Poland

Polish is an interesting language and even after a few pronunciation lessons from my couchsurfing host it was still difficult to pronounce things! Did you know Polish speakers can understand other languages such as Czech and Russian? Kinda like how Spanish/Italian/Portuguese and Norwegian/Swedish/Danish are similar. Anywho some of my distance relatives actually crossed the pond from Poland, so I do have some Polish in me- unfortunately that didn't help me speak/understand Polish while I was there. The first day we went to Wieliczka which is a famous, giant salt mine. There are over 200km of pathways in the mine, so it's good we didn't get lost! There were TONS of chambers, and cathedrals in the mine. There was even a cathedral where they have weddings and such and at least 3 other rooms where they have parties, as the rooms are complete with dance floors (which can hold over 500 people)! We took stairs down the entire way, which was quite dizzying after a bit, but there was an elevator back up. It was pretty cool actually- it was the elevator the workers used so it's got like 8 compartments all attached to each other. Back outside it was sooooo windy! It was only in the upper 40s, but the wind was ridiculous all weekend. Apparently it didn't used to be windy but the past few years it's gotten pretty bad and we could even hear it at night the whole time we were there.

The next day we got up early to travel to Auschwitz and Birkenau, the former concentration camps during WWII. First we toured Auschwitz, and then Birkenau. We were on the English tour, but all the tours required headsets and a miniradio. This way you could still hear the guide even though they were speaking quietly out of respect. The tours lasted about 5.5hrs total- it was pretty intense. We saw the sleeping chambers, the jail, the torture rooms in the jail, pictures taken while the camps were in operation, maps of where the victims came from, articles such as brushes, suitcases, shoes, and hair belonging to the victims, the one gas chamber that is still standing, nail scratches and ovens inside the gas chamber, memorials and flowers, the unloading platforms where selections took place, the main memorial built over the remains of gas chambers 2 and 3 in Birkenau, and more. It was a very moving day. Lots of people cried. I didn't cry but I did feel really, really sick to my stomach when I saw the piles of hair that had been cut off the victims' heads- to be used to make blankets and cloths... The guide told us this one story about how a man had been selected to die of starvation as punishment because another prisoner escaped. He was pleading not to be selected because of his family. A priest who was also a prisoner at the camp stepped up and said he would trade places with the man so he could stay with his family if only for a bit longer. After 2 weeks of starvation everyone else who'd been selected had died but the priest hadn't. The SS got tired of waiting and shot him; the priest is now a saint. The man he died for lived until 1994.

I'm glad I went but I'm truly sorry to all the victims and their families and I sincerely hope nothing even close to that ever happens again.

The ride back into Krakow was about 90min so I mostly slept. When we got to the city we walked around near the main market and went to a great place with Polish food for dinner. I had cabbage leaves filled with rice and pork in a tomato sauce with a side of potatoes, and beetroot soup (a Polish classic). The rolls were delicious!!!! The soup was good but a lot sweeter than I was expecting. It was definitely a hearty and very filling meal. We walked around the center a bit before heading to our CS host's flat. The next day our CS host took us to a local bakery for a light traditional Polish breakfast, and yes it was light for Polish standards. We had croissants with glaze and nuts on top and some sort of delicious sweet brown filling. We did the free walking tour and got to see the famous sites of Krakow and learn a little about its history. We went to the top of Wawel Hill to see the castle and get a good view of the city. We also got to see the fire breathing dragon, the symbol of Krakow. I wish it had been warm enough/not so windy so we could have enjoyed walking along the riverbank or taking a boat ride. For lunch we went to another traditional and amazing Polish restaurant!! I had some green soup with potatoes in it which was absolutely delicious and some periogi (like dumplings) filled with cheese and spinach- so good!! We got to see so much in such a short amount of time!! (Pictures are of me in the salt mine, the famous gate entering Auschwitz, a warning sign posted inside Auschwitz, delicious Polish food, and me with the fire breathing dragon symbol of Krakow.)