Friday, the 15th of April, I left for Krakow.

I woke up at 3:30 am and got on a bus by 5:30 am, which was extremely early. I met up with Kate Waldheim, Kate Minnihan, and Laura Bacon at the train station, where we were meeting the group that was going to Krakow. We all booked this trip through a company because it is hard to get to Auschwitz from Prague or Krakow if you don’t have a tour.

We arrived in Krakow at 11:15 am and went to the hostel to drop off our bags. We stayed in a hostel in the old square, and we basically had the hostel to ourselves. Getting lunch was much needed, and I was able to eat the grilled chicken and potatoes at the restaurant we went to, and it was very good. Kate M and I stopped at Costa to get coffee and ended up being late for the walking tour (opps)! We ended up walking around town and then randomly joining a group that had just started. We basically saw all that you need to see of Krakow and loved it! It is a very peaceful city with a stunning park in the middle. I found it absolutely stunning!

We arrived at the hotel at 4 pm and took a nap before our scheduled “tram party.” None of us had any idea what a tram party could possibly be, so we were extremely curious as to what it could involve. It ended up being two hours long and extremely fun. We stopped for a bathroom break in the middle of the woods, which was interesting. It was by far the strangest party I have ever been to!

On Saturday, we went to Auschwitz at 2pm. It took us a 2.5-hour bus ride to get there from Krakow, and I slept the entire way. Our tour was from 3:15 to 7:15 pm, and I found it very sad but also very interesting to visit. I wish I could describe how it feels to tour a place like that, but there aren’t many words. The strangest thing was when I saw a suitcase in this room with thousands of them, and it had my roommate’s name on it from freshman year.

All I can say is that it is mind-blowing how large Auschwitz is and how many different camps are a part of it.

We got back to Krakow at about 8 pm, and it had been a long day, so we decided to get some Mexican food to end it well. We had some margaritas and tacos and wore a massive sombrero. After that, I went to the hostel, showered, and went to sleep.

Sunday:

We woke up at 8:30 am due to LOUD MUSIC OUTSIDE. It was like Krakow paid for a traditional group of annoying singers to wake up everyone in the country. We ate breakfast at a breakfast place in the morning that had a nasty gluten-free pastry. I had the best hot chocolate.

We had to kill 5 hours before getting back on the bus, so we just walked around.

Overall, I had an amazing weekend with a great group of girls. It is such an incredible thing to be able to see such historical places and be able to go with a group that I really enjoyed being with!