Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz

Today we have a guest blogger...my faithful travel companion Rachel Esther Silverman. She is here to talk about our experiences in Krakow, Poland including our visit to Auschwitz.

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We arrived in Krakow Saturday night and after my Jewdar failed me we were forced to have a cab take us to our new hotel in the old Jewish distract. (On Friday night my Jewdar was in full effect and landed us on the steps of the one Synagogue in Warsaw just in time for the Shabbat service.) Hotel Kazimier is located in the heart of the Jewish part of Krakow, right off of Estery Street. After arriving we wandered around and found ourselves a nice restaurant where we gorged on stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, brisket, kanishes, apple blintzes and our new favorite drink - Tatonka, a mix of apple juice and Buffalo Vodka. Then to Bar Propaganda for a few beers. The Jewish area is great, very old cobblestone streets, a park with menorahs as the gate, and the new, hip, trendy place to be. We have decided it is a world wide phenomena that hipsters, artists and young alternative folks find the ghettos everywhere, move into the cheap housing, and create cool neighborhoods.
Yesterday after breakfast we went to explore the Sunday market - very disappointing, unless you are on the lookout for fur coats, which we are not.
Then we went to a pub for some coffee and met a lovely girl Iga who we chatted with for about an hour. When we told her our plans to go to Auschwitz for the day she told us how sad it was there, when we told her we were Jewish she started to cry.
Hoping to take the train to Auschwitz we walked to the station, only to find there was not a train for three hours and it would get us there way too late to see the camps. A cab offered to take us and so yes, we rode in a Mercedes to Auschwitz. Is this irony? Is it wrong? Or is it reparations?? I don't know.
What is there to say about the camps... I think seeing them in winter makes the experience a bit harsher, having an idea of how cold it is here adds to the atrocity of the events. The first few bunkers I walked through were history lessons and so I was able to remain a bit detached and observe. When we finally walked into the room where the artifacts were stored, the hair, the suitcases, the glasses, the shoes, the baby clothes, the ability to observe was lost and I began to feel ill. For the reminder of my time at Auschwitz 1 my chest was tight and my eyes were wet. The gas chamber and crematorium were understandably the hardest part to see. Walking away from there I took Mary's arm in need of some warmth and comfort.
Driving to Auschwitz 2, Birkenau, the polish music coming from the cab's radio was an appreciated distraction. There, you see the vastness of it all. Rows and rows of bunkers. Again, the cold adds to the horror of it. We walked around the camp, the monument over where the gas chamber had been bombed, and along the train tracks. It is a cold and eerie place. Being insides the sleeping quarters and looking at the latrines is something I cannot describe. There are pictures for all to see, but I imagine we have all seen pictures before, they cannot show you how it feels.

Back in Krakow we decided on a warm, comforting meal of borscht and perogies, and more Tatonka. We went to bed early last night, it was a long day. Today we will walk around the city more, and get on the train back to Berlin tonight to meet up with our friends there.

Krakow is city worth exploring. The people are warm and friendly, the architecture beautiful, the Jewish area is still standing - unlike in Warsaw - and a vibrant place to stay, eat, and explore.