Krakow

So we noticed a little fact that the farther east we got in Europe, the crappier the transportation seemed to get. This train was definitely smaller than the last one we were on and the best less comfortable also. But we did manage to get a booking so that we got into Krakow at a reasonable hour unlike our trip into Berlin. We stepped off the train and it looked like we were in the third world. There were a bunch of street vendors at the bottom of the platforms, birds flying through the station, and a creepy guy following us the whole time we were there offering to give us a better exchange rate for the Zlotty. Anywho, we went straight to the ticket booth to confirm our next train out so as not to have another mishap like Berlin then checked into our hostel, which was named Tutti Frutti, and the decor defiantly fit the name. We managed to get all six of us into one of the 8 person rooms (plum room) which made it a lot more comfortable to just kick back and unwind while we were in the actual hostels. And it was a really nice place overall, the bathrooms were the cleanest I'd seen in a while but you did have to hop up and down every 5 minutes if you were taking a shower because the lights were on a timer.

After dropping anchor we set off again to explore the city. Krakow was exponentially smaller than Berlin, and most of the metropolitan part was concentrated in what i would say a 1/2 square mile area full of normal looking shops. We wandered around until we found this guy in a beer mug costume that gave us coupons for free beers at this restaurant by the Royal castle towards the southern tip of the city. This is where we fully began to appreciate the power of the dollar. I ate the equivalent of what i would say is a 60 dollar meal in the US for about the equivalent of 10 bucks. Nathan and Daniel got it even better. They ordered this plate of every type of fish you could imagine that could feed 4 people easily for about 23 bucks US. After gorging ourselves like kings we wandered around the castle and church for a bit. Like I said i'm not really able to describe fully how magnificent and elaborate the church was, but take my word for it, the thing was marvelous. There were a bunch of decorative caskets inside commemorating some of the polish nobility that died during the crusades and other historical periods and of course almost everything had some kind of gold inlay in it. We witnessed some kind of ceremony occurring at John Paul II's (yes the former pope) grave and then headed back to the hostel to watch Obamas Inauguration. Good ol W looked pretty miserable.

We went to a Chopin/Mozart concert around 8 and I realized that although I appreciate classical music, i'm not too much of a fan, but I did enjoy "The Tango". We had another amazing Kebab on the way back towards the hostel at this cool kebab shop/hookah bar. Its great how food always turns out better if you're the only people in the shop. Somehow that night we started a running joke that it was Julians birthday which somehow attracted the girl that was working at the hostel that night. We managed to convince her to come out with us instead of studying for her exam so she took us around a couple clubs then took Julian to the dance floor. This girl ends up being one of the creepiest people i've met in a good long while. Manages to friend all of us on Facebook by looking up our names in the Hostel registry, then relentlessly messaged us for the next couple of days until i decided to defriend her and never have anything to do with her again.

The next day was the real heart of the Krakow experience, the Auchwitz-Berkanow tour, and I can honestly say i've never been more scared to be in any place my whole life. I don't even think scared is the right word. It seemed as if the life had been sucked out of me while i was inside the gates. Our first stop was Auschwitz where they took us around some of the old barracks and holding cells for prisoners. We passed by rooms the size of my parents bed room at home where 30-40 people were forced to sleep. One building had a bunch of different exhibits of belongings which the Nazi's confiscated from those interned at the camp. One room had a few tons of hair belonging to prisoners that the Nazis cut off to make blankets and socks. Another room had thousands of shoes, another had pots, pans, and other China, and yet another had eyeglasses. Just to see all these dilapidated possessions that once belonged to people who were senselessly murdered, the feeling is indescribable. Next we went to a building full of cells for defiant or difficult prisoners, which included standing cells no bigger than 3 feet by 3 feet which held 4 prisoners at a time. We actually stood in one of these cells and I had probably one of the most claustrophobic experiences of my life. The last part of the Auschwitz camp involved actually walking inside the only remaining gas chamber and oven (the nazi's burned down most all of them as they fled). I actually stood in a room where thousands upon thousands of innocent men women and children were gassed to death, then cremated next door. Birkanow was an expanse going off to the skyline filled with single story buildings that looked like stables because frankly, they were stables. Our tour ended in one of these that was designated as a shower/toilet room where on occasion, prisoners were allowed to shower and use the toilet (which was essentially a long concrete block with holed down to a trough) but only for a total of 5 minutes. We heard her recount prisoners fighting each other just to be able to use one of the holes, some having to simply choose whether it was more important to shower that day or use the bathroom. Absolutely horrible. I think everyone needs to see this place once, but having done so, i never want to go back again.

Our last day, like in Berlin, was souvenir day. I got my Polish flag while the rest of the guys bought Chess sets for some reason. Our last tour was of Krakows famous salt mine which was 400 meters below ground. We first had to take the stairs down to the actual mine. I can't even remember how many flights there were, but there were a lot. Essentially our guide told us that when the mine was first opened, salt was worth more than gold because of its value as a preservative, and miners were filthy rich. These same miners managed to carve elaborate statues of the most random things while they were on their breaks. The pictures on my photobucket'll show you what I mean. There was even a church down there with salt chandeliers, and even a copy of "The Last Supper" done with impeccable detail. And apparently, I am one of the privileged few that used the lowest toilet in the world. After we got out, we at some traditional polish food which were these mediocre dumpling type things, hung out for a bit at the hostel taking in the last of the Polish sights, then jetted off to Prague.