Hello from Poland!

Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Hi everyone! Right now we are in Krakow, and had a nice time chatting with two kiwi girls (from New Zealand) last night who gave us heaps of good advice on Turkey and shared their wonderful tourist stories from Croacia and Bosnia. They've been some places we always thought we should avoid! Who knew? Maybe we'll expand our itinerary next time around.

We spent the day yesterday visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau which was quite intense. We couldn't believe how large the compound is, and with many of the original structures still standing.

Today we're going to check out Wawel Hill and Kazimierz. The Jews resettled here in this neighborhood after fleeing from all over Europe in the 1800's. The Jewish population in this area used to be close to 200,000 and now numbers less than two hundred. I might actually be a history buff after this trip :)

Tonight Carla and I take an overnight train to Prague where we will meet up with the running club in a few days for a weekend outside of Prague. I'll also get to buy a garnet or two... a purchase I didn't make when I was in Prague 7 years ago. I've been regretting it ever since! Also, my friend Zhenya, who I met in St. Petersburg, Russia a few months ago will be arriving on the same train as us! She is spending a month in Prague for a conference. I'll hopefully be finding her on the train tonight... what a small world.

Thanks to everyone for emailing so often. I love hearing from all of you who respond, even if it's just a line or two. They all make me smile and make me feel like I'm not so far away!

Happy trails! Love, Alison

0 comments:

Post a Comment