I’m not going to lie. Krakow was a really hard time for me. We started on an extremely high note. I got to go to mass where Pope John Paul II said daily mass, which was beautiful and comforting to know what was happening despite not knowing the language at all. That night we discovered an extremely fun speakeasy in the old Jewish quarter. We sat and had a few drinks, talked and laughed, and then went to bed at a pretty reasonable time.
The next day brought about the Schindler factory tour, as well as my darkest day so far here. While the museum tour was fascinating and I marveled at the artist who so obviously painstakingly designed the museum, I had reached my breaking point. I consider myself an omnivert, but after being “on” and surrounded by people nonstop for over a week I had to get away. I ended up falling asleep in the hotel as soon as the tour finished, only to wake up once, eat a protein bar, and go back to bed. This was not my proudest moment but was extremely necessary for the days to come.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Emily and I are going to go more in depth in our following blog so I will keep this brief. Aushwitz-Birkenau was one of the most horrifying places I have gone in my life. The anger, fear, and despair I felt walking these grounds was something I have never felt before, but I am eternally grateful that I was able to come here and go home.
Overall I think I’ll need to come back to fully experience Krakow. However, as we move on to Warsaw, I will take with me the experience I had here and will learn from them.
– an emotionally exhausted Katie
Kat & Em Take on Gutenberg 