Monday, May 25, 2009
May 24, 2009- Krakow Day 1
After the train ride from hell and a terrible night's sleep, we finally arrived in Krakow. We went on a bus/walking tour of the city and visited Schindler's factory, Wawel castle and the Jewish Quarter. Schindler's factory was pretty cool but there wasn't much there. We saw things from the movie "Schindler's List" but the factories were pretty much empty. They are building a museum there due to the increase in American tourists (due to the movie's release in 1993) so soon, people will be able to go up into his office and other rooms. Wawell Castle was really pretty. There wer various styles of architecture due to power shifts and a fire so I thought it was interesting to see the differences between rulers. The Jewish Quarter and the Krakow Ghetto were really different. There was a memorial for the Jews who resided there during the war which consisted of at least 20 empty chairs place throughout the main square. There were authentic Jewish restaurants and we saw the only synogogue that is active in Krakow. After the tour, we had free time so Joy and I roamed around the central square. We saw street performers and went to the marketplace before getting a quick drink and rest in a cafe. When we met up with the group, we went to our hotel, ate dinner and got ready for the night.
Train!
So, we are told we are going on an overnight train and there will be beds. Immediately most people start thinking about the Hogwarts Express and are really pumped. We were totally and cmpletely wrong! Aside from the not learning magic thing, the train was the opposite of anything resembling the scarlet train rom the books. We were first assigned rooms. There were six people in each room so we figured that they'd be pretty big. No. Each room was about the size of a small closet. We attempted to put the luggage away in order to make room for us and when that proved impossible, we threw bags on one of the beds (that were basically planks coveredin carpet sticking out of the wall) and decided to deal with it later. When we finallu figured out how to make the bottom two beds into benches, we got a litle more room to breathe. Some of us went into the hall for fresh air but with a width of about a foot, it was quite difficult to manuver around people. Moral of the story: overnight trains are rediculous.
May 23, 2009- Berlin Day 3
Today we spent most of the day at the Wansee Castle. This is where they had the meeting to set up the Final Solution (AKA the mass murdering of all the Jews in Europe). While Jews were being murdered al over the place, it was never with the intention of exterminating every single Jew until after this meeting. The land was beautiful! It seemed so ironic to be walking along the lake or through the numerous paths with gorgeous landscaping on either side in a place that decided a horrible fate of so many people. Dr. Kovalcik gave us lectures before and after we went in. Inside there was information about the conference and the minutes that Adolf Eisman took. Upstairs there is a library with an enormous collection of books on the Holocaust. While it isn't really well known to tourists, a lot of scholars go there for research. After we left the castle, we wandered about Berlin some more. We went to the German History Museum and the Brandenburg Gate where they were having a festival. Then we all met up of an authentic German dinner and I had my first official German bratwurst. Now we had to grab our bags and catch the train to Krakow.
May 22, 2009- Berlin Day 2
Today started off with a bus tour. We had a very informative tour guide and we got off the bus at the Jewish Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie. The Jewish Memorial was very interesting. There were over 200 giant, hollow cement blocks of various heights. The number has no significance nor do the blocks. The memorial spans over the whole block and there is an underground museum as well. The museum consists of facts about the Holocaust and stories of several family's experience. Checkpoint Charlie was pretty small and was pretty much a tourist trap. There were men in uniforms in front pretending to be officers from the time and numerous souvenir stands on every corner. The museum was really interesting. It showed different ways people snuck from one half of Berlin to the other and gave a history of the wall. The only problem was that the building was very stuffy and crowded so I got light-headed and almost passed out. While we all went our separate ways for free time, Joy and I rushed to starbucks to sit and get water. After I regained my strength, we meandered around Berlin with the locals and tourists. While walking, we happened upon the memorial for homosexuals who died in the Holocaust. The memorial was a big, hollow cement block similar to the ones in the Jewish memorial but there is a square hole in one of the sides. When you look in the hole, you see something that you wouldn't expect to see in a memorial. It was really cool because it made the statement that they were a part of the Jewish Holocaust but separate at the same time. When we were done sight seeing and wanted to rest our feet, Joy and I went to lunch at a tiny pizzeria. After lunch, whilst walking aimlessly through Berlin, we came across Dr. Kovalcik and some others from the trip. We all went to the stop light guy store and got some suvenirs. The pedestrian stop lights are unique in Berlin. They are different in the East and West still and in the East, they have a happy looking man with a hat telling you to walk or not. After that, we went to dinner, reconnected with everyone and went out for the night.
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