Krakow

I finally got to Krakow on Thursday afternoon. I got to my hostel and then explored the old town, castle, and Jewish quarter for the rest of the day. Krakow is a beautiful and historical city. Friday, I woke up early and did a tour of Auschwitz. It's a short drive from the center of Krakow. It was really crowded, and I was a little disappointed that it was treated more like a tourist attraction than an informative tour, but it was still touching. It was very different from Dachau; it is much larger and the buildings are all brick. It was so large that it was literally its own city. All of the buildings are original and in almost perfect condition. The gas chambers, however, are only rubble, because the Germans bombed them before the camp was liberated. It was still a very touching experience. After this tour, I took a trip to the famous salt mine. It's over 2200 miles of paths and would take you 4 months to explore the entire thing. Throughout the mine there are several statues, all made of salt. There is even an active chapel which holds masses and weddings in which all the art and chandeliers are made of salt. I even got a chance to lick the wall, and it was definitely salty! After the salt mine, I headed back to the hostel and hung out with some people I met. Saturday morning I flew back to Paris. I had a great week of traveling, but I was relieved to be back home.