Vienna

So, I am pretty sure I am in love with Vienna.

First impressions of the city were from the train station and the metro lines. It is so clean. Everywhere. Coming out of the metro, the next impression is of the actual city and it is also very clean.

There are many rules that everyone seems to follow, which I also love. There is even a sign as you are entering the metro called “House Rule” to ensure that everyone enjoys a safe commute. The metro is highly organized and very easy to use. Once again, while at the train station, there is another “House Rules” sign to keep everyone in line!

Everyone we have met has been super polite and helpful.

Even the street signs are friendly. The green walking sign shows two people holding hands with a couple of hearts over their heads.

We arrived in Vienna by train, early Sunday morning, from Budapest. Our host’s directions to our next flat were precise and perfect. And this has been the best Air B&B so far. Tim flew in from Warsaw and met us at the flat about 30 minutes after we arrived.

Sundays are mainly a day of rest for a lot of businesses in Vienna. Most places are closed. After we settled in, we all took a walk to the old part of town which is located inside Ring Road, or Ringstrasse, to see what was open and accessible.

Everything about Vienna is big. The buildings, the statues, the carvings. It is all big (and did I mention clean? And beautiful?).

We walked through the Museums-Quartier where there are a number of museums including natural history museum and art museums. We crossed the Ring Road to reach the gigantic complex called Hofburg Palace.

Hofburg Palace was built in the 13th century. It is the former imperial palace. Now, part of the palace forms the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. We purchased tickets, called Sisi tickets, that were good for three different locations (as long as you remember your tickets - d’uh). Sisi is named for Maria Elizabeth, who was the archduchess of Austria and a famously infamous character in Austrian history.

We started our tour with the Hofburg Imperial Apartments. I had purchased my very first Rick Steves travel book while back home. I usually buy Lonely Planet, as I love them, however, there was no pocket guide for Vienna by LP. So, I branched out and bought the Rick Steves guide. It was a fabulous guide through the apartments.

The apartments were the living quarters of Maria Elisabeth (Sisi) and her husband Emperor Franz Josef. Franz Josef was the last Habsburg monarch. He was meant to marry Elisabeth’s sister but chose Sisi instead, for love. She was 16 when they married. He was 8 years her senior. Sisi was considered the most beautiful woman in the world, mainly by Sisi herself. She was obsessed with herself and her looks. Sisi had odd eating habits (or lack of them) and daily exercise regimes. She never showed her teeth (as they were less than perfect). She travelled a lot. Sisi and her husband became estranged.

The tour of the apartments gives visitors a glance into the life of Franz Josef and Sisi. Rick’s guide book was very specific and detailed information about each of the rooms in the apartment that we visited, in order. It was really excellent. The Newberys did the quick Newbery tour. Kim and I visited slowly and read the commentary that Rick provided as we went through each room.

Sisi’s life had some tragedy and intrigue. Her hair grew to her feet. Servants spend three hours a day working on it. She had a 22 inch waist, which she worked hard to maintain. He grown son committed murder suicide. She herself was stabbed to death while travelling, at age 44.

After our wonderful Rick Steves guided tour, we wandered to the main square, past the Lipizzaner horse stables, St. Peter’s Church, the Plague Column, and over to St. Stephen’s Church. Tim, Kim, Calvin, and Arlyn climbed the 450 foot south tower of St. Stephen’s Church. Apparently, the builders of this church wanted to compete with St. Vitus, in Prague. It is an impressive church but not quite as impressive as St. Vitus. Of interest, on the front of the cathedral are the carved numbers “05”. They were carved there by anti-Nazi rebels. Hitler, who grew up in Austria, refused to call it Osterreich (original name) when he came to power. He called it the Nazi term Ostmark. The 05 represents the fifth letter in the alphabet (E), which stands for an umlaut, giving the “O” its correct pronunciation for Osterreich.

We found an Italian place on a quiet side street and enjoyed our dinner.

Monday morning we went back to the main train station since we wanted to purchase tickets for  Tuesday’s train journey to Melk. We had a really difficult time trying to figure out how to purchase tickets online so we needed to head to the station and purchase in person. Today we were off to Schonbrunn Palace which was the summer palace of the Habsburgs. It has 1441 rooms, 40 of which are open to the public. Where the Hofburg Imperial Apartments seemed to focus on Sisi and Franz Josef, Schonbrunn Palace was much more focused on Maria Theresa, who was Franz Josef’s great-great-grandmother.

Rick’s book was a bit less helpful in this palace as compared to the first but we all got an audio guide, which was really interesting to listen to as we toured through the palace. Maria Theresa had 16 children, 11 who survived to adulthood. This palace is home to the Hall of Mirrors, where Mozart performed for the family when he was 6 years old. There were some really interesting rooms that were decorated with Chinese influence. The walls were decorated with black lacquer. The entire palace was lavishly decorated.

Outside, the gardens were vast and beautiful. We walked back through the gardens to the Neptune Fountain, a huge fountain that people are able to walk behind and around. Then we walked up the hill, along winding pathways to the Gloriette, a huge structure that was used as a dining hall and a breakfast hall for Franz Josef.

Everyone, except me, wanted to walk through the hedged labyrinth. I found a bench and a beer and sat and read and dozed while they explored. It was lovely.

We returned to the city centre by the metro and go out at Rathaus, or city hall. We were heading to the City Hall Food Circus, which is an outdoor food fair that is held all summer long. There are a number of food and drink booths lining Rathausplatz representing different cultures and tastes. We all selected the type of food we wanted to eat and each of us enjoyed a delicious meal.

On our walk home, we passed by the Parliament Buildings, which, like all other buildings in Vienna are larger than life and completely impressive.

Tuesday, we all rose early and were out the door by 8am and off to the train station. We were escaping city life today and heading to the countryside. The weather since being in Budapest has been very hot. It was a relief to head to greenery and breezes.

Our journey to Melk involved one transfer and we arrived by around 10am. The village of Melk was very cute. Cobbled lined streets and sidewalks, little shops, narrow laneways, and the imposting Melk Benedictine Abbey over looking the village from its hilltop location. This abbey was founded in 1089, but the current abbey was built between 1702 and 1736. We walked through the museum that housed a lot of church art work. Walking through the beautifully frescoed great hall took us out to a perfect view over the Danube and the village. Returning into the building we entered an awesome library with old books stacked as high as the tall ceilings. Finally, we went into the Melk Abbey church. Many frescos and lots of gold decorate this beautiful church.

Lunch time came and I was not hungry. Kim and I wandered around the town and down to the river while the Newberys ate lunch. Melk is a really cute little town.

After lunch we venture to the boat dock in order to board a boat that would take us along the Danube to the town of Krems. We journeyed for about an hour and a half along the river. We travelled through a very hilly region. Many of the hills were covered in vineyards. There were beautiful ruins, churches, and another monastery along the journey. We also travelled through a thunderstorm, which was exciting. It is not possible to adequately describe the beauty of this tour. The pictures do not do it justice either.

We arrived in Krems and walked around this town for a bit before we caught our train back to Vienna. We picked up supplies for a dinner at home. It was a great day.

Wednesday morning we took the metro to Belvedere Palace. It is now an art museum. It used to be the palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. He was the conqueror of the Ottomans. The gardens of the palace are beautiful and we were able to see some wonderful art including The Kiss by Gustav Klimt and Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon. We some a Renoir and some Monets too. Also, there were a couple of statues by Rodin, whose work I really love.

We had lunch at a garden cafe. I enjoyed an apricot dumpling.

We took the metro to the Danube Canal and walked along it for a bit and then down the Wien River to Stadtpark. Vienna’s green space is also very lovely but we all experienced a rather weird thing while in the park. There were so many people on their phones. At a glance, you could see that they were all playing Pokemon Go. As we continued to walk along the paths, we came across lines of park benches filled with people playing this game. I do not understand it at all but they were al very much into their games.

The Natural History Museum is housed in a beautiful old building in the Museum Quarter. It has two floors. One floor goes in order of al of the animal kingdoms. It is essentially a floor full of taxidermied animals. The other floor has an exhibit of photos from outer space, rocks, minerals, and lots of information about the evolution of mankind. We spent time in the museum as it was open late on Wednesdays so it was appropriate to spend time here until we needed to head to the train station.

For dinner, we went to a really cool Italian restaurant called Vapiano. When you enter, and employee gives you a plastic card the size of a credit card. There is a long counter where chefs and cooks will prepare food. After you have decided what you want to eat, you line up in the appropriate line and place your order. Your food is cooked directly in front of you and your food is added to your card. Everyone seats themselves around large tables meant for sharing. The tables all have fresh herbs on them in planters in order to add to your meal if you like. Once you have completed your meal, you simply take your card to the cash desk and pay what you owe. It was simply delicious.

Now I can say that I have taken a night train, I will never have to experience it again. We hopped on the train to Warsaw at 10:50pm. It took a while to get organized into our crowded cabin of 6 “beds”, the 5 of us and one strange woman. The beds were so uncomfortable. It was loud. It was hot, especially when we stopped at various stations and the train shutdown and so did the air conditioning. It was an adventure for sure. I did not get any sleep at all but watched a lot of Seinfeld.

Once we were back in Warsaw, we grabbed a couple of cabs back home. I crashed hard in my bed for a couple of hours before getting up showering, getting a coffee and some toast. We are back in Warsaw for just the one day before hopping on our flight to Dublin on July 29th! We are all very excited for the next leg of our adventure.

 St. Stephen's Church

From anti-Nazi Rebels

The Kiss

From the top of Melk Abbey

Belvedere Palace

House Rules!

House Rules!

View on the Danube in Wachau Valley

Schönbrunn Palace

Budapest

On Wednesday, we flew as priority passengers via Wizz Air to Budapest. Amazingly, it was only a short one hour flight between these two countries. We picked up a taxi and made our way to downtown Budapest. We found our accommodations easily and, once we got the correct code, were in the building. Our host met us moments later. We have a wonderful flat in a really interesting building with an awesome courtyard in the centre.

After settling in, we took a walk to train station to purchase tickets for our train tickets to Vienna on Sunday morning. This involved a half hour wait in line but the purchasing process was very easy. Our walk through the streets highlighted a lot of old buildings, something we are becoming accustomed to in these Eastern European cities. Unfortunately, we noticed a high number of homeless folks all around. This was to become a common site in Budapest. Apparently, Budapest has one of the worst statistics for homeless people. It is genuinely a sad and heartbreaking sight to see so many disenfranchised people.

After we got our train tickets, we headed back to our flat as there was a Spar grocery store right next door and we stocked up on groceries for the next four days. We fixed a late lunch/early dinner and tucked in.

After we were refreshed, we walked toward the Danube which is a 20 minute walk from our flat. We wanted to hit up the tourist information office in order to get tickets for a boat tour and ask questions about a couple of things we wanted to do while in Budapest. We organized our Danube nighttime boat tour and figured out how to get tickets for a tour of the parliament buildings the next day. We also got information about the baths.

We continued our walk to the Danube River. The sights along the river are tremendous. We are staying on the Pest side of Budapest. So we were able to look out toward Buda Castle, an enormous edifice on top of the hill. We also saw a number of bridges that span the river, including the famous Chain Bridge. We walked along the river and sat for a while at the base of the Chain Bridge and admired the river scenery.

On our way back to the flat, we passed by the Basilica of St Stephen and sat in the square people watching and eating a delicious caramel covered brownie that we picked up from a bakery we stopped in along the way. And then we called it a night. We had three big plans for the next day so it was time to head home and rest up.

We began Thursday with a walk to the Hungarian Parliament Building. The grounds of these buildings were immaculate and we actually saw crews using soap and water to clean the walls of the fountains on the grounds. The buildings were very impressive to look at. We had a 45 minute tour booked for 9:30. Our guide took us to the impressive golden staircase and the crown jewels, where we saw the changing of the Crown Guards. The crown jewels are located in the dome shaped room that is an obvious part of the building from the outside. We also saw the National Assembly, which was empty of members at the time. The stained glass is impressive simply because of its age. During World War II, the windows were taken out of their frames and stored in sand in the basement of the building in order to protect them. The crown jewels were also given to the Americans for safe keeping! This way, Hungary protected their possessions.

After our tour, we took a walk toward City Park. The main entrance to the park is Heroes’ Square which includes the tomb of the unknown soldier and features statues of many national heroes. We entered the park and sat for a bit by the river to enjoy a picnic of baked goods.

Within City Bark is Széchenyi thermal baths. Supplied by two thermal springs, the baths are considered to have medicinal healing benefits. The baths and pools are huge. There are many bodies of water at a variety of temperatures. The baths were full of people. When in Budapest… So we rented a couple of cabins and some towels and headed on our bathing adventure. We spent a few hours in the afternoon bathing in hot and average temperature pools. I avoided all cold bodies of water (big surprise). The best pool, in my opinion was the outdoor pool that was at an average temperature since there were these amazing squares in the floor that would periodically blast air upwards. The jets felt great!

Unfortunately, Calvin was not feeling so great, so Arlyn and Calvin walked back to the flat so he could get some rest while Abby, Kim, and I continued on toward the Basilica of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary. The cathedral is huge and beautiful. The domes are impressive. Within the basilica is a relic. It is St. Stephen’s mummified right hand. That is a pretty odd thing to line up to see.

Next we headed to Gelarto Rosa down the street from the Basilica. This is a gelato shop that scoops its ice cream out in the form of a rose. We purchased a medium and were able to select three flavours - I chose chocolate, Oreo, and Nutella. It was delicious. Great choice for my first ice cream on vacation.

We returned to the flat for some rest and some eats before heading out for our boat tour on the Danube.

We met the boat at dock 7 for our hour long night time tour on the Danube. There was an audio explanation of the sights we were seeing but I abandoned that as the sights were enough to take in. As the sun was setting, the lights came on to illuminate the bridges and the buildings along the river. Both the castle and the Parliament Buildings were magnificent. Budapest is busy during the day but really seems to come alive at night time. As we walked back through the Pest side toward our flat there were crowds gathered in the squares and outside of pubs ready to enjoy a lively evening.

Friday morning we all took it easy. We caught up on sleep and some reading. Calvin was very unwell and, unfortunately, was not going to be able to head out on the town with us. That meant that Arlyn, too, needed to stay in. So, Kim, Abby, and I made our way to Margaret Island. This island is basically a very large park on the Danube between Buda and Pest. It is easily accessed from Margaret Bridge and is not too long of a walk from our flat, as long as you turn the right direction when following a map. Needless to say, that may very well be my last turn as Map Holder of the Day.

Kim and Abby wanted to head to a different set of baths and pools on the island. I did not so I chose to stay at a large fountain just inside the park. I dipped my feet in, as others were do so also, and sat and read for a bit. Suddenly, George Ezra’s “Budapest” started playing over the speakers and the water fountain started shooting water along with the music. Three additional songs were played along with the fountain. It was a really cool thing to see and completely unexpected. I learned that the fountain plays music every hour on a daily basis. It was a great, and unexpected, attraction.

I sat and read for a while after the show was over. Kim, Abby, and I had agreed to meet up after about an hour and a half at a particular bus stop within the park. I wandered through the park at a leisurely pace, saw the ruins of the Franciscan monastery, and met them as they were walking back from enjoying the pools.

There were a lot of golf cart style cars and BINGO bike (car shaped with 4 sets of pedals) zooming around the park so we decided to rent a golf cart and tour the park on wheels. Our cart topped out at 10.6km/hour. It was a leisurely zoom around the park. We saw the rose gardens, the ruins of St. Margaret’s nunnery, a theatre where Shakespearean plays were being performed, and lots and lots of ice cream stands! At 6pm, all three of us were back at the water fountain to enjoy the music and water show (different tunes from the 3pm show). Then it was a walk back to the flat, picking up some groceries on the way, to meet up with Arlyn and Calvin and enjoy a late dinner.

Saturday was our last full day in Budapest. It was time to explore the Buda side of the city. This is the more historical side and the one containing the castle. We took the metro and a bus across the Chain Bridge and up the hill to the castle stop. We walked toward the castle and basically walked the grounds and took in the impressive view over the Danube toward Pest.

As we were wandering, the sky started to look a bit threatening and there were some streaks of lightening in the air. So, it was off to The Hospital in the Rock, which is an underground castle build in the caverns under the Buda Castle. The hospital was originally created during the 1930s in preparation for World War II. It was most heavily used during the Siege of Budapest from 1944 - 1945. It was used in 1956 during the Soviet Uprising as well.

We participated in a two hour tour that took us underground and through the hospital. We saw the triage area, the operation room, the male and female sick bed rooms, and lots of the utensils and equipment that were used at the time, including X-ray machines. In lower tunnels, there was a helicopter that had been taken apart, brought through the tunnels, and reconstructed in order to demonstrate how emergency teams would bring the injured into the hospital.

The tour guide also showed us the rooms that were prepared for the possibility of a nuclear attack. She explained how hospital personnel would have to decontaminate themselves, burn their clothes, shave all their body hair, and then put on special suits so that they would be ready to treat their patients. This routine was practiced once a year.

By the time we were finished with our tour, the rain was also finished. We wandered off to find a spot for lunch. We continued with our walk on the Budda side of the river up to Matthias Church and Fishermen’s Bastion. The bastion is a terrace and is part of the city wall. It is a very elaborate and beautiful part of the wall. The main upper area was all blocked off for a wedding The views from the bastion were, once again, spectacular.

We took the bus back down the hill and across the river and walked back to our flat. We had an early start to our day the next morning as we were off to Vienna and had an early morning train to catch. Our last stop on mainland Europe before heading to Ireland!

Parliament buidings at night

The Chain Bridge

Parliament Buildings by day

Szechenyi Baths

Fishermen's Bastion

Parliament Buildings from between columns at Fishermen's Bastion

Buda Castle

Krakow

Krakow is south of Warsaw by a two hour train journey. We headed there on Sunday. Tim had been there recently so we followed his direction from the train station to the main square, or Old Town. It was pouring rain and we could not meet up with our accommodations until 3pm so we had some time to spend.

Krakow is the second largest city in Warsaw. Old Town is fabulous. We spent some time exploring the main square. We wandered through the Cloth Hall, a building that had a long narrow hallway with stalls for shopping lining both sides. Mainly, store owners were selling amber and souvenir type items. We enjoyed a pretzel from a street vendor, as Krakow is famous for pretzels. 150 000 are made daily in the city. Unlike the New York style pretzel, Krakow pretzels are circular in shape and a bit denser. Still, they are delicious.

Kraków's Old Town is known as Rynek Główny. It is the largest medieval market square in Central Europe. St. Mary’s Basilica is located in the square. We heard the trumpeter playing on the hour a few times during our stay. Also, there was a sign on the church indicating a countdown to World Youth Day, as Krakow was hosting the event.

In order to escape the rain and spend some time, we found a cool restaurant for lunch. With an hour to kill we wandered around, leaving the boys to grab a beer. After a short walk to our accomodations, Tom met us and we headed up multiple flights of stairs to our top floor apartment. Tom was also the person who would be taking us on our tour of Auschwitz so we settle up with him and arranged a time to meet the next day.

Once we were all settled in, we headed directly back to Old Town as we had tickets to Rynek Underground. Four metres under the surface of the market square, there is a museum of the recently excavated medieval merchant stalls. We essentially entered an archeoloical dig site that has been set up for visitors. There are many artifacts of Middle Age daily life on display such as shoes, jewelery, and coins. The old walls of the stalls are uncovered in parts to show where the original walls lay. The entire square of old town became an archeological dig. This display only opened in 2010 to visitors and it is a great and interactive way to get to know the history of the market town, Krakow.

Our next goal was to go to Schindler’s Factory. We hopped on a tram to head in the direction of the building. At our stop we saw a square that was filled with 70 large, regularly spaced chairs in rows. This is Ghetto Heroes Square. This square is located in the old Jewish Ghetto. It was a place for Jews to come and socialize. It became a place where deportations from the ghetto occurred. The chairs are meant to symbolize departure and absence. It is an impactful memorial.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Schindler’s Factory, although still open, they were not accepting any more visitors for the day. I was disappointed that we would not be able to visit but what can you do?

Well, what you do is walk. Although we rode a tram out, we decided to wander back. We walked through the Jewish Quarter of Krakow. To me, it seems very run down and a bit dodgy in areas. We saw the Jewish Cemetery and a couple of synagogues as well. There were a lot of cafes and some shops and it looks like the area is starting to come alive.

At this point the Newberys headed back to the apartment and Kim, D’Arcy, Kristen Back to Old Town for a beer in the market. The night walk home was beautiful as the square was lit up.

Monday morning, Kim and I headed to the Tourist Information Office to get tickets for the salt mine tour. We met up with the rest of the gang at Wawel Hill and Castle. On our way to the castle, we saw where Pope John Paul II lived and the university that is named after him.

On Wawel Hill you find the castle, the cathedral, the crown treasury and armoury, the cathedral museum, a tower, and the dragon’s den. Kim and I met up with the rest of the crew and headed in to see all the treasures that were held in the museum. There was a lot of weapons and suits of armour. We saw ruins of buildings and colourful tiles from ovens. We climbed the square tower to have a look out over the city. And we descended a tiny spiral staircase to the Dragon’s Den which is an cave under the castle ground where legend has it there was a dragon lurking. We saw no dragon but did get to look around a beautiful cave. The exit put us out directly in front of the river below the hill.

The courtyard was impressive and the views from the tower over the Vistula were also wonderful.

*After our tour of Wawel hill, it was time to head to Auschwitz. I have written a blog about Auschwitz exclusively, you can find it in the menu.

Tuesday was our last day in Krakow. We had tickets for a bus ride to and from the Wieliczka Salt Mines. The most unfortunate part about this trip was how disorganized the tour was prior to entering the mine. We were picked up at 9am and didn’t get into the mines until 11am. The drive there was only about 20 minutes so there was a lot of waiting around with a seemingly confused “organizer” of the groups. When we were eventually let in, we had a 370 step descent into the mines. The salt mine is 327 meters deep and is over 287 kilometres long. The mine was originally opened in the 13th century. It produced table salt until 2007. The features of this mine are all of the rock salt carvings completed by miners over the years. The most spectacular being a gigantic chapel, the Chapel of St. Kinga, where even the chandeliers are made out of salt. It was interesting to see salt water lakes underground and to learn the history of mining over the years. We ascended via a miners elevator, which was a tight squeeze, but I guess better than climbing all those steps again.

Our bus driver returned us to the hotel where he had picked us up and we walked to the train station in order to head back to Warsaw.

As we were leaving Krakow, I could see lots of youth entering the city in groups ready to participate in World Youth Day. I also saw a number of priests, monks, and nuns wandering the city and heading into the city.

Ghetto Heroes Square

 Old Town Krakow

 Old Town Krakow at night

 Wawel Castle

View from the tower on Wawel Hill

 The Dragon's Den

 Carvings from Rock Salt in the salt mine

Auschwitz

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” ~ George Santayana

I battled with myself and my desire to visit Auschwitz. On the one hand, I feel that this area of Poland is meant to be regarded and treated with the utmost respect and solemnity. This area is essentially a giant cemetery to murdered human beings. I wasn’t too sure about the tourist attraction aspect of the site. I was worried that visitors would be disrespectful. I was concerned that I would not be able to travel through the site. On the other hand, I wanted to bear witness. I feel it is very important to bear witness to the lives that were lost. I feel that it is very important to bear witness to the horror and evil that occurred. I feel that it is important to bear witness to history.

Part way through our tour, the quote by Santayana was hanging on a wall in one of the blocks. I think that it nicely sums up the importance of visitors bearing witness to the crime that occurred at Auschwitz.

Arlyn had arranged with our AirB&B host, Tom, a ride from our accommodations to Auschwitz, which is over an hour away from Krakow, a tour, and a ride back. We met Tom at 1:15 and returned by 6:00.

On our way, we drove through Polish villages and the countryside. Tom talked to us a bit about where we were going and what we were going to see. He talked about his own father who had fought in World War II, landing on the beaches of Normandy two months after D-Day.

We arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau first. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the camps that made up Auschwitz. It was supposed to be a camp for prisoners of war. It became the centre for the extermination of the Jews. About 90% of the victims of Auschwitz Concentration Camp died in Birkenau, approximately one million people.

We drove into the parking lot and right away I could see that the area was milling with people. Tom parked and gave us 40 minutes and some basic instructions for getting around and visiting.

The grounds of Birkenau are unimaginably huge. I knew that this was the biggest camp. I did not imagine the size of it at all. Peering along the barbed wire fencing, I found it challenging to find an end to it. Within the fencing, there are many barracks. Some are still standing, others have been destroyed. Sometimes, only the chimneys remain standing. Tom explained that at this site, there used to exist a small village. The Nazi removed everyone from the village, razed the buildings to the ground, then used the building materials to build the barracks that housed the people of the concentration camp.

Visitors first walk through the entrance under the guard tower through which trains would enter the camp. We follow the tracks, past multiple barracks and along side the barb wire fencing. There is a cattle car set up along the tracks to demonstrate how people would have been transported into the camp. Far back from the entrance are the ruins and remains of the gas chambers. Apparently, as the war was drawing to a close, the Nazis dynamited these buildings to hide evidence. Birkenau exists essentially as it did when the war finished. There is a memorial between two of the crematoriums. It is called International Monument to the Victims of Fascism. There are plaques in a number of languages around the monument stating, “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries in Europe”. We walked back along the tracks and through the fencing to meet with Tom once again.

The entire time I was visiting Birkenau, all I kept thinking was how big this place was. I never had imagined it to be the size that it is. Knowing the singular purpose of this camp, the scale is overwhelming.

Three kilometres away, is Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the original camp. The original16 buildings had been a Polish army barracks. It was chosen as the site for a concentration camp. The first prisoners arrived in May 1940. This was our next stop. We entered the gates, as all prisoners did, under the sign, “arbeit macht frei”, which translates “work sets you free”. The prisoners must have found that saying to be extremely spiteful considering their living conditions.

Auschwitz is very organized. There are a number of two storey barracks, in rows, along stoned pathways that are lined with trees. There are patches of green grass growing in front of each building. Tom told me that there was no grass here when the camp was active as the prisoners had eaten it. Everything is orderly. Some of the barracks were originally only one storey tall and prisoners had added second stories to them. There is a visible difference in the colour of the brick from the first storey to the second storey.

We visited a number of the blocks while we were there. Some of the blocks were lined with photos of people who had come to Auschwitz and died there. Their framed photographs lined both sides of the hallway in three rows. The eyes of the people staring back were haunting.

Some of the rooms in the blocks were set up for SS Officers. Other rooms were set up with bunks that were stacked three tall. Many men would sleep together in one bunk. Some rooms were lined with straw. Others had straw filled mats that covered the floor. These were also areas for sleeping.

Block 11 was the prison block. A prison within a prison. Here, prisoners who were accused of “crimes” would be brought. An SS Officer would hand down their sentence which was generally execution, either by firing squad or by lethal injection. In this block we also saw the cells in the basement. There were cells that had one small window in where prisoners would be sent in order to starve to death. There were cells that had much smaller windows in which prisoners would be sent to suffocate to death. Apparently, sometimes candles would be lit in order to speed the process of ridding oxygen from the cell. The last set of cells were the most startling. These were the standing cells. They are 31.5 inches square. Prisoners had to crawl in through a tiny door. Prisoners had to stand in these cells all night and then work a 10 hour day. There was no light in the cell. There was very little ventilation. Generally, there would be four prisoners in one standing cell at a time.

Between two of the blocks was the execution wall, called the Black Wall. No longer the original wall, a reconstruction was set up to show what the wall would have been like.

One of the blocks house the toilets and sinks that prisoners would use. They were inadequate for the number of people in the camp.

Block 4 is entitled Extermination. Block 5 is entitled Material Evidence of Crime. As we walked through these blocks, we saw pictures of women on liberation day. They were emaciated. Evidence included a lot of correspondence between SS Officials from the camp and headquarters or government. There was a display of eye glasses that had been taken from prisoners. There was an entire room dedicated to the shoes that were taken from the prisoners. At the time of liberation there were 43 000 pairs of shoes on site. There was a display of prosthetics. These would have been taken from World War I veterans. There were suitcases marked with the prisoners names on the front. There was a large room full of hair brushes and combs. There was a display of ceramic bowls and plates. There was a room full of human hair. Hair that had been cut off of prisoners who had been brought into the camp or after they had been executed. Unbelievably, the hair was sent to factories to be made into fabrics.

Outside of the Blocks, we saw a rudimentary gallows where prisoners had been hanged, and after the war and a trial, Rudolf Hoess the first commandant of the Auschwitz, was also hanged. Tom said that right until the moment of his death, Hoess believed and professed that all he had done at Auschwitz was the right thing to do. He was unapologetic and not remorseful.

The last stop, before exiting the camp was unexpected. We entered into the gas chamber and the crematorium. I didn’t have too much time to think about it prior to entering the building. It had not crossed my mind that this building would be open to the public. I shuffled into a large cemented room with a low ceiling with a large group of visitors. There were small ventilation holes on the ceiling which would allow the Nazis to pass Zyklon B through in order to execute the people inside. Walking through this room, it is very difficult to imagine the horror of the events that occured here. But it is also easy to feel the presence of all of the lost souls. Just outside of the cement room was another room with the ovens where Nazis would cremate the bodies of their victims.

The weather today was overcast and grey. It was suitable weather for our visit.

Everything was larger than I expected. I know the statistic that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. It is difficult to imagine 6 million of anything.

I read that many men or women would share one bunk. It is hard to picture the small size of the bunk, the large size of the barracks and know that many, many people share the same space.

The crowds of visitors were bigger.

The grounds of Birkenau were larger.

The train tracks were longer.

The barracks were bigger.

The fences were longer.

The blocks were grander.

The evidence of extermination was gigantic and overwhelming.

The gas chamber and crematorium was bigger.

The personal impact of this visit was deep.

As we were preparing to leave the grounds of Auschwitz, Tom said to us that, when the camp was operational, around every corner there was death. Now, we have life around every corner. We have people visiting from every nation around the world. And I guess that is the best way for people to be in a place such as this. In the hallowed grounds of these death camps, trees and grass now grow. I saw families visiting together, a baby crying as she was being pushed in a stroller by her parents. Normalacy in a place of extremely strange happenings. I saw people of all walks of life, here, together to bear witness. To remember.

*I found a really excellent website that explores Auschwitz in detail through the eyes of a tourist. If you are interested, I would encourage you to visit the site. http://www.scrapbookpages.com/AuschwitzScrapbook/index.html

Auschwitz Birkenau, entrance.

Auschwitz Birkenau, tracks.

Entrance to Auschwitz

Gates between the cremetoriums at Auschwitz Birkenau. I like to think that the gates remain open to allow the souls of those who died here move freely in their eternal rest. 

Block 24, Auschwitz

Prague

Monday morning we headed to Chopin International Airport to hop on a flight from Warsaw to Prague. We flew Czech Airlines on a small plane with 13 rows for 4 seats! The flight was only an hour and a half. Everything about the journey was smooth and easy.

Landing in Prague, Arlyn had arranged a pick up for us. The driver was there to greet us and then he drove us directly to our accommodations where we were meet by another man who let us into the apartment where we would be staying for the next three nights. The cleaning ladies were still working away when we arrived, as Arlyn had asked for an early check in, but it was great to be able to drop our bags and not have to carry them around Prague while we waited for check in.

We headed out to the local mall in order to get some grub and brought it back to eat for our lunch. Arlyn had also arranged a walking tour of Prague for us to begin at 2pm and last for 4 hours. We met our tour guide outside of our apartment. She was Alena, an older Czech lady, who used to a Flight Attendant. It was stinking hot out, 32 degrees. Alena said that Prague had experienced weather like this last year but other than that it wasn’t typical summer weather.

Our tour began with a walk toward Wenceslas Square. As we walked, Alena began to tell us a bit of the story of Prague and the Czech Republic (or Czechoslovakia as it was called at the time). Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The area was liberated in 1945 by the Soviets and Americans. A Communist government was voted in in 1946. This government was overthrown and a Socialist government took over in 1948. The distinction between the two being, as Alena explained, Communist you have no money and you work, Socialist you have money and you can work but Czech’s didn’t as they were lazy (her words). Although research tells me that the government was still Communist, only it was a one party system after 1948. There was much dissatisfaction and in the late 60s, there was a movement that ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Alena kept repeating that they had received “friendly” help, but that is what they were told to call the military style of help they received. The regime collapsed in 1989. In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved and became the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Our guide then took us to the bottom of Wenceslas square, which is essentially a promenade of shops. We continued through the winding streets of Prague where there are many interesting old buildings to view. We were taking so many pictures of old buildings as there is just so much beauty and character in this city.

We made it to Old Town Square for 3 o’clock, as did a great number of other tourists, where there was a large astronomical clock. This clock was built in 1490. One the hour, Death, represented by a skeleton rings a bell and a few people around him shake their heads no. Above Death, the 12 apostles, led by St. Peter holding a key, spin around, each taking a turn at presenting himself to the crowd of onlookers. After we watched the clock, our guide took us inside the Town Hall, talked to a friend behind the counter, who allowed us to go through the Senate and behind the astronomical clock!. Up a short flight a stairs and flicking a switch to turn on the lights, we were able to see all of the apostles lit up and up close. This was a real treat for us!

Next, we were guided through a glittering and shiny gem shop. I got the sense that our guide would likely make a bit of a profit from the shop if she was able to sell us any of the items. Alas, I am in need of no gems. We did, however, get a sparkling glass of raspberry soda, which was refreshing. The reason that we went through the shop, according to the guide, was that the alleyway that was directly beside it was a very dangerous spot to travel through. We have, however, walked through that alley way since, and it seems no more dangerous than anywhere else in the city.

As we made our way to the Vltava river and Charles Bridge, we continued through busy winding streets. There were a lot of tourist shops and treat shops. One interesting food items, that both Calvin and Abby tried, is called a trdelnik, which is made of rolled dough, wrapped around a stick, then grilled and rolled in sugar and nuts. Once the dough has been cooked, the trdelnik is removed from the stick and the customer has the option of how they would like it filled. Both Calvin and Abby chose to fill it with chocolate. Other options were ice cream, cinnamon sugar, or some savory option. As they enjoyed their trdelnik, we continued on to Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge is a very popular tourist attraction. It was packed with people. Construction started in 1357. King Charles IV commissioned the bridge. For many years, this was the only bridge that connected the two sides of the Vltava river. Currently, many people selling their wares are set up along the bridge. There are statues located on both sides of the bridge, some are religious, some tell a story of part of the history of Prague. We walked the 621 meters to the opposite side of the river. Although there were so many people about, we were still able to get time to pause and take in the beautiful views.

The opposite side of the river continued with the winding and narrow streets. Alena led us to a square, in Vojan Gardens, that was mainly a large fountain with hugh goldfish and families of ducks swimming around. It was lovely to be near water and trees as we were able to get a bit of relief from the sun and heat. As we were sitting near the fountain, we could hear the sounds of an orchestra playing and we followed the sound down a tree lined pathway. The pathway opened up to Wallenstein Palace, the current home of the Czech Senate. There are lovely gardens in front of the palace and a stage was set with a full orchestra playing some lovely music. It was glorious to sit for a bit a listen to the concert that was being performed. Within the gardens was an unusual, man made, stalactites grotto. At the base of this unusual wall were the most beautiful, and large, hydrangeas.

We crossed over the Manosuv bridge toward the end of our tour, which brought us to the Jewish quarter of town and saw the oldest synagogue in town. Our tour wrapped up back at the astronomical clock where we bid Alena farewell. Thankfully, there were many places to eat around the square. We chose one that had an outdoor patio, food, and drink. I chose the Margarita pizza and a local lager. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was playing as we were eating. It was great to sit and enjoy food, drink, good company, and excellent music.

We were all spent after the very hot day and the walking tour. We made our way back to the apartment to update our social media and settle in for the night. We were exhausted.

Tuesday morning we hopped on Tram 22. Our first stop was to find the Czech Transit office so that we could collect our tickets for our overnight train from Vienna back to Warsaw in a couple of weeks. The office was a very strange place, tucked away in an unmarked building that was locked and needed to be unlocked by and employee just to let us in.

I had noticed a Starbucks in the square where we got off of the tram. I was excited to add to my Starbucks City Mug collection by picking up a Prague mug. We hopped back on Tram 22 which took us to the top of the hill and the main entrance of Prague Castle, our goal for the day.

Prague Castle is a gigantic and sprawling mismatch collection of buildings. Beginning in 870 with one building, since then, multiple buildings have been added. The castle covers some 70 000 m2. Tour books tell you that you could spend days visiting and exploring and that you will be joined by numerous other tourists doing the exact same thing as you. Prague Castle was busy. We selected a ticket that included access to a few of the buildings on the ground and set out to our first stop, St. Vitus Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral is a Catholic church and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. It is a beautiful and impressive Gothic Cathedral. Building on this church began in 1344 but was not consecrated until 1929. Upon first entrance to the cathedral, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were in the church. Fortunately, our tickets allowed us to tour by the chapels and to the south end of the church. This thinned the crowds a bit and allowed me to really appreciate the place. Firstly, I noticed the amazingly beautiful stained glass windows. These windows were so impressive in their intricacy and in the tiny pieces of glass that have been used to create them.

The Royal Oratory is a beautiful balcony where kings would address their subjects. The balcony had carved tree branches all around it.

The tomb of St. John of Nepomuk is located at the south end of the cathedral. It is phenomenal and mostly silver. Nepomuk was a priest who became a saint. The sarcophagus is his reburial sight after his canonization.

Also within the St. Vitus is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas. The well known subject of the Christmas Carol was not actually a king until after he died. Wenceslas was the duke of Bohemia in the early 900s. He is the patron saint of the Czech state and is known for his acts of charity and goodness. It is difficult to tell if these acts are the stuff of legend or are based on real events. Wenceslas’ chapel is lined with paintings depicting scenes from his life and from Christ’s life.

Overall, St. Vitus Cathedral is an extremely impressive building. I am always so amazed at the ability of people to conceptualize and build such structures.

Next on our tour was the Old Royal Palace. Inside is Vladislav Hall where all the presidents of the Czech Republic have been sworn in. From this building we were able to gain some very impressive views over Prague. There was an interesting room upstairs with a ceiling painted with multiple crests.

We continued the castle tour over to the Basilica of St. George. This is a Romanesque church with a brick-red facade. It was originally established in the 10th Century. There is a wonderful wooden ceiling and a beautiful altar area. Long and narrow, I was able to walk up one side, take the steps to the altar, then down the other side and out the building once again.

Next stop was Golden Lane. This narrow street was lined with many stunted buildings. The cottages were inhabited until the early 1950s and were originally built in the 16th century. Originally homes for the castle guard’s sharpshooters, they were later inhabited by a variety of craftsmen and women, and artists. We were able to peek into a number of these cottages which were set up as they would have been during different periods of inhabitation. There was a home for a seamstress, for example. Another cottage was set up like an apothecary shop. Above and below these cottages were examples of armours and weapons. Below was an area that showed how prisoners would have been tortured. These artifacts included a stretcher, a cage for a human, spiked neck guides, and the like.

The famous writer, Franz Kafka, stayed with his sister in one of the cottages for a year in 1916. The rest of the cottages are now shops for tourist to visit and spend their money. At the end of Golden Lane, there is a very narrow stairway for all of the tourists to politely and orderly exit. The stairway opened up into a courtyard and a balcony of sorts where we saw more views over Prague. To the left, we were able to descend to the prison where we saw cells and more instruments used as torture devices.

Into the next courtyard over there was a statue of a young nude boy. Some people were rubbing his penis. It seems that many people have done that in the past as his penis was the only part of the statue that shone in a shiny bronze way. Apparently people (young people) like to rub his penis for good luck.

It was time for lunch and we dined at Lobkowicz Palace Cafe, overlooking Prague. We enjoyed a filling lunch. Once we were refreshed, we were ready to continue exploring Prague Castle. This time, it was off to the Southern Gardens. The gardens were beautiful and once again we had exceptional views of Prague. It was then down the Old Castle Steps in order to exit Prague Castle, and down the hill to catch Tram 22 that would take us back to our apartment.

After a long day touring the castle, we took some time to rest and research any other spots we wanted to visit. In the end, we went out for a casual walk through streets of Prague. Sharon stayed home as we wandered around. We had the loose goal of heading toward Wenceslas Square in order to walk the entire length of the square. During our wandering, we saw Man Hanging Out, an art installation of a man hanging by one are way above the winding streets of Prague. This hanging man was meant to be Sigmund Freud by the artist David Cerny. We passed by, no, we stopped in Captain Candy, a fantastic candy shop full of barrels of candy. We each filled a bag with sweets which I enjoyed on my walk, while the others all saved their treats for later. Finally, we wandered along Wenceslas Square, just as it began to rain. Joy of joys, there was a Marks & Spencers along the street. We popped in and I bought some new clothes!

The only thing left to do was head home and seek the comfort of our beds after a long day of wandering, exploring, learning, and walking.

Wednesday was Calvin’s 14th birthday. Happy birthday Calvin! To celebrate, we all headed to the tram and then to the funicular to head to the top of a hill overlooking Prague at Petrin station. We walked around the gardens that were at the top of the hill. Kim, Calvin, and Abby went into the Mirror Maze which they all thought was a waste money.

We all took the elevator up to the top of Petrin Lookout Tower. This tower looked like a mini version of the Eiffel Tower. The tower is a major tourist attraction and gives an excellent view over the city and apparently all the way to the border of Poland. Calvin, Abby, and Arlyn returned to the base via the elevator. Sharon, Kim, and I walked the 299 steps back down. Kim and I stopped at the halfway observation tower to continue with a bit less of a crowded view. We were able to look down and see Arlyn and the kids as they were heading to the park to climb.

Once we all met up again, we walked downhill on winding pathways through an apple and pear orchard and to park. We stopped for lunch at a quaint cafe called St. Martin. I enjoyed a baked goat’s cheese and beet salad which was delicious. Also, I enjoyed a delicious homemade lemonade that was doctored up with oranges, grapefruit, and mint. So good.

Next to the cafe was a wonderful pottery store, we all collected some pottery to take home!

I was very excited to scope out the Outlander filming locations from Season 2. One the way we saw the John Lennon Peace Wall, which is a graffiti wall. Apparently, John Lennon became a hero to the Czechs in the 1980s. We continued along back to the river to the area of town called Kampa. This was the place where part of the Paris street scenes for Outlander were filmed. This also led us back to the Charles Bridge so we were able to cross back to the other side.

For Calvin’s birthday, he wanted to take a paddle boat out on the Vlata. Sharon and I sat at an outdoor patio enjoying a drink while Kim, Arlyn, Abby, and Calvin rented a paddle boat and toured around for an hour or so.

Kim and I decided that we wanted to head out fairly early on Thursday morning. I am so glad that we did. The streets were extremely quiet. There were no people about. We headed out at about 7am, in the pouring rain, to the local Costa for a coffee and to Paul’s for a pain au chocolat.

We walked over a completely empty Charles Bridge, which was a completely fantastic experience. It was so much more enjoyable when we were able to pause and look around without being bumped into by random strangers or nailed with a selfie stick. Directly on the opposite side of the bridge in the Kampa area that I previously mentioned. Since we had looked through a couple of episodes of Outlander the night before, we were really able to see the buildings that had been filmed. It was also great as the area was empty of people too. I wanted to see the stairs that Claire climbed in episode 2 and had done some investigation on Twitter to find the exact location of the steps. It turns out that they were located fairly close to the Czech Transport Office we had visited earlier. Kim and I walked up some steep and cobbled streets to get to the stairs. It turns out that the stairs are located at the base of Prague Castle. We walked through the gates of the castle and went to St. Vitus Cathedral again and enjoyed the sights without the crowds.

We made it back to apartment by about 9am to tidy up and finish packing. We had to check out by 10 o’clock. We all gathered at Costa to sit for an hour and enjoy a drink. We took our last wander around the city, back to the astronomical clock in time for the noon chiming.

Finally, we headed up Wenceslas Square to Rocky O’Reilly’s Irish pub where we enjoyed real Irish home cooking in Prague!

We walked up to the train station, hopped on a bus to airport to make our flight back to Warsaw. We were home around 8pm, ready for rest.

St. Vitus Cathedral

View from Prague Castle

Prague

Soggy view from Prague Castle

Jamie and Claire's Paris

Claire's Stairs