories. Wish you could have joined us for more of our trip!
we rented some paddle boats on the river running through the town, got a little workout and that night went to the cinemas and watch the movie Das Parfum (The Perfume). The movie was a unique one, a bit disturbing, but an interesting story nonetheless. The next morning we woke very early and grabbed a train to Munich. Heather and I just planned to stay for the day and grab a train that night to Berlin, but Alan was spending the night there before flying back to the US the next morning. We caught up with some old friends from Memmingen for lunch, bought Alan’s girlfriend a Drindel (what the ladies traditionally wear to the Oktoberfest or other German festivals), and made a stop at the Oktoberfest for a quick snack. We said our goodbyes to Alan and left him without a place to stay for the night, but knew one of our old friends would put him up for the night. We had a great time traveling with Alan, wish he could join us for the rest of our travels, but he had a job to get back to.

For the next two weeks we stayed in Berlin
Sculpture "Berlin-Berlin"Sculpture "Berlin-Berlin"Sculpture "Berlin-Berlin"

The sculpture is a tribute to the reunification of East and West Germany, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is in the background. Ben saw this 10 years ago and was happy to see it was still around!
to take care of a few travel related things as well as just lounge around and catch up on some needed rest. One thing we needed to take care of was our visa to India. Over the phone is sounded like a simple process, but after 3 visits to the consulate and more money than expected we took care of that debacle. Also, we were touring around Potsdam outside of Berlin and Heather’s camera quit taking good photos. We learned it was probably due to the shutter being broken, but the cost to get it fixed was more than the cost of buying a new camera! We were not expecting the added expense, but we were very thankful that it broke in Europe where camera stores are everywhere compared to where we were heading next…Kenya. We found a new little Canon (upgraded from 5 to 6 megapixels) and were excited to start shooting photos with Heather’s new little toy.

I also celebrated my 27th birthday on the 11th of October and had a great time. The night before my b-day we got together with an old friend of mine Steffi and her boyfriend and they made dinner for us and took us out for drinks at midnight, so it was a great way to start my b-day. The only problem was that we stayed out chatting the night away until around 1am and that is when the underground stopped running. After one train, four buses, and three hours we made it back to Daniel’s pad…not as fun as it sounds.

For my birthday, we did exactly what I wanted to do, nothing much! We relaxed all afternoon, drove to a small suburb of Berlin called Kreuzberg where we climbed a little mountain (hill, for those in the Northwest), and made a nice feast of handmade ravioli. It was a great day and a great way to end our travels in Europe.

We had a great summer/early fall touring around Europe. We learned many things (some the difficult way—by making mistakes), we saw some amazing sights, met some amazing people, and have memories that will last us a life time. We were heading off on a whole new kind of adventure, and traveling into the unfamiliar. So be sure to get ready for our next blog where we’ll share with you our experiences of traveling around like a local in the Matatus, living on a coffee farm without electricity or plumbing, and seeing what life in Kenya is really like!

Love Ben and Heather


Additional photos below
Photos: 43, Displayed: 29


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Auschwitz IAuschwitz I
Auschwitz I

It's unsettling how unassuming it appears.
The Execution WallThe Execution Wall
The Execution Wall

It was here that many prisoners lost their lives at gun point
A view of what is left of Birkenau A view of what is left of Birkenau
A view of what is left of Birkenau

After the war, the buildings were stripped and the materials were taken to Warsaw to help rebuild the city from all the bomb damage leaving a field of chimney stacks.
End of the LineEnd of the Line
End of the Line

The railroad track to the sorting station where it was decided if the prisoner was fit enough to be a worker. If not it was straight to the gas chamber.
The Remanants of a Gas ChamberThe Remanants of a Gas Chamber
The Remanants of a Gas Chamber

Once the truth of Auschwitz was out, the Nazi's tried to hide the truth by blowing up gas chambers at Birkenau. What remained was left as a reminder of this unfortunate tragedy.
A Pond of AshesA Pond of Ashes
A Pond of Ashes

The plaque reads: "To the memory of the men, women, and children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide. Here lies their ashes. May their souls rest in peace."
Wawel HillWawel Hill
Wawel Hill

Wawel hill towers over Krakow housing the Royal Castle and Cathedral, a must-see for any tourist in Krakow!


17th January 2007

Yea!!
Wow it looks like lots of fun!! Well i'm not sure how to email you guys right now but I just got engaged and I'm getting married on March 9th if you'll be in town I'd love to have you both there!! Ok well be safe and I love you both!!
17th January 2007

Amazing... sobering... and fun...
Amazing and sobering history in Berlin. Great photos - the camera is such an imortant part of traveling... especially for us that are doing it vicariously through you. Thanks for the memories. Sounds like "we're" having fun in spite of the inconveniences that happen along the way. Love you!
17th January 2007

Morgan's getting married!
First: cool blog. Second: let me know if you think you're going to make the wedding and want Fred and I to get a hotel room with two beds.
17th January 2007

Hey guys good to hear from you again. Amazing photos. Great shot of the barbwire from Auschwitz very strong. Keep in touch, have safe travels.
17th January 2007

Hurry home!!!!!!
28th March 2008

Heart Breaking
The disgrace the people went through... When will it end
8th March 2009

very interesting
I dont know you guys but im doing a report in school on the holocaust and i just want to tell you that i got some good informatoin from this site!

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