Europe 2006 - Day 7 - Poland

• Bakery breakfast
• Minibus to Auschwitz (no photos inside camps)
• Film first - needs to be updated - seems about 30-40 years old, besides the necessary WWII-era newsreel footage
• Signed up for English tour - ended up w/ a private tour guide - bus to Auschwitz II-Birkenau - guide explained layout from top of gate tower - huge complex - saw latrine + bunk buildings - latrine building had 201 concrete seats - memorial offerings in bunk included a chain of origami cranes - back to Auschwitz I - main administrative center - barracks (built w/ bricks from houses in surrounding villages) are filled with prisoners' belongings (suitcases, shoes, eyeglasses, etc) - extremely powerful - last stop was the one remaining crematorium - low-ceiling'd + somber - difficult tour but recommended for anyone who goes to Poland
• Can't imagine seeing Auschwitz at any other time of year - this was the sunset outside Auschwitz I

• On a lighter note, the recycling bins look like PacMan ghosts

• Bus back to Krakow
• Pierogi snack in xmas market
• Dinner w/ Maciek + Ania at local cellar restaurant - traditional Polish fare - Shan had this gorgeous plate of liver, sauteed w/ apples + onions, served w/ mashed potatoes

• Aw, man, we shoulda had the chicken breasts! (local telecom mascot?)