Diament Hotel Katowice

... Everywhere there are electrified (formally at least) barbed wire fences and random flowers and candles placed as memorials every day.

I don't really think I need to go into too many details here about what I saw so I will let the photos speak for themselves. I can only hope that they too serve as a reminder that humanity, although it is overwhelmingly good, can have a dark side that must be kept in check in order to prevent such tragedies from ever rising up again.

... o tym, ze Amerykanie sa niesamowicie leniwi i wszedzie staraja sie dojechac samochodem. Powoduje to, ze przy glownych atrakcjach turystycznych slono placi sie za parking (nie dotyczy to jednak parkow narodowych, gdzie placi sie tylko za wjazd na jego teren). Wystarczy jednak zaparkowac 200 metrow dalej zeby nie placic nic za parking. Dobrym przykladem moze byc tutaj Venice Beach w LA. Parking przy samej plazy kosztowal tam $7. My jednak pojechalismy 3 przecznice ...

... found a local place and everyone had some. It was pretty good, but if you go, make sure you get the fried, and try and get it with a sauce on it (I had garlic). I think we all agreed the fried was better than boiled. After that, we went and hung out at a pub, then made the long walk to the hostel in the FREEZING weather. Lauren and I are headed to Paris tomorrow, and everyone else is staying in Krakow for one more day.

... a mieux comprendre ce qui s'est passe il y a 60 ans. Permettez-moi de souligner l'amplitude de se qui s'est produit ici. En 4 ans, 1.5 million de personnes ont ete assassinees a Auschwitz. Avant qu'ils ne soient envoyes aux chambres a gas, tous leurs poils et cheveux etaient rases et envoyes a des usines de textile pour fabriquer du tissu. Leurs dents en or etaient extraites et fondues pour en faire des lingos d'or qui etaient alors expedie ...

... were divided into fit and unfit and sent into a gas chamber or to a work barracks... There's huts for over 100,000 people... the sheer scale of this death factory is phenominal..... We head back on the bus and everyone agrees that they didn't really know how to react. I didn't feel I gained much from my trip, but I'm glad I went. I suppose I expected to learn something new about this period of history... but it's so commonly documented ...

... I got there I was more emotionally prepared for the experienced. The other factor, I think, is that Auschwitz seemed to maybe hold back a little, to cater to the sensibilities of a survivor or relative of a survivor who might come to visit whereas the museum at the torture prison and the fields itself were graphic and upfront. Either way, Auschwitz was a trip I felt important to make, but I was glad when I was on the bus back to Krakow and back to normalcy.

... the floors with a bucket of the stuff. It was INNNNTENSE! Mike and I finally found our bus stop and had a little "breakfast" before heading out. The picture attached to this entry shows two of the best Irish coffees that either of us have ever had. If anything, they could have cone a little easier on the whiskey and a little heavier on the coffee...but I am not complaining.

We arrived at the museum, which was established in 1947 as a symbol of remembrance, place of tribute, and warning to future generations about the effects of hatred, and...well, what is there to say, the three of us were blown away by the size and scope of what happened. Aushwitz looked like an old time university campus until you go inside the buildings where photos and depictions of what happened there stun you into the ...

Per Lenkiją slenkam visą dieną, karts nuo karto papuldami į didesnius ar mazesnius kamsčius, dazniausiai sukeltus kelių remonto darbų. Jau netoli Čekų sienos pasiskambinam į Lietuvą, neseniai is uzsienio grįzusių draugų klausiam, kurioje salyje pigesnis benzinas, o taip pat gaunam rekomendaciją pigiam ir geram viesbutukui vos įvaziavus į Čekiją.

... They kept pictographic records of every laborer at Auschwitz. Every photo listed the prisoner's name, city of origin, profession, DOB and DOD. Seeing pictures of the actual people here, I began to cry. Of all the buildings here, the most notorious is number 11. It's the so-called "Death Block" where all prisoners eventually died. One room, for example, is the starvation room. If a prisoner escaped, another would be randomly ...