Poland Take Two: Krakow!

As one of the outings sponsored by my study abroad program we went to Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau. We traveled by bus to Krakow. The bus ride was about 8 hours. Friday was kind of shot because we got to Krakow so late and we were all tired from the journey. Saturday was the day we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was an encredibly moving experience for everyone on the trip. Auschwitz is exactly how it was in 1945 when America liberated the camp. It looked a lot like a small village the way all the structures are set up. Our guide was excellent and explained everything so well. Auschwitz was a work camp for not only Jews and other minorities but Soviet POWs as well. Once a person got to Auschwitz the average life expectancy was 6 months. At one part of the tour they had pictures on the wall of people that we in the camp when they first entered. Underneath the picture there was their birthday and death date. I looked through many of these pictures and I did not see one person that lived in the camps longer than 14 months. We went to the gas chambers there, which was a very moving experience because you can see the holes where they dropped the Cyclone B and we were in the room where so many people took their last breath. Birkenau was the death camp. People were sent here that were not fit for working at the other camps. The conditions here were awful and disgusting. It was a very moving experience and I am glad that went there to see it but I dont think I ever want to go back. I would recommend people go because it is so moving and so well done.
Krakow was amazing. I loved the city. It was so cute and sweet. It was a lot like Prague with the narrow streets and extremely old buildings.
The entrance sign to Auschwitz. This is not the original sign because it was stolen a few months ago and destroyed.

This is the train tracks at Birkenau that everyone took to enter the death camp



Castle at Krakow



The inside square of the castle



All the streets in Krakow looked like this. So beautiful!



A beautiful Catholic church in Krakow



Another old church in Krakow




Our tour guide pointed this out to us. This is where the police would extinguish their torches before they went into a house.




Obviously they love Pope John Paul here and he was every where. This was one of the many sightings.



The University in Krakow



This chimney at the university was supposedly bent by witchcraft



The center square in Krakow




Another shot of the center square.

I would so recommend taking a trip to Krakow. Its such a romantic city. There are a lot of hidden treasures within the city.

Warsaw and Engagement!!!

So I know it has been a long time since my last post. But my family came and then I went on spring break which I will blog about later. This is how we started one of the best weekend of my life. These are of course perogis: the one of the best Polish treats ever. We ate these lovely treats at a Milk Bar. This is something that has remained from the communist times. It is a cafeteria that one can purchase foods cheaply because it is government subsidized.




This is borscht of the beet persuasion. It was pretty good even though I hate beets.




Old Town Square at night




Old Town square by day












Me with the mermaid statue. She is the protector of the city and lives in the river.



Castle walls in the Old Town



Picture of the castle wall while on it




Alex



A square



Alex with his new friend



A church in Old Town. Poland is a very Catholic place and there were many churches every where throughout the city.



Warsaw University



Church of the Holy Cross. Chopin has his heart in one of the white pillars. Seriously.




Copernicus in front of the Science museum. Both Poland and Germany claim him to be theirs but the evidence appears to show that he is Polish.



The best treat shop in Poland. We got these lovely treats you see below there. They were amazing.



A piece of chocolate cake!




A rose filled doughnut. The traditional doughnut of Poland.




Me with my sweets!!



The next treat place we went to was Wedell's. It is more of a chocolate shop than Blike's. Here we got two different kinds of hot chocolate! And when I say hot chocolate I mean it. These were cups of melted chocolate with some cream in them. They were amazing. We got one white and one dark cup.



Here is a picture of the shop!



Truffles from the shop.



This is a creation from the Soviet times. This is the Palace of Culture and Science. Its Poland tallest building as well. It is affectionately called "Stalin's penis" by the local people. It was very funny when I heard this on the train going to Warsaw from two Polish guys I was sitting with. They did not want to tell me the slang name but when I asked about it because I saw it in my guide book they said it was true. I was so very scared of that overnight train ride by myself. I heard so many negative things about overnight trains. It actually turned out fine. The worst part about the whole thing was that the train was so very long, it took forever to get there.




This is a palm tree representing the Jewish community of Warsaw. The artist wanted to bring a piece of Jerusalem back to Warsaw. Pretty neat.



Here we are at the restaurant before he proposed to me!!!




The ring!!!!!








It was an amazing weekend I will never forget. We had so much fun in a city that everyone told us not to go to. Someday we hope to go back and visit the place where our lives together officially began. I love that we got engaged at a Palace! How awesome is that?

Vienna

I know it has taken me a long time to put up this post but it has gotten to be very busy around here. Upon arrival to the city once we got out of the bus station we were greeted with these lovely gems. These flowers were amazingly beautiful. When we got to Vienna the weather was a little dreary so they were a bright sight for us. Vienna was one of the most amazing cities I have ever seen. Prague is wonderful but Vienna was just different. It was more like a modern city with wide streets and modern buildings but it also still retained a lot of its charm from its days as the capital of the Hapsburg Empire. I would come to feel like a part of the Hapsburg family after this trip their mark and family history is all over the city.



After we put our stuff down in our very nice hostel we had to eat lunch. We chose this cheap little joint. I did not get schnitzel I got a gyro sandwich that was quite tasty.




St. Stephen's Cathedral. This is yet another church in the Gothic style of architecture






A side alter



Stone staircase



Organ



and more organ





Shots of the main alter




Outside the church there were horse drawn carriages waiting to give us a tour









Outside views of the church




St. Stephen's at night. Night time was the best time to capture the mosaic tiling on the roof.




A monument to those that died during the Plague. Over one third of Vienna's population died as a result of the Plague.




Current government building but also a part of the Hapsburg Palace grounds.








Entrance to the building




Mozart was born here so naturally many things are Mozart related; including the gift shops.




Traditional Austrian outfits being sold at a store




This is the main residence of the Hapsburg's. We took a tour of the place and learned about Franz Josef and his wife Sisi. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in the palace so you will just have to trust me that it was amazing. For those of you who don't know Franz Josef ruled from about 1848 until his death in 1916. He is also the grand father of of Franz Ferdinand who was assassination by a Serbian anarchist was one of the major causes of WWI. Franz Josef and Sisi had an interesting life together. He loved her very much but historians are not so sure she held him the same regard. She did not enjoy the lime light and as she got older she with drew more and more from her duties as the Empress. The exhibit filled with her things was fascinating. She had a daily exercise routine and tried to keep her size 20 waist by eating very little every day.




I think this is St. Peter's Cathedral in the distance.




The gardens of the palace




A statue of Sisi




Vienna Parliament building




I put this in just for Teddy! 4 door Porsche




This begins day two. We got up bright and earlier and headed to the museum quarter.




Sisi again in the museum quarter




We went to three art museums that day. We started out at the Leopold Museum which housed mostly art from the early 20th century. Many of these pieces were beautiful and I simply loved the color detail. Next, we went to the modern art museum in which I found one of my favorite guys Abraham Lincoln. Here he is mirrored by Huey the founder of the Black Panther movement.



We found a "statue" of "Mozart" covered in gold.




Another grand museum




This is the Albertina where Maria Catherine, sister or Marie Antoinette once spent her time in Vienna.



Prague in Vienna!!!








Those were both rooms in the Albertina. It also had an art collection.




And an Andy Warhol exhibit. Sorry guys again no pictures.





The amusement park we went to in Vienna




Traditional Farris Wheel. We did not ride this one because it went very slow and did not go as high as the newer one.











Our views from the top




Legal gaffiti wall by the river. It was beautiful to watch the sunset here.










The Vienna walk of stars







The Shonburnn or summer palace of the Hapsburg's












The grounds of the palace




The gardens that weren't quite ready yet but just imagine them




Smaller building a top the hill behind the palace




The view of the city from the hill behind the palace

Inside the palaces and the museums they would not allow pictures. I am sorry to those of you who were expecting pictures of inside. Vienna is a great city and I had a wonderful time even though it rained our first day there.

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