Krakow and Auschwitz

The difference between Krakow and Warsaw in like the difference between black pointy spikes, and white fluffy clouds.

We've spent full days here in Krakow. The first day we did another free walking tour. The girl who did it was not perfectly fluent in English but she showed us the improtant bits, and at least we know what they are.

She showed us the ancient city gates. The walls have been torn down and replaced by a circular forest. That was a lovely idea. I love it when green space takes precedence over office space. THe castle terrace is stunning. She also showed us the platform area where Jews were deported to Plasow, which is now a memorial of big empty chairs. She also showed us part of the old ghetto, a part of the wall which surrounded it, and Schidler's factory. (The only remaining original part is the gate....and it's located in a gross part of the city)

The houses surrounding the ghetto are decrepit, but still unique. Only necessity would ever make me live there....as in, if there are no houses left on earth.

I have no idea how I made this city a WWII stop. but the next day we all packed onto a bus to get to Auschwitz and Birkenau. That was horrifying. As soon as I got there I was nervous. We a 15 minute film, footage taken by Soviet Soldiers who liberated the camp. Then we had a guide take us through the camps. It was either that or buying a book to take us through.

I barely made it through the film. The guide was worse. The museum is built into old barrack blocks. One block is preserved as the barracks, another one houses maps and pictures taken by the SS, and several buildings hold the stolen objects held in Kanada. There were 20 tonnes of female human hair, rooms of the shoes, and children's shoes, luggage, brushes, pots and pans.

Then she showed us Block 11, where there is the death wall (people are lined up and shot), and the horrifying prison. She also took us into a surviving crematorium.
Auschwitz is almost pretty.... there are trees, the buildings are red brick, and the paths are made of cobblestones. ... I hated that. I wanted it to be ugly and horrible.

Then we took a bus over to Birkenau which is 2 or 3km away. Here most of the Barracks were wooden and torn down. All that remained is the chimney. The space was enormous and quiet. We made our way down past the train tracks to the bombed out gas chambers, and crematorium. We saw a pond which is still home to the ashes of thousands of murdered people.

You can see a village close by, and kids were biking past on the road. How do you live there? That is what I want to know? The reason the wooden barracks no longer survive is because returning polish families had to tear it down and use it to make their houses after the war.

That experience was horrible. I kept thinking of Eva, and how she lived here for a time. I felt so terrible for her.

Anyway, not to end this note on a Debbie DOwner moment, yesterday we had a free day. I went to a picture exhibit in the old Jewish District (which is where our hostel is) That night, 10 Polish workers who live here temporarily were drinking vodka. Somehow they managed to give me three...and I was applauded for not taking chasers. I'm sure if it weren't for the beer, I would have felt fine today. Alas I did not, and managed to leave the cozy hostel only once for supper (Pierogies) Those guys drank 4 bottles of vodka last night...and they went to work at 6 in the morning. WTF??? They drank me under the table.
As they've just arrived back from work, I'm getting winks and nods.

There is much more to say about Krakow, but I must pack! We live at 6 in the morning tomorrow!!!!