Poland: Kraków & Auschwitz-Birkenau

The final stop with the girls was Poland. Krawków soon was added to my list of favorite places. Poland surprised me in so many ways- all positive. It is the most Eastern city I have visited and also the cheapest (score!!). Seeing Auschwitz-Birkenau had me relive history and taught me even more about the concentration camps, after years of reading and learning about the Holocaust. The highlights of this trip were definitely the Polish food, new Australian friends, and watching a Eurocup game in the fan zone since Poland and Ukraine were hosting the Eurocup games. 

Krawków was such a pretty city. Favorites included:  

• The central square with a leaning clock tower, Basilica, outdoor market, and tons of outdoor restaurants and bars. 
• Buying amber rings 
• Seeing the whole city at the top of the Basilica
• Visiting the castle
• Walking through the Jewish Quarter and seeing the only active synagogue in Kraków
• Going more than once to eat at our favorite Polish restaurant Babila Malikas 
• Eating perogies and drinking Polish beer
• Partying with our Aussie friends and going to cool bars
• Receiving gifts from the Aussies (including a cute mini kangaroo)

The Castle

The Castle

Jewish Synagogue 

Jewish Synagogue 

Eurocup 2012 

Central Square 

Feast at Baba Malikas 

Outdoor market by night 

View from the top of the Basilica

Aussies & us

My experience at Auschwitz-Birkenau is hard to write in words. To say the least, it was very impactive. I had goosebumps the whole time I was there, knowing just decades before others were murdered on the same grounds. We had a really great tour guide throughout the camps, first at Auschwitz and then at Birkenau. Birkenau is much bigger and what I had imagined a concentration camp to look like from the Holocaust movies. I think everyone who has the opportunity should go and see it for themselves. It was a crazy experience but one of the best things I have ever seen. I learned a lot from the tours and got to enter into the gas chambers, torture rooms, and see the hanging wall.

Entrance to Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Gas chamber at Auschwitz

Auschwitz

  Birkenau                                 

Birkenau

Birkenau

Birkenau

Birkenau 

Birkenau gas chamber remains 

Birkenau

Budapest!

Our next stop was Budapest. I had heard really great things about this city and we decided to spend my birthday here. Also, two of my friends living in Barcelona (Lee and Luisa) and I had planned to be there at the same time. We did a lot of eating, touring, relaxing, bar hopping, and hanging out around the Jewish Quarter. It was wonderful.
The first night we went to have dinner at Leitz Frank Square, a two-sided street full of outdoor restaurants and bars. We met my friend Lee there and ended up having a feast at Bohemia. We had duck liver, steak, breaded wienerschnitzel, a big salad, and a cheese dish, as well as big beers typical of Hungary.
Afterwards we headed to "A83" which is a boat party. A big boat is docked on the harbor and has a bar, dance floor with DJ's, and nice places to sit outside and enjoy the city view at night. We tried the famous polinka shots which we were not so found of, but when in Hungary right?
The next day we went to the Szechenyi Bath and Spa, which is the biggest thermal bath in Budapest. It was my birthday and all I wanted to do was relax and be in the sun. We went all day and even got massages, it was amazing. Later we had dinner in the Jewish quarter and went to a cool bar in an abandoned jewish building called Simpla. The Jewish quarter was full of life and bars. It was a great birthday spent with great people in a new city.
The next day we headed to see the Jewish synagogue and then took the free walking tour of the city. We saw both the BUDA and PEST sides. We went all the way up to the castle and got a great view of the city (also got lucky and saw 5 weddings) and ate delicious pastries (one filled with apples and the other with cottage cheese mmm mmm). It was our last night before the girls headed off to Italy, so we bought some hungarian wine and got ready for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Karma in the Leitz Frank Square and really enjoyed our meal (my new obsession was goulash). That night there was a huge thunderstorm, so after dinner we headed to our hostel. The girls left early in the AM and I went to tour the inside of the Jewish synagogue, see the cemetery, tree of life, the Jewish ghetto and outdoor market. It was beautiful and I was happy how the Jewish quarter was such a big part of the city. On the tour I meet some new friends and we headed to the Simpla bar afterwards. We watched the Spain vs. Italy game for the Eurocup 2012 (Wooooo viva España!). I had my last goulash for dinner with Luisa before before going back to Barcelona.

Hungarian feast! 

A83

A83

 

 Szechenyi Bath and Spa

Szechenyi Bath and Spa 

Szechenyi Bath and Spa

Simpla Bar

Simpla Bar 

Jewish Synagogue