[Travel] Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum

StillHateBellotti · Jul 10, 2019

swindonseagull said:
Would appreciate if you could post links here.

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.053...gS38tnvFbeQwA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i52 a nice one for aa walk past the castle as well.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/PierogarniaKrakowiacy/posts/?ref=page_internal

https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...dff837b315bc1e5!8m2!3d50.0629521!4d19.9341801

The dumplings were amazing and cheap in the second link and you will order more, and the Jewish restaurant was fantastic and there are a few others in the Jewish quarter. We were only there two nights unfortunately but enjoyed it so much we will return. Both football stadiums are very close to the square and also good value if a match is on whilst there and also walking distance away. Have a great time.

MisterE · Jul 10, 2019

jakarta said:
Have booked a weekend (well 4 days actually) break in Krakow for Mrs Jakarta and myself following her positive (nothing found) MRI after a 3 year battle with cancer.

It is a Guided Tour and one option is a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

I'm not sure this is a holiday destination but on the other hand I don't suppose I will ever get to see it again in my lifetime.

For obvious reasons we would like to have an 'up' weekend but feel we SHOULD do it.

Any NSCers visited?

Krakow is brilliant. You must (and I think everyone) should go to Austwich-Birkenau - it brings everything into perspective how horrific the camps were
Also, if you get the chance - The Schindler museum is a must. Visit the Jewish sector to see the plaza for the missing Jews
Much of Krakow is sad - but it is also a very vibrant city with lots of bars and restaurants. You will enjoy it

swindonseagull · Aug 6, 2019

Just booked 5 days in Krakow in Dec for the Christmas Market and a side trip to Auschwitz. (BA £250 including flights staying at Park Inn by Radisson) very reasonable price.

timbha · Aug 6, 2019

swindonseagull said:
Just booked 5 days in Krakow in Dec for the Christmas Market and a side trip to Auschwitz. (BA £250 including flights staying at Park Inn by Radisson) very reasonable price.

I hope it doesn’t snow too much !!

swindonseagull · Aug 6, 2019

timbha said:
I hope it doesn’t snow too much !!

Thats part of the fun of Christmas markets....try and go to one a year a nice break before Christmas.

wunt be druv · Aug 6, 2019

It is a must do if you have the chance,very harrowing,very disturbing and sad beyond description..certainly puts any problems in to perspective, my wife, Mrs. Wunt Be Druv, is of Jewish descent and her predecessors bar two perished in Auschwitz, you have to go to appreciate just how evil the Nazi regime was.

timbha · Aug 6, 2019

swindonseagull said:
Thats part of the fun of Christmas markets....try and go to one a year a nice break before Christmas.

Not much fun if the airport’s closed

swindonseagull · Aug 6, 2019

timbha said:
Not much fun if the airport’s closed

I think you will find they will be a lot better prepared than Heathrow or Gatwick are when a few snowflakes fall, after all they are used to snow.

timbha · Aug 6, 2019

swindonseagull said:
I think you will find they will be a lot better prepared than Heathrow or Gatwick are when a few snowflakes fall, after all they are used to snow.

Not when our flight to Krakow was cancelled the night before departure

swindonseagull · Aug 6, 2019

timbha said:
Not when our flight to Krakow was cancelled the night before departure

Oh well.....them's the breaks

clapham_gull · Aug 7, 2019

I went many many years ago, 1 year after communism.

I was only 17/18 but it influenced my views on racism, populism, the way we treat minorities etc... forever.

My Grandmother had very strong views on racism, which I obviously didn't view as "progressive" as a child. She wasn't in the least bit "left wing" but retrospectively her views on the far-right went much further than "lived through the war".

I didn't find out till after her death that she visited Germany before the war. She had German friends (in the UK) who took her out there to visit their family.

She saw a Jewish women being beaten up by the Police in a restaurant in full view of everyone else and much much more. The "friends" tried to take her to a Nazi rally, but as told to my mum "I didn't like Hitler, so went shopping instead."

On return to the UK the "German friends" were arrested in London, presumably as spies.

God knows what she went through during the war, witnessing first hand what was potentially to come.

timbha · Aug 7, 2019

swindonseagull said:
Oh well.....them's the breaks

But we rebooked and went a few months later. Incredible experience, harrowing but unmissable visits with excellent guides who knew when to move things on and not to dwell too long. Auschwitz/ birkenau and salt mines are a must.
Back in Krakow the food and drink is good, good walks along the river with plenty of places to stop and rest. Well worth hiring a bike to see more with only gentle hills (if the weather is kind).
Very friendly and unthreatening (except Derby Day we were told).

(Might be worth checking your insurance just in case)

dwayne · Aug 7, 2019

timbha said:
But we rebooked and went a few months later. Incredible experience, harrowing but unmissable visits with excellent guides who knew when to move things on and not to dwell too long. Auschwitz/ birkenau and salt mines are a must.
Back in Krakow the food and drink is good, good walks along the river with plenty of places to stop and rest. Well worth hiring a bike to see more with only gentle hills (if the weather is kind).
Very friendly and unthreatening (except Derby Day we were told).

(Might be worth checking your insurance just in case)

All this is true except the bit about food. Polish food is terrible. Fatty cuts of meat and potato. No veg , fruit or anything resembling healthy food.

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dazzer6666 · Aug 7, 2019

dwayne said:
All this is true except the bit about food. Polish food is terrible. Fatty cuts of meat and potato. No veg , fruit or anything resembling healthy food.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure I agree, that sounds more like stereotypical view of traditional Polish food (and not incorrect in that context) - there are however some excellent restaurants in Krakow (particularly Italian in my experience). Krakow is very 'international' and the food reflects that

dwayne · Aug 7, 2019

dazzer6666 said:
Not sure I agree, that sounds more like stereotypical view of traditional Polish food (and not incorrect in that context) - there are however some excellent restaurants in Krakow (particularly Italian in my experience). Krakow is very 'international' and the food reflects that

I’ve been to krakow about 15 times. I’m a massive foodie. Would love to get these recommendations. I’ve never even had good fish in Poland in any city. Is there even a Michelin starred restaurant in krakow?!

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dazzer6666 · Aug 7, 2019

dwayne said:
I’ve been to krakow about 15 times. I’m a massive foodie. Would love to get these recommendations. I’ve never even had good fish in Poland in any city. Is there even a Michelin starred restaurant in krakow?!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'll try and get a couple of placenames - usually get taken out by the locals so don't take much notice of the names..............

jakarta · Sep 28, 2019

Hello NSC

Please forgive this thread being bounced but I thought I needed to having been to Krakow this week including a visit to Auschwitz Birkenau.

An utterly horrible place, it still reeks of suffering and death.

However you have to go and see what human beings are capable of doing to one another when their morals have been corrupted.

As previously stated Auschwitz is horrible but the Birkenau site feels worse due to the scale of the place.

Words fail you, you have to witness it, but I don't think I need to go again.

Arbeit Macht Frei

Palacefinder General · Sep 28, 2019

Watched the multi-award winning Son of Saul last night, a film that draws on the ‘Scrolls of Auschwitz,’ various writings buried by the Sonderkommando. Powerful watch.

portlock seagull · Sep 28, 2019

Palacefinder General said:
Watched the multi-award winning Son of Saul last night, a film that draws on the ‘Scrolls of Auschwitz,’ various writings buried by the Sonderkommando. Powerful watch.

Indeed. Actually felt sick afterwards.

Thunder Bolt · Oct 12, 2019

A friend lent me the book The Tatooist of Auschwitz, which was published last year, by the author Heather Morris. She met Lale in Melbourne.
It was fascinating and horrific at the same time, but Lale also met his wife there, another Slovakian. I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book, very strongly.

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