Fall Break Take 2 - Krakow

  Krakow, Southern Poland, Poland
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

We took the night train to Krakow. It was definitely an interesting new experience. The cabins were teeny tiny. Four girls and all our luggage didn't leave much room!

Tiny Cabin

 

Bunks

After a 12 hour ride, we got to Krakow around 9:00am. Not surprisingly we were still realllllllly tired, but we powered through and went on a tour of Krakow ... you guessed it, by bike! I won't lie, Krakow isn't nearly as interesting as Berlin. The main sights were alllllllllllllllllll of their catholic churches and former mosques. They did take us to a place where they filmed Schindler's list and the former Schindler factory. We also saw where Pope John Paul II made addresses in Krakow. 

Bike Tour

Sts. Peter & Paul Krakow

JP2 Address Window

We rounded out the day w/ the some delicious Polish food. I had potatoes, ham, and eggs. And we all shared some pirogis (even yummier!). 

Polish Food

We had an interesting night at the hostel. We were all dead asleep. At like 2:00am, the guys in the room next to us came back. One of them was completely obliterated and was confused where he was. He kept trying to open our door (which was locked, thank God!!). Sarah yelled at him through the door and wandered off. A few seconds later we heard him spew in the hallway. It was nasty! Ahhhhh hostels ....

Anyway, when we woke up on Thursday, winter had come to Poland. It was freaking freezing. Not to mention it was also raining. It was actually pretty fitting because had a day trip planned to Auschwitz and Birkenau. We thought the Holocaust memorial and museum in Berlin were depressing. They couldn't hold a candle to how depressing the concentration/death camps were! It did stop raining by the time we got there, but it was still pretty ominous looking. 

Birkenau 1

Our first stop was Birkenau. It has been pretty well preserved. The railroad tracks still run through the middle of the camp, and the cabins stretched as far as the eye could see. The Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers and crematorium at the end of the war, but the remains are still there.

Birkenau 2

Birkenau 3

Birkenau 5

Birkenau 6

Auschwitz has been redone to make it more of a museum. The main buildings stand as they were, but the inside is completely different. One of the buildings is used to show all of the stuff the Nazis confiscated from the Jews when they arrived at the camps. Clearly it is only a small portion because most of it was redistributed, but it is still sickeningly impressive. This picture is just some of the empty suit cases that were taken.

Auschwitz 1

Auschwitz 2

They also showed us the execution wall and the crematorium. It was getting pretty dark by this time, so it was really, really creepy!

Execution Wall

Crematorium

Needless to say, we needed a giant beer AND some gelato at the end of the day!

Post Camps Beer

Post Camps Gelato

Friday we went to the castle in Krakow. The castle houses a couple of museums. We went to the armory museum and the state rooms. Let me tell you, these people were into some gaudy crap! We weren't allowed to take pictures, though. The castle walls overlook the entire city. Pretty cool.

At the Castle

Castle Wall

We wrapped up the day w/ our last Polish meal (the most delicious meal ever ... potato pancakes, pirogi, and a refreshing beer) and some shopping (there wasn't much room in my bags, but I managed to get a few extra things in there).

Most Delicious Polish Food

Saturday morning we were up at 6:00am to head to the airport. If you think Southwest is a cattle call, you should fly Ryanair! They don't even break people down into 3 sections. Everyone races to the line and pushes their way onto the plane. We had a pretty easy flight and found our way to the train we needed to get to our new dorm.

The rest of Saturday was spent finding the rest of our belongings that we shipped here, grocery shopping, and unpacking. Our dorm here is a million times better than the one in the Netherlands. We have our own kitchen and bathroom ... and even better, NO treacherous stairs to bed!! 

London Desk and Kitchenette

London Bed

London Bed & Desk

London is pretty chaotic. It's a definite change from the quiet streets of Leiden! We are staying in the section of the city known as Kings Cross. We have to take the underground to school, because Webster's campus here is tied in with Regent's College. It is located in Regent's Park. So if you want to look any of those up on a map, you can. It is nice having modern conveniences like STARBUCKS!

If anyone is feeling generous, they can add money to my Starbucks gift card :) You go to www.strabucks.com/card At the bottom, click on "Reload someone else's card." My card number is 6034801000591555 and you can follow the directions from there!

Also, if you want to send me anything, my new address is:
Rebecca Boyer
Room 2.02
Nido King's Cross
200 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JS
United Kingdom

I hope everyone is doing well! I look forward from hearing from you soon!
Becca


P.S. It just started SNOWING in London ... looks like it's going to be a long winter!