Day 10 - Auschwitz and Back to Slovakia
We opted for a camp site again tonight following a failed hunt for a nice lay down site around the lake of Zbiornik Dziećkowice. The camp ground was fine enough and at 7e for the night + showers it was worth it. It was a bit on the beauf side of the spectrum in the middle of a trailer park and all but we were tired and needed some sleep. And we managed to fire up the barbecue for the first time in this trip.
Night went well, the heat finally gone, and at about 5am an enormous thunderstorm broke until around 9am, we huddled under the blankets and waited for it to pass. By 11am we were on the road. We headed to Owsiecim with the intention of visiting the sites of the concentration camps. We weren't too keen on the museums and exhibit as we felt it might be a bit too emotionally straining.
For those of you (like us) who don't know. Auschwitz is composed of many camps, Auschwitz I (the original camp), Auschwitz II–Birkenau (a combination concentration/extermination camp), Auschwitz III–Monowitz (a labor camp), and 45 satellite camps. The camp of Birkenau is open for visit without admission control or anything. The most known picture of "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate is from Auschwitz I which also holds a museum as part of the memorial.
Anyway, we drove past Auschwitz I and saw a 1.5km queue of tourists, we looked up if tickets could be bought online and were promptly informed that it was full for the day. No can do. So we headed to Auschwitz II and went around.
After that we decided to lighten our moods and move away from the civilisation to go in some forest or some mountain. We aimed for the nearest which is just on the corner between Czechia, Poland & Slovakia. As we came near, I thought, let's go refill in Slovakia (because euros) and change our gas bottle. And one thing led to another and we decided to drive an extra 1h30 to Moravske Lieskove and spend the night with Ali's family so we can enjoy a cold Corgon beer and pizza at the pub.
We're going to spend 2 nights here, and then head to Czechia. After being emotionally mugged by all the tourist, we are going to skip the cities and go from one national park to another without staying in cities to see if we can avoid the crowds for as long as possible.
Night went well, the heat finally gone, and at about 5am an enormous thunderstorm broke until around 9am, we huddled under the blankets and waited for it to pass. By 11am we were on the road. We headed to Owsiecim with the intention of visiting the sites of the concentration camps. We weren't too keen on the museums and exhibit as we felt it might be a bit too emotionally straining.
For those of you (like us) who don't know. Auschwitz is composed of many camps, Auschwitz I (the original camp), Auschwitz II–Birkenau (a combination concentration/extermination camp), Auschwitz III–Monowitz (a labor camp), and 45 satellite camps. The camp of Birkenau is open for visit without admission control or anything. The most known picture of "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate is from Auschwitz I which also holds a museum as part of the memorial.
Anyway, we drove past Auschwitz I and saw a 1.5km queue of tourists, we looked up if tickets could be bought online and were promptly informed that it was full for the day. No can do. So we headed to Auschwitz II and went around.
After that we decided to lighten our moods and move away from the civilisation to go in some forest or some mountain. We aimed for the nearest which is just on the corner between Czechia, Poland & Slovakia. As we came near, I thought, let's go refill in Slovakia (because euros) and change our gas bottle. And one thing led to another and we decided to drive an extra 1h30 to Moravske Lieskove and spend the night with Ali's family so we can enjoy a cold Corgon beer and pizza at the pub.
We're going to spend 2 nights here, and then head to Czechia. After being emotionally mugged by all the tourist, we are going to skip the cities and go from one national park to another without staying in cities to see if we can avoid the crowds for as long as possible.
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