Krakow Sept 2019 - Day 3 - Auchwitz

[Jules32]

Day 1 is here

Day 2 is here

Krakow Day 3
Sunday 22nd September

Sorry there are no pictures of this part of the day as it just didn’t feel right to take them.
Today was the day for the reason for this trip, our visit to Auschwitz, I had always wanted to visit here and I think its important people visit and see first-hand what human beings are capable of and that we shouldn’t forget what happened during this time period which still shocks me wasn’t all that long ago. We had done some research and knew you can just turn up but we wanted a guide as we wanted to do it justice. We checked with lots of company’s and found one on trip advisor for around £40 each, this included pick up from your hotel and drop off back there and complete guided tour. There are cheaper options if you pick one with more pick ups but we just wanted to get there and not being driving round for an hour before hand.

The journey took around and hour and a half and was a really pleasant journey , we shared a small mini bus with two other groups, we were there by about 10am I think we met up with our tour guide along with another 20+ people we didn’t realise this at the time of booking but that’s how they all operate, still it was a small group and it really didn’t matter, we were given headsets and the guide spoke in English, through security and we were at the first part of our trip - Auschwitz. We were taken under the sign that is a prominent part of the history of Auschwitz and through various different blocks which now act as a museum. The horrors that are held within the walls are just horrifying and it really left a mark on me and many unanswered questions , Just how could this happen , How could people know about it yet not say anything. We were shown Mengales building, the cells which prisoners were kept that you could fit no more than one in yet housed many. The firing wall with the barricaded windows so prisoners could not see what fate awaited them. We saw children’s belongings, pictures of every prisoner, rooms full of hair that you can smell through the glass wall they are closed behind. The most horrific things I’ve ever seen to this day.

Our guide was fantastic a local lady who did the best job of delivering the information in a respectful way. She told us many stories of the prisoners and ones who still return each year to Auschwitz to educate people and make sure they don’t forget. We broke for lunch at this point, there is a little coffee stand with some snacks but we didn’t have time so we were really glad we took sandwiches, there are also toilets here which you have to pay for but are really not that much.

We moved on to the Birkenau part of the trip, this was where we saw the train tracks leading to the area where the prisoners were sorted, you could just imagine them all stood there not knowing what they were walking into.. Just awful. We walked the length of the tracks and just took it all in, in respectful silence, we visited what remains of the gas chambers, the crematorium and could see the pits where the bodies were taken. The guide told us that all around us in the soil and in the brick were the ashes of these poor souls. I found that hard to comprehend. We visited the womens quarters they were as you can imagine horrendous, dirty, cramped freezing cold in winter.
It was one of the most eerie places I have ever visited, and it is true what they say not a bird in sight we did not see one bird, despite there being trees in the area not one. So weird. This part of the trip was shorter than the first and we would have liked a bit more time here to be honest just to have a look around ourselves and explore a bit more but we were happy with the trip and would definitely recommend it. I’m glad we didn’t do it on our own without a guide as I think we would have missed things.
There is a small gift shop here with books and other various things to buy, we purchased the guide book which was really informative but we should have bought it right at the beginning as it helped to explain the different buildings as you went along. Back on the bus and we were dropped off at our hotel.
This is the only picture I took as I felt it was an important message.

Feeling a little deflated we decided to just have a wander around with no particular plans we ended up at St florians gate which is a lovely area of Krakow and we decided to get some tickets for the Barbican. 8 Zloty for a ticket and it was nice to wander round looking at this lovely building which has been so well preserved.

The view from up here was lovely you could see right down the street that leads to the main square you can just see St Marys from here too.

we took some lovely pictures wandering round up here

Feeling a bit peckish we wandered up to our favourite square Plac Nowy and we bought the Belgian fries with the most amazing sauce and a bubble waffle to share. These were both divine and really cheap. The trip nearly took a bad turn here as Darren left his back pack with all our filming kit in at the table, luckily we realised pretty quickly and ran back and someone had handed it in, thank god.

We grabbed some scooters and scooted back up to the main square for our nightly ritual of having a drink and people watching, we filmed a time lapse for the videos whilst we were sat there.

And that was the end of our day. We grabbed some scooters and zipped back to our apartment.

Our last day I’ll just add on here, we got up early and went out on the scooters again just getting some more video footage, we left our bags back at the apartment and then went back at checkout time, we had our cases with us so couldn’t do much so we wandered around the shopping centre whilst waiting for our train to take us back to the airport our flight was at 2:20 so we didn’t have much time. Flight back was the same journey but in reverse, we almost missed our connection as we were delayed taking off at Krakow but we made it with minutes to the gate closing but we really had to run.
We enjoyed every minute of this trip. It was relatively inexpensive as far as city breaks go and I think it’s one of my favourite city’s I’ve visited. We’re off to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks and hoping to enjoy that just as much.
Thanks for reading along