ITALIA: Poland

30.04.2009 - 02.05.2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DAR AND MIKEY B!! :) HOPE YOUR DAY WAS FABULOUS!!

I had such a great weekend spent in Poland!! :) On Thursday, Amy, Beth, Jenny and I left right after class to go to the train station because we had a flight on Thursday to Warsaw and then to Krakow. Flying from Warsaw to Krakow it was the first time I have ever flown on a plane that small!! It wasn't bumpy or anything which was great!! We got to our hostel late Thursday night so we just went to bed and then on Friday we slept in a bit and then we walked around the city which was a lot of fun - lots of shops and people to see. At 4pm we had to be back to the hostel so the bus could pick us up - we made reservations to go check out the Salt Mine in or near Krakow, I forget where it was located, but the drive was only like 45 minutes to get there. The salt mine was really neat. We had to walk down 800 steps to get to the bottom and on the way down there was so much to see, like the original steps which the workers carved out of the salt walls and we also saw churches which were built inside. Almost at the very bottom there was the largest church there where you can actually get married in and have your reception at the restaurant inside the mine as well - crazee!! I also saw the Last Supper...it was done in the 40's by a man carved out of salt on the wall - very neat!! After spending a few hours down there on the tour and licking the walls, it was time to take the lift up to the top which only took 40 seconds!! :) That was Fridays highlight and for Saturday it was Auschwitz-Birkenau. Wow, I don't know where to start to talk about Auschwitz, it was so sad just to think about all the lives that were lost, including those of my family members. :( I saw lots there, we were able to visit a few of the blocks and see suitcases, over 800 pairs of shoes, clothes (mostly of children), glasses, pots and pans, combs, and the one that got me sick to my stomach was hair. There was a room FULL of almost all of the hair that was shaved off of the victims before they were put in the 'showers'. I was so sadden when I saw it...SO crazee that it is the REAL hair...the only thing is is that the color has faded, but still...I even saw Block 11 - which is the only block that has been left as found. No changes have been done to it, just glass put up in front of doorways, etc. I also saw the Death Wall, which is near Block 11...the wall isn't the original one, but in the same place as the original...very sad!! :( After visiting the Blocks, we went over to the gas chambers and were able to walk through them. The only thing missing from inside were the shower heads, everything else was still original and in its original place. Very, very sad to walk through there...where at one time people had been killed!! It was hard to take it all in and walk through at the same time, so devastating how many lives were lost not only at Auschwitz, but other camps as well. After Auschwitz, we took a 20 minute drive to visit Birkenau. This camp is the one where the trains lead right into the camp. The tracks are no longer in use, but are still there. This camp we didn't spend much time at, but we did go into a few of the barracks there. In one we saw the beds which they packed 10+ people on each bunk and in another we saw the toilets which were just concrete slabs with holes placed evenly in them. If you spent too much time on the 'toilet' you were beaten. :( Ay, the whole tour was very sad, but I am so glad I did it!! After the tour, we needed to do something cheerful, so we went to the fair which wasn't far from our hostel at all. It was a blast and we rode a bunch of rides and ate the yummy fair food!! Haha!! :)
Love you all, see you soon!! Crazee...now that my last big trip is over, the countdown begins!! This trip was a great last trip for the semester, I really enjoyed it!! :)
Talk to you soon!!
CIAO!! :)