Apr 24, 20182 min read

History of a Lifetime

We traveled to Krakow, Poland. A little, big European city that sits next to Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. To give you a bit of perspective about this trip, we took over 400 photos in 3 days!! It was extremely difficult to pick and choose what photos to share with you today because there are so many great ones to represent what this country is all about. We weren't able to see absolutely everything but here are some of the highlights of our mother and son trip!

Top Sites Visited:

~ Wieliczka Salt Mine: Guided Tour

~ Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps

~ Krakow Old Town

~ Arsenał Królewski Władysława IV

~ Galeria Krawkowska

~ Restauracja Pod Baranem

Outside of our hotel, there was a Wavelo Rent a Bike station. So we decided to rent bikes for the day and ride around the town to explore rather than going by taxi or bus. The weather was great so why not?!

Biking Around the City

The main highlight and main attraction of our trip were touring the former German concentration and extermination camps -- Auschwitz and Birkenau. Our hotel booked us a one-day guided tour that included both camps since they are at two different locations. It was a long day, full of walking but it was well worth the history and heartbreaking stories we heard and felt! For very obvious reasons, photographs were not allowed inside of the camps but we were able to capture some of the actual living quarters and outside of the camps. But to say the least, the inside was horrific! There were also a lot of items that were still kept such as luggage, shoes, clothes, etc. If you plan to visit this part of Poland, please spend the money to see the camps. It is a truly humbling experience, people were crying through the tour and it is something I will never forget. My heart and soul goes to all the lives that were lost and all the families that are affected by this tragedy and injustice.

Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps

Wieliczka Salt Mine

We also visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The whole tour is about 2 hours long and total walking is about 3.5 km. By the time the tour is over you have walked around 800 stairs and the descent is 135 meters underground. You can also view their website https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/ ahead of time to see all they have to offer and to get an idea of what it looks like inside. It is pretty impressive and breathtaking! If you are afraid of tight spaces, claustrophobia, or are unable to walk tons of stairs it may not be right for you. It also does get cold as you travel down through the salt mines.