Auschwitz and Birkenau

This will be a difficult post to write, and to read; it was certainly a difficult day, but one we don’t regret.  While planning our trip through central Europe with our friend Nicole, the three of us had agreed to tour Auschwitz while we were in Poland.  Nicole arranged for a private guide who would take us through the original Auschwitz I camp in the morning, and the expanded Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp in the afternoon.  The tour included a car and driver to take us from Krakow to Oświęcim, the city where the camps were formed.  The drive was 70 minutes, and our driver played a documentary video showing the interview of a Soviet army photographer who was attached to one of the units that first reached Auschwitz.  It was much more raw and devastating than what we had previously seen in American documentaries and films about Auschwitz.  Eventually, we all had to look out the windows and simply listen to him; the photographs were horrific.  We were all wondering silently whether or not we were prepared for what we were going to face.

Krakow

After Budapest, the next stop on our Central European Tour was Krakow, Poland. We took a 6 hour bus ride from Budapest to Krakow, which Nicole had booked before she left. She joked that her confirmation email either said we were booked for 3 seats to Krakow, or she had just purchased an organ grinder monkey. So when they let us on the bus, were were already in a good mood. We had a rest break in Slovakia, which was on the Euro, and required one to use the bathroom. After running around getting change and then waiting in line to go, the bus was already running when Lana finally got back on the bus. It was a very pretty drive, and a much more comfortable bus than we'd been on in other parts of the world (Bolivia we're looking at you).

In Krakow, Nicole had arranged for a two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, in the old town district.  After settling our bags there, we explored town a bit, found a grocery store, and stocked up for making our own breakfasts for the next several days.  After eating both lunch and dinner, we knew Polish food was wonderful, but we also knew our only healthy meals were going to be the breakfasts we’d cook for ourselves.

Postcard: Krakow

Parade in Krakow, Poland

Frequently Asked Friday: Best Meals?

Anyone who knows us knows we travel on our stomachs. And we certainly ate enough this year for some weight gain. So the question is, was it worth it? And if so, what was the best meal you ate? 

First of all, it was worth it. There is some work to be done to undo the damage of our consumption in the last year, but it’s ok. Most of the time the experience outweighed any caloric overload in the decision-making process.  But we couldn’t narrow it down to one meal, as we each had some pretty solid contenders that came to mind as soon as we started thinking about it.  These are in chronological rather than ranked order, as we couldn’t choose one favorite.