Poland!

On July 5th Szilvi, Lajos, and I got on a bus at 7:30am to go to Krakow. Brimming with excitement over the upcoming adventure, I was much too excited to sleep on the bus. Sarkad is located in the Great Plains of Hungary, which basically means everything is really flat and there are fields everywhere, much like Ohio. However, one difference is that there are a lot of fields of sunflowers here in addition to wheat, corn, and hay/ straw. Most of the way there I admired the fields and listened to music. Unfortunately our bus drivers got lost a few times on the way there, so it took longer than expected. Once we reached northern Hungary and entered Slovakia it was much hillier. 

Castle ruins we passed on our drive through Slovakia

Here I am at the top! 

At around 5pm we arrived in Zakopane, Poland. This city is used by a lot of tourists for skiing in winter, but they also have a lot of tourists in the summer as well.  The place was brimming with people while we were there. We only had an hour to spend there before we needed to get back on the bus, so we headed towards the funicular so we could visit the top of the mountain. It was lovely up there and we could see the Tatra mountains and Zakopane down below us. There were also a lot of stalls selling food and other souvenirs, and a large bungee jumping contraption that looked frightening, but the girls who tried it seemed to enjoy themselves.

A picture of one of the girls bungee jumping

We got back on the bus and finally arrived in Krakow at around 10, although we got lost trying to find our hotel. We stayed in Hotel Studenckie, which looked like it was a dorm that they were allowing tourist groups to use over the summer. The hotel had teamed up with a restaurant called Eden, so we ate at Eden for breakfast and dinner every day. They served us dinner when we arrived, although by that time I think most people wanted to go to bed instead of eat. the food was good, and then we were free to go to our rooms. While we were there I shared a room with a woman named Andi. She didn't speak any English, but we got along fine. She was very nice. 

Divine Mercy Sanctuary 

The next morning we were up at 7 for breakfast. Then we hopped on the bus to go visit Divine Mercy Sanctuary, a Catholic church that has a Hungarian chapel underneath the main church. The bus drivers got lost on the way there, but we made it safe and sound. The chapel was lovely with beautiful mosaics of Hungarian and other European saints. After we were told a bit about the chapel, we had an hour to look around the church. We went upstairs to the main church and there was mass going on, so I stayed for mass while Szilvi and Lajos went up to the top of the tower. There were a lot of confessionals lining the sides of the church, so I went and asked one of the priests if he spoke English. He didn't, but he showed me to a priest who did speak English so I was able to have confession, which I haven't been able to do since moving to Hungary (no priests here that I've met speak English, and I don't speak enough Hungarian yet). Szilvi and Lajos came to get me, and we went back to the bus. 

One of the mosaics in the Hungarian Chapel 

Cloth Hall in Main Market Square

We then were taken to Krakow's Old Town. This place is absolutely stunning. The building are beautiful, and there is an incredible atmosphere there. We stopped to listen to a trumpet playing outside of the tower in St. Mary's Cathedral, and then walked over towards the Cloth Hall.  From there we walked to Jagiellonian University Museum: Collgium Maius, where we watched a clock show at 1pm-- when the clock struck one a procession of statues made their way around the clock while a song was playing. It was interesting. 

After that, we went inside the Cloth Hall for a few minutes, then went inside St. Mary's Cathedral for a few minutes. They were having mass though, so we couldn't stay long.

St. Mary's Cathedral in the Main Market Square

Then we were on our way to Auschwitz. Auschwitz is only around 70km from Krakow, but it took us 2 hours to get there because the bus drivers got lost again. Thankfully I took advantage of the time to take a nap. 

Entrance to Auschwitz I

We arrived at Auschwitz and prepared for our tour. I found an English tour a few minutes into our Hungarian tour, so that was helpful. I'm not sure I can find words to describe what it is like to walk through an area where millions of people lost their lives due to racism and greed. We walked by rooms full of hair cut off of the women after they were murdered, empty cans of the gas used in the gas chambers, their plundered belongs, including glasses, shoes, suitcases, pots and pans, the childrens' toys. It was quite moving. 

Hair brushes and combs stolen from the victims. These are only the ones that were left when the camp was liberated. 

I learned that the majority of the Jews murdered at Auschwitz were Hungarian. I learned that they would use the hair of murdered Jewish women to make rugs for Germany. It is horrific to imagine that anyone would be willing to do that to another human being. During my tour I also saw the starvation cell where St. Maximilliam Kolbe volunteered to take the place of a man who had a wife and children. He survived for two weeks without any water or food, and then the SS gave him a lethal injection. There is still a candle in there that St. Pope John Paul II placed in there in St. Maximillian's memory.  

A gas chamber

We saw a gas chamber, where victims were told they would receive a shower before being killed in minutes by cyanide gas. Then their bodies would be placed in a furnace (which we also saw). We learned that there were instances that they had too many bodies to put in the furnace, so they would pile the bodies up outside and set them on fire. Polish people who lived nearby apparently wrote to the Allied countries, but they supposedly didn't take action because it wasn't a military base. However, if they did bomb the camp, they would have just killed more Jews, so I'm not sure what should have been done.


After touring Auschwitz I, we clambered back on the bus to be taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the second Auschwitz camp that was built later on when they couldn't hold all the victims any longer.

Entrance to Auschwitz- Birkenau 

Auschwitz-Birkenau is almost twice the size of Auschwitz I. It help a lot more victims, and even more people were murdered there than the other camp. We walked through the entrance, the same one shown in Schindler's List, and could see the barracks, guard towers, and the bleakness of this second camp. We were shown one of the barracks. Apparently they were originally made to hold 42 horses, but instead 400 prisoners were forced to squeeze in there every night.

Barracks were 400 inmates were forced to sleep

We were also shown the toilets the victims had to use, and told they were given 10 seconds in the morning and 10 seconds after work to use the bathroom. If they didn't comply, obviously there would be violence as a result. 

Following this, we climbed to the top of the entrance of the camp. There were just barracks in every direction. It's impossible not to feel despair, anger, and disappointment in the human race after leaving Auschwitz. 

Toilets for the victims

I have heard people before question whether the Holocaust really happened or not. I find that view offensive and simply ridiculous given all the evidence in the contrary, including the eye witness accounts of victims, but I think it would be impossible for anyone to question the reality of the Holocaust after visiting the concentration camp. It was truly a worthwhile experience, and I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to go there while I was in Poland.



Following our tour of Auschwitz, we went back to our hotel and had dinner. I had some Polish beer during dinner, and I must say that it was quite enjoyable! Considering how much I normally dislike beer I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it.

A statue carved from salt of St. JPII 

The next morning we started off our day by touring the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The mine is full of impressive carvings made from salt. It's a neat place! When taking the tour you walk around 1.5 miles, and the deepest part you are 135 meters underground. You also have the joy of walking down around 800 stairs, but thankfully an elevator takes everyone back up to the top.

After our trip to the Salt Mine, we went back to Krakow to Wawel Castle Hill. It is so beautiful! We toured Wawel Cathedral. Luckily I was able to get an English audio guide for this part, and I learned a lot about Polish saints, royalty, artists and writers, and had an absolutely lovely time. I love exploring beautiful churches, so it was fantastic. I climbed up to the bell tower, visited the crypt, went into the St. JPII chapel, and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Wawel Cathedral

After touring Wawel Cathedral we went on a bus ride through the Jewish Quarter of the city. We stopped outside the current synagogue, drove past Schindler's factory, and probably saw other things, but since I was tired and couldn't understand the tour guide, I took advantage of the opportunity to take a nap. Then we were taken back to the Old Town, and had free time to do whatever we wanted in the city. Szilvi, Lajos, Andi, and I went back to Cloth Hall to get a few souvenirs. I bought gifts for each of my parents, and I'm excited to give the gifts to them in Ireland! I'm also excited to shop for my sisters while I'm in Rome.

We then stopped at a confectioners shop to get some chocolate and found a cafe where we could sit outside in the Main Market Square, quench our thirst, and rest our feet a bit.  Once we were feeling better, we toured a few churches. They were absolutely stunning! Krakow is apparently the most Catholic city in Europe's most Catholic country, so you can imagine that there are beautiful churches everywhere. 

We headed back to the bus which drove us to the hotel with around 30 minutes to spare before dinner, so Szilvi, Lajos, and I went down the street to get food for the trip home. We made it back for dinner, and after dinner we drank beer and chatted about various things. It was a lovely evening. I then went back to my room and packed, dreading our 12 hour bus trip home. 

A picture of the Dunajec river with Slovakia on our right

We woke up early the next morning for breakfast and were on our way. However, our bus ride home was much better than the trip there because we not only didn't get lost, but also stopped for a 2 hour boat trip down the Dunajec!  

A view of the small wooden boats we travelled in and the outfits the rowers wore

We sat on these little wooden boats and had two men row us down the river. It was so lovely outside, and definitely was much better than sitting on a bus. Our rowers didn't speak English or Hungarian, but we still managed to communicate. It was simply idyllic there, with the mountains, cute little houses with hammocks on the banks, and the sound of water. 

We got back on the bus and headed home. We reached Békéscaba at around 8pm, and headed back to Szilvi and Lajos's house. I spent the night there so I could visit the immigration office the next morning. 

I absolutely loved Poland! It was so beautiful, and I can't wait to go back in December with my sister Mary! It is a great place, and I would highly recommend it. Now I have 11 days until I leave for Rome, so I am trying to prepare. I can't wait for my next adventure! Well, that's all for now, but I promise to write about my Roman Holiday. Ta-ta for now!