We left our idyllic, serene sanctuary and headed East to Auschwitz. It was one of the top things I wanted to do in Poland, but I wouldn't say I was looking forward to it. As we got closer and were driving along the forest, it hit me that this was probably a similar view the incoming prisoners had on their way to the camp. Or at least for those who were able to see out the train car. The gravity of where we were headed started to sink in.
The experience was informative, eerie, depressing, sorrowing, and so many more emotions. Questions kept running through my head. How could people treat others that way? How did the prisoners cope? Has the world truly learned from this atrocity? At one point there was a baby crying and it got me wondering what the camp sounded like. Gunshots, screaming, crying, pleading, praying.
The most poignant display was the stack of women's hair. Women prisoners' heads were shaved and their hair (I forget how many thousands of kilos) was sold by the Nazi's to be used in textiles. There was half a room full of hair on display: brunette, blonde, gray. And some braids, which I imagine were from children. It was heartbreaking.
Dave and I were both glad we went and glad to leave.
From Auschwitz we headed to Krakow. It took us three tries to find a hotel with availability, but thankfully the three hotels were on the same block so it was pretty easy. After settling into our room, we walked around Old Town and had a nice Italian al fresco dinner in the square where we could watch the horse-drawn carriages. Guess what, Krakow is pretty.
Highlight of the day: a tough day to think of a highlight, to be honest. Dinner was quite nice. Feels kinda wrong to have any highlight on a day when we were at Auschwitz.