Today was one of the most difficult experiences I've had throughout our journey. While Alex and I both agreed we were mentally prepared for Auschwitz, armed with prior knowledge of the horrors that occurred during the Holocaust, walking through the site of so many atrocities was all at once powerful, eye-opening, devastating and ghastly.

We visited both Auschwitz I and nearby Auschwitz II-Birkenau and I am finding it very challenging to describe what we saw. How can you properly ascribe meaning to a room full of thousands of shoes stolen from people before they entered the gas chambers? Or the way it felt to walk around the ruins of human ovens and crematoriums that soldiers tried unsuccessfully to destroy before the war ended? I'm not sure I can really convey all of these feelings properly, but there were a few photos and quotations that stuck out meaningfully to both of us.

Looking down the double, electrified fences.

"Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity" (Holocaust memorial).

Nazi railways dropped off prisoners directly at the camps.

Often hundreds of passengers would be crammed into these cars, nestled on top of one other for days (sometimes weeks) without access to food or toilets; many died before arriving at the camps. — Often hundreds of passengers would be crammed into these cars, nestled on top of one other for days (sometimes weeks) without access to food or toilets; many died before arriving at the camps.

The shooting wall, now a memorial to victims. “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness” (Elie Wiesel).

Throughout the day there were a few thoughts that kept playing on a loop in my head.

First: How? How did this happen? There really just isn't a way to comprehend the unimaginable acts perpetuated by the Nazis. I was moved by the following quote captured within the museum "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana) but saddened to put those words into the broader context of the world today. Genocide is not just a horror of the past and humans remain capable of great tragedy.

Second: I am lucky. My great-grandparents were murdered here in 1943 and were it not for their careful planning, my grandmother would not have been sent to England, then later Cincinnati, where she met my grandfather and had my dad. As I mourned for their loss I tried to remain grateful for their sacrifice.

Last: Never Forget. We must remember what happened here and what we as humans are truly capable of. Over 11 million people were exterminated during the Holocaust and each of us must honor their memory but making sure we never repeat such heinous acts against one another.

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart" (Anne Frank).

The overnight train from Prague was definitely one of the nicer train experiences we've had to date. That said, sleeping on a train is never really a great night's rest so we were feeling a little out of it by the time we arrived at our hotel in Kraków. We were grateful to be allowed an extremely early check-in - before 8am! - and napped for a couple hours before setting out for the day. The moment we stepped outside we realized we were lucky to have such great weather - it was 75 degrees and sunny! Our first stop was lunch at Milkbar Tomasza, which was near the main square and easily walkable from our hotel. Feeling energized, we walked around Rynek Glowny and checked out the various landmarks while dodging the many touts.

We can't help but be charmed by the beautiful pre-war architecture.

Alex and I are loving the huge town squares in Europe! — Alex and I are loving the huge town squares in Europe!

St. Mary's Basilica, like many of the other churches we have seen so far, was difficult to photograph because of its height!

Gorgeous view of the historic sites in town center.

I loved the random archways we found at nearly every church nearby. (Also, my outfit should indicate just how warm it was!)

I've never seen so many priests and nuns in one area before.

Deciding we really needed to maximize our time outdoors on such a beautiful day, we headed to Wawel Castle to continue our sightseeing.

Nothing beats a Medieval castle in the spring.

Not the first time Alex and I have wondered if we are in a Disney fairytale.

I picked Drukarnia for sunset drinks based on online reviews, hoping for a great view of the city skyline at dusk. Unfortunately, the view was really just of the Vistula River and various bridges but we still enjoyed a beer while watching the sun go down.

Not the view we planned on, but still pretty great!

Dinner was - naturally - at a traditional Polish restaurant called Starka where we sampled the local specialties: boneless pork knuckle and vodka. The sweeter flavored cherry and ginger vodkas were definitely more similar to an after-dinner drink; I actually enjoyed the horseradish flavor but Alex stuck to "safer" varieties. Pork knuckle has shown up quite a bit on the menus in Eastern Europe but I think the "boneless" adjective is what sold us here. I can attest to the delicious flavor and crispy skin but it is not a heart-healthy or waistline-friendly meal!

Feeling pretty full from our previous night's feast, I woke up early to go for a run - and drastically misgauged the weather! Overnight the temperature had chilled to a cool 35 degrees in the morning and I returned freezing and wide awake! Next time I will remember to check the weather report - we sort of forgot that springtime sometimes brings seemingly sudden shifts in temperatures.

Alex and I needed to continue planning the upcoming Spain leg of our trip so we gathered the computer and walked to the charming Cafe Camelot to perch for a few hours. After we refueled and felt sufficiently productive for the day, we walked to Schindler's Factory, now a museum dedicated to the history of Kraków during World War II.

The museum's visual exhibits were eerily historically accurate.

One of the more horrifying pictures I saw - German soldiers laughing as they cut the beards off of Orthodox Jewish men.

The visual impact of the museum was very unique and we did learn a lot about Poland during the war but it was a little difficult to follow. There was also very little information on Schindler himself, which was disappointing, so I'm trying to force Alex to watch Schindler's List with me (a real uplifter, I know). Most interesting was learning about how the people of Poland and Krakow suffered during Nazi rule. Sounds obvious now, but so much of our experience and knowledge about World War II in Europe focuses on the Holocaust and those murdered in the concentration camps that it's easy to forget all the other conquered peoples and the tragedies inflicted upon them. It has become painfully obvious that every country in Europe has a difficult past and considering the historical context for each place we visit has been important in appreciating our travel experiences.

Next to Schindler's Factory sits Krakow's Contemporary Art Museum so we briefly stepped inside to check it out. Uber-modern art is definitely not our thing but we figured "why not?" Well, we are still not modern art people. A few of the exhibits were interesting enough, but we drew the line at a doll with a raven's head perched on a branch that just screamed obscenities at an empty room.

We understood the message of this piece - paint splatters that individuals had "washed their hands of" to symbolize the various genocides committed around the world - but still don't fully appreciate art that requires such detailed explanation. — We understood the message of this piece - paint splatters that individuals had "washed their hands of" to symbolize the various genocides committed around the world - but still don't fully appreciate art that requires such detailed explanation.

Finished with museums for day, we walked through the Kazmirez district and ended up at Pesto, a quiet Italian restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow we have a guided tour of Auschwitz so we are both preparing for an emotional day.

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