Many Reasons to Travel

We arrived in Poland on Thursday morning after the first night train of our journey. With an exchange rate of pi (yes - 3.14 zloty to the dollar), we set off with high hopes for this country.

We've been meaning to put in a few notes on hostel living because it's been such a focal point of our trip. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into when I agreed to this style of living, but Melissa made me do it anyway. Two weeks later, I cannot imagine a better way to travel. Here are a few notes, tips, and tricks that have helped us make the most of it:

• Hostels are phenomenal places to meet people. It's kind of like being a freshman in college again. No one cares if you introduce yourself to the same person three times; it's expected.
• European bathrooms are not equal to American bathrooms. There are buttons, tabs, and random jets that shoot water all sorts of directions.
• A good common room can make or break a hostel experience because it's the place where people convene. If there's a bar in the common room, you know it will be a great hostel.
• Free breakfasts are the best. They encapsulate the European style of breakfasts, which often include bread, cheese, olives, eggs, fruit and veggies (vegetables for breakfast?!)
• Make friends with the people who run them. Make friends with the people who stay in them. Europeans are super friendly, especially the young travelers like us who just want someone to hang out with.
• While the cleanliness of hostels have generally met our standards, shower shoes are a must.
• Maps provided by the hostel will quickly become your new best friend.
• Activities and pub crawls organized by the hostel are super fun because it's a safe, reliable way to navigate the city like a local AND hang out with your new hostel friends.
• Book exchanges are cool. When you're in Eastern Europe with only a Western Europe travel book, a book swap is quite helpful.

The hostel we are currently staying at is especially cool. The common room feels like a living room and the (free) breakfast and dinner is the closest thing to a sit down "family" meal we've had in weeks. The people who run it are young, fun, and lively (understatement). They were genuinely disappointed our first night when we chose to have dinner in the city rather than with them at the hostel. There's a sister hostel which is referred to as the "party hostel" (actually in its formal name). We checked it out last night and it definitely deserves the title. It was homey like a hostel should be, caveish like other european bars we've explored, and tons of fun.

One of several common rooms/kitchens in Krakow hostel

This room was incredibly nice! 

Krakow has proven to be another wonderful wandering city. We elbowed our way through the other 6 year olds and held our hands wide open for free samples of handmade candy at an adorable little shop we found on a side street. They roll the candy right in front of you like you're watching something on the Food Channel. It was an amazing, artful process. We couldn't settle our sweet tooth with just hard candy, so take a look at the amazing desserts we enjoyed as dinner appetizers!

St. Mary's church was a great review of the history and architecture we've been learning about. It combines gothic, baroque, and renaissance influences; we're actually at the point we can pick out each style (at least it sounds like we do when we say it quickly and with confidence)! Its two outer towers are different in height and remind us of the Quad at Penn. We saw the Town Hall Tower which is also referred to as the Leaning Tower of Poland with a 55 cm slant. I found my sowa at the Cloth Market right in the city center. It's cute, tiny, and made of Polish amber. Melissa spotted this one; bird watching may be her new passion. We also visited the state rooms at the Wawel which is the Royal Residence of the first historical ruler of Poland as well as his successors.

Old City in Krakow

St. Mary's

St Mary's exterior that reminds us of Penn!

Polish Pierogies!

Cloth Market

Pretty view from the Wawel.  Also fun to say. 

More of the Wawel

While Melissa and myself often poke fun at ourselves and the history we have learned on this journey, we were both incredibly moved by our tour of Auschwitz on Friday. It is a struggle to come up with words that fully capture how powerful, unsettling, and disturbing it is to visit Auschwitz. As a citizen of the world, I found it to be a life experience I will never forget.

During the hour long van ride to Auschwitz, a black and white film was shown from when the camp was liberated. A shortened version of this film was actually used in the Nuremberg trials as evidence against the Nazis. This was the type of film where I would have just changed the channel at home because it's easier to look away than face reality. Riding on roads that became narrower and more secluded from the city made this experience much more real.

The entrance to Auschwitz says "Arbeit Macht Frei" or "work will set you free." Disgusting propaganda.

The tour started at what is referred to as Auschwitz 1. There were three main sections to the camp during the war, but only Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz 2 (referred to as "Birkenau") remain. Auschwitz 1 is not what one would necessarily expect when thinking of this place. The buildings were actually built before the war and intended to be used for the Polish military. As such, the buildings are made of red brick and the insides are generally finished. The prisoners' "blocks" are preserved with museum-like exhibits and photographs from the war. We were surrounded by human hair, shoes, and personal items that were collected from the 1.3 million people who entered the camp. Their belongings were in enormous mounds taller than the largest person in our tour group and in rooms thirty paces long. Seeing these items are meant to teach visitors about the massive numbers of people who were killed, but what we saw hardly scratched the surface. The shoes on display represent less than 5% of all victims. Seeing countless prosthetic legs brought this devastation to a level at which I could just begin to grasp. Much of this experience is numbing, but the room with personal items brought tears to my eyes.

Birkenau is twenty-five times larger than Auschwitz 1. The sheer scale of the land and row after row of prisoners' shacks was mind-blowing. There are no football field references that make this size of this place tangible. These shacks were originally intended for horses. Human dignity would have been non-existent. We began by walking in the main entrance where railway cars brought in new prisoners. We stood where prisoners were sorted and entered gas chambers where 2000 people could be murdered within 20 minutes. As we walked along the train tracks towards the edge of the camp, you realize that the tracks end where the gas chambers begin. I've never seen train tracks end in middle of a field, and I hope that they are never built that way again.

The words here barely scrape the surface of what Auschwitz represents. We have the greatest respect for what we witnessed. It is a sobering experience, but an important part of our worlds' history from which we should all learn from.

Love,
Alysa and Melissa