Poland

In Krakow we rented an apartment for a couple of nights. It was nice to have space, and a kitchen. George even made french toast.

Some views from our walks around the city.

We stayed outside of Warsaw, in Modlin for one night.

We took the train to Warsaw for an afternoon wandering and exploring.

Our train rolled passed the old railroad tracks.

Weeds and colorful wildflowers sprout through the rusty rails.
They bloom once again like their ancestors did when the holocaust trains rolled by
carrying thousands and thousands of humans to their doom at Auschwitz.

These weeds all stood straight up, saluting us as we rolled by.
Were they thanking us for their existence because of the blood, sweat and
tears that spilled from the hot holocast trains that watered their ancestors?

Yes, the doomed watered the vegatation along this route.
The doom watered the seeds of their parents, grandparents greatgrandparents etc...

And these weeds and wildflowers live because no one pulled out their
ancestors from the soil or sprayed them with poisonous gas. They continue
to live on for another year, to seed for the next and the next.

But the doomed on the trains that rolled past the flora ancestors were
indeed yanked from their soil and sprayed with poison so they would never
seed again.

Those seeds. They never existed.

And it is these unexisted children and grandchildren that could have been the
love of your life, or the ones to solve the world's problems. Maybe you
wonder why you're so lonely, why no one understands you, why you have
no friends. There is a simple answer to that. They were murdered long
before they existed.

We took a train to Katowice, Poland. We stayed in a nice apartment right in the main area near the train station. I don't think we've stayed right in the core of the center before. Conveniences galore.

Our apartment kitchen where I cooked a pasta dinner! I really enjoyed having a kitchen to cook in again.

While in Katowice, we decided to to go see Auschwitz and Birkenau. It's a pretty heavy-hearted experience and I will share some photos but not a lot of words.
I'll admit it felt a little creepy taking a train there.

To visit Auschwitz, you first have to make an online reservation (don't wait until the last minute), but it is free to enter. They are strict about the entry times too. We did not go with a tour, nor get the headset guide. George felt we didn't need them.

We entered a building where there had been mass killings and I was overcome with sadness. My eyes started tearing, then stinging, I felt a big lump in my throat, then my ears and throat felt a burning sensation. It was painful. Physically and emotionally.

Next stop: Kraków

Wroclaw Poland was a city we'd never heard of until my friend Gosia suggested it. (Thanks Gosia!) Wroclaw has belonged to different countries, but became part of Poland in 1945, due to border changes after WW2. We also learned that Wroclaw was chosen as one of the cities for the 2016 European Capital of Culture. That explains a lot of the current construction going on.

We walked around the old town, the bridges along the Oder (Odra) River. But hands down, our favorite place was the Botanical Garden (Ogród Botaniczny). It is so beautiful and inviting. Of the many botanical gardens we've been to in the U.S. and Europe, this is a top favorite.

Wroclaw is very walkable, has a good tram system, and some good pizza.