Ever fancied going to Auschwich

jetskidia

We are doing the Krakow/Auschwich thing in Nov 2008.
Next spring we want to do the Normandy landings area.

Has anyone done this?

Who did you travel with? where did you stay? did you do your own thing or organised trip?

Any other advice/help welcomed;)

Jennifer_Jane

I'd just like to add my little bit about Poland and Auschwitz. Poland is lovely (we went with Shearings, overnight drive, and stayed in Zakopane). We made the journey to Auschwitz/Berkenau and it was very moving. I would recommend having one of the Auschwitz guides. They are excellent and very passionate, and this may be the only time you go to Auschwitz, best to hear the victims' story from someone who really knows all about it. There were long lines of people going around, but the atmosphere was that we were in the presence of a unbelievable, colossal, tragedy and everyone was silent and respectful. Only one person cried and was sobbing - she was German and almost everyone who passed her touched her gently to give comfort.

I had gone, in the 70's, to a concentration camp in Belgium (as opposed to an extermination camp) where an inmate had recorded her story, and I found that personal memoir extremely moving and more upsetting than Auschwitz/Berkenau, where it is the scale of things that shocks you. Nevertheless, it is an experience that I do recommend. We are all connected to the victims of Auschwitz/Berkenau: there but for the grace of God ...

I've been twice to Poland now, and will certainly go again some time. I can recommend Zakopane; the Wieliczka salt mines (phenomenal); Krakow. We also went into Slovakia and to the Dunajec Valley (Polish and Slovakian border).

I loved both journeys.

Regards
Jen
x

ali1972

spiritus wrote: »

Please don't discount Warsaw. I was there again in June and it has loads to offer. It's not as navigable by foot as Krakow but public transport is cheap and there are some stunning places to see in the city.

Aha! Thank you for that! I'm flying to Warsaw for a short break tomorrow and found this post in a search. My friend and I were looking for a last minute city break and found flights with BA plus 3 nights in a 5 star hotel for £296 per person with Expedia and thought "What the hey..." Perhaps not as inexpensive as some dedicated MSErs could come up with, but going straight to the BA website afterwards we noticed that flights alone would have cost us about £450 each at short notice so I guess we've done alright....