We got into Kraków and caught a cab to our Airbnb which allowed us to get a good view of the city. Unfortunately during most of our time it was a bit chilly and raining, so I'll remember it as pretty communist feeling. We could tell there was a lot of history, but it was also very obvious of the recent takeover. Really interesting to be in such a different place while still being in forward-thinking Europe. We met up with our lovely Airbnb host who gave us a lot of information about the town, I think we ate at every single restaurant she suggested haha. I can't remember what exactly we did the first day, but I'm pretty sure we just relaxed at the apartment until about dinner time. We walked around a bit then headed to a nice restaurant. They had very delicious Polish food, and mom and dad's bit of Polish came in handy :) We walked around town a bit after, looking through the shops and vendors, then headed home and had a nice sleep :) The next day we took a tour of Wawel Castle, a very very old castle (can't remember how old but it's really old) that kept being built upon throughout the ages and is now a huge fortress. It was really cool to tour, and we learned a lot about Polish history. The Nazis even set up office there back in the day. It took a long time to tour, it was a very interesting place, but we were getting hungry so we headed down to the Jewish district for lunch. They had a fun food truck area that looked sketch but our host said it was good so we went for it. Very proud of my parents for that one. We got pork brisket and a Polish sausage, and ate it all on the top of an old double decker bus. Pretty fun :) Then we went to the Galicia Museum- my grandma has always talked about Galicia, and turns out it was a region in southern Poland, western Ukraine, and northern Baltic countries that was once it's own state. This museum highlighted the history of the region through photography, especially during the past 80 years. I'm not usually one for museums and art and all, but this one was really interesting. They didn't show gory photos or anything, but rather places as they are today, usually ones you'd never expect like a forest where hundreds of Poles and Jews were shot dead, or a house where someone was taken from for no reason. It was really interesting. We walked back to our place to get some rest before heading to a Polish family's house for dinner. They were so nice and interesting, and made delicious traditional Polish food- beet stew, chicken, potatoes, and apple pie (Polish style). We learned a lot from them about recent history. We didn't necessarily realize how long Poland was communist. At least I always think of Auschwitz and the Nazi rule during the Second World War, but not necessarily the effects of the Cold War Era, I always associate that with Berlin off the top of my head. But it was a really hard time for Poland also. Their culture was suppressed once again, and there was a huge mistrust between every person, something that still lingers today although is getting better. However everyone is very proud to be Polish, that has never died. We also asked about the time during the Nazi takeover and the mom said that her uncle was taken, for no reason (we later learned that people truly were taken away for stupid or no reason at all), and he was sent to Auschwitz but luckily survived during all his years there, up until liberation. He was punished many times, including multiple times in a dark column of a room where you must stand until the officer lets you out, no food or water. She had other relatives that went as well, but his story was definitely the most shocking. They had a very interesting family history, just from living where they live, and we were very lucky to join them for dinner :) We took the streetcar back home, we later learned that it was established in the late 1800s, and of course it's been updated since, but even that had a communist feel, although they are replacing many cars. We grabbed some food for a to-go lunch for the next day, then went to bed. The next day was Auschwitz day. We woke up early and got on the bus where we watched a good introductory movie to the camps. It was also nice to see the countryside. We arrived at Auschwitz first and got our tour guide and went on. This camp was a good size, yet smaller and older than Birkenau. This meant, however, that the bunkers were made of brick and well preserved, so there was a lot of "museum" stuff in this camp. It was really really interesting, and very eerie as well. I think looking back on it is more eerie than being there. We also saw the jail building and the wall where people were shot and hanged. In the jail cell we got to see where St. Maximilian Kolbe died, after his selfless act. We headed out of the camp and made our way to the gas chambers. Ya that still sounds scary. It is one of the few still preserved, the Nazis tried to cover up what they did. We went in, and we were told that the ones at Birkenau were twice the size. Woah. It's just sick how they could kill so many people in masses like that. The crematorium was in the room over. Our tour guide was really good with information and stories and definitely made it a meaningful experience. After that we went back to the bus to eat our lunch on our way to Birkenau. This place was huge. This is what you picture when you think of Auschwitz or any other death camp, but even bigger. It was sick. Here were the wooden barracks and multiple massive gas chambers and crematoriums. This place was so huge that it was more of an outdoor experience, which was really cool. There were a lot of groups of teenagers from Israel paying their respects and praying together, so it was really nice to be in the open air with them. This place was huge, and it was less talking and more walking and looking down the rows and rows of barracks. An insane number of people went through here, many if not most didn't even sleep in a barrack and were sent straight to the gas chambers upon arrival. We ended the tour with going inside a barrack. It was on the women's side of the camp, and it was where you stayed until you were taken away to the gas chambers. You were treated as if you were dead already, no food, and sometimes it would be days before you were taken away. The entire building was just shelves people were supposed to sleep on, and I was thinking that putting three to a shelf would be a sick number, but no it was at least six, and sometimes even ten. I have no idea how that was even possible. You wanted to be strong enough to have the top bunk, not only because it had head room, but then your weaker colleagues who couldn't get up to relieve themselves wouldn't get you dirty. This, along with the gas chambers, was the most moving spot I thought. The tour ended and we headed back to Kraków. We rested for a bit and headed out to dinner. We went to a really fun traditional Polish place, they even dressed in traditional clothes! We had really really good food there- pierogis, kielbasa, beer, etc etc... Aka we were very full afterwards. Afterwards we walked around a bit and did some souvenir shopping which was fun. The next day we went to the Jewish district for breakfast, then to go see the old ghetto. It was really interesting and we went to a museum about a pharmacist who helped the inhabitants escape, apparently in a more humanistic way than Schindler. That was really interesting. Afterwards we walked back downtown and toured the big cathedral in the square, where World Youth Day will be held. It was really gorgeous and cool and it will definitely be a fun July. Afterwards we did some more shopping and headed back home to catch a bus to the salt mines. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but that was really really cool. There were so many gorgeous statues and rooms, as well as a huge church, oh it was stunning. It was really cool what all they had set up so far underground. It is no longer used as a salt mine but a tourist attraction, but oh well we were tourists! We came back into town and ate at a restaurant on the square, one last good Polish meal. The next morning we took a plane to Brussels :)