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Published: August 15th 2007
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Auschwitz
"Arbeit Macht Frei" - "Work will set you free" It was the morning of the 15th of July, one month ago today, that i left the comfort of my home, never to return to it again. The family went to living back at Ocean Grove, while i set off for an overseas adventure.
Now here i am, one month later, in Krakow. It has been a mission of self-discovery, of introspection. I have read, and am now discovering for myself, that you can never really find yourself in the comfort of your own home. Truly finding out who you are requires thrusting yourself into a foreign environment, into a completely different culture. It is there where you will learn about life in other countries, learn about the differences of other cultures as well as learning about the similarities. And in learning these differences and similarities, you learn about yourself.
I have now spent 6 days in Krakow, with one more to go. From here i jump on a bus to Tallinn, Estonia.
Saturday was spent looking around the Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz and Birkenau. Obviously, it wasn't a pleasant experience, but it's just such an important part of polish history, jewish history, european history and even history of man-kind. Not
Salt Statues
No touching these guys - just the acid on your fingers is enough to do serious damage in the long run. only is it a reminder of the tragic ends that met the european jews, the roma, the sinti, homosexuals, the disabled, politically outspoken people, pows and any other person that hitler decided didn't fit into his 'perfect' aryan race; but it is also a reminder of what man can do to each other. Most of the buildings that kept the prisoners have been converted into seperate mini-museums, each specialising in a certain aspect of the concentration camp or the war. There was so much to find out that it was nearly 4 o'clock by the time i got to Birkenau (Auschwitz II). When the nazi's found they literally couldn't physically cram any more prisoners into Auschwitz they built Birkenau 3km down the road. Of course when i say "they" i mean the prisoners were forced to build their own death camp. Birkenau is where the majority of the mass killings took place. Most prisoners who arrived didn't even spend the night. They'd line up for hours, completely naked, waiting for their shower so they could be disinfected. When at last they got into the shower rooms, they found it wasn't water pouring out of the grills in the floor. Usually
More Salt Statues
These weren't carved by artists, just by the miners. Very dedicated, passionate miners... it was cyanide B. So all in all, saturday wasn't a happy day, but it was very informative, and important for me to pay my respect.
Sunday was a day trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine (pronounced vill-ich-ka). As far as salt mines go, this one definetly exceeded expectations. There were about 10 underground chapels, most of them carved out of salt. Rooms full of salt statues. There were even 3D salt paintings. Wieliczka is also home to the deepest restaurant in the world (125m below surface), and you can even go bungee jumping from the deepest bungee jump platform in the world. It was a very interesting tour.
The next day was absolutely bucketing down with rain, but not too discouraged, i donned the poncho and headed up to Krakow Mound. A big mound on top of the hills overlooking Krakow. Would have made for some fantastic views if it wasn't for the heavy rain and mist.
Yesterday i hired out a bike for a day, and headed towards Ojcowski National Park (Oy-cov-ski). I set out with another guy from the hostel, but unfortunately he conked out about half way there. It was a 30km ride, most of the
Atop the Kosciuszce Mound
So much for the amazing views of krakow... way up hill. I suppose it was lucky for him because up until the very last 6k's it was a difficult ride, especially considering were both in need of a bike pump. While the up hill was hard, the worst part was the last 6k's. The national park is situated in a valley. So the last 6k's is down the mountains into the valley. It was a cobblestone road. After hurtling downhill, over cobblestones, on a hard bike seat, my ass still hasn't had enough recovery time. But in the end it was worth it. The national park was amazing. There were giant rock formations, treks through the valley and up the hills, beautiful views everywhere you looked and a selection of caves. I couldn't really find out much about the national park, because everything was in polish, and there was no english information. I had to resort to taking a polish tour through a cave because you are not allowed to explore them by yourself. After doing the tour i realised why - you may never make it out. The only damper on the day was that my (not-so) trusty camera decided to not work for this particular day.
Red Bull 3D Race
You can see all the people in Wawel Castle in the background. Would have been a surreal experience watching a very 21st century spectacular from inside a medieval castle. So i have no photos of probably the most picturesque place i've been to so far.
And finally we arrive to today... (continued)
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James
non-member comment
photos....
hey man, sure sounds like your having an amazing experience, i wish i was over there with you. also, your photos dont seem to be showing up, could just be me though...