Not going to krak any jokes about this place as it could hurt, ow.

Never bloody heard of it until we got train tickets here. Only reason we stayed here was because after four board meetings, roll calls included, between The Wizard and The Big Bad Wolf, it was decided this place was the most suitable destination to accommodate us and our baggage.

Beforehand, I was only aware of one place in Poland, and that was Warsaw. The only knowledge I have of Warsaw is that the bloke Peter Skrzynecki wrote poems about it when his family had to move or something along those lines. Had to study it in English. Was alright. Now I know three places in Poland; Warsaw, Krakow and Katowice.

The train from Katowice to Krakow was an old heap of shit that chugged along faster than it was originally intended, the carriages bouncing up and down on the tracks. Weird people kept walking up and down the train approaching us, getting a bit close for comfort telling us things in Polish as the sun made its escape.

Arriving in Krakow we easily found Mosquito Hostel. Went to a local place for a bit of Polish cuisine, a mixed plate of ‘perogi’ was on the cards. Kinda like a dumpling and went down pretty good.

Auschwitz was two days after yesterday, the sole purpose for the detour to Poland. Got in a cramped mini van and fanged it an hour to the location of horrible memories and a depressing atmosphere of unthinkable events that took place. I had to sit next to some bloke from Straya. He was one of those blokes who reckons he knew it all. Traveling by himself because nobody wanted to travel with him as he’s a pain in the ass, yet tries to be convincing – convincing himself more than anyone else – that he wanted to and would rather it that way.

Got out of the mini van and were given airplane headphones with what reminded me of a radio cassette player old people used to use like my parents. It was happening. We were going to be categorised into that heinous group of people who do tours of stuff listening through an audio thingo ma bob. It was real gay. Still kicking myself I’m one of them.

First camp we went to was the museum camp known as Auschwitz I. It was here we saw; photographs of prisoners, clothing, women’s hair that had been saved to make nets and sacks after they’d been gassed, shoes, combs, toothbrushes, glasses and suitcases. Also viewed pictures of the daily struggle, a lot of barb wired fences and torture chambers; one torture chamber only big enough to fit four men standing, in which they did for days at a time often suffocating due to lack of oxygen. Walked into a courtyard where the firing squad would open fire upon thousands of prisoners. Entered into a gas chamber, the walls scattered with dummy shower heads to not raise any alarms to the prisoners about their fate. All of this was done before they were cremated.
It was very confronting but simultaneously so real. This actually happened where we were standing, seventy years ago, when our grandparents were only young. Almost incomprehensible.

Left Auschwitz I and got the mini van ten minutes away to Auschwitz II Birkenau. This is what I imagined Auschwitz to look like. Massive barb wired fences surrounding loads of guard towers, barricades made of wood with concrete floors and brick huts with no windows and decayed wood roofs. This all surrounds a railway line dividing the brick huts from the wooden barricades, each side with a gas chamber. The railway leads through a single passage where it was common to enter and rare to exit. It was and is known as ‘Death Gate’.

It’s difficult to grasp that one man started all of this, the genocide of about 1.1 million people just because of who they were or their beliefs and opinions. It’s an outright tragedy what happened at this period of humanities life. All anybody can do is learn from it.

Got back to Krakow and the Battlers went for a walk around, hitting up the mall. I’ve been on the search for a 100% wool jumper for ages and with suspicion they would sell some in Poland, I managed to find one. Going to come in real handy as it is getting colder and colder every day that passes.

Like I’ve already mentioned, I never thought I’d end up in Poland, let alone Krakow. It’s a shame really that we couldn’t spend more time here as we had booked ahead for almost the first time this trip to stay in Berlin. It’s a real happening city with loads of things to do, some of which I wish I could have done. Definitely a destination I would return to but with more time so I could have a gander at some of the other towns and cities Poland has to offer. Get off the grid a little bit. It’s been a good experience for the Backpacking Battlers.

I know I’ll get knocked and told I’m immature or whatever for what I’m about to say but you’re reading my blog so if you don’t like it or are easily offended, I recommend not reading this bit. Whatever you decide, don’t complain to me because you’ve had fair warning. I’m an opinionated person and this is just my view, with no intention of being disrespectful to anybody who has lost family and friends as a result of the Holocaust or even others who are affected by it.
If there’s one thing to learn from what Hitler did, it’s that if you put your mind to something and not have goals but have a vision of what you want to achieve, with self belief and persistence, you’ll satisfy your vision or at least make an impression.
I don’t condone even slightly what Hitler ‘achieved’ but if people used the attitude Hitler had, they could positively better themselves, their relationships, work ethic or friendships