Off to Poland...

Do not let this image fool you. Yeah, this is the nice coach bus we took to Poznan, Poland. They stuck about 150 people in a space for about 50. We both had our knees digging in our chests for twelve hours from Amsterdam. Assigned seats? Why? Just sit wherever the hell you want! CHAOS...MADDNESS!!! Wait to you see some of the rinky-dink busses in Russia where we traveled in style.

This is what we felt like everyday driving in Poland...in Europe. Who do you think invented the "OH SH*T" handles?

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. We really do not have a lot to write about this place. I think everyone knows about the atrocicites that happened here. The place seems inviting. It is lush green, nice sunny day, and the birds sing. But to know that millions of people were killed where we stood, all those beautiful elements seemed to fade away.

While the Jews, Gypsies, intellectuals and other undesirables had it pretty bad in Auschwitz, the German officers lived pretty well. This is a picture of their swimming pool, right behind one of the bunk houses. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be packed like a sardine in a holding room and look out the window at your captors sunning themselves on a beautiful day.

Thousands were brought on trains and let out at this spot. The women, children and weak were immediately separated and usually went straight to the showers. The males were put to work doing construction at the camp or in factories or mines...literally digging their own graves. There is a "proof of atrocities" building that you can see a rooms filled to the ceiling with human hair or discarded shoes or glasses. You can still smell the death that happened there over sixty years ago.

The next day we went off to beautiful Wawel Castle and Cathedral in central Krakow

All the Polish Royalty are buried here in tombs underneath the castle.

This is BnD on their way up the tower to see Sigmund's Bell.



Peek-a-boo!




I'm a ding-a-ling!





You can ring my bell.

D taking Wawel for a spin.

On to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Dad...these are for you!

"One traveled Frenchman observed in the 18th century that Krakow's Wieliczka salt mine was no less magnificent than the Egyptian pyramids. Millions of visitors, the crowned heads and such celebrities as Goethe and Sarah Bemhardt among them, have appeared to share his enthusiasm when exploring the subterranean world of labyrinthine passages, giant caverns, underground lakes and chapels with sculptures in the crystalline salt and rich ornamentation carved in the salt rock. They have also marveled at the ingenuity of the ancient mining equipment in the Wieliczka salt mine. And the unique acoustics of the place have made hearing music here an exceptional experience.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine, nowadays practically on the southeast outskirts of Krakow, has been worked for 900 years. It used to be one of the world's biggest and most profitable industrial establishments when common salt was commercially a medieval equivalent of today's oil. Always a magnet, since the mid-18th century Krakow's Wieliczka salt mine has become increasingly a tourist attraction in the first place. Today visitors walk underground for about 2,000 m in the oldest part of the salt mine and see its subterranean museum, which takes three hours or so.
Nine centuries of mining in Wieliczka produced a total of some 200 kilometers of passages as well as 2,040 caverns of varied size. The tourist route starts 64 m deep and ends 135 m below the earth surface, where the world's biggest museum of mining is located with the unique centuries-old equipment among its exhibits. Still below, some 210 m deep, there is a sanatorium for those suffering from asthma and allergy. Occasionally concerts and other events take place in the Wieliczka mine’s biggest chambers.
UNESCO has entered the Wieliczka Salt Mine in its World Heritage Register."


We walked something like 40 stories down...

Beware, you never know what may be lurking down a dark corridor. Bill took this picture thinking it was just another tunnel, but his flash caught a dark secret of the mine.

"We welcome you to Munchkin land..." sing it Dorth.

Deni helping out.

The guy behind was REALLY working it!

More stairs.

This is one of the many beautiful cathedral and the largest. The Last Supper and other artworks and statues are carved into the salt walls. Mass and weddings are regularly held here...Who's game for a Polish wedding?






The pride of Poland...Pope John Paul II.



Here we are making ancient coins. In its day, this coin was worth more than gold and could buy you a horse. Look at the girl behind me! Every child should be scared of me when i have a mallet in my hand.



Oh...just flexin'. You want tickets to the "gun show"...it will cost you one of these coins!



Work it Bill!!!



This was our week in Poland, and by far, our favorite to date. We have TONS more to come, but we just spent a night on a train and our hotel is letting us check in right now. It has A/C and a big bed. So that's all you're getting for now.
But yes, we finally have access to a computer with a disk drive, so expect more pics in the coming days. We'll be here for six nights and then you won't hear from us for a week while we're on the train to Beijing. Thank you everyone who has left a comment or written us an email. It really makes it worthwhile to know that people are interested in what we're doing. Especially after we've sat here for two hours and had to upload the same dang picture three times...Leave us a comment or write an email! It really picks us up if we're feeling down. We also love to hear what everyone is up to back home. Miss ya'll.