The Land of the Poles

My trip to Poland started out with some unexpected news from home. On Friday morning I woke up to a Facebook message from my mom saying that she needed to talk to me- it didn't matter what time. This was very alarming, and after calling her as soon as I could (an hour before we were supposed to leave for Poland), she told me that one of my dad's best friends, Greg had passed away. My dad and Greg had been friends since high school, and many memories from growing up have to do with the O'Connell family. When my dad passed away in 2008, Greg and his family were constantly there for us, and Greg helped us out in many ways- especially when it came to dealing with our 4-wheelers and "cream puff". His loss was very unexpected, and it brought back a lot of memories and emotions. Being away from home during times like this is extremely difficult, but I learned to rely on the Lord in a whole new way. He was the strength that helped me keep it together while touring Poland. It also brings me peace to think that my dad and Greg are together once again. 

So, with a bit of an insight on what was happening in my mind while seeing everything this weekend... Our first stop was Ostrava, an industrial town in the Czech Republic. We toured Landek Park, an area with a factory that used to produce iron. When we stepped off of the bus, I thought we were on the scene of the Hunger Games. I have never been in an atmosphere quite like it; it was very strange. Before we began our tour, we also found out that we had to wear bright yellow hard hats. This made things even more interesting. I was emotionally checked out, but our guide was very nice, and the tour quickly went by. We learned a little bit about what it takes to make iron, then we were back on the road.

Sights of the industrial center. 

Our first stop in Poland was the Wieliczka salt mine. I have to be honest, when I heard that we were going to be touring salt mines for 2 hours, I was less than thrilled. This actually turned out to be one of the coolest tours we've had so far. The salt mines are over 400 feet below the ground which meant descending down many flights of stairs. Once we were at the bottom, a tour guide led us through hallways which led to various salt pockets that had been previously mined. There was salt everywhere. The floors were salt, the ceilings were salt, the walls were salt, there were even salt statues. We learned a little bit about the history of the mine and how the salt was actually mined. We also learned that there were a few churches in the salt mine where masses and weddings take place. There are also reception halls, healing salt ponds, and an area where people have bungee jumped and hot air ballooned. One of the best parts of the tour came when our tour guide told us it was acceptable to lick the walls. Yes- I licked a wall in the salt mine! After our tour, we were able to take an elevator back to the top which was much faster than the ridiculous amount of stairs! 

A salt statue in the mine. 

This breath taking church was located in the salt mine. 

A salt water pond. 

The next day we explored the Jewish area of Krakow then went to a Holocaust museum and saw the town square. Poland was also filled with sweets. My morning started out with a candy white mocha, and by the end of the day I had consumed ice cream and 3 cupcakes. In my defense, cupcakes are basically nonexistent in Europe and they were smaller than usual!

Krakow town square. 

Proudly posing with the 4 cupcakes I purchased. 

On Sunday morning, we toured the Wawel Royal Castle which included a dragon's den. It didn't quite live up to hype, but it was still neat to see. 

A beautiful courtyard in the castle. 

After our morning tour, we were free for the rest of the day, so we decided to explore a festival going on near by. Traditional food stands and vendors lined the the side walk, and the background music was the sound of children singing on a stage near by- it was very cute! We had traditional Polish food for lunch- the vendors sold Polish sausage, vegetables, potatoes, perogies, and sauerkraut. We even had waffles with jam for desert. As if the waffle wasn't enough, we found an amazing chocolate factory. The chocolate bricks were way too appealing to pass up. We were given free samples, and when we decided on a kind we wanted to buy, the woman got out a knife and hammer to break a chunk of chocolate off the brick. Like I said- Poland was filled with sweets!

A Polish food stand. 

I knew that Monday would be the hardest day of our trip. My thoughts were with everyone from back home because Greg's funeral was later in the day; we were also preparing to tour Auschwitz. Before leaving our hostel for Auschwitz, we toured Schindler's factory. In case you haven't seen Schindler's list, there was a man named Oscar Schindler who owned a factory during WWII. He was a part of the Nazi party, but he did he did save over 1,000 Jews by having them work in his factory. Although the actual factory was destroyed, we were able to walk through the building which has been turned into an amazing WWII museum. It was very realistic, and I learned a great deal. 

A collection of pots and pans manufactured in the factory. 

Schindler's desk. 

After Schindler's factory, we hurried back to the hostel to check out of our rooms and eat lunch, then we departed for Auschwitz. Trying to sum up my experience at Auschwitz is very difficult- there are no words to describe how it feels to be in such a horrible place. It was so hard for me to wrap my mind around what took place in the exact location I was standing, and it was very overwhelming. We started our tour in Auschwitz I which was a smaller part of the camp. This part of the camp held museums where we were able to see belongings of the Jews such as shoes, eye glasses, and tooth brushes. There were also many pictures that had a huge impact on me as well as an overwhelming display of hair taken from many of the victims. Auschwitz I was also the torture center where experiments were done on prisoners. We toured Block 11 which was a "prison within a prison" because the basement held starvation cells, standing cells, and dark cells. I think my mind is still trying to process everything that took place there. 

Entrance into the camp.

Cans of Zyklon B. 

The final thing we saw in Auschwitz I was the crematorium. As we walked through it, I felt very sick- especially after looking up to see the opening where the Zyklon B was poured in which would suffocate everyone inside in about 20 minutes. The next area we went to was Auschwitz II- Birkenau.   It was a few kilometers away from Auschwitz I, and the bus ride was very silent. Birkenau held many barracks and 4 crematoria. Jews were taken here my train, and they were sorted immediately after getting off the carts. Once again, this entire experience is hard to put into words. Touring this area was very draining- especially walking the same path toward the crematoria- which were destroyed before the end of the war- and the living conditions in the barracks. 

The entrance to Birkenau. 

Inside the camp. 

One of the destroyed crematoria. 

One of the buildings women lived in. 

The neatest part of the day came as we were leaving the camp. After a few hours of touring a place with so much sadness and despair, I caught a glimpse of the sky. The sun was setting, and the rays reaching through the clouds spread out over the entire camp. Seeing this gave me so much peace. Although Auschwitz is a horrible place, it is also the final resting place for over a million people, and seeing the rays coming through the clouds looked like heaven reaching for the earth.