Krakow

From Vilnius we took a bus and then a connecting train to Krakow. I had not much knowledge about the city other than that we were going because it was near to Auschwitz. We arrived at night so it was hard to really see the city, but as soon as we got to our hotel and started to wander the streets you could immediately tell that this was a lovely city. Wc came out onto the central town square which was bustling with touristy night life. After a long day we sat down for some desert and drinks and to soak in the people. What a beautiful city backdrop we got in the old town square.
We really only had a couple of days in the city, so the first day we hired a driver to get to Auschwitz and Wileliczka Salt Mine. The driver flew down the roads like a bat out of hell, but it seemed that he was not so unusual among the other drivers we encountered. We didn't get much chance to see the countryside as it whizzed by, but what we did see looked very nice and reminded me a bit of Wisconsin.
We arrived at Auschwitz and there was a huge line of people waiting to get in. Through the guide we were put into the groups line, which entered fairly quickly. You could go in as an individual, but I think it was good to get in as a group. Once inside we had a guide who took the group around to various buildings and sites. It was as you might expect, sobering and somber. Some of the statistics of individuals who arrived were shocking even though I have read some things about the camp before. Besides gassing many people upon arrival the Nazis did many things that dehumanized the Jews and others who were there. In one room there was preserved piles of hair that was cut from those who arrived and then used for various ropes, rugs, and socks. The socks bit really got me, how could you wear those socks knowing that its made with human hair?
After a short break we drove to Birkenau to finish the tour of the camps. This was also extremely somber. The tracks leading into the camp is still there along with the guard tower and some box cars. Our guide told us that roughly 8000 people a day would arrive, about half of which would be immediately gassed. He said sometimes the demand on the crematorium was so much that the people who were going for "showers" would have to wait in the nearby woods until the crematorium could catch-up.
After spending most of the day touring the camps, we were more than ready to see something else. In researching a bit about the area I found out that we would be near the Wileliczka Salt Mine which looked super cool. A lot of tours in the area do both the camps and the mine either in one packed day or two seperate mornings. We packed it in and got to the mine at about 3pm. The mine was in operation until sometime in the 1970's, but long before that miners had begun to carve things into the salt. Now there are statues, corridors, pools, and what can only be described as a cathedral of salt carved into the rocks. Even though we were there for just a few hours we only saw a tiny fraction of the overall caves, but they were really unique and beautiful. It was also kind of a weird feeling to know that we were 135 meters below the surface. I heard from some other people in the group that there is a similar place near Salzburg, so if i ever get there I will have to check it out.

At the end of the day we returned to Krakow and the old town square for a few more beers and deserts. As we were watching the sunset my friend Brian remarked on how Krakow had been one of the few places to escape bombing during WWII, which would explain the old towns unique feel. Aya commented on how the per capita gdp in Poland was around 10,000 USD and I just couldn't believe it. Everything in the city seemed so clean, tasty, and mostly well kept.

The next day Aya and I were leaving in the afternoon to get to the airport where we would stay for an early morning flight to Amsterdam, so we only had the morning to see some more of the city. So we had a slow morning of writing postcards over breakfast before we met up with our friends Brian and Bethany. We ended up going to Wawel Cathedral, which I had seen on my run around the green loop park surrounding old town. I had read that at the Cathedral there were a set of dragon bones, so I had to check it out. Sure enough, above the cathedral entrance were the dragon bones. They kind of looked like whale bones to me, which is one of the things they are speculated to actually be. After we took a quick tour of the inside of the Cathedral and went to the dragons den, a cave under the cathedral. From there we did not have much time left, so we grabbed lunch at the worst Mexican restaurant in Krakow, then headed for the train station. It was a little sad to say goodbye to Brian and Bethany as we had just spent the last 2 weeks or so traveling around with them. I'm sure we'll take a trip with them again.