Living in the USA, weekends to me usually meant two things: work on Saturday and church on Sunday. Because of this demanding schedule, going anywhere on a weekend was typically a difficult feat and in most cases it was to the beach (an hour away) or maybe Seattle if we had a full day or two to kill.
Two weekends ago allowed me to realize how incredible it is to live in a small European country, because on July 14th, we went to Poland! On that Friday evening, nine of us were stuffed into a nine passenger van and we took off for an overnight drive into Poland. The drive was long and often uncomfortable and I don’t think any of us slept very well, which added to the dreary, bleary feeling of when we arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau at 9AM on Saturday. It seemed fitting that the weather was bleak, with grey skies and a slight, consistent drizzle over the entire memorial. It would have felt inappropriate if it were a sunny day.
The former concentration camp is something I sincerely believe everyone should see once in their lifetime, but it’s also a place I’d never want to return to. Walking through the rooms of inhumane experimentation and murder left a very uncomfortable feeling settling in my stomach. Some people become emotional, others angry, when they visit Auschwitz. I, on the other hand, was on edge.
I knew the history and was now walking where hundreds of thousands were tortured and killed, yet there was a lingering sense of “get out” as I moved throughout the grounds. To see pictures and read the stories of victims in a history class was one thing, but now I was actually touching the walls of a gas chamber and peeking into prison cells and that is something I’ll never forget and never write off as just an event that happened in a distant land.
After touring the main camp of Auschwitz, Shannon (another RA) and I took the bus over to Birkenau. Birkenau was much larger; however, it lacked the signage and organization of the other camp. Instead we were free to wander whichever direction we chose and peek into abandoned bunkers and look at the remains of other gas chambers. This camp had a slightly less chilling affect as the other camp, but I still felt uncomfortable as we read signs that recounted the horrors that took place in each of the buildings. The rain kept drizzling as we slowly made our way through the grounds and back towards the bus so we could make our way towards Kraków.
Kraków was a major mood shift from Auschwitz-Birkenau, including the weather. Only an hour drive away, we were suddenly transported to a sunny, bright city full of history and color. After checking into our apartment for the night (and a quick power nap in an actual bed), we drove down to Old Town Kraków to meet up with our walking tour. At this point, we were running late so we had to actually run across the city to meet up with them. As we walked through the city, our own group started to trickle away and go on their own adventures. By the end of the tour, it was Mischa (yet another RA) and I left and luckily for us, I had plans to meet up with a friend from college who has been living in Poland for the past two years.
Shortly after our tour, we met up with Jamie who took us to an authentic Polish restaurant where we had pierogies and kielbasa and then rose donuts next door, followed by coffee down the street. It was nice to meet up with Jamie, especially considering all our talk over the past few years of meeting up in Poland during my study abroad. I was pleasantly surprised when I was actually able to go to Poland and we were able to grab dinner. We strolled around the main square, purchased a Polish scarf, and after a few more pictures and sitting in a comfortable café with a latté, we said goodbye to Jamie and Misha and I took off for our apartment.
Unfortunately for our overly exhausted minds, none of us could remember the code to get into the apartment building. We ran into Shannon and Tessa and hoped the other would have the correct code, but turns out none of us could remember the order of the number. We knew that there was a 0-1-3, but that was about the extent. To add to the situation, none of us had a working phone and we were too far away from our room that we couldn’t connect to any wifi. So instead, like the adults we all are, we played in the playground of the apartment complex until someone came and opened the door and we all rushed inside to find Leigh-Annah and Madison (RA and teacher) already sitting inside waiting for us to arrive, because I had the key. Whoops. Once inside, all of us were asleep within the hour, because at 6:30AM on Sunday morning we were out the door for WARSAW!
As expected, we all fell asleep in the van to Warsaw. We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds, but luckily for us, McDonalds in Europe is ten times better than America. Shortly after, we arrived and met up with our tour guide. Warsaw’s history was incredibly interesting, as the Nazis had razed Warsaw to the ground only leaving the churches behind. With the help of photographs and personal accounts, however, they rebuilt the city almost identically. So while all the buildings in the following photos look quite old, almost all have been rebuilt in the past sixty years.
After our tour (which everyone stuck around for this time, thanks to our fun and local tour guide, Kassia!), we all broke off again to grab food and souvenirs before hopping back in the bus again for another seven hours. Shannon, Tess, and I ran down the streets of Old Town Warszawa to collect postcards, bookmarks, and scarves. Tess then broke away to grab food at a different restaurant, while Shannon and I had watermelon lemonade and pasta (she got pierogies, while I got a ricotta and pesto dish). After a glance at my watch, I realized we were running late and we paid and took off for the bus again. I’d also been complimented on my navigation skills multiple times that weekend, which made me feel very proud indeed.
At 3PM, we were all loaded back into the van and took off for home – Klaipeda! I managed to stay awake this time, watching movies with Tess and watch the Polish countryside roll on by.
Needless to say, it was an incredibly busy weekend, but so worth it! However it only made me want to go back to Poland, this time for a longer trip. Maybe in the upcoming semester!
Since Poland, it’s been a whole different type of busy. We’re on our last week! We had ice cream at the president of LCC’s house and had incredible rooftop views and all the kids are busy with homework. It’s been a bit rough because not only have I gotten sick post-Poland, but I’ve infected half my floor with a bad cold. Luckily, it’s nearly cleared and soon we’ll be having our talent show and ice cream night and closing assembly! Then everyone departs for their home countries, which is incredibly sad to me. I’ve truly become friends with my roommates and floor mates and hope that I can go to their countries or they can come to mine. I’ll think of Second West as the best floor for all my days. How can it be that I only have three and a half more days of SLI? This month passed so fast! Not to mention in less than a week, I’m on a plane to meet up with Ashley in Bosnia!
Anyway, I better go get ready for the staff meeting tonight.
Until SLI is over and I’m off to Bosnia,
Kate
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