Poland

My first travels of the summer began in Poland. I flew to Krakow from Milan and met Addie. We spent a few days exploring the area around Krakow including the salt mine and Auschwitz concentration camp. We then took the 10 hour train north to Gdansk where we celebrated Daryl and Marta's wedding....a true Polish experience.

Here are some photos from the incredible salt mine




This is a church underground in the salt mine. It's the largest underground church in the world and most of the carvings were done by miners.











In Krakow, Addie and I received this interesting dish with our bread...it's some sort of lard.


These next photos are from the Auschwitz concentration camp. The experience was mind numbing and took any appetite away. The tour lasted a grueling 3.5 hours. I could not believe the size of the concentration camp nor the stories that were told as we walked through. First is the photo of the entrance to Auschwitz.


Some of the barracks.


The country on the map in the middle that is white is Switzerland. The countries in white were neutral during WWII.


The gas the Naiz's used in the gas chambers to kill in mass. Ironically, it's called gift gas.


Empty containers of gift gas....


This was the most irking part of the day....human hair....piles of it...Upon closer look, one can see braids. If a woman's hair was braided, it was simply cut off at the top of the braid. The Nazi's used human hair to create some form of leather. Some of those products were also displayed, but I don't have a photo of those.


Various things used by handicapped people such as artificial limbs and braces. These were taken from the handicapped upon arrival to Auschwitz.


Suitcases of those taken to Auschwitz....There were hundreds if not thousands of these on display in a pile.....


Shoes of the prisoners taken upon arrival....there was a specific pile of children's shoes that was particularly disturbing.




Prisoners were taken to this wall of death to be shot in the head. Hundreds were murdered a day at this wall.





Entrance to a gas chamber and crematorium

The ovens the bodies were burned in after they had been gassed.












Sleeping quarters




And now moving on to a more positive note...here, a yarn bicycle....Krakow.




The Wawel in Krakow


Oscar Schindler's factory (as in Schindler's List) is now a museum to document the history of Krakow during World War II






In Krakow






And now the Polish wedding scene....all glasses and hats provided by the entertainer....The entertainer is a hired person at the wedding who leads the attendees in various dances, songs and games.


The glasses I'm wearing in this picture were the feature of the evening. Everyone wanted their shot at wearing them. Here I am with another LAS teacher, Ted who was also at the wedding.


Daryl and Addie at the Baltic Sea the morning after the wedding.


And finally Gdansk....


me and Addie




Gdansk in 1945 after the Nazi's came through












View of Gdansk from my hotel.


After Poland I traveled to Scotland for a week. Photos from Scotland as well as a brief video of the Polish wedding and also my ascent of the Dents Du Midi (highest peak in the (my) canton of Vaud in Switzerland) are coming soon. Stay tuned!