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Łòdź

Welcome to the Łódź blog.  Pronounced “Wooge” (Rhymes with Scrooge), Łódź is located in the centre of Poland.  It is not a huge tourist spot which made for a welcome change in pace after we left Kraków.
 
We rented an amazing apartment on Piotrkowska Street, which happens to be the longest street in Europe.  It was full of outdoor patios and shops that were never short on charm.
So why were we visiting Łódź?  Two years ago when DawnO walked the Camino de Santiago, she did so with a group which included a Łódź local, Maciej (you can call him “Matt”).  When we told him we were going to be in Poland he insisted we visit him so he could show us his home city.  How could we resist?
The first order of business was to tour around all the local hotspots.  We told him we have a love of graffiti art so we got to see the following buildings:
Unfortunately you can’t go far in Poland without being reminded of the holocaust.  Maciej took us to the train station in Łódź where many people were sent to concentration camps all over the country.  The station is as it was in 1945, along with 3 original train cars that were used to transport the victims.
On day two, Maciej picked us up and took us out of town to a castle where we were transported to the Middle Ages.  Everyone was dressed in clothes from the days of yore.  There was a knight competition (not sure what that entailed as we did not get to see it), classic dancing to lute music, and an archery competition.  I felt a bit like Paul Rudd in the movie Role Models.  I kept akwardly calling people “m’ lady” and “kind sir”.
Sign translation: Talkative and Stubborn
Sign translation: He didn’t put the seat down
In the evening Maciej took us to his home where we met his wife and two kids.  They fed us so much food, including paella, which was delicious!
They kept giving Dawn surprises throughout the evening.  She received “real Polish Wodka”, presents from Maciej’s latest Camino, and a birthday cake!
To end the evening DawnO and Maciej retold stories about their time on the Camino and I could see how important their walk together was for them.  I was happy to meet another one of her group that walked with her in Spain.  I could tell she was in good hands.  I almost forgot… All of these stories we told while we drank mead from a horn flask.
This morning we got on a bus and headed for Berlin.  More to come…
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39 and feelin’ fine

Yesterday we got up early to tour Oskar Schindler’s factory.  No longer the enamel factory that it was during the war, it is now a museum depicting the history of the war: beginning, middle, and end, with a special focus on the workings of the Schindler factory and the countless other people who assisted the Poles and Jews.
I was naive to think that this would be a ‘pick me up’ after the horrors of the concentration camps the previous day.  In reality the people in the factory still lost their identities, freedoms, homes, friends, and families and had to suffer through horrible working conditions for no pay and almost no food.  The glimmer of hope that Oskar Schindler provided is that they weren’t starved, beaten, and tortured in the process.
We wandered the Jewish Getto where the Jews were forced to live during the war, then eventually evacuated to concentration camps.  There is a memorial in a main square.
We then crossed the river to the Jewish Quarter, where the Jews prospered prior to the war’s beginning. It’s now filled with neat little cafes and bars.

 

 

In the afternoon we took advantage of the cloud cover and rented bikes.  We cycled on trails along the river and, after about an hour, arrived at a monastery that has housed monks for over 900 years.  Over the years they have been perfecting the craft of beer brewing.

This morning I woke up to be 39 (and holding).  Don’t mention it to RobO, but it’s his official half birthday and 39.5 rounds up!
Our last day in Kraków was centered around food and drink!  I ran around the parks this morning, then we relaxed in a coffee shop.  As many of you Facebook followers know, I went ‘wodka tasting’ in the afternoon.  The breaks were filled with people watching, enjoying patios, and loving the culture of Old Town Kraków.
Tomorrow we’re looking forward to travelling to the center of Poland to visit my Camino brother Maciej.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau

Today we went to Auschwitz.  There.  I said it.  I have been toiling over how to even start writing a blog about one of the most horrific places I have ever visited.  Job one, done.
The infamous sign that greets you to Auschwitz I roughly translates to English as “Work shall set you free”.   It’s one of the many empty promises that were given to the prisoners of this concentration camp.

Originally, this was a Polish army barracks before Nazis took the camp over after they invaded in 1939. These are some of the only remaining pictures of concentration camp victims.

We toured around the outside of the camp and were taken into many of the buildings which were set up with displays of documents, photographs, and camp population/death statistics.  As the tour went on the exhibits became much more intimate.  Enormous piles of hair brushes, eye glasses, shoes, and even human hair were showcased to give us a sense of the countless number of human lives that passed through that miserable place.

Auschwitz I was known as a work camp, while a few kilometres away Auschwitz II-Birkenau was known as the death camp.
The first thing that struck me about Birkenau was the shear size of the camp.  Most of the structures have either been dismantled, like the wooden barracks, or destroyed, like the gas chambers.  The latter was demolished by the Nazis as an attempt to eradicate evidence of the mass killings.

 

When we decided to come to Poland it was obvious to me that we would visit Auschwitz.  I never gave it a second thought.  After we booked our tickets some people asked me why we would want to come here.  At the time I responded with the line that I’ve heard many times before.  If we don’t remind ourselves of the mistakes of the past, we run the risk of repeating them.

 

While that is true, I would be lying if I didn’t start asking myself that question.  It was hard to come up with an answer that didn’t feel like a cliché.  I was hoping that I would find my own answer once we visited the camps.  When prisoners arrived to the death camps all of their belongings were in the one suitcase they were allowed to bring with them from home.  These suitcases were taken to warehouses to be sorted and sifted though for valuables.  This section of the camp was referred to as “Canada”.  This was because they believed Canada was a land of plenty.  This story gave me my answer.  I visited Auschwitz-Berkenau to be reminded how lucky I am to live where I do in the time that I do surrounded by loving family and friends.  I hope reading this will encourage you to visit too.
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Dungeons and Dragons

Our favorite flight hack was successful on our flights to Poland, so we had 3 seats to share between 2 of us!  Of course no airplane sleep is ideal, so we arrived tired but have since used our ‘get-out-of-jetlag-*almost*-free’ card.  This true marriage test involves a vigilant spouse who can ensure that no naps are had in the first day and that we both stay awake until at least 9pm.  As you may imagine, the roles of good cop and bad cop shift between partners as required.

Our Air BnB is right on the edge of Old Town Cracow, so we’ve explored the beautiful area on foot.
At the top of the taller church tower a bugler plays a tune every 15 minutes throughout the day and night.  He stops abruptly, mid note, to represent a bugler who was alerting the city during the war and was shot in the throat.

The Center is surrounded by a park which we’ve enjoyed walking along to get some shade.  We brought the heat with us from home.  Today I saw a billboard that said it was 36.5 degrees.

We also visited the famous Wawel Castle.
What castle is complete without a fire breathing dragon below?
Today we beat the heat with a tour of the Wielizka Salt Mines.  We got as deep as 130 meters underground and explored the tunnels and monuments, almost all of which are made out of salt!  Check it out: huge caverns, salt gnomes, salt lick, a salty last supper, and a sweet but salty baby Jesus in the manger!

 

Here’s a Polish pierogi pic for Rocky B.  Delicious.

Tomorrow will be a heavy day as we’re headed to Aushwitz.  Stay tuned…