From Prague we moved on to Cracow, Poland. we arrived just around dinner time and the Easter Markets were still going strong. So Laura and I went over to check things out. Most of what they were selling were the same as in Pragu
e but some of the food they were making wsa a bit different. Laura and I stopped at this stand that was cooking up some great pork and veggie dishes, it tasted amazing! After a long day on the train it really hit the spot. There was also a stand cooking up waffles so of course we couldn't resist that one either! The weather wasn't the greatestwhile we were there but Luara and I still managed to get out and explore the town a bit. Cracow, along with many other towns we've visited, had a castle that we went to see. In the middle of the castles courtyard there was this huge cathedral that was amazing! We went inside to take a peek and it being Easter monday, there was a service going on. It was all in Polish b
ut it was nice to get some Church time in. What was really great was the men's choir that was singing from the balcony at the back. It sounded so great in that church. For the rest of the day we wandered town a bit more and found a bagel shop, which are few and far between here in Europe. So we stopped in there for lunch! Cracow has a Jewish quarter called, Kazimerz. When WWII broke out there were some 70,000 Jews living in that area. They were eventually all sent over to concentration camps, most likely to Auschwitz that was only an hour and a half bus ride away. Our second day in Cracow we went out to see Auschwitz. The cloudy, rainy weather almost felt appropriate for our visit there. What I hadn't realized is that there are actually 2 camps in that area, Auschwitz I was the first one. It was originally built for Polish prisoners of war but as the war progressed it expanded and used to house the Jews, gypsies, an
d others that were sent to concentration camps. Auschwitz I is where we found the famous sign that reads, 'Arbeit Macht Frei'. The second camp that is only 3 km away is called Birkenau, Auschwitz II. It was several times larger than the first one and the conditions at this camp were much worse. At the first camp the barrocks were made of brick and were somewhat insulated, at Birkenau the people slept in wooden barrocks that were originally used to keep horses in. The tour we took through this was really interesting and I had learned a lot about WWII and Auschwitz that I had no idea about before. One thing that really stuck out for me was that the Nazi's had kept and re-used everything that they acuired from the people who arrived at the camp. Most of the Jews that arrived at the camp were under the impression that they were just being relocated so they had packed all of their most valuable possessions, unfortunately when they arrived at the camp their luggage was confiscated from them. There were warehouses on the camp site where prisoners were put to work and sort through all of the luggage. Valuable things like jewlerey were sent back to Germany and other items such as shoes, brushes, glasses, pot&pans, everything else was store in the warehouse. 
The museum we visited had rooms full of this things that were kept. What hit me the most was that the Nazi's had kept the hair they had cut from the people who were gassed in the gas chambers. Apparently it was quicker and easier for them to cut the hair off the people after they had been killed. A portion of the warehouse was full of sacks filled with human hair to be sent to textile companies to make cloth from. In the museum there was a display of such fabric that was made from the hair sent from the camp. On our tour we also saw what was left of the main gas chambers and crematoriums as most of it was destroyed by the Nazi's at the end of the war in an attempt to cover up what they were doing there. This picture on the right is of the train tracks where people were first off loaded and where 'selection' took place. That's where the decision was made weather a person was fit enough to stay and work in the camp. Most elderly, pregnant women and children were sent directly to the gas chambers that were located at the end of these tracks. It was definately an educational experience to say the least. That evening Laura and I just spent some time on the net and relaxing. We head back to Germany, next stop... Berlin!
e but some of the food they were making wsa a bit different. Laura and I stopped at this stand that was cooking up some great pork and veggie dishes, it tasted amazing! After a long day on the train it really hit the spot. There was also a stand cooking up waffles so of course we couldn't resist that one either! The weather wasn't the greatestwhile we were there but Luara and I still managed to get out and explore the town a bit. Cracow, along with many other towns we've visited, had a castle that we went to see. In the middle of the castles courtyard there was this huge cathedral that was amazing! We went inside to take a peek and it being Easter monday, there was a service going on. It was all in Polish b
ut it was nice to get some Church time in. What was really great was the men's choir that was singing from the balcony at the back. It sounded so great in that church. For the rest of the day we wandered town a bit more and found a bagel shop, which are few and far between here in Europe. So we stopped in there for lunch! Cracow has a Jewish quarter called, Kazimerz. When WWII broke out there were some 70,000 Jews living in that area. They were eventually all sent over to concentration camps, most likely to Auschwitz that was only an hour and a half bus ride away. Our second day in Cracow we went out to see Auschwitz. The cloudy, rainy weather almost felt appropriate for our visit there. What I hadn't realized is that there are actually 2 camps in that area, Auschwitz I was the first one. It was originally built for Polish prisoners of war but as the war progressed it expanded and used to house the Jews, gypsies, an
d others that were sent to concentration camps. Auschwitz I is where we found the famous sign that reads, 'Arbeit Macht Frei'. The second camp that is only 3 km away is called Birkenau, Auschwitz II. It was several times larger than the first one and the conditions at this camp were much worse. At the first camp the barrocks were made of brick and were somewhat insulated, at Birkenau the people slept in wooden barrocks that were originally used to keep horses in. The tour we took through this was really interesting and I had learned a lot about WWII and Auschwitz that I had no idea about before. One thing that really stuck out for me was that the Nazi's had kept and re-used everything that they acuired from the people who arrived at the camp. Most of the Jews that arrived at the camp were under the impression that they were just being relocated so they had packed all of their most valuable possessions, unfortunately when they arrived at the camp their luggage was confiscated from them. There were warehouses on the camp site where prisoners were put to work and sort through all of the luggage. Valuable things like jewlerey were sent back to Germany and other items such as shoes, brushes, glasses, pot&pans, everything else was store in the warehouse. 
The museum we visited had rooms full of this things that were kept. What hit me the most was that the Nazi's had kept the hair they had cut from the people who were gassed in the gas chambers. Apparently it was quicker and easier for them to cut the hair off the people after they had been killed. A portion of the warehouse was full of sacks filled with human hair to be sent to textile companies to make cloth from. In the museum there was a display of such fabric that was made from the hair sent from the camp. On our tour we also saw what was left of the main gas chambers and crematoriums as most of it was destroyed by the Nazi's at the end of the war in an attempt to cover up what they were doing there. This picture on the right is of the train tracks where people were first off loaded and where 'selection' took place. That's where the decision was made weather a person was fit enough to stay and work in the camp. Most elderly, pregnant women and children were sent directly to the gas chambers that were located at the end of these tracks. It was definately an educational experience to say the least. That evening Laura and I just spent some time on the net and relaxing. We head back to Germany, next stop... Berlin!
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