My day trip to the town of Oswiecem was a shock to the system. This was where the Germans built their genocidal killing factories - Auschwitz (later referred to as Auschwitz I), Birkenau (Auschwitz II) and Monowitz (Auschwitz III). I was expecting to be shocked... Towering metal gates displaying the hopeful words "Albeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes Freedom) welcomed me to Auschwitz I and sadly not in the same way they did between 1940 to 1945. The buildings are ...

The last week with Marcin has been awesome fun. In fact I was enjoying myself so much that I decided to stay an extra day. This was definitely a good decision because I was invited to a family gathering (Marcins sister's name day - a substitute for birthdays I was told, to protect a woman's true age). I was offered copious amounts of traditional Polish food... all of which was delicious! After that Marcin's brother and brother-in-law (both called Thomasz) took me...

Guten Morgen! Okay, so that's German, but although I'm now in Poland my journey begins in Berlin... I arrived in Berlin last week. My uncle's place where I was staying is huge with high ceilings and this grand marble staircase leading the way to the third floor. It's on the west side of the city very close to a station. As you know I'm traveling alone so I was a little worried that I'd spend the first few days struggling to understand anyone, but more r...