poland

At the end of September, I went for a long weekend in Poland with my friend from work Piotr. It was such a great trip and so nice to have my own personal tour guide and definitely have the "local" experience.

 

We flew into Krakow and the next day toured the city.

 

The Wawel Castle

 



 

Statue of Pope John Paul II

 

The "Dragon's Cave" of the castle

 

 

Yummy lunch in Krakow

 

 

After our tour of Krakow, we drove to Auschwitz and then Birkenau (where "Auschwitz II" concentration camp was). This was something I thought was important to see and I'm glad I did see, but it was difficult. There are really no words to describe the visit, but this quote on the wall struck me:

 

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" -George Santayana

 

 

 

After our somber visits, we made the rest of the drive to Piotr's hometown - Olawa, which is a small town outside of Wroclaw.

 

His family is so nice and was so welcoming. I couldn't thank them enough for their wonderful hospitality. Piotr did a great job translating too!

 

The next day we went into the city of Wroclaw. We toured the city and had an amazing lunch of soup and pierogis.

 

 

And the tour wouldn't be complete without seeing the Deloitte office

 



 

When we got back to the house, Piotr's grandma had made us pierogis. The homemade were of course even better than in the restaurant (if that was even possible). Then I made white chocolate covered oreos and we went over to Piotr's friend's house. The five of us went into the city and had some beers at a local brewery.

 

 

Saturday we went grocery shopping in preparation for a party Piotr had for his birthday. Then we went go-cart racing with his brother. I'd never been go-cart racing before and it was soooooo much fun! Such an adrenaline rush. I was also happy not to finish last!

 

 

Saturday night was the birthday party. Piotr's friends were all very nice. I managed not to get too lost in conversation with a couple of them translating the important parts for me.

 

On Sunday, we went with Piotr's siblings and climbed the Olawa tower.

 

 

Sunday evening we went to church and then left Monday morning. It was a wonderful trip :)