Poland- Auschwitz, Wieliczka ~ Chasing the dreams

So....
When I got to Krakow, it was 5 am. I was supposed to stay there at a CS'ers place, so he promised to pick me up as I get there. I waited for 5 minutes in the Krakow bus station and was then greeted by a tall lad who was very enthusiastic- I was his first courchsurfer. So... we went to his place by public transport- he lived quite far away from the central. In his place I finally managed to have a shower. As he had to go to work and I had to go to my Auschwitz-Salt Mine tour, we returned to the central quite early. I was supposed to be picked up from the bus station at 9. So my host sent me there and then I waited for my shuttle bus to come.

As it came, I found out that on the same tour were 4 more people. Tiny group... Two Australians ladies and two Irish lads. Our driver didn't speak good English so we started to have a chat between ourselves.

As we got Auschwitz, we had some time, 'til the tour started. So we just chatted and waited. It was a lovely sunny day and our mood was quite up (you wouldn't expect that when you go to Auschwitz, would you?). Auschwitz was not that creepy as I thought it would be. I mean, it was depressive, but I think the huge amount of tourists and the bright shiny sun made things a lot less real. So it felt a bit like in every other museum. Maybe I was also expecting it to be too bad and that's why I wasn't shocked so much. We went around the area with a guide who told us loads and loads of stories about things that happened in the concentration camps. Auscwitz wasn't originally supposed to be a death camp- it was supposed to be for the people who were too smart or sth like that for the Nazis at the time of the war and it was supposed to be a work camp. No jews were originally planned to be placed there... But then they started to bring jews into the camp as well, and had to build many more camps into the area, e.g. Birkenau, which were death camps, so their purpose was to exterminate people. Also, Nazis tried to make Auscwitz look like a really good place to be in, by making bands play there. But what actually happened in Auschwitz and Birkenau, was just too horrible- executions, experiments (even the psychologists made experiments on people over there), torturing... We were shown the houses where the prisoners lived, where they were signed into the camp. We were showed their personal belongings, pictures, even their hair (that was cut off before they went to gas chambers and crematorium). We were told loads of terrible stories about things that happened there. We also went in to the gas chambers where millions of jews were executed. Although we went through the place fast, it still felt really creepy and scary and I just had goosebumps on my skin and the feel of depression and misery in my heart when I just walked through the place. The place where so many souls lost their lives.
I was really satisfied (I think I could say it that way) that I decided to visit the place - as it's a place you just have to see. To understand things better.

Birkenau was about 5km away from Auschwitz and after a tiny lunch break we went there. Birkenau is mostly in ruins as the Nazis blew up all the gas chambers to hide the evidence on things that happened there. We saw the scary railroad that went through the entrance to Birkenau and took jews into the camp to be executed couple of hours later.... We were shown the ruins of the gas chambers, places where they slept- wooden platforms and 5 people had to fit into one platform. We were described how dirty, cold and smelly it all had been. We were shown their toilets and washing area. It all looked extremely miserable. But what gave me the worst goosebumps in the place, was the fact that some of the areas we walked on, had human ash in the soil. We couldn't hear any birds singing in the place. Although it was a lovely sunny day. I would say Birkenau was a lot more depressive than Auschwitz- mainly because of what happened there. Even when I think of it now, my mood just goes really low and I feel depressed.

But after the concentration and extermination camps we went to Wielizca Salt Mine. Had a tiny supper in a local cafe and then entered the Mine. Well, that was just unbelievably beautiful place! Firstly, we went down under the ground about 135m, only on the stairs. All the walls were made out of salt rocks, you could smell the salt. It was a bit chilly but not too bad. Our guide showed us many chambers with statues in them, altars, lakes in the Salt mine that were about 9m deep. All the statues, big halls and cravings were made out of salt. It was incredible! There were pictures, like The Last Supper craved into the stone in 3D. It was really beautiful! That's definetely a place you have to go! I was really happy and amazed by that place. We ended up 180m under the ground, walked only about 3km under the ground but didn't see even 10% of the Salt Mine. Unbelievable, that place is huge! Magnificient!

After the tour in the Salt Mine finished, we went back to Krakow with our tour bus, and we were dropped off to wherever we wanted to go to. I got dropped off next to the Main Market Square and met my host over there and then we headed to his place where he cooked some Chinese. It was lovely. We talked 'til about 1 at night and then went to sleep. My host in Krakow was really cool- complete gentleman, really helpful, and cheerful. And when we talked it seemed like we had known each other for years...