And One for Tag and Release

And One for Tag and Release

            We got into Krakow at about 07:00.  Our hostel didn’t allow check-ins until 14:00, so we put our bags into the luggage room and sat outside for a bit.  We fell asleep for an hour or two then decided to go get breakfast.  Mr. Kindle recommended we go to a “milk bar,” which, for me, conjured images of A Clockwork Orange.  Sadly, the recommended milk bar was closed.  We found an American-style diner, our first in Europe, and had delicious, fluffy pancakes.  Will ate my bacon. 

            After pancakes, we hopped on a train to Auschwitz.  When the Germans realized they were losing WW2, they started destroying many of their concentration and death camps, to hide the evidence of their crimes.  However, most of Auschwitz-Birkenau survived. 

            There are three parts of the camp.  First, there is Auschwitz I.  Auschwitz I was both a concentration camp and a death camp.  Concentration camps were for slave labor, death camps were for…well, murder.  Auschwitz I had one gas chamber and one crematorium, but they were significantly smaller than the ones at Auschwitz II - Birkenau (see below).  These were prototypes, designed to hold 600 people.  Auschwitz I was originally for Poles, political prisoners, and Soviet POWs.  Later, some Jews started arriving, but most of them were sent to Auschwitz II - Birkenau (often simply called “Birkenau”). 

            Birkenau was exclusively a death camp.  It had four gas chambers and four crematoria, each designed to hold 2,000 people.  It was also gigantic.  At one point, it held up to 100,000 people.  

            I was going to post a couple of pictures, but I have decided not to.  It is a place that you need to see for yourself.  1.3 million people were murdered there.  1,300,000 people.  You can abstractly accept these numbers, but the scale doesn’t sink in until you see the rows of barracks, the endless piles of shoes, the mounds of hair, the mountains of suitcases, and so on. 

            The Israeli Defense Force was there holding a ceremony.  They do it multiple times a year.  It serves two purposes.  First, it’s a memorial service.  Second, it is a reminder that we are still alive, and we need to remember. 

I agree with them.  It’s too important not to go, not to learn.  And more than that, we can’t ever, ever forget what happened there, or at the other camps. 

            On a somewhat lighter note, we barely escaped the rain (again).  It was just starting as we got to our train back to Krakow, where it was not raining (of course).  Will and I cooked dinner at the hostel.  At this point, it was pretty late, so we decided to go to bed.

            As I was getting ready for bed, these two Dutch girls, Eva and Sophie, said they were going to a dance club.  They asked me if I wanted to go.  I needed some cheering up, so I went.  With us came two guys from Madrid, Will (let’s call him Guillermo to prevent confusion) and Ajax (pronounced EYE-yax).   The dance club was called Kitsch.  It had three stories.

           

            Each floor and each room in Kitsch was different.  The bottom floor was peaceful and played Reggae.  It was also outdoors.  The second floor was a weird mix of awesome classic rock and random stuff that I had never heard before.  It was not very crowded. The third floor had two dance rooms, a bar room, and a chill-out room.  The first dance room was huge, had two poles, and was constantly packed.  They played a strange mix of more weird music and bad club music.  Everyone seemed to like it.  The last room was the dubstep room.

            I had heard dubstep before thanks to Cabbie and Joe.  However, I never really liked it.  I didn’t really understand the appeal.  It didn’t bother me, I just wasn’t a fan.  I now understand.  For those who don’t know what dubstep is, my friend Zane explained it rather well: “It sounds like you are an intestinal blockage in the colon of Festulon, the Party Giant.”  I think it sounds like a mixture of that and techno, but whatever.

            The reason I didn’t like dubstep was because I was approaching it the wrong way.  It’s not for listening to.  It’s for dancing like a maniac with really bright, colorful strobe lights all up in your face.  It’s awesome.  I’ve learned to like it, but only if I’m in the mood to dance like a maniac.

            Guillermo and Ajax got way too drunk.  Eva, Sophie, and I struggled to get them back to the hostel.  We eventually succeeded.  Hooray.

Will’s Corner

            I like pubs and bars.  Clubs not so much.  Sleep is better.

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 Dear Joe,

            You are the super-giant in whose intestine Festulon the Party Giant is the blockage.

Love,

Will and Andy