Hallowe'en in Wrocklaw?

Dr Anne and Lois spent Wednesday on the train from Kraków to Wrocklaw.  They are staying in a Soviet built apartment in the centre of town.  This is a university town so has a vibrant atmosphere.  There is a square in the centre of town which has a wonderful ethos.  

Today Dr Anne and Lois went to the Botanical Gardens.  When they entered there was this display of pumpkins.  Amazing entertainment for the children...

Farewell to Kraków

Auschwitz

On their last day in Kraków, Dr Anne and Lois booked a tour to Auschwitz.  They went to Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz - Birkenau.

Dr Anne leaves the pictures to tell the story.

Auschwitz 1

A sunny October Day.

The entrance.

The prison huts in Auschvitz 1.

Where the prisoners came from.

A model of the extermination chambers.  People were packed in tightly together.

The gas used in the crematoriums to exterminate people.

Cases of the prisoners.

.

Prisoners' shoes by the tens of thousands.

All kinds of brushes.

Starvation was a main cause of death. Those who became unfit were exterminated. They had to find additional sources of food.

Auschwitz - Birkenau

The immensity of this site has to be seen to behold.  The crematoriums were blown up by the Germans days before the camp was handed over to the Allies.  The site remains very much as it was at the end of the war.

Looking towards the entrance.  The train loads of prisoners came through the gate.

A railway wagon.

Remains of crematorium 2

Food for thought.

The women's camp.  Each hut might hold 700 women.

They slept many to a bed.

The sanitory block for the men.  They were rushed through at allotted times.  

The memorial to all those who died.

Tribute to the Jews

Dr Anne and. Lois have done a number of tours focusing on the Jewish Community in Europe.

They started with a tour in Prague visiting the recently opened museum dedicated to the Czech Jews who perished in the Second World War followed by a tour of the old Jewish Cemetery.  The cemetery was not destroyed as the Nazis wanted it as a memorial to an extinct race.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague

In Kraków they took a tour of the Jewish Quarters.  

The oldest synagogue in Kraków.

Looking over the river Vistula to the Jewish Ghetto.

The Jewish Cemetery in Kraków.

Where part of Schindler's List was filmed.

A memorial to the Jews.  Here they were rounded up from the Ghetto and frog marched to the train to be taken to the concentration camp near the Ukrainian border.  When the Soviets marched on the Eastern Front in 1942 this concentration camp was closed and covered over.  Its existence was recently discovered.  

A pause for thought.

Autumn in Kraków.

Autumn has come to Kraków.

Kraków

'Kraków is a vibrant city.  The Polish people are proud of their culture and heritage.  

Dr Anne and Lois have spent their day at Wawel Castle on the banks of the Vistula River.  The sun was shining but it was very cold.  They visited the wonderful Wawel Castle area.

A panoramic view towards the cathedral and palace.

View from the clock tower over Kraków.

The bell in the belfry.

The cathedral wth Pope John Paul 11 in the foreground.

Pope John Paul 11 outside the cathedral.

The castle walls.

The Royal Palace State Apartments.