Krakow- Poland, October'09

I will not try and dress it up... Krakow is a depressing place. We were there just for the weekend & just about everything about the place was gloomy & depressing (even the KFC was not great!). It was in stark comparison to the sunny Greece holiday we had just had, the big difference being, that this was a 'cultural visit' & history and culture is one thing Poland is not short on.

In this respect Krakow (with Auswitz & Birkenau) is a must see destination.

The entrance to Auswitz- The writing says 'work will set you free'

Above- the square in the centre of Krakow

Above- Wawel Castle
We went out for some local fare, with mixed results....
Above- Nadia uninpressed with her Pear compote (you can see why)

Below- I am defeated, there is only so much purple cabbage a man can eat

The Wieliczka Salt mines

This sounds random, but it was actually really good. It is listed as a UNESCO world heriatge site for good reason. Our tour incorporated this with the trip to Auswitz as it is located between Krakow and Auswitz and if you get the chance definately go for a look.

The salt mines lie 180 metres below the ground, there are stairs you have to go all the way down on and then thankfully a lift for on the way back up. The main attraction in the mines are the huge halls that have been dug out by hand and intricate statues made from pure salt crytsals. One interesting thing about the mines was that the salt air is said to be very good for the lungs & they often send people down to the mines who have respirtory issues.

Auswitz and Birkenau

Auswitz & Birkenau are the most famous of the concentration camps. Auswitz is located about 1.5hrs drive from Krakow. Be prepared for a shock when you visit this place, the barbed wire fences everywhere, the gas chamber etc but the thing that made it the most real for me was a huge room all filled with human hair which the Nazis used to make jerseys from (also on display).

Above- The end of the line... lieterally. It is on these tracks that all prisoners arrived to Birkenau. The train first stops approximately 500 metres up the tracks from this photo and the healthy prisoners are taken away for work. The less suitable workers stayed on the train and were disembarked straight from this point, into the gas chambers.

Above- The memorial erected on the grounds of one of the gas chambers. The artist who designed the momument intended that its meaning be interpreted by the observer.

Above- the shooting wall- If you were lucky enough to miss the gas chamber, it is likley that you either died of exhaustion whilst working or were executed by the firing squad above.