After breakfast we checked out of Hotel Kossak and drove to Auschwitz. After the tour of Auschwitz, we went to Birkenau which is nearby. I had done a lot of research through books and videos, so I knew the history. It was really helpful to know what I was getting into, so I wasn’t caught off guard like I had been at the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It was sobering to see the buildings and displays. It is beyond my comprehension that the Nazis killed so many innocent people. Our site guide, Magdelina, has been hand picked by Miina for all of her visits here. She calmly gave the very detailed tour which I know helped us.
Straw mattresses the prisoners slept on
Three of four prisoners slept on each mattress!
Then we got back on the bus and began the long drive to Warsaw. Miina played a beautiful Chopin piano CD through the bus audio system. The music was very calming. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that served us traditional Polish food. I particularly liked the soup! For dessert we each had a scooped out baked apple with raisins inside and chocolate sauce drizzled over it.
When we got back on the bus, Miina played the movie, Shindler’s List, during the long drive to Warsaw. The movie had quite an impact after seeing Auschwitz earlier today and Shindler’s Factory Museum yesterday in Kraków.
The Polonia Palace Hotel is a plush hotel with large rooms. I should sleep well tonight. We ate dinner at Smaki Warszawy near the hotel.