How?

I've been trying to come up with a way to write about Auschwitz so I could relate how truly horrible it was. How can I share information about the death camp that I walked through? How can I tell about all the suffering that occurred there? How can I explain the strange aura that surrounds the place? The truth is, I really can't. So, what I will do is explain what it was like to be on the tour.

For 30 PLN (Polish money, which is about ten USD) per person, we were given a tour guide, a headset, and a bus ride from Auschwitz to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon paying the admission fee, we were ushered into a theater where a graphic film plays describing events at Auschwitz. At the end of the film, everyone is silent. We then left the theatre and our guide took us outside and started the tour.

Much of Auschwitz is like a museum. They have displays behind big glass cases. Our guide walked us through and explained everything in detail. Again, there was way too much information to me to repeat on my blog.

The first thing I noticed when we walked into the "camp" was this sign. I could only imagine what it was like to be a prisoner here knowing that behind this simple wooden sign was a fence with enough electricity to kill a person in less than a second.

Now, everything here seems so normal. This could easily be a community living center or spread out apartment buildings--if you ignored the fences and guard towers. It's hard to look at this place and imagine such horrible things happened.

And this small urn is what little remains of millions murdered at Auschwitz. Millions.

Cyclon gas. A cleaning supply. Something this simple killed millions.

Millions walked into the "showers" and sat their items in a pile thinking they would get them back after they washed up. This left the Nazis in possession of many pairs of glasses...

medical devices...

shoe polish...

suitcases...

shoes...

which the Nazis sold for the "cause." 

The owners of these fine items, were left to sleep on mattresses like this... if they were "fortunate" enough to have a mattress. 

 Other owners were murdered in this very room.

Auschwitz is separated into different camps. After seeing all of the horrible things at Auschwitz I, we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is the view across the street from Birkenau.  

But inside was much less beautiful. There were electric fences again.

This is one of the rail cars they used to bring the prisoners to the camps. 70-80 people or more would be squeezed in this tiny place with no food, water, or toilet for days as they were brought to the camp.

In this spot, one man decided whether they would live a torturous life in the camp, or be sent immediately to slaughter in the crematoriums.

This is what was left of one of the crematoriums after it was destroyed.

These were chimneys from the kitchens. The kitchens didn't produce adequate food for the prisoners. They wasted away from disease, starvation, and excessive labor.

Six or more women were to sleep in this "bed" at night. The ceiling leaked and they were constantly wet from the rain and sweat. 

Horrible is the only word I can use to describe this. It brings a whole new light to what I've been taught in classes, and also brings a whole new light to the injustices humans are capable of. Every time I think of Auschwitz I wonder how? How could people be so awful? How could a person think this was for the greater good? How could they force the prisoners into doing their own dirty work? How? How? How? The list goes on. All I can hope for is that after seeing this I can become a better person, and that others along with me will fight to bring more love into the world instead of hate, anger, or pain.

I'm about to Crack-ow you up!

Poland is a beautiful place. Krakow is my favorite place that I've visited so far. On the bus to Krakow you can see endless fields of lush green grass, indigo outlines of mountains, and small villages so unimposing they almost seem to be part of God's design. While the view on the bus was beautiful the ride became unsettling at times.

We didn't exactly get off to the best start as we left Budapest. The Budapest bus station isn't just large, it's spread out. We bought tickets to ride on an OrangeWays bus, and we couldn't find it anywhere in the terminal. Finally we gazed a long way across a busy street to see an orange bus. With ten minutes until the scheduled departure, we crossed as quickly as we could and stepped onto the bus. The seats were nice with leather and plenty of legroom. A nice bus driver walked by us and asked to see our tickets. He did a double take, and in broken English explained we were on the wrong bus unless we wanted to go to Vienna instead of Krakow. With red faces, we gathered our luggage and started to exit the bus when I realized I had no idea where to go. I asked the bus driver where the other OrangeWays buses were. He pointed in the distance at several white buses.

OrangeWays buses can be... white? The American in me wanted to sue for false advertising.

Bags in hand we scuttled over to the other bus where the bus driver and another man were looking over sheets. The driver looked up at us and I said, "Hello! Is this the bus to Krakow?" The driver nodded and took my tickets to look them over.

"Good morning," said the other man. He was a bit heavy with small eyes and a mustache.

"Good morning," Ty and I replied.

"After the fact," he muttered underneath his breath.

"What?" I asked, not quite catching what he had said.

He rolled his eyes at me and walked off.

Apparently we didn't say "good morning" early enough for his royal highness's satisfaction.

The nice bus driver let us get on the bus and within minutes we had left. This bus was a lot shabbier than the other one, but Ty and I were just thankful we hadn't missed it. It was uneventful with me vacillating between staring out the window and trying to get comfortable enough on Ty's shoulder to sleep. Eventually I noticed a commotion beside me in the aisle. A man was nervously slapping his unconscious wife in the face. One woman loaned him an instrument to measure blood pressure, and two other women were offering water and candy. Considering all of this was happening in another language I can only guess we was a diabetic. After about 45 minutes of dreading the death of the woman across from me she came to.

I had just relaxed when the bus came to a stop at the Polish border. A man in a full camouflage military uniform with sunglasses stepped on the bus and started collecting passports. He snatched my passport from me,  flipped purposefully through the pages, stuffed it into his belt, and continued seizing the passports of others. An endless list of horrifying scenarios played through my mind. I was almost resigned to the fact that a group of American/brunette/woman-named-Kelsie group of Polish military members was going to come onto the bus and sell me into slave labor for twelve years and then let me go so I could later write I book and become a millionare when the bus driver stepped onto the buss and laid all of the passports on the front seat. Since this reality was much better than the torturous one I imagined, I hopped up to retrieve our passports and soon we were--as Willie Nelson says--on the road again.

From the moment we stepped off the bus in Krakow we were in a totally different atmosphere. Krakow is a small town disguised as a massive city. 

The first thing we noticed was a pub with Ty's name on it! We remembered the name so we could try out Ty's special beer later. We placed bets on what it would taste like... my guess was it would be something fruity. ;)

Later that evening we went out to have some traditional Polish food. Ty had chicken with wedges and a salad, I had stuffed dumplings. Such a wonderful meal.

The restaurant we ate in was very cute and quaint.

After we stuffed ourselves in typical tourist fashion, we went to walk around the city square. It wasn't crowded at all, and we were able to see some very beautiful sights. It had just rained, so everything had a shimmer to it.

St. Mary's Cathedral.

To be completely honest, I'm not sure what all of these buildings were named. Ty and I just had a really fun time walking around at night and seeing everything lit up. Our real aim in going to Poland was to see Auschwitz and that was planned for the next day. I'm hoping to have a post up soon about it!

Thanks for taking the time to read!

We went to Hungary, but we didn't go Hungry!

It's taken me a few days to relax from the big excursion Ty and I went on last week! Let me break it down: six days, three countries, eighteen hours on a bus, and four hostels. When we got back, all I wanted to do was sleep! But now that I'm rested, I'd love to share our experience in Budapest with you!
This was a special trip for us because when Ty was young, he did a project in school about Budapest. He knew about the sights, but never had either of us thought--before study abroad--we would ever go to Budapest. We all learned the capitals of the country, but in school, those are just names. When you step off the bus onto some rundown bus stop with people rushing by you speaking in unintelligible words, eating unknown food, it is real.

On our trip we went from Prague to Budapest to Krakow, to Bratislava. This wasn't the most direct route, but it was the cheapest for us, and the timing worked out so I could see my friend from Bratislava.

We started our "real" time in Budapest by finding our Hostel. First, we had to get on public transport. In Budapest, it is VERY regulated. There are people standing everywhere to make sure you have your ticket to get on the subway. (This is very different from Prague where we use the "honor code" and only get checked sporadically.) Then on the subway, we got checked yet again to make sure we had our ticket. On our way out of the subway, wouldn't you know, we get checked AGAIN! In my opinion, if someone manages to sneak past all that security they probably deserve a free ride.

Here's a picture of Ty and some nameless person on the subway.

Once free from the ultra-guarded subway, we found our hostel. I can only describe the owner as interesting. We were walking up the street to the hostel, and--like most places in Europe--it wasn't marked well. Ty approached a pair of men talking in front of a dentist's office and asked if they knew where "Gallery Hostel" was. The owner says, "Yes, I should hope I know where it is. I own it!" He then proceeded to take us inside, up three flights of stairs, and into the hostel area.

I'd like to point out here, that there are times in our travels where  I think: "Wow, am I really doing this?" Especially in moments when I'm following a random Hungarian stranger into a building.

The hostel was a very laid back place to the point of being homey. The owner showed us around and then sat us down in the living area with a map. He told us that he had lived in New York for thirteen years, that he didn't understand cops in the US, and that while it was a pleasure meeting us he hoped that he wouldn't see us again because we should be spending all of our time outside of the hostel and seeing the city.

Our "room" we stayed in.

We stayed in the top part. Luckily, no one was staying in the bed below, so we had the room to ourselves.

The bathroom.

The kitchen we shared with other guests.

The street our hostel was located on. Many of the streets in Hungary look identical.

After our encounter with the colorful hostel owner, we set out to explore the city!

 This is the train station in Budapest. It's abnormally beautiful for a train station. The reason why? The designer of this building also designed the Eiffel Tower! You can read a little more about it here.

Another perk about European cities is all the art on buildings! Budapest was teeming with statues of lions! I'm glad too, because Ty obviously needs to practice his lion face a little more!

The next stop on our walk was the Terror Museum. Many people were tortured in this building because of the communist movement. Cameras are forbidden in the building, so all I have of the inside are some brochures. Basically, people will do anything to reach their goal. However, what one leader or a group of leaders might think is for the "common good" might not be good at all.

And after that, we needed a beer. Just kidding, we didn't get on this "bike," but it would definitely be a good way to travel the city!

 Instead of riding the fancy bike/bar, we walked to Hero Square. Note the picture. My fanny pack also makes for a nice makeshift tripod. Hashtag, fanny pack for the win!

Budapest Castle. It really looks like something from a fairy tale.

Ty in front of the Castle.

This was a cute elephant we saw in front of a restaurant! We took a picture because I know my mom loves elephants!

That night, Ty and I had a really fun experience! We were looking for a restaurant to eat at when we saw this big tent in the park that advertised food and beer. Music was playing from inside and we thought it would be a fun place to have supper. Once inside, we were greeted by a friendly server who suggested a sausage with fries and bread (delicious) and a Hungarian beer. Little did we know that we'd accidentally be attending a concert of a Hungarian rock band! We couldn't understand the words, but the music was quite good!

Our "traditional" Hungarian meal.

With all of the excitement under our belts, and food in our bellies, we made our way back to the hostel to sleep and recharge after such a big day of sightseeing.

The next morning Ty and I had a disagreement. He told me that I'm not spontaneous. To prove him wrong, I got pizza for breakfast. That's spontaneous... right?

That pizza was delicious by the way. We definitely weren't Hungary afterwards. (Like how I slipped that in there? hhaaaa!)

The Danube from the Chain Bridge. I was shocked about how free the bridge was; the railing was minimal to put it lightly. Many places along the river throughout the city either didn't have a rail or the railing was very simple. Shocking considering how fast the Danube flows!

After walking across the Chain Bridge, we made the trek up to the palace. From the palace, we had a lovely view of Budapest.

This is Budapest's parliament building. We took this shot on the way back along the bridge.

Here I am in front of one of the many fountains!

 Now, some of you might not know this, but my husband is spoiled rotten. Which means, he wanted Hard Rock Cafe. Which also means that he got Hard Rock Cafe. But, I'm not complaining. It was tasty. :)

After walking everywhere for a day and a half, we were exhausted! As a way to relax we went to one of Budapest's natural thermal spring pools. Some pools were very warm and some were cold. The one we stayed in felt like bathwater. We had fun playing in the pool, and I had fun getting a tan!

After our excursion to the pool we had to eat. Our hostel owner had told us this was the most beautiful McDonald's. It's located in the train station. The food was what you would expect, but the view was very breathtaking! 

Once we finished our "healthy" meal we decided to walk to the parliament building. It's situated adjacent to the Danube, so from our location we could see the palace lights as well as the parliament building lit up.

The palace from across the river.

Ty and I standing by the illuminated building. I was taken aback by how beautiful the building was! 

Once we were  finished at parliament we made our way back to the hostel, only stopping once so Ty could support this poor homeless man. He looked really cold! ;)

The next morning we hopped on the bus to Krakow and said goodbye to Hungary!