While I was in Poland, Carol and John sponsored a few of my delicious meals (I spread the money out since things were cheaper). One evening I had delicious potato pancakes in cream sauce and a sampling of three types of boiled pierogis at U Babci Maliny near the market square. It was a yummy meal after my long walk around the Nowa Huta complex.
The next day, after my tour of Auschwitz-Berkenau, I met a few Americans for a super meal near the main square again. This time I tried a sour Polish soup called Zurich, Bigos (a stew of sauerkraut with meat and sausage), and potatoes. A fantastic end to a heavy day.
Hope the ranch is growing and the horses are running free. Talk to you soon!
On Monday I hopped a train to Auschwitz (it sounds kind of odd yes)from Krakow. I did a lot of thinking on that train trip and I was actually in a 'blah' kind of mood to begin with. Once I got there I did a little investigating and decided to slip into an English tour that was already in progress. The Auschwitz extermination camp was slightly surreal at first, the trees and plush grass almost made it seem a bit pleasant. It wasn't registering that this had been the site of some of the most heinous mass-murdering of a people in history. Our guide took us through the barracks, one by one, each containing an exhibit on the camp's history such as where the Jews and political prisoners were shipped in from (I honestly didn't remember that people were brought in from just about every corner of Europe), how the camps were constructed and run, and what life was like for people held there. The general idea was that the Nazis had decided to eradicate a whole race of people and they were trying to do it as efficiently as possible. Hundreds of thousands arrived. Some were already dead, some died while waiting, those who did not die during the voyage were separated into two groups. Those who could work and those who would wait to be killed by gas, injection, torture, and even brutal experimentation.
Exhibit after exhibit we'd see things like tons of human hair harvested and sold for the German textile industry, thousands of shoes, suitcases, toothbrushes, and other possessions... and yet, it wasn't really registering. It's literally unbelievable that anyone could have set up such an organized system for murdering men, women, and children (a woman showing up with a baby in her arms was an instant death sentence).
Yet, it still happened. An inappropriate 10-minute crush on my tour guide. Out of respect for the ultimate experience, I won't go into details but I eventually snapped out of it and left the tour group to contemplate. I grabbed a quick soup lunch while I waited for the bus to Birkenau, the second, larger extermination camp built in Auschwitz.
It was a terribly hot day and I was a bit worn. When the bus arrived at Birkenau, I swallowed hard. In front of me was a 125-acre camp that contained the remains of barracks as far as the eye could see. Most were just chimney stacks that hadn't crumbled after the wood had around them. I walked through a few of the barracks and witnessed miserable living conditions. I tried to imagine thousands of Jews and prisoners arriving by train through the gates. At one end of the camp were the ruins of two incinerators where the dead were cremated. A memorial lies between them. The shear size of this camp was what made it finally hit me. I had had enough and I was ready to move on.
Notes: The Krakow to Auschwitz train cost 11z from Glowny station and took about 50minutes. From the Auschwitz train station (Oswiecim), you catch a quick 2z bus to the museum. You can also take a longer bus ride for 7z each way, also run by PKP. Once at the museum, the tour is free but you should register with the reception area and wait for the next tour in your language (or you can slip into one in progress). There is a film to view as well for an additional cost. Although the museum is free, 5 0r 10z donations are accepted to help with the preservation of the grounds.
...As I made my way through the grounds, I saw many people in tears. Many had come to light candles or leave flowers. But one thing that irked me were people posing for photos around the camps. At Birkenau, I actually saw tourists smiling as they stood on the train tracks for a photo. I dunno...
...I've been visiting several Jewish districts while traveling through Poland and the Czech Republic. Often, it is mentioned that there aren't that many Jews living in these areas anymore whereas there were thousands before World War II. Seeing these Death Camps, it just boggles my mind to think about the loss of these communities...
On the bus ride back, I did meet a couple of great guys from New York who chatted with me about our travels. We went back to the Market Square and had dinner with a couple from Atlanta. I realized that I had been silent from the moment I left my hostile to go to Auschwitz in the morning (I did say 'mushroom' soup to the restaurant lady at lunch) until I had met them on the bus. It was nice to end a heavy afternoon with a great dinner and new friends. (Hey guys!)
Kinga and Magda walked me around Nowa Huta yesterday. It's this master-planned community developed at the beginning of the 50's by Soviet architects. It's a city within a city really where steel mill workers were supposed to live in communist harmony. It's immense and very uniform. We headed to the gates of the factory and watched the workers for a bit, drinking beers in the park after their shifts.
Back near the Market Square, I was introduced to pierogis at U Babci Maliny's. I made the mistake of ordering potato pancakes and pierogi which are these dumplings that resemble ravioli, stuffed with different sorts of things. Carol and John had this meal covered via FeedTony.com. I'll have proper photographic evidence later. As hungry as I was, I could only eat three of the fifteen pierogi on my plate. I almost always finish my meals. But these things were much too heavy. Plus there was this strange pork fat sprinkled over the top that started to unsettle the potato pancakes I'd already consumed. My American appetite, finally beaten by Poland. I'll get you next time Babci Malini, next time.
Labels: Poland
I found myself in a crowded market square in a Jewish district of Krakow called Kazimierz. Magda had instructed me to meet her and her friends at the corner of Estery street in front of a pub. I'd never seen her before so there were a few moments where I tried to make eye contact with the wrong girls. Then there was the soup line. There must have been about sixty people queued up for soup. So I told her on the phone that I was waiting by "the soup line", my thinking was, anyone would notice a crazy line for soup. The kicker was, it just happened to be the annual Festival of Soups. So there were about thirty lines for soup throughout the area. Anyway, guess you had to be there.
We finally found each other and I was starving. Soup sounded like a good treatment for my worsening cold so I asked Magda's boyfriend, Martin, how much the soup was. It was FREE! Free soup. Can you believe it? Delicious homemade soup served all over the place. No wonder there were hundreds of people lined up. So we sampled seven soups around the district, served out of pubs, doorways, and on the street. It was great. Afterwards we hung out at a pub for a bit and discussed language, the bubble Americans live in, and why we give a hoot about Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton.
We moved on to Monica's apartment and had a traditional Polish imbibing session with Zubrowka and pickled cucumbers (homemade by Mon's grandmother). Magda also treated me to a taste of Soplica vodka which has a sweeter flavor of caramel and some sort of nut.
The night gets blurry from that point. I recall us going to a night club and me dancing like a crazy American for a long time. Zubrowka will do that to me I guess (it really is the formula for dancing, Yasmin). Before we concluded the night, I had to try this Polish street snack that I couldn't even begin to try to spell which is basically a baguette with melted cheese and ketchup. They dropped me off at Mama's Hostel and I sat in a chair waiting to use the internet, but passed out in a few minutes. I woke up several hours later (the keys to my room laying on the floor where they had dropped from my hand) and stumbled to my bunk for some rest.
Today I'm off to meet Magda and Kinga to do some touring of Krakow. Tomorrow I'll try to hit Auschwitz and take a night train to the Czech Republic.
YouTube
Arrived safely in Krakow. It's quite lovely here, I'll try to take more photos. Got lost on the bus for at least and hour and a half. Mama's Hostel is pretty nice, nicest hostel yet. I'm showered up and starving. Heading to Kazimierz to meet Azad's Polish friend.
Ever get one of those ear aches on the plane because the pressure builds up in your sinuses? Miserable.
Ever get one of those ear aches on the plane because the pressure builds up in your sinuses? Miserable.
Labels: Poland
