Krakow and Auschwitz

Over the weekend we took a trip to Poland and we were able to see some pretty amazing stuff.  The trip started off with a three and half hour bus ride and then we made it to the salt mine.  At first I didn't know what to expect out of a salt mine, but when we got there it was really cool.  The mines went nine stories down and we were able to see the first three levels.  I think that we went about 140 meters below the surface while we were there.  As we were walking through the first level it was mainly rooms and hallways that had been dug out so they could get the salt out.  This was really impressive because these rooms were really tall and we got to see how they kept the ceiling from falling down.  Once we left these rooms we walked into a room that had a little visualization of how they use to get rid of dangerous gasses in the chambers.  They would take small torches on long sticks and then put them in the chamber to ignite the gas and that is how they got rid of the gas.  We kept walking lower and lower into the mine and the rooms continued to get more and more beautiful.  We saw some statues of different people carved completely out of salt and different machines used to lift the salt from level to level.  They miners also had carved some chapels out of the salt and the first one we saw was very beautiful.  I didn't realize that some mines could look like this.  We got to about our halfway point and there was another huge chapel.  This one was absolutely stunning.  Every part of it was carved out of the same piece of salt.  We were there for a few minutes and then continued the tour.  We saw a lake and a light show, then we started to make our way back out.  After we left the salt mine we started making our way to the hostel.  We arrived at around 5 so we threw our stuff in our room and went to go find dinner.  Dane, Kody, and I went to a little Korean restaurant and ate some really good food there.  Afterwards, we started walking around and Dane and I found our way to the castle and the city center.  The two of us explored for a while and then started heading back for our hostel.  The following day was very interesting and sad.  We visited Schindler's factory Sunday morning.  As we walked through the factory and read about what had happened there and some of the history of Krakow I got chills.  There were stories of the people who worked there and of their families.  We saw different weapons from the Soviets and the Germans along with some living conditions of the Jewish people.  All of us could have spent the whole day in the factory to read all of the signs and information boards about all of the photos.  We spent a few hours there and then walked to the city center with our professors and then split up from there.  A small group of us had lunch then just started walking around.  We made our way back up the castle and took a break there to explore and look over the city.  The rest of Sunday wasn't too exciting.  We went to bed early because Monday was our tour of Auschwitz.  We woke up at 5 so we could get ready and get to the bus on time at 5:45.  It was an hour and fifteen minutes to the camp.  Once our bus stopped and let us off we had a small break while our tour guide got all of our supplies ready.  We grabbed our headsets and entered Auschwitz 1.  Our guide took us around the buildings and explained what each one was used for.  This part of the camp could hold up to 20,000 people.  As we walked through the buildings we saw a lot of photos of the people getting off the train and working.  We walked through the buildings where people were forced to sleep on the floors and cramped into small beds.  Some of the buildings had shoes from people who didn't make it and different possessions they had brought with them to Auschwitz.  This part of the tour lasted about an hour and half, then we made our way over to Birkenau.  Auschwitz 1 was terrible and gave us chills down our spines, but this part was worse.  I can't find the words to describe the feeling of stepping through the front gate and seeing bunk after bunk after bunk.  This part of Auschwitz could hold 100,000 people and most of the Bunk houses are gone now with just the foundations and a few chimneys left standing.  It is a haunting place that left us all speechless.  We didn't spend a lot of time there.  When we left and started making our way back to our hostel to grab our bags and come home we didn't really talk a whole lot at first.  Our trip to Poland was filled with history and was fun and very sad at the same time, but Auschwitz is a place that people need to see at least once in their life.  Krakow is a beautiful city with a lot of history in it and it was a good place to visit in our final weeks here in Europe.  This is our last week of class and we have a final this Wednesday and then the last final next Monday.  Next week is our last field trip around the Czech Republic, then a free week.  This trip has went by far too fast, but it was an awesome experience and I'm glad we still have a little bit too go.