Our trip to Krakow this past weekend was soooo much fun. It was really cold, but the city is 
a lot of fun and there is tons to see there. People there didn't really seem to care for Americans much and a lot of them either couldn't speak English or flat out refused to, it was frustrating at times trying to figure out the city and stuff without being able to speak or read Polish (my translation book came in handy a couple times though!). We toured the city a lot, visiting museums and churches. I wanted to take some pictures of the inside of the churches because they were beautiful 
beyond words, but there were no pictures allowed so unfortunately you will all just have to take my word for it that they were awesome. I even tried pierogies which is sort of like dumplings or ravioli, a shell type thing with filling in the middle (potatos, meat, cheese, veggies, etc) they were really good and a traditional polish food.
a lot of fun and there is tons to see there. People there didn't really seem to care for Americans much and a lot of them either couldn't speak English or flat out refused to, it was frustrating at times trying to figure out the city and stuff without being able to speak or read Polish (my translation book came in handy a couple times though!). We toured the city a lot, visiting museums and churches. I wanted to take some pictures of the inside of the churches because they were beautiful 
beyond words, but there were no pictures allowed so unfortunately you will all just have to take my word for it that they were awesome. I even tried pierogies which is sort of like dumplings or ravioli, a shell type thing with filling in the middle (potatos, meat, cheese, veggies, etc) they were really good and a traditional polish food.One of the day trips we did was to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkeneau. These tours were bone chilling and the whole time I had 
goosebumps from witnessing everything and realizing that I was walking around in the same buildings and area that millions of people were murdered in/on. At Auschwitz they had turned it into more of an exhibition and so we walked through rooms and rooms filled with shoes, luggage (with names still on them), hair brushes, pots/pans, clothes, and human hair. That was an eerie feeling to see an entire room filled with human hair from murdered Jews that the 
Nazis were going to use to make uniforms out of. The last thing we did at Auschwitz was walk through one of the gas chambers and creamtorium (this was a smaller scale one than the ones at Birkeneau, before the Nazis escaped they destroyed the bigger ones at Birkeneau). It was so eerie to walk through the gas chamber and then walk into the next room and see the ovens/furnaces that were used to burn the bodies.
goosebumps from witnessing everything and realizing that I was walking around in the same buildings and area that millions of people were murdered in/on. At Auschwitz they had turned it into more of an exhibition and so we walked through rooms and rooms filled with shoes, luggage (with names still on them), hair brushes, pots/pans, clothes, and human hair. That was an eerie feeling to see an entire room filled with human hair from murdered Jews that the 
Nazis were going to use to make uniforms out of. The last thing we did at Auschwitz was walk through one of the gas chambers and creamtorium (this was a smaller scale one than the ones at Birkeneau, before the Nazis escaped they destroyed the bigger ones at Birkeneau). It was so eerie to walk through the gas chamber and then walk into the next room and see the ovens/furnaces that were used to burn the bodies. We next when on to Birkeneau which was where most of the mass killing occured. It was really cold and started to snow which gave it an additional eerie feeling. We walked through
some of the barracks where they housed them and they were old horse barns, cement floors, cracks which allowed cold air to come in, wooden bunks which would have been crammed with people. It was so depressing to see. We went up to the watch tower that overlooked the whole camp and it was astonishing to see how large it was (20 times the size of Auschwitz). We left that day feeling really down but realizing that we had witnessed a precious part of history. It is something I will not forget.
some of the barracks where they housed them and they were old horse barns, cement floors, cracks which allowed cold air to come in, wooden bunks which would have been crammed with people. It was so depressing to see. We went up to the watch tower that overlooked the whole camp and it was astonishing to see how large it was (20 times the size of Auschwitz). We left that day feeling really down but realizing that we had witnessed a precious part of history. It is something I will not forget.On a lighter note...my favorite part of the trip was our trip to Zakopane, which is this little 
mountain village in Poland. It was like a Christmas town, lots of fluffly white snow and sleigh rides through the town. Vendors had little stalls set up to buy woolen hats, mittens, scarves, etc. It was so cute. We decided to head up the mountain (they have a ski resort at the very top) and took this orb thing up to the top. It was cloudy underneath all the clouds but we soared right through the cloud cover and came out in full sunshine on top of 
the mountain and on top of the world. It was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my life, we were literally above the clouds and all we could see was tops of snow capped mountains and a valley of clouds. I remember thinking that if this is the view Grandma gets to see everyday then she is one lucky lady. It was such an awesome experience and one that I will never forget.
mountain village in Poland. It was like a Christmas town, lots of fluffly white snow and sleigh rides through the town. Vendors had little stalls set up to buy woolen hats, mittens, scarves, etc. It was so cute. We decided to head up the mountain (they have a ski resort at the very top) and took this orb thing up to the top. It was cloudy underneath all the clouds but we soared right through the cloud cover and came out in full sunshine on top of 
the mountain and on top of the world. It was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my life, we were literally above the clouds and all we could see was tops of snow capped mountains and a valley of clouds. I remember thinking that if this is the view Grandma gets to see everyday then she is one lucky lady. It was such an awesome experience and one that I will never forget.We had to sleep in the Shannon, Ireland airport coming home because we missed the last bus back to Cork due to our plane being late. I was freezing so I didn't get much sleep but it was still an experience.
I hope that this blog finds everyone doing well in their parts of the world. I think about everyone often and wish that you all could be here to experience this with me. Miss you all bunches!
-abby
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