We were discussing the difficulty of rolling a German "r" when the gates to Auschwitz II-Birkenau came into view. I couldn't tell you if my heart skipped a beat or if it started racing, but everyone in the van went silent upon seeing the railroad tracks leading to the gates. Even though "Arbeit Macht Frei" is the infamous sign for Auschwitz, Auschwitz II-Birkenau is what most people think of when they think of Auschwitz. It was here that se...

This is going to be a tough blog to write.I woke up this morning around 6 in order to have time for a run, shower, and breakfast before we departed for the town of Oświęcim and Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Don't worry—I had learned from my mistake running without a map in Jena, and brought a map with me this morning. The map actually turned out to be a really great idea because the route I had kind of planned out in my head didn't really work out the way I...