Month: September 2014

Auschwitz, Poland

enjean2013 1 Comment

For almost all of the attractions to be visited on our trip, we can use adjectives like “exciting” or “fun” to describe them. However, there are some attractions where that’s not really the right adjective. The concentration camp at Auschwitz is one such location. We knew that it would be a tough place to visit, but important from a historical perspective.

Getting There

The concentration camp is located in the Polish town of Oświęcim, just 50 km west of Krakow. There were tours of the site offered all around Krakow, but we decided to go on our own so we could keep our own pace. Buses leave for Oświęcim from the main Krakow bus station fairly regularly. We checked the timetable on this helpful website and caught an early morning bus. The bus dropped us off just a few minutes walk from the entrance to Auschwitz I.

Auschwitz I

The original section of the Auschwitz concentration camp was our first stop. The size of this camp is relatively small, so during the peak hours you are required to pay for a guided tour. We had read that it was possible to do it on our own, so we made sure to enter before the peak hours started at 10:00. This also meant that our entrance was free.

Auschwitz I, the original section of the concentration camp, was intended primarily to house Polish political prisoners. This section mainly contains barracks that were used to house the prisoners who were forced to do work. (The mass extermination of Jewish and other peoples occurred later at the Birkenau section).

We spent quite a while walking through the grounds and going through various exhibitions housed in the former barracks.

The entrance. The words mean “Work is Freeing”…
Shoes plundered from arriving prisoners
The courtyard, where firing squad executions took place

Off the main track that the guided tours were taking, we found a series of museums dedicated to different populations whose members were prisoners at Auschwitz. We only had time for the Polish and Russian museums, but would definitely recommend to future visitors to search out any of the others as well if you have a particular interest.

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Display from the Polish museum

Auschwitz II – Birkenau

As Auschwitz I became more and more crowded, the Nazis decided to build another camp in the vicinity. Once Hitler decided to exterminate the Jewish people, this camp was turned into an extermination center.

Because of these reasons, the Birkenau camp is much more spread out, but the barracks are even more spartan than those found in Auschwitz I. The camp also contains the remains of five different gas chambers and crematoria – the Nazis destroyed them as they retreated.

There is a free shuttle from Auschwitz I to Auschwitz II. Since Auschwitz II is so large, there is no requirement for a guided tour at any time, so we were free to explore the grounds independently here as well.

Looking back towards the entrance to the camp. Prisoners would come through the gate in cattle cars and be processed where the people on the left were standing. Many would be sent straight to the gas chambers.
The ruins to the underground entrance of a gas chamber
The ruins of a crematorium
A pond where ashes from the crematorium were dumped
An international memorial to the victims

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to even describe what our emotions were after visiting these sights. The scale of the atrocities described is just hard to fathom. It was very difficult to see what we saw, but also not something that should be ignored.

A Tip for Future Visitors: Backpacks are not allowed in either site. We were able to check our backpack at Auschwitz I, but not at II and had to improvise. Make sure to plan ahead accordingly if you normally travel with a day bag.

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland

globegazers 1 Comment

One of the reasons we wanted to visit Krakow, Poland was to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We had never heard of a salt mine before learning about this one, so we were fascinated to find out more.

Eric had discovered that the salt mine was only a short distance from Krakow, and it was easy to take a city bus there. We also saw that the bus would pick up quite close to Old Town. We took the 304 bus toward Wieliczka and it was about a 30 min ride. Unfortunately, we had a little confusion when we first tried to get on. As we approached the stop, we saw that a bus was there so we rushed to get on. However, the bus driver indicated that we needed to buy our ticket outside. We went to the ticket machine but there was quite a line and people seemed to be very slow and confused on how to buy the ticket. We were quite frustrated when it took so long that the bus pulled away without us. We waited for only about 15 min for the next one. This time we had our ticket in hand and were the first ones on! At this point, we saw that there was a ticket machine ON the bus… If we had known that, we could have caught the first one! However, it turned out to be good that we got on the bus early because it became very crowded!

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We arrived in Wieliczka and made our way into the large salt mine complex. The day was rainy and it turned out that we were not the only people interested in going underground. We waited in line for close to 45 min to buy our tickets! We had read somewhere that the salt mines are quite like the DisneyWorld of Poland, and we are inclined to agree. Luckily, once we bought our tickets, we only had about 10 min before our assigned (and mandatory) tour group headed into the mine. We quickly gobbled a small snack and found the bathrooms before we joined our English speaking tour group.

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The tour starts by descending 54 flights of stairs to the 1st level of the mine. It got pretty dizzying!! Here we learned some of the history of the mine. Salt has been made in the area as far back as the neolithic period where people made it from the rivers. As time went on and it became harder to make enough salt from the waters, people began to dig. The mine was established as far back as the 13th century! The mine actually produced salt continually until 2007. It grew to 327 meters below the surface. We walked for approximately 5 km through the mine, however, we saw only about 2% of the mine!

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Over the course of the tour, we descended down to the second and third levels of the mine and learned a bit more about what salt mining was like. It was quite dangerous, as all mining is. The miners used quite ingenious tools to move salt up and down. They even had horses which lived their lives in the mine. Because of the danger, many of the miners began to carve religious chapels into the salt to pray in. Also, from early on the mine has been a tourist attraction, with many famous dignitaries being noted as having visited and then memorialized in rock salt sculpture. So over time, the mine has become quite a beautiful place, full of sculptures, religious and otherwise!

The most amazing thing about the tour was that everything we were walking through was rock salt – floors, walls, and ceilings (with some wood used as stairs and for support). They had even made chandeliers out of rock salt, so clear that they looked like crystals.

Salt Tiles
A depiction of St. Kinga- patron saint of miners
salt crystals
Salt walls
See the crystals? ALL SALT!

The most impressive part of the entire mine is the huge underground chapel dedicated to St. Kinga, the patron saint of all salt miners. This was a huge room, amazingly beautiful, with many statues and scenes carved into the walls.

St. Kinga’s Chapel
St. Kinga
The Last Supper… carved in SALT!

As the tour finished, we were deposited into the part of the mine that was the most touristy. It included multiple gift shops, a restaurant, and a small interactive movie room about the history of salt mining.

We had been told that when we were done exploring those areas, we could go to one of two lines. One to wait for a lift directly up and out, or another to enter the underground museum. We were definitely interested in the museum. However, after waiting in line for several minutes, we were beginning to question our decision. At some point, another guide came over and asked who would like to continue the tour in English. We were the only 2 people who were interested. The guide seemed quite disappointed that we were interested and turned abruptly. We followed her down many corridors without her saying a word. Then we entered the first of many museum rooms. Our terse guide gave a canned speech about one display case and moved on, ignoring most of our attempts at conversation. She even ignored some of our questions… We continued this way through the rest of the museum, so the tour was not very enjoyable for us.

In the end, we found the mine fascinating and were glad that we got to experience it. However, the cost was quite high and we were a bit disappointed in the museum portion at the end.

Olomouc, Czech Republic

globegazers 2 Comments

After our great visit to Prague with Eric’s parents, we planned to head to Krakow, Poland. We thought it would be fun to break up the trip and Eric knew that there was a unique UNESCO site in a small city called Olomouc so we decided to head there. Boy, are we glad we did! Upon arriving and exploring the old town of Olomouc, we decided to extend our stay to 2 nights instead of the original one!

Where We Stayed

Poet’s Corner Hostel –  This was the top-rated accommodation for Olomouc in the Lonely Planet so we were excited to try it out. It was a nice hostel, with the standard features. We decided to stay in a private room and didn’t end up being as social with the rest of the hostel as we could have been. The best part about the hostel was the good advice they gave us for exploring the town – they gave us a nice map with a lot of recommendations on it.

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What We Did

Olomouc was definitely a nice change of pace from Prague. There weren’t as many things to do, but there were still plenty of monuments and pretty sights to explore, without all of the people!

Climb St Moritz Bell Tower

Our first stop in town was to climb the bell tower of this church in the old town.The staircase was a neat double-helix spiral pattern, so you went up and down on different staircases with the same center. From the top of the tower you could spy a lot of the different sights we wanted to head to next.

The tower we are about to climb
Double helix staircase
View from the top

Old Town Square

Like Prague, Olomouc’s main square has a few different sights. The most notable one in the UNESCO-listed Holy Trinity Column, This column is wide enough at the base that there is a small chapel in it.

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Olomouc has an astronomical clock as well. One interesting aspect of the clock is that the mosaic surrounding it was redone in the 1950s in the communist-area style emphasizing the socialist values. We also enjoyed trying to decipher all of the different dials on the clock faces.

This dial shows the saint whose name day it is for each day of the year

St Michael’s Church

We thought the interior of this church was pretty impressive. Also, in one of its crypts there is a natural spring which they say the town was founded around.

Walk Around the City Walls

We found a path outside the old city walls and along a nice hike and bike trail.

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Spy on Weddings

When we started walking around on Saturday, we noticed one wedding party taking pictures in the square. Then, at St Michael’s, we actually climbed the bell tower during the end of another ceremony and the got to witness the bridesmaids handing out shots at the end of the receiving line. Then, at the Saint Wenceslas Cathedral one wedding was wrapping up… as another was getting lined up outside! In the end we saw six different weddings in various stages of the events.

SK Sigma Olomouc soccer game

We noticed that the soccer stadium was very close to Poet’s Corner, and the local team, SK Sigma Olomouc, was playing a game on Saturday afternoon, so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately, Sigma had been relegated to the second tier Czech league the previous season, so it seemed like maybe the attendance was a little low. Tickets were cheap though, and we got seats pretty close to the action. Sigma lost 2-0, so the local fans did not seem too happy.There was a small group of hardcore fans who chanted the whole time, but the overall atmosphere wasn’t much different from any US sporting event.

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Where We Ate

We hoped to try a few different places, but when we went around on Saturday, multiple places were closed! One was for a wedding but the others were just not open. We don’t know if this was a low-season thing (Olomouc is a college town and students were not back yet) or if the town always shuts down on Saturdays.

One place we did eat was the Saint Wenceslas microbrewery. The food and beer weren’t the best, but the price was pretty good. We debated but eventually decided against their “beer spa” experience: we would have bathed in beer!

Final Thoughts

Olomouc was a nice town to use as a break from hectic sightseeing. There are a lot of nice things to see and not nearly as many crowds to fight through as in other places. Anyone planning to go between Prague and Krakow should definitely consider a stop in Olomouc!

Connections: Beer Recommendations turns into Business Class!

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Traveling is a wonderful way to meet people! Unfortunately, often those connections are strong but only fleeting. Connections is our tag to recognize and remember some of the wonderful people we meet.

On our last evening in Prague, we decided to try the brewery near the Strahov Monestary. We hiked up the hill, which of course has some amazing views over the city.

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We sat down at the brewery and enjoyed a few of the beers. When we were almost done, a group of Americans sat down next to us. They asked us for some advice on which beers to try, which of course we answered. As we continued to chat, we found out that they were a group of flight attendants… who were working a flight to New York the following day… in the morning… It was the same flight as Donna and Steve were flying on! The flight attendants thought this was just as great a coincidence as we did and insisted on getting their names and a photo!

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We weren’t too surprised to hear that Donna and Steve met their friends again on the following day during their flight, AND got upgraded to business class for their trip home. Talk about a great connection! =)

Small Comforts: Conditioner

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There are a few small comforts that we run into now and then that really make us feel better while traveling…

There are certain normal comforts that I chose to give up while traveling. One of them was hair conditioner. It just didn’t seem practical to carry large bottles of conditioner around the world and it didn’t fit easily in our toiletry kit (especially after we decided to try shampoo bars). Instead, I chose to bring one small, travel bottle of conditioner which I would use sparingly.

I have gone without conditioner quite happily for most of the days on the trip, however, there are some days when it is just fantastic to use it! Smooth, unknotted hair, easy to brush right out of the shower – that’s a true small comfort!

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*In case it wasn’t clear – this was a Della post. =)

Prague, Czech Republic

enjean2013 2 Comments

Our first stop in Europe was Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. Eric’s parents joined us as well, and we all enjoyed our time in the “city of 1000 spires.”

Where We Stayed

Airbnb in Zizkov

Since there were four of us, we decided to book a flat of our own on airbnb. There were a lot of options, but many that were close to the main tourist attractions were pretty pricy. Eventually, we found a flat in the Zizkov neighborhood for a good price. Even though we weren’t super close to the attractions, it was still only about a 30 minute walk through a scenic neighborhood Also, there was a metro stop just a few minutes from the flat (and the Prague metro is very efficient).

Another bonus is that we were right next door to the famous tv tower. This made for a very easy landmark to identify where we were were staying!

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The Zizkov tv tower

The Zizkov tv tower

Old Town Home Prague

Our itinerary is Prague was split… we spent six nights at the beginning of the trip there, then two nights in Český Krumlov, then one final night back in Prague before Eric’s parents flew out the next day. For that last night, we decided just to find something simple and convenient. It took some searching, but eventually we stumbled upon this property. We were able to reserve a private room with four beds and its own bathroom down the hall. The location was fabulous: just a few minutes walk from the Old Town Square, but on a quiet side street so we were able to get a good night’s sleep. Another cool feature was that it included a free ghost tour, since the same people also ran one.

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What We Did

Free Walking Tour

There were a lot of different tours of the city offered… horse drawn carriage, bus, fancy car, segway, etc., but we decided to try a free walking tour. It’s not truly free – they expect you to tip – but it does provide a great incentive for the guide to make the tour entertaining. In Prague there are multiple companies offering this; we went with Sandeman’s. We greatly enjoyed the three hour tour that our guide Filip provided. He hit on all of the highlights of Old Town and kept it enjoyable throughout.

Prague Castle

This structure doesn’t look like a castle from a fairy tale, but it is still pretty impressive. We started our day at the castle by taking a tram all the way to the Strahov Monastery and found an awesome panoramic viewpoint looking back over the city.
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We then went into the castle complex itself. It is still the office of the president, so there is a colorful guard standing watch. It is free to walk through the grounds, but to go inside the buildings you have to purchase tickets. We bought the one of the cheaper packages that let us get into the buildings we were interested in. We visited St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica and the Golden Lane.

St. Vitus
St. Vitus
St. Vitus
St. Vitus
St. Vitus
St. Vitus
St. George’s Basilica
St. George’s Basilica
St. George’s Basilica
The Golden Lane

Walk Through Mala Strana

On the way down from the castle, we did a self-guided walk through the neighborhood below the castle called Mala Strana. Here we found the Wallenstein Gardens (although it was about to close), Kampa Island and the Lennon Wall.

Wallenstein Gardens
The Love Lock Bridge on the way to Kampa Island
Lennon Wall

On the way back, we walked over the famous Charles Bridge.

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Vyšehrad

We explored this site where some of the original fortifications of the town were found. There’s not much left except for the castle walls and some older buildings. We did enjoy the interior of Basilica of St Peter and St Paul located here.

Day Trip to Kutná Hora

Visit the small town of Kutna Hora. See what we did here!

Jewish Museum

This museum is actually composed of multiple sites spread through the Jewish Quarter next to Prague’s Old Town. We spent a good portion of a day exploring these various sites. Our ticket covered:

  • The Pinkas synagogue, which is now a memorial to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia that lost their lives in the Holocaust. Inside, the walls are covered with each person’s name written by hand. (No pictures were allowed inside).
  • The Old Jewish Cemetery, with its thousands of tombstones and graves piled on top of one another
  • Klausen Synagogue
  • Ceremonial Hall
  • Spanish Synagogue

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Letna Park

We climbed up the hill to this park overlooking the river and Old Town. We also eventually found our way to the beer garden where we enjoyed a few beverages!

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Overnight Trip to Český Krumlov

See separate blog on this awesome town!

St Norbert’s Brewery at Strahov Monastey

After returning from Český Krumlov, we had a final afternoon in Prague. It was a nice warm afternoon (after multiple days of dreary, cool weather), so we decided to walk back through Mala Strana to the Strahov Monastery, where there was a brewery. On the way we enjoyed the views back over the city. At the brewery, we tried four different beers (a nice change of pace from the standard pilsners).

Here we also struck up a conversation with a table of Americans next to us. Amazingly, they were flight attendants on Eric’s parents’ flight the next day!

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Ghost Tour

As previously mentioned, this was free for us since we were staying at Old Town Home Prague. We enjoyed this tour both for the stories (and legends) that were heard and also for the chance to see Prague at night!

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Beer Museum

This wasn’t actually a museum but a pub with many beers to try. Unfortunately, we were in a rush so only got one taster tray. But we enjoyed all of the beers we tried and wish we had a chance to go back!

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Where We Ate

Prague was a very hit-or-miss city when it came to dining. It seemed like a lot of the places that we went. even ones that were recommended, had servers that seemed frustrated by our presence and lack of Czech-speaking ability. After a few tries, we started to get a feel for how much things should cost and what types of things to order. We did enjoy a lot of the pork dishes, and also the goulash.

Also, it seemed like you needed to constantly be aware of how much things should cost and make sure to not get overcharged. A dishonorable mention goes out to the food stalls on the main square. They listed a reasonable price for some ham and another dish, but when it rang up it was as much as a sit-down meal! The catch was that the price we saw was per 100g, and they made sure to serve more than that…

That being said, our favorite was…

Restaurace U Parlamentu

Standard Bohemian food for reasonable prices a with friendly service. Eric’s parents got a dish that included duck, which they quite enjoyed.

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Final Thoughts

We quite enjoyed Prague. It was a beautiful city with a lot to do! It was extremely touristy, of course, and we actually found many people relatively unfriendly. We’re glad we went but wouldn’t necessarily put it at the top of the list of places we need to get back to soon.

Monthly Recap: Month 2

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**Special Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad (Peggy and Wayne) Edition!

We have now been on the road for 2 months! The trip has started to feel more and more real and less like a summer vacation. School has recently started and that really made a difference in how the trip feels for Della. It is hard to believe we are going to be gone for so long. At the same time, we are already 2 months in! We plan to do a recap every month to summarize and then reflect.

Countries visited: 5 (South Africa, Germany (though only for an 8 hour layover), Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia)

Beds Slept In: 11

UNESCO Heritage Sights Visited: 10 (Fossil Hominid Sights of South Africa, Robben Island, Cape Floral Region, Kutna Hora, Historic Center of Prague, Historic Center of Cesky Krumlov, Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Krakow’s Historic Center, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Auschwitz Birkenau) Total on RTW: 15

We traveled by 3 planes (though they were 3 legs of the same trip from Cape Town to Prague)

We traveled by 5 trains (one of them was an overnight train!)

We traveled by 5 long distance buses.

Top Moments:

~ Our first top moment came at the very beginning of the month! During our time in Cape Town, we took a tour to the Cape Peninsula. It was a wonderful day with beautiful weather and amazing scenery. First we drove to Cape Point which was gorgeous. From then came our top moment: we took an approx 45 min hike from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope. Check out some pictures and I’m sure you will see why!

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~We were so fortunate to have Eric’s parents join us for our time in Prague. They met us at the airport as they flew in from the US and we came from Munich. A top moment was definitely when we successfully connected!

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~ Prague is an amazingly beautiful city. On our second day there we made our way to the Prague Castle. On the way, Eric led us to an gorgeous overlook near the Strahov monastery. Our top moment was looking out on the beauty of our first European city.

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~ We spent 2 nights in the town of Cesky Krumlov. What a wonderful place! We arrived in the late afternoon and were happy to find that our Airbnb was just as close to the old town center as described. We immediately went out exploring. Our top moment was enjoying this beautiful city at dusk. There were not nearly the amount of tourists that we had encountered in Prague, people were a bit friendlier, and the old town was magical. We climbed into the castle and descended the stairs as the city fell into darkness. It was beautiful.

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Runners up for Top Moments:

~ Our hike to the top of Table Mountain was fantastic. It almost made the cut for top moments especially because of our relief about the weather. Our last full day in Cape Town dawned cloudy and dreary. We decided to go ahead with our planned climb anyway. As we drove up to the base of the hiking trail we rose above the clouds!! We were then fortunate to have a beautiful day! Plus, the heavy clouds below us made for some amazing views!

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Morning gloom…

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Base of the hike- above the clouds and the sun is shining!

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~ We arrived in Krakov without knowing quite what to expect. This Polish city does not have the reputation of Prague or Budapest, but it definitely delivered. We arrived the first evening and explored the incredibly beautiful, clean, and quaint old town. Ate in a delicious, friendly milk bar, and revelled in the less touristy atmosphere.

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~ We left bustling Prague for the great city of Olomouc. Here we found a bit of peace and quiet in another lovely Czech town. We explored the city, enjoying the pleasant and uncrowded town square. Such a relief from the craziness of Prague.

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UNESCO listed Plague Column

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Communist inspired astrological clock

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~ After not having a really great, community oriented hostel experience since the Amber Tree in Cape Town, we were so excited to find a good time at the Ginger Monkey Hostel in Zdiar, Slovakia. There was a fantastic onsie party and a pizza eating contest to give you an idea 😉

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Items Missing, Broken, Discarded, or Added:

Nothing missing, broken, or discarded!

Added: 1. Eric’s new watch and 2. Eric’s new camera (Thanks to Donna!)

Packing Update:

We have not made any changes to our bag contents except for one small thing. We sent home our pair of binoculars with Eric’s parents. We are starting to wonder if we are ever going to use the summer weather clothing that we brought. Europe has been quite cold and we haven’t even worn our shorts, tank tops, or swim suits.

Books Read: (Have you read any of these??)

Della has read The Stand by Stephan King and Starfish by Peter Watts
Eric had read The Covenant by James Michener, Poland by James Michener, Everything is Going to be Great by Rachel Shukert, The Bridge at Andau by James Michener, Final Epidemic by Earl Merkel
Eric and Della have BOTH read The Eagle has Landed by Jack Higgens

Our reading has slowed down considerably from last month (at least Della’s has…). I guess that is what happens when you suddenly have access to the internet again…

Make sure to catch up on all our monthly recaps: Monthly Recap 1

Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

enjean2013 3 Comments

When planning our Czech Republic leg, one thing we heard from multiple sources was that while Prague was amazing, Český Krumlov might be even better since it is smaller and more intimate. Therefore, during the time we were with Eric’s parents, we took a brief two-night trip down to this charming town.

Getting There

We took our first (and hopefully not last) trip on the yellow buses run by the Student Agency company. This was probably the fanciest bus service we have used: padded leather seats, free hot beverages and most amazingly a touch-screen entertainment system for every seat. Watching movies helped the three-hour trip fly by!

Where We Stayed

Since there were four of us, we decided to book a private place through Airbnb. We found a pretty cool flat that had room for the four of us. The best part of this flat was the location: we had a great view of the Český Krumlov Castle, and could walk to it and the historic Old Town area in about 5 minutes!

The view of the castle from our balcony
Della is pointing at the building our flat is located in

What We Did

Český Krumlov Castle

Like the Prague Castle, this building does not look like the fairy tale castle, but is still fun to explore. It’s free to walk around the grounds, but to go inside you do have to pay for a guided tour. There are a few different tour options; we chose the one that took us through Renaissance and Baroque era rooms (no pictures allowed inside, unfortunately).

The castle from below
One interior courtyard
Another interior courtyard

The castle does have one tower that you can pay some money and climb up in. We did this and really enjoyed the 360-degree views from up here. If there hadn’t been a cold wind blowing, we think we could have stayed up here all day!

About to climb…
Climbing…
Climbed!

One interesting feature of the castle is that they keep live bears in the moat. Every time we walked in or out, we had a fun time trying to spot them.

Old Town

We spent most of our time just wandering the streets of Old Town. There are many winding roads and narrow passageways to explore. The Vltava River has a large bend surrounding Old Town, which makes it even more picturesque.

Old Town from above
The river
The main square

Eggenberg Brewery

We took a break from walking around at this local brewery. We were able to try four different types of beer: amber, dark, “yeast,” and lemon.

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Our Favorite Place to Eat

U dwau Maryí, a.k.a “At the Two Maries”

We found this place listed both in guide books and on some online resources. It stood out from some of the other places we ate because it offered some unique dishes that it claims more closely match to what the traditional Bohemians ate. We got a combo platter with interesting items like millet, buckwheat and barley. We also enjoyed the creamy dumplings with blueberry sauce for dessert :).

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