The journey begins!

We’re at the Detroit airport after our son. Andy, dropped us off. Today we fly to Chicago , Tokyo, and Ulaanbaatar (capital of Mongolia) we will land sometime tomorrow. Looks like a 24 hour journey😬🤣

A hassle free drop off at the airport. Thanks Andy

At the gate ready to go …… so far so good!

Mongolia and China

Here we come!!! We’ll head out in less than a month. We’re looking forward to a few nights in the Yerts in Mongolia, the Great Wall, Terra cotta warriors, and more . I’ve just activated the blog so stay tuned!!

Warsaw

Unlike Krakow that was spared destruction during World War Two, Warsaw was pretty much leveled by the Nazis. It is currently a very nice city, lots of parks and green space. The architecture is mainly new and western style mixed with the communist Russia’s simplistic block like structures. The old communist built buildings have been dressed up with bright colors of paint and are currently some of the affordable cheap housing in the city. The old town market place has been rebuilt in the old architecture style and it was the world’s first attempt to resurrect an entire historic city.

From the old city you can see the new modern soccer stadium.

One of the very nice parks in the city. The statue in the distance commemorates Chopin, the famous pianist and composer. He was born in Poland in 1810 and grew up in Warsaw.

Sculpture of Chopin in a park in Warsaw. Chopin moved to Paris when he was 20 and died there when he was just 39. His body is buried in Paris but his heart was put in a cask of cognac and sent to Warsaw where it is currently in a stone pillar in the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw.

We were treated to a wonderful Chopin Concert by this young lady, Halina Klymkiv Szodzinska. She is from the Ukraine.

A good trip seeing lots of history from World War Two to the Cold War of Russian communism control of Eastern European countries. A great review of history, and may we as a world never repeat these atrocities!

A week after we got home it was a scheduled shoulder replacement!!! So far so good, however our travels will be close to home for the next few months.

ENJOY AND SHARE YOUR JOURNEY!

Auschwitz and Birkenau

A very sobering experience….. our guide for the day was a very passionate young lady who grew up nearby.

“Nazis final Solution to the Jewish Problem”

By the numbers: 1.3 million inmates and 1.1 million were killed. Most were Jews and some were political dissidents, college professors, artists, handicapped people, and anyone that didn’t follow the Nazi party. They were brought to camps like these and died of over work , disease, medical experimentation, starvation, execution by firing squad and gas chambers.

Entrance to Auschwitz, if prisoners weren’t sent directly to the gas chamber(women with children, old(anyone over 40), and the sick)

They walked under this gate, “Arbeit Macht Frei”… meaning “work will set you free”. The prisoners quickly learned that the only way to escape the camp was to die and be cremated.

The perimeter is surrounded by electrical fence and double wall with guard towers and dogs. Some prisoners committed suicide using the fence or running from the guards so that they would be shot.

Rudolph Hoss was the first commandant of Auschwitz and he was convicted and sentenced to die after the war. He was hung here on the outer fence line of Auschwitz within sight of the house that he and his family lived in during his time here. The movie, “Zone of Interest ” is based on his time as commandant of Auschwitz and how his family lived the good life during the war. A very well done movie showing what monsters the Nazis were.

Auschwitz Berkenau, the Train tracks leading to the camp.

One of the rail cars that transported the prisoners. They were meant for 50 people but up to 150 people were in the cars. At Birkenau these trains were unloaded at a spot where a Nazi SS doctor stood and in a few seconds pointed one way or another and that determined if you would go to a work camp or straight to the gas chamber. Only people he deemed fit to work were sparred the gas chamber. Women with children were both doomed, a woman with child didn’t have time to work. Anyone over 40 was deemed too old to work……

A map of all the camps. What would the world have been like had Hitler succeeded ?

We had a three hour tour that was very insightful and educational. I’m so glad that we saw lots of high school age field trips at the camps. It is so important to keep the memory alive and teach the history to the following generations. May mankind never be allowed to repeat this act again. I know that we see acts of genocide by various groups today around the world and I hope we can stop these before they get bigger.

Krakow, Poland

A nice old town that is clean and safe to walk about. Its history dates back to 985AD, when it was a trading center for Central Europe. Krakow was spared the bombing and destruction of World War Two because the Nazis took control of the city in 1939 and it became part of the General Government of the Third Reich. Lots of nice old churches and castles remain intact.

Walking thru old town Krakow headed to the Main square and market

The main square and old market of Krakow. The building off to the left is the old Renaissance Cloth Hall, once the heart of trading silks and spices.

The inside of the old Renaissance Cloth Hall is now the center for tourist souvenirs.

View from in front of our hotel. The Wawel Castle and Cathedral are on top of the hill overlooking the Vistula River.

The Wawel Cathedral, where Polish royalty are buried

One of the castle towers. What were the three rectangular protrusions on the tower used for …… defense? Privacy nooks? ……………………….,,,,……,, give up?….. those were toilets!!!!!! Staggered so one didn’t poop on another! Gives meaning to s–t rolls down hill!

Pope John Paul the second got his start in Krakow

On the road to Poland

After two weeks bus rides are getting to me! Patty handles them well. We’re off to Poland!

First stop was Olomouc, Czech Republic. This was a lunch stop on the way to Krakow. This square is old but the clock is fairly new, built as tribute to communism and a tribute to the workers of the party.

Stumbling Stones. This is a project started by German Artist, Gunter Demnig in 1992. He started placing these little brass plaques (about 4 inches square) at the sites of the last known free residence of people that were rounded up and killed by the Nazis during the holocaust. There are currently over 100,000 of these placed in the ground in 27 countries. They are normally in the sidewalk in front of the addresses where these people lived. The stones include name, when they were born , when they were taken, and when they were killed. Another attempt to keep the memory alive in hopes that we as a people never allow another holocaust to occur.

Prague during our free time

Notice how clean the streets are. Lots of tourists in the main square in old town. The astronomical clock is fun to watch when it chimes on the hour and all the figures move. It tracks lunar and solar phases, displays the date, and every hour the doors open and a procession of the Apostles occur. It was built in 1410 and has undergone a few alterations.

The clock makers were Mikulas of Kadan and mathematics and astronomy professor Jan Sindel. It is the oldest functioning astronomical clock in the world.

A little rain didn’t stop us. Notice how crowded the square was near the clock in previous picture. The streets are spotless, crews were cleaning during the day and night.

Found a great restaurant on our own. Patty had a very good pasta and shrimp dish.

I had beef cheeks and a side of grilled veggies with a nice Czech Republic red wine.

Prague visit continues

Prague castle is a popular tourist stop!

Public transportation was easy and free for people over 65.

First lunch in Prague. Goulash soup in a bread bowl with a Czech beer 👍👍

Dessert of course!! Apple pie with heavy whipped cream. 👍

Museum of Communism. An interesting well done museum about communism in the Czech Republic.

Me and Karl Marx. His ideas looked good on paper, not so good in reality

Winston Churchill summed up Communism in just a few words!

The Russians were our allies in World War Two, strange bed fellows to say the least. In the World War Two peace agreement Russia got control of Czechoslovakia and Poland and half of Germany and many other countries. These countries went from destruction by the Nazis to being ruled by an iron fist Communist regime that was very oppressive and lasted until the 1990s. We in the USA are surely the lucky ones. May we never forget the oppression of fascist dictators and may our democracy survive for many more centuries.

Last night on the Viking Beyla, then off to Prague

5 nights on two different ships went by fast. It would have been nice to stay on one ship for all 5 nights, however Viking did a great job making the best of a collapsed bridge in Dresden.

Nice view on the last night on the river . That’s the Decin Castle overlooking the town of Decin, Czech Republic.

Arrived in Prague, Czech Republic for 3 nights of sightseeing, starting with the Prague Castle.

A nice view of the city from the Castle. With our friends Greg and Marianne from Vancouver , WA

Changing of the guard at the castle

Changing of the guard every hour.

Most scenic part of the Elbe River cruise

This is Saxon Switzerland National Park, a 10 mile area of deep woodland ravines, steep hills and beautiful landscapes. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. it is also a rock climbing mecca for those so inclined. We stopped in Bad Schandau, a village dating back to the 1300s. The town is famous for healing waters and spas. A famous resident, Sebastian Kneipp(1821-1897), a Bavarian priest is considered the father of hydrotherapy.

The rock castle of Neurathen high on the cliff in the distance.

This bridge was built of wood in 1827 and the rebuilt in stone 27 years later.

View of the Elbe from the Bastei look out point