High Time for an Update
Since I last updated I’ve been to Krakow, Auschwitz, Český Krumlov and further enjoyed life around Prague.
Krakow:
Of all the overnight excursions I have been on, this place was my favorite. Krakow is a very friendly town and unlike Prague, the locals don’t seem to scowl at all the tourists. That, and there are kebab stands everywhere, making me very happy. Seriously, I want schwarma grills now. Makes me crave It’s Greek to Me back in Tacoma too…hmm. Yeah, a lot of this trip is about eating good food. I also got to try pierogies, which are essentially pot stickers that aren’t fried and filled with a variety of substances. My favorite was the “Russian” style, which are filled with potatoes and cheese. It was a very Jewish tasting food. Also, from all these overnights, I’ve learned how to make an excellent lunch from the materials you can gather at a free hotel breakfast. It helps if you like sandwiches.
So beyond food in Krakow, there was an amazing market on the square with lots of amber (both green and standard colors), wooden figures, and some of the coolest chess sets I’ve ever seen. And then there were street performers, which I absolutely love. I saw some of the most impressive human statues here (pictures in Facebook). Additionally, there were musicians everywhere ranging from acoustic Metallica to traditional folk songs played by people who have met the Pope (they had a picture of them with the former Pope). The tours by Z were good too, though not as good as Vienna. Had a nice Jewish Quarter…and by nice I mean authentic, not pretty. BUT, while we were there, some person was passing out flyers detailing the apology of the Germans to the Jews in great detail. I thought it was all great and humanitarian, but at the end it turned out to be an evangelical, weasly worded invitation to see the glory of the Christian God. Blah.
Auschwitz:
Shocking. So much in a way where my brain didn’t really know what to think of everything around me. I also had a cold at the time, so that made the fogginess even worse. Auschwitz I truly does not look terrible from the outside. This is because it was originally used as barracks for Soviet troops. Nevertheless, once seeing the exhibition my opinion changed greatly. There were collections of shoes, glasses, clothes, and other personal items that completely blew my mind. There were several square meters of shoes and human hair. Some of the hair was used to make other materials, such as blankets.
Unfortunately, the insides had been changed greatly (painting the walls, etc.) so it was hard to get a feel for how it actually was. There were some glassed off recreated rooms and they were bad but nothing compared to the second camp. The three greatest things that stick out in my head from Auschwitz one are the hair, the crematorium, and the picture of the children experimented on.
Auschwitz II – Birkenau was absolutely disgusting. At this point, I was already in such a daze that I really didn’t feel like taking pictures anymore…but I forced myself to because I knew I would want them later. The woman’s area were brick houses, cramped with beds. The men’s were wooden horse stables meant for a small amount of horses and used for hundreds of men. The latrines were also ridiculous…rows and rows of seats right next to eachother. Absolutely no human rights anywhere to be seen. Completely disgusting. Birkenau was mostly destroyed…especially the massive gas chambers/crematorium. Next to those however stood the pools where they put the ashes of the Jews. I honestly didn’t believe it when someone first told me that. Z apparently claimed you could still see tiny specks of ashes…but I don’t believe that, or at least I don’t want to believe that.
Český Krumlov:
On to something a little more cheery. This town was originally built in the 14th century and has changed (externally) very little since then…allowing it to be part of the UNESCO register. When we went, it was definitely charming but also freezing and gloomy. I was a little disappointed with the tour – especially since we didn’t get to see anything like the 18th century baroque theater, which is supposed to amazing. Still, we saw the bear moat – that’s right. A moat, with bears in it (no water…though I think that would be the ultimate defense). I ate roast duck with an excellent beer at an authentic restaurant. The duck came with amazing dumplings too.
Prague:
St. Patty’s Day, Amusement Park, Cross Club
St. Patty’s – not bad…I was really tired because it was the same day to Český Krumlov. All I really wanted was a Guiness or two on tap. Couchsurfing was advertising a place called the Irish Club, which had great prices on the drinks so I wanted to go there. I got a small group together and went there seeking the holy grail of dark beers…and did not find it = (. They were out! A place called The Irish Club on St. Patty’s was OUT of Guiness on tap. They had it from the bottle, but I can get that anywhere. So I went for some cider and watched the drunken Irish sing drinking songs which were so simple…yet I can’t remember them. Called it good for the night and headed back to the dorms..
Amusement Park – Not a bad little place. Full of carnival type games and food. Lots of little candy stands with some of the most interesting candies I’ve seen – especially the filled licorice and what I can only assume to be colored marshmallow characters. I personally only went on one ride, and it kicked ass (pictures on Facebook). It was essentially a giant rotating rod, with pods on either end for people. Lots of Gs and it was sweet. Not much else to say about it…except the graffiti porn. Behind one of the rides was – I kid you not – a naked man in a motorcycle helmet, straddling a Doberman, and fingering a girl. I have pictures, you may have to see them to believe it.
Cross Club – By far my favorite place so far. But it’s almost impossible to describe, the website has terrible pictures, and I haven’t brought a camera there yet. Think super industrial metal décor with trippy lighting where everything moves. There are about 8 different rooms, two (maybe three) levels and everything in there is amazing. Each room is connected but has it’s own unique feeling. In one room, there is usually an upstairs as well as a main floor. On the upstairs you have to crouch until you sit down. I’ll try to take pictures soon.
That’s it for now.
Picture Links (tags/descriptions coming soon):
Prague and Krakow
Auschwitz
Krakow and Prague
Krakow:
Of all the overnight excursions I have been on, this place was my favorite. Krakow is a very friendly town and unlike Prague, the locals don’t seem to scowl at all the tourists. That, and there are kebab stands everywhere, making me very happy. Seriously, I want schwarma grills now. Makes me crave It’s Greek to Me back in Tacoma too…hmm. Yeah, a lot of this trip is about eating good food. I also got to try pierogies, which are essentially pot stickers that aren’t fried and filled with a variety of substances. My favorite was the “Russian” style, which are filled with potatoes and cheese. It was a very Jewish tasting food. Also, from all these overnights, I’ve learned how to make an excellent lunch from the materials you can gather at a free hotel breakfast. It helps if you like sandwiches.
So beyond food in Krakow, there was an amazing market on the square with lots of amber (both green and standard colors), wooden figures, and some of the coolest chess sets I’ve ever seen. And then there were street performers, which I absolutely love. I saw some of the most impressive human statues here (pictures in Facebook). Additionally, there were musicians everywhere ranging from acoustic Metallica to traditional folk songs played by people who have met the Pope (they had a picture of them with the former Pope). The tours by Z were good too, though not as good as Vienna. Had a nice Jewish Quarter…and by nice I mean authentic, not pretty. BUT, while we were there, some person was passing out flyers detailing the apology of the Germans to the Jews in great detail. I thought it was all great and humanitarian, but at the end it turned out to be an evangelical, weasly worded invitation to see the glory of the Christian God. Blah.
Auschwitz:
Shocking. So much in a way where my brain didn’t really know what to think of everything around me. I also had a cold at the time, so that made the fogginess even worse. Auschwitz I truly does not look terrible from the outside. This is because it was originally used as barracks for Soviet troops. Nevertheless, once seeing the exhibition my opinion changed greatly. There were collections of shoes, glasses, clothes, and other personal items that completely blew my mind. There were several square meters of shoes and human hair. Some of the hair was used to make other materials, such as blankets.
Unfortunately, the insides had been changed greatly (painting the walls, etc.) so it was hard to get a feel for how it actually was. There were some glassed off recreated rooms and they were bad but nothing compared to the second camp. The three greatest things that stick out in my head from Auschwitz one are the hair, the crematorium, and the picture of the children experimented on.
Auschwitz II – Birkenau was absolutely disgusting. At this point, I was already in such a daze that I really didn’t feel like taking pictures anymore…but I forced myself to because I knew I would want them later. The woman’s area were brick houses, cramped with beds. The men’s were wooden horse stables meant for a small amount of horses and used for hundreds of men. The latrines were also ridiculous…rows and rows of seats right next to eachother. Absolutely no human rights anywhere to be seen. Completely disgusting. Birkenau was mostly destroyed…especially the massive gas chambers/crematorium. Next to those however stood the pools where they put the ashes of the Jews. I honestly didn’t believe it when someone first told me that. Z apparently claimed you could still see tiny specks of ashes…but I don’t believe that, or at least I don’t want to believe that.
Český Krumlov:
On to something a little more cheery. This town was originally built in the 14th century and has changed (externally) very little since then…allowing it to be part of the UNESCO register. When we went, it was definitely charming but also freezing and gloomy. I was a little disappointed with the tour – especially since we didn’t get to see anything like the 18th century baroque theater, which is supposed to amazing. Still, we saw the bear moat – that’s right. A moat, with bears in it (no water…though I think that would be the ultimate defense). I ate roast duck with an excellent beer at an authentic restaurant. The duck came with amazing dumplings too.
Prague:
St. Patty’s Day, Amusement Park, Cross Club
St. Patty’s – not bad…I was really tired because it was the same day to Český Krumlov. All I really wanted was a Guiness or two on tap. Couchsurfing was advertising a place called the Irish Club, which had great prices on the drinks so I wanted to go there. I got a small group together and went there seeking the holy grail of dark beers…and did not find it = (. They were out! A place called The Irish Club on St. Patty’s was OUT of Guiness on tap. They had it from the bottle, but I can get that anywhere. So I went for some cider and watched the drunken Irish sing drinking songs which were so simple…yet I can’t remember them. Called it good for the night and headed back to the dorms..
Amusement Park – Not a bad little place. Full of carnival type games and food. Lots of little candy stands with some of the most interesting candies I’ve seen – especially the filled licorice and what I can only assume to be colored marshmallow characters. I personally only went on one ride, and it kicked ass (pictures on Facebook). It was essentially a giant rotating rod, with pods on either end for people. Lots of Gs and it was sweet. Not much else to say about it…except the graffiti porn. Behind one of the rides was – I kid you not – a naked man in a motorcycle helmet, straddling a Doberman, and fingering a girl. I have pictures, you may have to see them to believe it.
Cross Club – By far my favorite place so far. But it’s almost impossible to describe, the website has terrible pictures, and I haven’t brought a camera there yet. Think super industrial metal décor with trippy lighting where everything moves. There are about 8 different rooms, two (maybe three) levels and everything in there is amazing. Each room is connected but has it’s own unique feeling. In one room, there is usually an upstairs as well as a main floor. On the upstairs you have to crouch until you sit down. I’ll try to take pictures soon.
That’s it for now.
Picture Links (tags/descriptions coming soon):
Prague and Krakow
Auschwitz
Krakow and Prague
posted by Joshua Smythe at
5:10 PM
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