We were up early the next day to make the train to Krakow. It was a pretty short train ride. Once we arrives, we bought bus tickets to Auschwitz. Pulling up to the camp, it's not as obvious as you would expect. Admission was free after 3 pm and we decided to do a self guided tour of the camp. It didn't fully hit me until I saw the gate with the infamous words "Arbeit Macht Frei", German for "Work sets you free." Before the war, the camp was home to a Polish Army cavalry unit. Their former barracks were the living quarters for the victims sent there. The camp is still fully standing. Complete with layers of barbed wire, watch towers, and a place for public hangings to discourage escapes. They have turned many of the former living quarters into parts of the museum. Once you enter, a feeling of complete somber and sorrow overwhelms you. What really affected me the most was the hair. In a room, behind a glass divider is 7 tons of hair taken from victims. I am never going to forget seeing the braided pony tails of little girl's hair lying there. Everywhere you go, you see memorials and reminders of the barbaric acts done to those poor people. The buildings are filled with stories of heroism in the face of certain death. People willingly gave their lives to try and save others. One example is St. Maximilian Kolbe. When a stranger was selected to be executed by being sent to the "starvation cell", St. Kolbe volunteered to go in his place. He survived for two weeks before the impatient Nazis executed him by means of a lethal injection. Next we saw the courtyard where executions by firing squad were carried out after Nazi "trials." We finished our visit by visiting the remaining gas chamber and crematorium. Without a doubt, one of the most emotionally powerful and foreboding places I've ever visited. Afterwards, we took the bus back to Krakow. We had a few hours to kill before our train back to Warsaw, so we decided to see some of the city. It's a very alluring city. Unlike Warsaw, it was spared from a lot of destruction by the Germans. Soon though, we were on our way back to Warsaw. Needless to say, a very somber and powerful day. However, I am going to remember it for the rest of my life.

The Polish countryside

Opera house in Krakow. 

 Auschwitz-1 camp.

 75,000 pairs of shoes.

 Pictures of hundreds of victims.

 Baby victim of Dr. Mengele's human experiments.

Posts where prisoners' wrists were hung behind their back. 

 Backstop for executions by firing squad.

 Courtyard where roll call was taken.

 Post built to hang prisoners to discourage escape attempts. 

 Inside the gas chamber.

 The main gate to the camp.

 The main square of Krakow.

 Cathedral in center of Krakow.

 The Paalce of Arts and Science building lit up on our return.