Arrival in Praha (Prague)

So after a fun night train from Krakow (and maybe a little too much partying on board), I arrived in Prague around 7am. I was couchsurfing with a Swedish man named Rolf, and so I followed his tram directions to his apartment, which turned it to actually be inside of the Swedish Embassy (Rolf works there)! It is a beautiful building with a beautiful view of the entire city of Prague. Below is the view from the balcony right outside my bedroom window...Couchsurfing is amazing indeed, and Rolf was a great great host. He threw a party the next night, but I will tell you more about that later.

The balcony outside of my bedroom window with Petrin Hill behind.

The courtyard of the Swedish Embassy.

Rolf's dining room

This is the street right outside of the embassy, Uvoz, which leads down to the Little Quarter and eventually the Charles Bridge. Prague is a beautiful, beautiful city, and I will be posting many more pictures soon!

Beer-Man Returns!!!

The Beer Man Strikes Again!Francisco and I encountered another beer man while walking in the Main Square in Krakow, and then just before I left to head to Prague I saw this...

They are multiplying! Run for your life!

Auschwitz

There is nothing in the world that I want to do less than go to Auschwitz again. The former Nazi concentration camp (the largest) is a close bus ride from Krakow, so it is kind of a must, though not something to look forward to. However, I do feel that visiting Auschwitz or another concentration camp elsewhere is extremely important. People should not forget what happened there, and if we get too comfortable about leaving the past behind us, we will be destined to repeat it.

You really cannot feel the entire weight of the situation until you have walked around Birkenau (the second camp of Auschwitz) and see how massive the place is. It boggles my mind that there are still people around the world, such as the President of Iran, who deny that the holocaust ever happened. There is very very physical evidence, and nothing drives it home like a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. If I never go to another concentration camp in my life I will be happy, as it is a very uncomfortable experience, but it shouldn't be comfortable. If you find yourself in Poland or near another one of the camps, go once. You wont regret it, and it will probably affect you for the better. Below are some pictures that I took during my visit, mainly to show the scale of how big this is.This is the entrance to Auschwitz I, which was originally a Polish military base until taken over by the Nazis in 1939. The horrible sign above the gate reads "Arbeit Macht Frei" in German, which means "work will set you free". This camp was used mainly for political prisoners, pow's, and members of the Polish resistance until 1942 when it became too small. At that time the Nazi's built Birkenau and began to send Jews from all over Europe there to be exterminated. A map in one of the buildings showed that people were sent here to die from as far away as Greece and Paris, Italy and the Netherlands.

This is the gate to Birkenau, and you might recognize it from the movie "Schindler's List". 1.1 million people passed through this gate and never returned, 90 percent of whom were Jews from every country in Europe.

This is where the people were taken off of the train and sorted by Nazi doctors, basically into groups of who could work (and basically starve to death later), and who would be sent immediately to the gas chambers. 75% of everyone getting off the trains went straight to the gas chambers.

Some memorial candles lit at the other end of the train tracks from the main gate.

This is a view from the top of the main gate of just one part of the camp. It stretches out as far as you can see in this picture. The barracks in the foreground are a restored example of where the prisoners lived. They were actually designed as horse sheds for the German army, so when you go inside there is absolutely no insulation of any kind. It would have been like sleeping in a very crowded barn in the middle of a cold, Polish winter.

I took many more pictures, but this is all that I will display for now, as I'm sure you readers are not aching for more from Auschwitz. In my next few posts I will move on to happier things as I travel to Prague, but for now, let this post make you uncomfortable, that is how a visit to Auschwitz should make you feel.

Krakow in Pictures - Pt. 3

Wawel Castle and Cathedral, which is the National Cathedral of Poland and is a mausoleum for many of the country's great leaders of old.

This is Schindler's Factory, which is still here in Krakow and lies in an off-the-beaten-path industrial district. Large parts of the movie, "Schindler's List", were filmed right here, on location. It was closed to the public today as it was the 64th anniversary of the liberation of the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp. I visited Auschwitz the next day, and will have some somber pictures from that trip posted soon...

The Old Cemetery in Krakow's Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz. All of the graves in this cemetery are dated between 1552 and 1800. Francisco and I had to borrow yamulkes so as to cover our heads and pay respect. You can see a picture of me sporting my yamulke to the right at the top of the page.

As we were walking back through the Main Square there was a lot of shouting and singing, so we decided to investigate. We were puzzled to find a bunch of young men wearing what I would describe as towel-capes, most of which had pictures of naked women on them (with the exception of one man who strangely had a wholesome picture of a Polish family on his). After asking around a bit, we found out that young Poles have to do a compulsory year of service in the military, and that these guys had just completed their time. So to celebrate the end of military service in Poland, they apparently get super wasted, wear towels, and sing loudly. And can someone please tell me why some people still think that Americans are obnoxious when traveling?

Oh yea, and in addition to the drinking and singing and generally making asses of themselves, the now ex-soldiers do a lot of push-ups.

Krakow in Pictures - Pt. 2

That is a giant sculpture of a head in the Main Square, and Francisco is picking its nose. Francisco was the other American couchsurfing with me in Krakow. He is in the army and based in Italy, spending the off time traveling around Europe. We spent the day walking around the town together, and yes, we are being stupid Americans in this picture.

Another view of the Main Square with St. Mary's Basilica in the background.

This is a replica of the Shroud of Turin in Pope John Paul II's home church (the name escapes me now). Even though it is a replica, it is still considered a Holy Relic because it has touched the original. So if I touch Bob Dylan, can I be considered the world's best folksinger as well?

The plaque marks the pew where the Pope sat and prayed (before he was the Pope).

The entrance to Krakow's main attraction: Wawel Hill and Castle. More on that in the next posting...

Krakow in Pictures - Pt. 1

I couchsurfed both nights in Krakow with three lovely hosts: Gosia, Gosia, and Bartok. They have couchsurfers pretty much every night of the week, and while I was there they were hosting not on me, but an Australian, another American, and two Polish girls. They host so often that you can see all of their supplies on the shelves here: extra sleeping pads, travel books, hitch-hiking signs, and plent of signs in English to help you find anything you want all around the house (drawers marked "silverware" or "cups", etc.).

The name of the street eludes me at the moment, but it is a major shopping street connecting the Main Square to the gate at the edge of Old Town (Stare Miasto in Polish).

This is one of the Gosia's and Bartok singing some Polish folk songs for me and the other cs'ers. I played some music for them as well, and if you are my friend on facebook you can watch a video of Gosia singing Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" in Polish!

The same street pictured above, this time in daylight with St. Mary's Basilica in the background. St. Mary's is the main cathedral in Krakow, at least in terms of tourism, size, and prominence. There are MANY churches in Krakow (a whole lotta Catholics).

This is the Main Square in Old Town, a very large, beautiful space to spend some time eating food and drinking beer. A friend of my hosts told me that it is the 2nd largest Main Square in all of Europe, though I haven't confirmed that, so don't quote me on it.

Warszawa - in Pictures pt. 3 (Finale)

Warsaw has a palm tree! Well, its an art installation that never went away...

I found a random tribute to John Lennon and the Beatles by a fence in a Warsaw park. There were some candles lit, very strange...

a statue of Charles de Gaulle. He helped to liberate Warsaw from the Soviets in 1920, so they love him.

Nowy Swiat, THE shopping/eating street in the city. Fairly expensive, but fashionable!

This is Katarzyna, she worked at the Oki Doki Hostel where I stayed. Katarzyna likes jenga, and she will kick your ass in it. John likes to play jenga with Katarzyna, and is pretty sure she is the prettiest girl in all of Poland.