We woke up at 7:15 am and got ready for a day of exploring Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mines, both of which are outside the city of Kraków. We went down to have the hotel continental breakfast and were done by 9 am. Our driver for today picked us up at 9:15 am sharp, as previously arranged. We drove about 75 minutes to Auschwitz which is about 70 km west of Kraków.
Auschwitz is notorious in history as being the deadliest concentration and extermination camp set up by the German Nazi regime - over 1.1 million people are estimated to have been systematically murdered at this site of which 90% were Jews. Essentially, of the 6 million Jews that were murdered during Holocaust, 1 in 6 was killed at Auschwitz. The original camp Auschwitz-I was set up on the outskirts of Kraków, initially as only a concentration camp where Jews, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish dissidents, gypsies and anyone else not deemed fit to live in the eyes of the Nazi regime were imprisoned and made to work. Then the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/extermination camp (about 20 times bigger than the original camp) was set up a couple of kilometers away from the original concentration camp. The first part of our tour was a guided tour of the original Auschwitz-I concentration camp spanning almost 2 hours. The second part was a walk through what remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
The tour started after we passed through the notorious gates that have the German inscription "Arbeit Macht Frei" on them which means "Work sets (you) free". The lies of the German Nazis started right at the gates. We walked through barracks of prisoners that showcased the atrocious and inhumane living conditions. Real pictures of innocent civilians showing different parts of life at the camp paint a heart wrenching picture of this mass murdering criminal site. Most people who arrived at the concentration camp, mostly Jews, were rounded up from all over Europe and sent to these camps by train. If they arrived to Auschwitz-I, they were "sorted" by a doctor into healthy and fit to work versus weak/sick and unable to work. Most women, children, elderly and disabled people got sorted in the unable to work category. The healthy were given tasks to carry out at the camps whereas the weak/sick were sent to gas chambers. About 75% people got categorized as not fit to work. If they were Jews and arrived at Auschwitz-Berkinau, they weren't even sorted and most of them were sent directly to gas chambers. Getting sorted into the healthy category did not spare you either. These workers died within a few months as well after suffering from exhaustion and starvation.
To make sure that the people about to be murdered did not panic, they were told that they were going for a shower for disinfection and de-lousing before being given accommodations. They left behind their luggage (one suitcase per person with their name and address written on it) that they had brought with them from their home countries. All cherished memories of a life reduced to a suitcase and then taken away. People were asked to take off their clothes outside and go inside for the shower and about 700 people were pushed in one shower. Poisonous gas cans were thrown into these gas chambers from holes in the roof and the innocent people inside died in a few minutes. Despite concrete walls, screams and moans of the victims could be heard outside. After that, sonderkommandos wearing gas masks dragged out the dead bodies and cut off hair, removed artificial limbs, glasses and any dental work where precious metal had been used. The bodies were then burnt in crematorium and the ashes thrown in rivers or used for fertilization. Hearing about the heartless and systematic killing method is overwhelming enough but seeing piles upon piles upon piles of shoes, glasses, women's hair, artificial limbs, hairbrushes and children's clothes can move anyone to tears. These were people who hadn't done anything wrong but had their lives taken away because of the Nazi belief that they were a superior race and should not let the so-called inferior races survive. The Nazis then proceeded to use the women's hair to weave carpets! The holocaust is definitely one of the lowest points in human history and should never be forgotten so that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure that no human regime is capable of repeating such horrors again.
After witnessing the ugly history of holocaust, we drove on to our next stop, the Wieliczka Salt Mines. After having walked in the hot scorching sun, we were exhausted and fell asleep in the air conditioned car. Just before the Salt Mines tour, we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant picked by our tour driver. The restaurant was in a hotel and the entire facility seemed like it was built last week. Everything was brand new and the food was amazing. We ordered a 4-cheese pizza and penne pasta. We got half the pizza packed for dinner and finished off with some delicious tiramisu and latte.
The Wieliczka Salt Mines have been the coolest experience of our trip so far, both literally and figuratively. The tour started after our group descended about 50 flight of stairs (380 steps to be exact) to reach about 135 meters below the ground. That was the first level of the salt mine. We saw a total of three levels, each one beneath the previous one. We followed what is called the tourist route which is a meagre 2 kilometers when compared with the total length of routes in this salt mine - 300 km! At its deepest point, the mine is over 300 meters deep. Everything inside the mine is made of salt and all structures are primarily wooden since wood resists the corrosive effect of salt better than any metal. There are scores of intricate statues, all made from salt. There is a giant statue dedicated to the Polish scientist Copernicus, there are statues commemorating the two brothers who built most of the statues, there is a statue of Pope John Paul the second and then there are 3 surviving chapels! There were a total of 30 chapels but only 3 have been excavated. Then there are statues depicting miners at work - burning methane, working the pulleys to move cylindrical blocks of salt up and down the mine or tending to a horse - there are also statues of dwarfs. Every statue is made of salt. Even all the floors are made of salt. There was also a very majestic looking lake, filled not with water but with a completely saturated salt solution (called brine). One of the chapels is probably the size of a football stadium and we were surprised to find out that it holds active Sunday mass every week and because of its excellent acoustics, it even hosts musical concerts! The air inside the mine is so fresh with just the right amount of humidity that people with respiratory ailments come here to spend time and usually get better very quickly. After this unique experience, thankfully we didn't have to climb back those 60 flights of stairs (we went down another 10 or so during the tour) and instead took an elevator back up to the ground. We exited the mine a few blocks away from the original entry point and walked through the scenic green gardens back to the main building.
Then our tour driver dropped us off in Kraków, at the main post office. We collected our tickets for tomorrow's overnight train from Kraków to Prague and then took a cab back to our hotel. We had ordered these tickets online about a month back but they had to be picked up in person. After reaching our hotel, we relaxed for a bit and planned our day of sightseeing Kraków tomorrow. Then we had the leftover pizza. Samia has already fallen asleep and I'm going to do the same now since we have a very packed day tomorrow! Till the next update, take care and goodbye!
Auschwitz is notorious in history as being the deadliest concentration and extermination camp set up by the German Nazi regime - over 1.1 million people are estimated to have been systematically murdered at this site of which 90% were Jews. Essentially, of the 6 million Jews that were murdered during Holocaust, 1 in 6 was killed at Auschwitz. The original camp Auschwitz-I was set up on the outskirts of Kraków, initially as only a concentration camp where Jews, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish dissidents, gypsies and anyone else not deemed fit to live in the eyes of the Nazi regime were imprisoned and made to work. Then the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/extermination camp (about 20 times bigger than the original camp) was set up a couple of kilometers away from the original concentration camp. The first part of our tour was a guided tour of the original Auschwitz-I concentration camp spanning almost 2 hours. The second part was a walk through what remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
The tour started after we passed through the notorious gates that have the German inscription "Arbeit Macht Frei" on them which means "Work sets (you) free". The lies of the German Nazis started right at the gates. We walked through barracks of prisoners that showcased the atrocious and inhumane living conditions. Real pictures of innocent civilians showing different parts of life at the camp paint a heart wrenching picture of this mass murdering criminal site. Most people who arrived at the concentration camp, mostly Jews, were rounded up from all over Europe and sent to these camps by train. If they arrived to Auschwitz-I, they were "sorted" by a doctor into healthy and fit to work versus weak/sick and unable to work. Most women, children, elderly and disabled people got sorted in the unable to work category. The healthy were given tasks to carry out at the camps whereas the weak/sick were sent to gas chambers. About 75% people got categorized as not fit to work. If they were Jews and arrived at Auschwitz-Berkinau, they weren't even sorted and most of them were sent directly to gas chambers. Getting sorted into the healthy category did not spare you either. These workers died within a few months as well after suffering from exhaustion and starvation.
To make sure that the people about to be murdered did not panic, they were told that they were going for a shower for disinfection and de-lousing before being given accommodations. They left behind their luggage (one suitcase per person with their name and address written on it) that they had brought with them from their home countries. All cherished memories of a life reduced to a suitcase and then taken away. People were asked to take off their clothes outside and go inside for the shower and about 700 people were pushed in one shower. Poisonous gas cans were thrown into these gas chambers from holes in the roof and the innocent people inside died in a few minutes. Despite concrete walls, screams and moans of the victims could be heard outside. After that, sonderkommandos wearing gas masks dragged out the dead bodies and cut off hair, removed artificial limbs, glasses and any dental work where precious metal had been used. The bodies were then burnt in crematorium and the ashes thrown in rivers or used for fertilization. Hearing about the heartless and systematic killing method is overwhelming enough but seeing piles upon piles upon piles of shoes, glasses, women's hair, artificial limbs, hairbrushes and children's clothes can move anyone to tears. These were people who hadn't done anything wrong but had their lives taken away because of the Nazi belief that they were a superior race and should not let the so-called inferior races survive. The Nazis then proceeded to use the women's hair to weave carpets! The holocaust is definitely one of the lowest points in human history and should never be forgotten so that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure that no human regime is capable of repeating such horrors again.
After witnessing the ugly history of holocaust, we drove on to our next stop, the Wieliczka Salt Mines. After having walked in the hot scorching sun, we were exhausted and fell asleep in the air conditioned car. Just before the Salt Mines tour, we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant picked by our tour driver. The restaurant was in a hotel and the entire facility seemed like it was built last week. Everything was brand new and the food was amazing. We ordered a 4-cheese pizza and penne pasta. We got half the pizza packed for dinner and finished off with some delicious tiramisu and latte.
The Wieliczka Salt Mines have been the coolest experience of our trip so far, both literally and figuratively. The tour started after our group descended about 50 flight of stairs (380 steps to be exact) to reach about 135 meters below the ground. That was the first level of the salt mine. We saw a total of three levels, each one beneath the previous one. We followed what is called the tourist route which is a meagre 2 kilometers when compared with the total length of routes in this salt mine - 300 km! At its deepest point, the mine is over 300 meters deep. Everything inside the mine is made of salt and all structures are primarily wooden since wood resists the corrosive effect of salt better than any metal. There are scores of intricate statues, all made from salt. There is a giant statue dedicated to the Polish scientist Copernicus, there are statues commemorating the two brothers who built most of the statues, there is a statue of Pope John Paul the second and then there are 3 surviving chapels! There were a total of 30 chapels but only 3 have been excavated. Then there are statues depicting miners at work - burning methane, working the pulleys to move cylindrical blocks of salt up and down the mine or tending to a horse - there are also statues of dwarfs. Every statue is made of salt. Even all the floors are made of salt. There was also a very majestic looking lake, filled not with water but with a completely saturated salt solution (called brine). One of the chapels is probably the size of a football stadium and we were surprised to find out that it holds active Sunday mass every week and because of its excellent acoustics, it even hosts musical concerts! The air inside the mine is so fresh with just the right amount of humidity that people with respiratory ailments come here to spend time and usually get better very quickly. After this unique experience, thankfully we didn't have to climb back those 60 flights of stairs (we went down another 10 or so during the tour) and instead took an elevator back up to the ground. We exited the mine a few blocks away from the original entry point and walked through the scenic green gardens back to the main building.
Then our tour driver dropped us off in Kraków, at the main post office. We collected our tickets for tomorrow's overnight train from Kraków to Prague and then took a cab back to our hotel. We had ordered these tickets online about a month back but they had to be picked up in person. After reaching our hotel, we relaxed for a bit and planned our day of sightseeing Kraków tomorrow. Then we had the leftover pizza. Samia has already fallen asleep and I'm going to do the same now since we have a very packed day tomorrow! Till the next update, take care and goodbye!
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