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| Katowice station |
Our first stop in the south of Poland was Katowice.
Unfortunately for us, it seemed that the entire city was being dug up, having
heavy machinery, detours and barriers in all directions.
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| Katowice building |
After managing to find a car park, we had a little
roam around finding some attractive old buildings alongside fairly modern
architecture.
We had a wee shop around and Leigh bought a pair of
shoes, after which we headed out looking for our preferred campsite.
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| Auschwitz fence |
We were delighted that it was easy to find and a
really good standard – wifi, clean toilets, and hot showers!
It even had a
restaurant where we decided to treat ourselves to a hearty Polish meal!
Leigh was desperate for red meat (iron), so we both
ordered steak.
Unfortunately, while Leigh’s was called rump steak, it appeared
as some kind of reconstituted meat – tasty but not the ‘real’ thing!
Marg
kindly shared some of her delicious sirloin steak with her!
After Katowice, we drove across smaller roads and
through little villages and hamlets to get to the town of Oświęcim which proved
to be an attractive little place with a town square surrounded by pretty
buildings.
Oświęcim is also the home of Auschwitz and Birkenau
WWII concentration camps.
Visiting the camps, we found that all visitors had to
join a guided tour.
Our English speaking group was split into three
separate groups and we were led around Auschwitz then Birkenau.
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| Beds-3 levels-Birkenau |
We had a passionate young woman as a guide who
shared a huge amount of information with us about the evil that was perpetrated
in these camps by the Nazis.
We were left wondering how anyone actually managed
to survive this hell on earth.
How it was possible that people could have
actually inflicted such tortures on others.
It was a sobering and daunting 3 ½ hours seeing
where all this happened.
No matter how much you read about it, you never really
understand the horror of the thing.
Seeing the hundreds of suitcases, tons of shaved
human hair, photos taken at the time, and other such things helped us to
appreciate the value of living in New Zealand in today’s times.
This is a place
we will never forget.
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| Auschwitz suitcases |
We had a slightly restless sleep that night before
setting off in a circuitous route across country towards the east.
En-route, we passed through the Ojców National Park
which is part of the Polish Jura Chain (Jurassic rock).
We saw many interesting limestone formations,
castles perched on the top of them, and a myriad of walking and cycling tracks
that were being well used by tourists.
We climbed up to view Pieskowa Skała Castle, which
was erected in the first half of the fourteenth century, and the huge limestone
rocks near it.
We found it to be a very attractive area to wander through.
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| Leigh, Pieskowa Skała rock |
Arriving in Krakow, we easily found our rather
attractive and well cared for campsite.
It was free to use the washing machines there so we
threw in a load which blew out in the gentle breeze and was almost dry by
evening – a real bonus especially as the weather had been very cool until now.
The weather seemed to be so much warmer here.
Although a little cool in the morning it was
nothing like the mornings we had experienced over the last week.
As it is spring here, there seems to be a constant
hum of weed eaters and lawn mowers as the long winter grass gets its spring
cut.
We headed off into Krakow centre by bus the next
morning.
Krakow lies on both sides of the Vistula River and is one of the largest cities in Poland.
Unfortunately, we somehow missed the stop for the
old city and ended up in the suburbs on the other side of town.
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| Marg, Wawel Royal Castle-Krakow |
Interesting but
not useful as it wasn't where we wanted to be!
Catching a tram back we decided to get off at Wawel
Hill which is a very important part of Polish history.
There have been
fortifications here since prehistoric times.
We had an enjoyable time wandering around the Wawel
Royal Castle which was built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great in the 14th century.
This castle was the first UNESCO World Heritage site in the world.
We enjoyed seeing the Wawel Cathedral, a Gothic structure which was begun in the 14th century after the two previous ones were destroyed.
We then followed many attractive cobbled streets to reach
the main Krakow Market Square (the Rynek) which has existed since the 13th century.
There are so many beautiful buildings including
cathedrals, churches and palaces that there was lots to see.
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| Marg, the Barbican-Krakow |
It was a very easy
city to walk around.
We soon reached the end of the old city which is
bordered by the old defensive walls and the impressive Barbican just outside
the Florian’s Gate entrance to the old city.
The Barbican is a circular bastion of brick walls that are three metres thick. It was built in the 15th century adjacent to the 13th century Florian's Gate.
Such amazing history to be seen.
We stayed a while in Krakow and had a lovely break before moving on to other parts of Poland.