Asia/Europe Travels 2008: Kuala Lumpur Thailand Laos Vietnam Germany Austria Prague (Czech Republic)
Poland Vilnius (Lithuania) Riga (Latvia) Berlin London (UK) Amsterdam (Holland) Dublin (Ireland) Hamburg

Poland

Monday 20th October - Prague to Krakow

Leaving our great hostel in Prague we said goodbye to our Aussie friends and walked down to the train station. Here we took a short train trip to the main station where we purchased our international train ticket a few with a few hours before departure. It actually would have worked out about $100 less if we had a 6th person, which was kind of annoying but apparently if you get caught without the 6th person on the train you have to pay a fine. I think we will try and find someone travelling alone to join us for the next trip however if the same rules apply.

With two hours to kill we walked outside and settled in the park adjacent to the station with all our luggage. It seemed everyone was content to sit and read books so I headed into town to spend my last 58 crowns and try and fix up my mobile which didn't accept my brand new sim card. I passed several large buildings on my way to the central square where there was another market place. I bought some cheap bananas and apples and attempted to buy some plums before the lady billed me about 5 times what they were worth. I think they label most fruits by the kilo and some per piece hoping to catch out the unwary traveller. Still at $2 per plum they had to go back. I actually tried three times to change my last 58 crowns to our destination currency but 78 seemed to be the minimum amount they could change. Leaving in search of a Vodafone shop to get my sim card fixed probed to be challenging as I was sent on a wild goose chase. The first actual Vodafone shop pointed me about 10 minutes walk away to a service centre where I could unlock my phone. I tracked it down after a lot of wrong turns only to find that they couldn't help me. The guy at the desk who hardly spoke any English wrote down the directions to a place that could help me and pointed down the street. The street names were all different however and in despair I gave up heading back to the group. I'll just have to get my money back in Berlin!

It was actually quite peaceful chilling on the park bench for the next half an hour before we headed down to get an early seat on the train. It turns out that unlike Germany and Austria the platform number is only available a few minutes before the train arrives so everyone waits on the train side of the information board until it appears. Then there is a mad rush to the designated platform where the train is hopefully waiting. Eager to get a section where we were all together we rushed down but found no train. It turns out the train was practically empty and after diving into 5 seats together we found a private booth completely empty and moved. After our tickets were checked, the lady informed us that at about 6pm the train breaks in two and only the front half goes to Krakow, so we had to jump up 5 carriages. This seemed like an easy task, however I was glad Siobhan mentioned the prospect of moving at about 5.30. The carriages were actually quite long and I think it was almost about a 10 minute walk dragging our bags rocking from side to side up the narrow aisle. It was a successful move however and shortly after we settled in our new section we felt the carriage uncouple.

There was only one other person in our section for the rest of the trip and it felt very empty. Still we had fun playing boggle, Chinese checkers and reading to kill the time. To be honest the 7 hour train journey went by in a flash and we were soon heading towards our accommodation ambitiously on foot this time. It was a short 15 walk though and nice to see the city streets as we meandered towards our hostel. At about 10.30 we made it, and knew we were onto a good thing when greeted with friendly reception staff. It really makes such a difference to your day when the staff are friendly I might add. They informed us that there was a free laundry service, and gave us a free voucher for a shot at the bar downstairs. We walked into town and pretty much the only place that was serving food was the kebab shop and pizza joint opposite so we settled for a slice of pizza and headed home to bed.

Tuesday 21st October - Krakow (Auschwitz)

We enjoyed our complementary breakfast which a basic selection from the bread, toast, coffee and tea. Sally and I decided to go on the confronting tour of the Auschwitz concentration camp which had been highly recommended by several people so far. We headed towards the train station and luckily avoided getting lost by guessing that the bus station existed behind the train station although there were very few signs pointing that way. The bus was about one and a half hours long, and cost about $5 one way. We winded through the autumn forests, and sparse meadows on which little cottages had been built. I guess it was the more pleasant part of the journey because as soon as we got out of the bus, we realised the sombre atmosphere that lingered around the entrance to biggest Nazi concentration camp in Europe. Inside we found that it was about $15 for a tour, and they give you headphones so you can hear the guide throughout the small rooms along the tour.

Leaving almost immediately without a chance for any lunch, we headed off one what was to be one of the most confronting but at the same time amazing tours I have ever been on. The concentration camps were set up with incredible detail. Everything from the stories that were told to the prisoners so that they blindly parted with their loved ones to their execution, to the way in which the entire operation was concealed to others was chilling. Over 1.1 million Jewish people were murdered in the same buildings we were walking in, although guesses to the actual numbers of those executed have been guessed as high as 1.5 million. Proof of such killings is limited as evidence of these crimes was destroyed towards the end of the war making it impossible to be conclusive about the number figures impossible.

It is perhaps an interesting point of conversation to talk about what a place like this means for a generation mostly devoid of any generational contact with the era, and I have to say that until you have actually been there, a history lesson on the subject merely scrapes the surface of one of the most important parts of our history. Somehow it is easy to remove yourself from the possibility that such events would ever occur again by reasoning that our society has moved on, become more intelligent, more socially aware etc etc. Somehow standing there in the same rooms only 65 years later moved something inside me. It was well within our influence and certainly recent enough in our history that we should be concerned about such events taking place again if our current situation was taken for granted.

I feel as if I could write a hundred pages on this experience, as there was so much to see and so much to take in, however I would find it difficult to sum up in words what I saw, so I will simply say that if you have never been to something like this before, you should definitely check it out at some point. It is not going to be an enjoyable experience by any means, however it does move people when they see that only about 65 years ago such atrocities have occurred. On the plaque it was written "For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million Jews from various countries in Europe." At the monument erected to remember those who died each stone was meant to represent a life that was taken, and as you can see from the picture, there were a hell of a lot.

That night we had our complimentary Mad Dog shot which I must say is quite a surprise, and met up with some other guys who were staying at the hostel. A group of 6 of us hit the town for a night clubbing. We first came across a bar in the Jewish quarter which seemed like the place to be at midnight. After this, a real club was on the agenda, so shortly after we found ourselves dancing away. The music was all the same as back home, but it was twice as fun dancing with the locals and drinking the night away. I am not sure when we headed home but it must have been around 5am, just before the sun came up. Another fantastic night on the town, but it left a little bit of a hangover the next day.

Wed 22nd October - Krakow to Warsaw

I didn't really sleep much on our clubbing night, but at about 12.30 we headed off to a vegetarian restaurant up the road which was really good. We then jumped on the train for the 5 hour journey to Warsaw to meet up with Siobhan's friends.

At the station we eventually met up with Przemek who drove us back to their awesome apartment where we met with Aga and little Kuba. Despite being tired and a little drained from the night before, a lively evening of great food, drinking and conversation followed. Przemek brought out the local vodka for us to try and boy it was good. One of the bottles even had a blade of grass in it, which was to be consumed by the mightiest drinker. It was a great night and left us needing a well earned sleep in.

Thur 23rd October - Warsaw

This was one of our first days in since starting our travels and it was great. We just slept in, did washing, checked emails, wrote journals and spent time with Aga and Cuba indoors. It was a really pleasant day and a chance to recharge the batteries after a long night out. We decided to cook up a meal for our host family which consisted of Gourmet Pizza, Salad and Pavlova. After an eventful shopping experience the cooking began and it was a lot of fun. The food was great and we soon pulled out the games. At first Przemek brought out a game which required a wooden object to be snatched from the centre of the table when the shapes from two people's hands lined up. There were some subtle differences between the shapes however and many mistakes were made. It was a great game however. Next came a round of spoons and then it was time for bed.

Fri 24th October - Warsaw

Awaking early we managed to get a lift into Warsaw with Przemek on his way to work. The day started with a trip to the Warsaw history museum. This was excellent and definitely worth a look. I think we were there for almost 4 hours without seeing it all. There was everything from documentaries, interviews, journal entries, artefacts from the period to graphic pictures and accounts of the event. It was a great thing to do after our visit to Auschwitz as it added perspective to the events there. It also allowed an insight into the uprising in Warsaw, some of the horror stories, acts of compassion and bravery. We eventually needed a break after information overload, and headed off towards the Chopin museum. Sally and I went for a walk around town while the others checked out Chopin, however it was unfortunately closed so they had to settle on visiting the enclosed remains of his heart. Sally and I wandered through the main square past incredible buildings and statues. We passed an eternal flame which was heavily guarded and past the massive fountain surrounded by park.

We headed back and grabbed a coffee at a place that claimed it was trendy to drink coffee from paper cups, and then met up with the others at the designated meeting place. Cold and in need of a site down, Geoffrey, Dain and Siobhan needed a visit to the coffee shop, so back we went for another round. After a bit a while we managed to meet up with Przemek, Aga and Kuba who was sound asleep, and we all went out to a great Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately it was packed so we had to sit outside in the beer garden where it was freezing, although they supplied a heater and we thought we would give it a try. It actually wasn't too bad in the end and the food was really good. Afterwards we headed home and in the short time we had left, showed some travel photos, songs and videos. We had to be up early the next day so headed to bed about 12.30am.

Sat 25th October - Warsaw to Vilnius

5.30am was a difficult time to emerge as you can imagine, but the only train we could catch left the main station at 7.20am. We said our goodbyes and Przemek gave us a lift in to the main station. The train ride was interesting to say the least. At first the ticket lady said something to us in Polish which we didn't understand but through a series of charades we worked out that we needed to move up 3 carriages as the train would split in two. In our new cabin two security guards came along and pointed to Dain. We assumed they needed to see our passports so took them all out to show them. They only wanted to see Dain's however which seemed strange. After some Polish phrases we didn't understand, they pointed at his shoes and started writing a ticket. We realised at that point that you were not allowed to put shoes on the seat, and they had taken advantage of our lack of information to impose a $15 fine! Pretty crap, but without the whole language thing it is pretty hard to explain so he reluctantly handed over the money when a receipt was produced. Still we eventually made it in reasonably good spirits to Vilnius in Lithuania.