Arbeit Macht Frei

November 11, the day we arrived in Krakow at 6 am, was coincidentally Polish Independence Day.  This meant a plethora of the red and white Polish flags in the city.  It also meant a lot of shops and restaurants were closed. 

Kirsten and I weren't as affected by the closure of stores because we had another destination in mind.  At 10 am, we met our tour group to Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Seventy kilometers and about 90 minutes later, we disembarked from our charter bus.  I expected more austere sights, but in a sick way it almost could have passed for dorms or school buildings. 

We met our local tour guide and diligently followed her around for the next two hours.  I had to really concentrate on what she said, because her English was good but heavily accented.  I have noticed that you can't "zone out"  when listening to accented English.  Otherwise, it starts to sound like another foreign language. 

Nothing that I can write will do the horrors of this place justice.  The most poignant moment of the Auschwitz 1 tour was right at the end.  We walked into the dark, narrow and long cement room with trepidation and curiosity.  It was the former gas chamber.  I could see small square holes in the ceiling, which Cyclon B was dropped through in order to kill the unaware people. 

Then, we moved into the next room.  This is where the crematoria were housed.  Auschwitz 1's facilities were miniscule compared to Birkenau's.  I was really moved by standing in those two rooms.  The lit candles and flowers added to the sadness of being in a place where people were killed for their religion and nationality.  It's impossible for me to fathom what would possess a human being to do this to another human being.  Even though I am neither Jewish nor Polish, I empathized greatly. 

After an hour and a half at Auschwitz 1, we took the quick jaunt to Auschwitz 2, also known as Birkenau.  There was also an Auschwitz 3 in the same area, but there is not really anything left to it, so tour guides do not even bother going there. 

The majority of Birkenau was destroyed in a desperate attempt by the Nazis to cover their tracks.  We only got to spend 30 minutes there, but we got to climb the stairs up to the watchtower.  From up there, you can see the vast wasteland of creepy brick chimneys and look directly down on the infamous railroad tracks.

After a nap on the bus ride back, all three of us took our first shower in 2 days.  It was, as the majority of my showers are these days, refreshing.  Then we walked down the street to a cozy underground restaurant. 

Although they ended being out of a lot of dishes, it was a great traditional Polish dinner.  The drinks were terrific, the onion soup was delicious, the meat pierogis were scrumptious and the potato pancakes with sour cream sauce and mushrooms were fantastic.  As you may have noticed, my culinary journey is becoming more and more uninhibited.  This is not to say I'd be up for haggis, but I'm eating meats and vegetables I wouldn't normally back in the states.  And they're not all that bad!