Poland Top Five!

So - the attempt to make this post much more enjoyable (to write AND to read), I'll do my best to add humor where I can. :)

1) SHUTTLE BUSES! So - as you may have gathered from the previous post, THAT shuttle bus was not our travel friend. We actually had a few more shuttle bus encounters, once we arrived in Poland. I will highlight my favorite shuttle bus story from Poland. So, we land in Krakow, and taxi up to the airport like normal. With RyanAir you 97.2% of the time exit the plane via stairs and then either walk or shuttle bus it to the airport building. This time, we unload off the plane and see a waiting shuttle bus. We climb aboard and (attempt to) patiently wait for it to fill up. Strollers are being unfolded, elderly people are being helped aboard, small children are being dragged on by the wrist etc. You can imagine. A good 1o mintues later, we're full, and the bus takes off. Literally TEN SECONDS, not min, SECONDS later, we arrive at the dropoff point. This dropoff point was 25 yards from where the plane sat. Not even. WHAT? The drove us farther then it would have taken to walk. And WAY more time. We were completely dumbfounded. I was laughing as we WAITED TO GET OFF the bus. The best part - when we flew home - we got to take the shuttle bus again, this time maybe about 27 yards (OH MY!) to our plane. The whole time the bus was being loaded up this second time, Carolyn and I were laughing. Loudly. Shuttle buses - just not the most efficient transportation. :) (Picture above left is us on the bus waiting to be driven to the plane, as we had to wait for the passengers to be unloaded and loaded onto THEIR bus. Can you even see the plane? It's so very far away, I know.)

2) Lilies of the Valley. I already mentioned this - but we were such a lovely pair of tourists, that a shop owner gave us each a stem of lilies of the valley. I carried mine around the whole day. So in all my pictures that day, you can see this little stem of flowers in my hand. I felt like a small child who carries around a dandelion she picked and wants to show it off. My the end of the day it was drooping and didn't smell all that nice. But - I needed a little flower to perk up my day. It worked. (see right) :)

3) Procession. We woke up on Sunday and opened our room's window to see sense the weather conditions - and heared church music and singing! It was beautiful, and we thought we were listening to an acutal church service. But, when we left that day and were walking around Krakow, we ran into this VERY LONG procession of priests and nuns of various levels in the church. They were all chanting and it was just a very cool thing to see. But, we had no idea WHAT the purpose was - and a bunch of the city was out, lining the streets, to watch. We HAD to watch because they were blocking one of the main streets. So - random but very cool thing to see! (see left)

4) Charleroi Airport. As I mentioned - this airport is not our friend. Things always go wrong, etc. when we're there. We had to sleep in the airport on Sunday night - and it didn't work that well. For one - my phone was sitting next to me, as my alarm clock, and when I woke up - it was gone. Now my phone is the most BASIC phone there is, nothing fancy, and so I'm fairly certain no one took it. Plus - all my other stuff was safe, including items of higher value. So, we deemed that Charleroi had simply absorbed my phone into its walls. If you knew this airport - it sounds possible. Neither of us could really sleep, and I've come to the realization that airport chairs are a LOT more comfortable than the cold, tile floor. Anyone that thinks otherwise hasn't tried sleeping on the cold, tile floor. So Charleroi airport - not our friend. At ALL.

5) Small world. So, while at the Charleroi airport, and waiting for daylight, Carolyn and I found some open chairs to sit in (once we gave up on the floor. ) As we sat down, this guy next to us noticed Carolyn's U of M jacket, and asked if we were from MN. Turns out he goes to St. Thomas and was studying in Rome! We chit chatted and he then asked which HS I went to in Mankato (once I had told him where I was from) and that surprised me. Turns out, he was asking because he knew Paul Blaschko! WHAT!?! So random! Then we found out that, like Paul, Elliott is going through the seminary - and is studying in the perfect place. Can't get much better than Rome eh? It was so fun to run into someone that we could talk to, especially as we had time to kill until our 5:30AM SHUTTLE BUS arrived. Small world truly!

Poland had it's fun moments too, see? We tried to find the humor and beauty in the little things that weekend, as Auschwitz truly gives you the perspective that life is PRETTY GOOD right now. I must now get back to studying for finals...but will be blogging about Venice next - so stay tuned!!!!!!!!!

Witnessing History: Auschwitz

I'm back! Next trip to discuss with you all is the trip I made with Carolyn to Krakow, Poland. It was a very last minute trip, and we booked it due to the VERY cheap airfare. We both also wanted to see Auschwitz, which is about an hour outside the city of Krakow. We went for a short weekend, left Friday evening and flew home Sunday night.

Carolyn and I had a slight heart attack as we attempted to make it to the plane on Friday. The airport we flew out of, Brussels-Charleroi is our LEAST favorite airport. We have to take 2-3 different trains to get there, and then wait for a shuttle bus. THAT shuttle bus was VERY late that day, and Carolyn and I were getting very close to missing our plane! We ended up taking a taxi from the train station to the airport, which was NOT in the budget. If the shuttle bus would have arrived, I would have kicked it. We made our plane, no thanks to the shuttle bus.

We got into Poland in the early evening, and found our way into Krakow by way of the train. The train station we ended at in Krakow was attached to the LARGEST mall I've seen in Europe! It rivals the bigger ones back home, bigger than Rosedale for sure. Carolyn and I were blown away, and also blown away by how cheap everything was! We were using the Polish zloty for the weekend, which was extremely good for the trip budget. :)

We found the way to our hostel, and were excited to see how nice, clean and QUIET the hostel was! Each room had its own theme - and Carolyn and I had the 'Mint Sorbet' room - a five person room - all to ourselves (see left). It was GREAT! We hit the sack early as the next day we wanted to see Auschwitz. We signed up to go with a tour group, as the train system to get there is a bit complicated.

We were picked up by our driver the next day, and we were the first stop of the day. Our fellow group members were subsequently picked up - and the majority were British tourists. One large group of guys from Britain were QUITE hungover. Two of them didn't even make the bus. Why would one drink the night before going to see Auschwitz? Hmm...I don't get it.

Our bus ride was accompanied by a video about Auschwitz. It was really hard to watch at parts, as they would show images of the camp, or the survivors, and even, the poor victims of the twisted experiments that happened there. Many of those experiments were done to children too, which for parts I literally had to look away. So hard to grasp the sickening torture those people endured. Needless to say, we were all silent as the bus drove into the Auschwitz I parking lot. The whole place has remained the same as it was 70 years ago, but they added on a visitor's center which was PACKED when we got there. Our group was added to a bunch of others, and we all received headphones so we could hear our tour guide.

We started by walking underneath the famous sign, Arbeit Macht Frei (which was actually not the real one; the real one is being put back together after being stolen a few months ago)(See upper left). We were told about the way the camp was laid out, and the statistics about the amount of people that came into the camp. We were taken into one of the 'bunk houses' where we saw exhibits containing the items that were taken from the people when they arrived. Mountains of shoes, luggage, and even hair that was shaved from the victims heads. There were 2 tons of hair that we saw in the exhibit, but apparently the Russians found over 6 tons when they liberated the camp. That means that's how much was LEFT OVER, as the Nazi would use the hair in rugs or simply burn it. That was the oddest thing to see.

We then walked down to the building #11 - the camp prison (see right). Not the place anyone wanted to be sent. There were many different torture rooms that we walked by, which just made my stomach turn over. I couldn't even fathom those people being in those rooms. We also walked down a hallway lined with pictures of the some of the victims of Auschwitz. It showed the date they arrived, and their date of death. Most didn't live longer than two months. We were even taken downstairs to see the room where the Nazi's first experimented with Zyklon B (the gas used). Apparently it worked.

We were then shown the execution wall outside, which had flowers and scented oils all over in rembrance of the people who were killed there. We also were taken to the gas chamber I (see left) and went inside. I was not thrilled about going IN the gas chamber, I already felt weird enough. Just standing in there made my skin crawl. That gas chamber could kill 600 people in 15 minutes (if I recall the statistics correctly), which wasn't efficient enough for the Nazis. They then built gas chambers II, III, and IV. Right next to gas chamber I is the gallows where Rudolf Höss was executed post-Nuremburg. He was the camp 'director' and the only Nazi to be hung in the same camp where he had killed so many.

We were then taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, which was created after Auschwitz I, and is MUCH larger. It could hold 100,000 people at once! That is over double the population of Mankato! This is where the scene from Schindler's List is filmed, when the women from Schindler's factory arrive at the camp. We were taken to see the bunk rooms - which are what we think of when we think of concentration camp bunk beds. We also saw the 'sanitation' room - a long cement slab with holes in it. Everyone went together, and only got to go twice a day, if that. Crazy. (Pictures clockwise from top left: view down one side of the camp; inside one the 'bunk houses'; where 'selection' would take place - on the gravel inbetween the tracks; where the train came into the camp - scene in Schindler's List was actually shot here)

The ride home was VERY quiet, as everyone tried to stomach what we had just seen. Carolyn and I grabbed lunch when we got back - which was extremely tasty AND extremely cheap! (See right). Then we both napped when we got home, and neither of us felt very positive about life. We decided to venture into Krakow to try to raise our spirits - which it did. The city is a beautiful one, with old buildings, small shops, and a very friendly population. We had a great day once we got out into the town. We made friends with one lady who owned a souvenir shop, and she gave us each a stem of lilies of the valley - which I carried around the rest of the day. When dinner time rolled around, we both wanted something very 'Polish'. The restaurant we picked looked great, but was packed. We were asked if we would mind eating in the basement... ha, nope! We had the basement to ourselves, which was great. We could chat and be loud and not bother anyone. I had something very good, but unexpected for anyone who knows me: Polish cabbage rolls! They were VERY filling, as were the bread and spread we had as an appetizer. The spread had chunks of potato (I think) in it, which was filling enough to be the main meal (Both can be seen below and below right)! We left feeling VERY full. It was a long, educational day.

The next day we spent out exploring Krakow, again. We toured parts of Wawel Castle (see below), which sits in the middle of town. It was fun to see all the old regal decorations, furniture and paintings. We even toured the 'Dragon's Den' (see below) which is where the mythical dragon of Poland lived (the cave is below Wawel Castle). Sadly, there was no dragon there. We enjoyed wandering around the town, especially through the open air markets where they had LOTS of fun jewelry for sale. I'm such a sucker for jewelry! We left Krakow for the airport in the late afternoon.


Our plane ride was smooth and we landed late that night. That's when the fun started. We knew we were going to spend the night in the airport before we left on the trip - because the trains had stopped running by the time our plane landed. We found a little corner in the airport and attempted to catch some Zzz's. More in the Top Five, but that was a very unsuccessful attempt. We did have a fun part of night - also covered in the Top Five. The next morning though Carolyn and I were on the FIRST (STUPID) shuttle bus to the train station - at 5:30 AM. We were home that morning by 10:30. (Picture at right of our 'spot')

I was exhausted - so napped for a good while before waking up to work on a project for class that was due that same day at 4:00. I was a real happy camper! :) BUT - the very next day we were leaving for Italy, so I found some energy!

All in all, Poland was an 'interesting trip'. My stomach was twisted the whole time, whenever my mind would wander back to what I saw in Auschwitz. It was a place I had always wanted to see, but now that I have, I never want to go back. Once was enough. I hope that anyone that is able to go see Auschwitz CAN do so - I think it's important to go see what our species did to our own. Hopefully by seeing such atrocities, and learning about it, the current events of our time will never get to that point ever again. Humans aren't perfect, but we all have a conscious. It's just the choice to listen to it, or not.

Look forward to the Top Five - which will be more uplifting, promise!

Amsterdam Top Five

Blogging has now become my study break...which means, hopefully, a lot of these will be coming your way this week as I study for finals. First off will be the Top Five from Amsterdam...short and sweet:

1) Orange. Now I discovered that orange is not a particularly flattering color, on ANYONE. But, you had to wear it on Queen's Day or you just weren't celebrating properly. I also would have never bought a hat that style, OR with glitter all over it if not for this holiday. Other people though wore large, inflated orange crowns - so my hat wasn't to THAT level of obnoxious. (See left, those hats were EVERYWHERE!) I also now possess an orange shirt - though the phrase is sweet (If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much), that won't really go with anything I wear from here on out. I'm learning to tolerate the color though...but we're still not good friends. Think about it...do YOU look good in orange?

2) Rain. When one sees the forecast is rain - perhaps it would be best to carry an umbrella. We all KNEW it was supposed to rain that Thursday night of Queen's Day Eve, but yet three of us didn't bring umbrellas OR jackets OR wear long sleeves. I don't know what I was thinking. After getting completely soaked and QUITE cold, I learned my lesson. When in doubt, bring that stupid umbrella, even with the two prongs on it that don't function. It's better than nothing! Ironically though, ON Queen's Day it was also supposed to rain (brought the umbrella this time) and it was sunny all day! Isn't that just ironic?

3) Who needs restaurants when you have Albert Heijn?!? We discovered truly how cheap we could be by eating only random things from the grocery store...I especially enjoyed how cheap bags of chips were! :) We did attempt to eat healthy with sandwiches and apples...but I always snuck some chips to the checkout too, mwah ha ha! Seriously though, on a weekend where prices were jacked up everywhere due to the holiday, we really were smart by just eating from the AH store. I even found a cute, Dutch-looking tin with cookies inside - which I bought more for the tin than the cookies. Who know grocery stores could also provide one with souviners??

4) Simple pleasures. We did a LOT of card playing over the weekend, even more so than the Spain trip...and it was the best part of the trip, from my point of view. We were in our small hostel room with barely any room to sit, yet had a great time. It didn't cost any money, we didn't have to go anywhere, and we all were enjoying ourselves. Looking for something fun to do tonight? Pull out those cards! My family does that frequently on our vacations and they always turn into some of the best trip moments. :)

5) What are we celebrating? Although we all knew the basis behind Queen's Day, it was odd that there weren't any real celebrations ABOUT the Queen. The whole day reminded me of Homecoming - a celebration where everyone has a great time, but you're not really sure WHAT you're actually celebrating. The streets were packed with people, the canals were stuffed to the brim with boats, dancing and loud music was everywhere, and just a general good time was had by all who were in Amsterdam. But all day I kept looking around and taking in the festivities and wondering how the festivities I was witnessing were celebrating the Queen's Birthday. Like how does playing football celebrate Homecoming? We always think it makes sense...but...does it? (Picture above right was of us dancing to the music of a boat that was passing by...they liked our dancing. Who wouldn't?)

Amsterdam was a very short trip, a we did very little 'touristy' things, hence the short top five. I have three trips left to document, and then a few final Maastricht things to say before I come home. I have only ten days left here in Maastricht, and the majority are going to be spent studying for finals. It's going to go SO fast and before you know it, this blogging thing will be over! AH! But for now - you know that more blogs are on the way, so calm down. :)

Queen's Day in Amsterdam

Queen's Day is a national Dutch holiday which celebrates the Queen's birthday. ACTUALLY it is on the date of the old Queen's birthday (April 30) because Beatrix, the current Queen, was born in January. Considering the day is all about festivals outside, the date made more sense in April. Many different cities in the Netherlands celebrate the holiday, but the place to be is Amsterdam. SO - we made reservations FAR in advance to make sure we'd be there to celebrate in the capital of Queen's Day!

I traveled with a different group this time. Theresia (Sweden) was there again, and I was joined by my other two friends, Brandon (goes to Purdue) and Farzin (Iran). We left on Thursday evening, as many of us had classes that day. The train to Amsterdam was PACKED! There wasn't enough seats, so our group sat in the area where you get on and off the train - a little platform that's separated from the rest of the seats. When we first got on, we were sitting packed like sardines with about 10 other people...I could have spit on each of them - that's how close we were sitting. Weird example, but I couldn't think of anything better. Don't worry - I don't spit on people. :) Our little spot was getting hot and uncomfortable, so the next stop, everyone who didn't have a seat dashed out of the train and ran up to the front of the train - where we'd been told there was more space. We didn't get seats the second time around, but did have the same little platform area all to ourselves this time. We played Presidents the whole way up to Amsterdam...and embraced our fun seating area. :)

Once in Amsterdam, we had a short walk to the hostel. It was a LARGE hostel, and looked more like a nice hotel inside (see left). The four of us had our own private room (below right), which was very nice. Brandon's twin brother, Ben, (who's studying in Vienna currently) was also in town for Queen's Day, and we decided to go meet up with him and his friends in the central area of the city. We set out walking...and it was a lovely, warm temperature. When we started. After a half hour of walking, the temperature started to drop as it started to rain. I should mention that only Theresia was smart enough to bring a jacket. The rest of us were in tshirts! No matter...we were all troopers and kept going until we got to the city center. By that time it was pouring, and there were people everywhere crouched under the awnings of stores. Some even had simply embraced the situation and were just going about their normal celebrations out in the rain. We finally located Ben and his friends...and we all attempted to dry off, ironically, inside an ice cream shop. No idea why I thought ice cream would be a good idea to 'warm up'. We had hoped to enjoy the Queen's Day-eve celebrations that evening, but realized with the rain and lack of jackets/umbrellas, that we'd be better off heading back to the hostel. Our group of four got a cab (45 minutes in the rain didn't seem appealing) back to our hostel. We had a GREAT night that night actually, playing Presidents until the early hours of the morning. Amazing how the best times are the simple ones. :)

The next day we were up early, showered, and decked out in our orange gear! For Queen's Day, anything orange goes - people wear all sorts of ridiculous apparel. Also, wearing the Dutch flag colors is also acceptable. It's like a 4th of July celebration on steroids - with all the dressing up and national pride that goes on, on Queen's Day. Theresia and I were both sporting orange shirts that read "If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much" and I also found this ridiculous orange glitter hat. The hat looks like something you'd wear in a 12-year-old tap dance routine. It was PERFECT (See the very top picture and the one to the upper right)!

It wasn't raining too bad...so we decided to walk to meet up with Ben's group of friends from the night before. We found them in the city center, as well as a group of our friends back from Maastricht who came just for the day. Our group for the day was HUGE - about 20 people (see left). We all grabbed lunch soon after, from one of my new favorite grocery stores - Albert Heijn. My lunch was pretty basic, a bag of chips. :) I shared though!!! (And I was on a budget here). We wandered through the city, checking out the different events and crazy canals. People would pile onto boats in the canals and dance on their boats as they'd just all float down the canals with music blasting. It was hilarious to watch, and I was sure there'd be lots of people falling out of boats, but the Dutch have good balance (see above left and right)! We ended the afternoon at the big plaza outside the Van Gogh museum, where there were live bands playing. We were pretty exhausted by then and it was almost dinner time. We split up there from the group (who we had left) and the original group of four headed back in the direction of the hostel. Due to the ridiculous crowds, this walk home took about two hours. We stopped halfway home to enjoy a dinner compliments of Albert Heijn, again. This time we were much healthier, with sandwiches, fruit AND chips (see right). :) Pictures below were taken throughout the afternoon!

All four of us napped when we got home, for a good two hours. Then it was time for Presidents - this time with costumes for the President and the loser. We used most of Brandon's costume from the day: President wore an orange tie and orange aviators; loser wore orange suspenders and (never before worn) blue boxers on their head. We felt like the boxers added the right amount of humiliation to the loser. Guess who was the loser for the majority of the evening. Yes - that would be me. I sported the loser apparel with pride - and we came up with many different ways to wear the costumes. It became a rule that you had to wear the tie, suspenders and boxers in a different fashion each time. It got pretty hilarious, as you could imagine. Below are some of the pictures...bah ahaha. I think Brandon got the award for being the most creative.

The next morning we packed everything up and checked out. But, before we left Amsterdam, we wanted to see some of the sights. Sadly, the city wasn't clean for the festivities the day before, so garbage was everywhere. We wandered in the direction of the I AMsterdam sign, that is quite famous. After much searching and eventually asking, we found that the sign had been moved! And it's a BIG sign!!! We were bummed, but decided to create our OWN sign. With only four of us, the spelling of it took a few pictures...but hey - it's all about the effort, right? :) First picture is what the ACTUAL sign looks like. Our pictures spell out: [I-A-M-S] [T-E-R-D] [A-M]


Theresia left us then - as she had to head back to work on homework. The boys and I wanted to see the Anne Frank house before we left, and walked in that direction, not far from the sight of the sign (normally) and our reenactment. The line for the Anne Frank is notoriously long, but we amused ourselves as we waited in the hour line. Farzin had already seen the House, so he went to grab coffee when Brandon and I finally reached the door to get it. No pictures were allowed inside, but the picture below left is looking up the outside)

I've read The Diary of Anne Frank a few times during my years in school, but it was VERY strange to see the house itself. You follow a path that takes you through the office (where Otto Frank worked) downstairs before climbing up the Secret Annex. The wallpaper is the same, and so is the structure itself. It's been kept up, of course, but it's the original building in every respect. The bookcase is still there, and you walk through before climbing the stairs to the Secret Annex. Each room is empty, as the furniture was removed after the inhabitants were taken, and Otto Frank didn't want the furniture replaced. Anne's room still has the pictures up that she glued to the walls over 60 years earlier. There is even a spot on the wall where Anne and her sister Margot's heights were recorded over the two year period they were there. It was so strange to see, and it kind of felt like you were walking through a doll house. There were excerpts from Anne's diary found throughout the tour, and it made me want to reread it. At the end were videos from people who knew the Franks, or Anne particularly. A friend of hers was in a neighboring camp, and had found out that her friend Anne (whom she couldn't see) was on the other side of the fence. She threw food over to Anne at one point. Crazy to listen to this woman, and know that she was good friends with Anne. Anne died one month before her camp was liberated.

After making it through the House, Brandon and I joined up again with Farzin. We stopped for one last Albert Heijn meal before picking up our bags from the hostel, and heading back to Maastricht. On the way home I learned another card game - Rummy. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and need to find friends back home to play with.

Overall, a fun weekend - Queen's Day was a blast. And, I was glad I was able to see the Anne Frank House, although it wasn't a 'fun' experience. It set things up well for the following weekend in Poland, as Carolyn and I headed to Auschwitz. More about that soon!