Now the Days are Rushing By...

Here is what I wrote in my diary for July 31..."Got a bloody nose, ate too much times 2 and went to Auschwitz."...Obviously that is a bit understated. Auschwitz is devastating, but I had a general idea what to expect. However, there are three images I can try to share with you that me in awe of mans inhumanity as well as his humanity. The most powerful image in the whole place is the room full of hair cut from he women. There are literally thousands of braids and pony tails cut and piled up. About as sick as anything needs to be. The second image was of one of the latrines...try to picture a long concrete block with 50 holes made in it for going to the bathroom, now consider you have to do that with 200 other people, and with no toilet paper. The last, lasting image for me was the group of Israeli soldiers on a tour at Auschwitz. They were obviously there on a sort of pilgrimage, but the one soldier with tears in eyes really brought home the importance of Auschwitz as a museum. In other news I finally figured out how to make a phone call from Poland...though it took about an hour. The trick, buy your phone cards here..not before you leave. I have gone to the same restaurant twice and hat beet root soup and perogies and I can barely move afterwards. Saw one of only three of da Vinci oil paintings "Lady with Ermine" Quite impressive actually. Also, saw my favourite statue "Grunwald" that celebrates the Polish/Lithuanian victory over Tutonic forces at the Battle Grunwald. So on August 1 I went to Wawel Castle and visited the state apartments (lame); the royal apartments (cool); the armoury and treasury (cool, but I have seen a lot of weaponry already this trip) and the Cathedral which has 18 unreal chapels in a variety of styles..baroque, renaissance, medieval et al. I also climbed the bell tower and saw an 11 tonne bell and got a great view of the city. Later, I went to St. Mary's Cathedral which must rate in the top ten of all cathedrals in the world. The stained glass is worth the visit alone and the altar is a masterpiece that took 12 years to complete. So last night and sort of all afternoon yesterday, I got predictably drunk in a random sort of way. Picked up four dark beer from my ma and pop store (she recognizes me now) and hung and read. I gave one beer to an old Danish man who could not speak English. Then I realized that I wanted more beer because the Irish girls and I were going to watch "Pulp Fiction" They hated it (I think) but I loved it (as usual). So, today I went to the Salt Mine. It was incredible and an UNESCO heritage site for a reason. They were using it as an actual salt mine up to 10 years ago. It is filled with lakes, chapels, and sculptures and rooms all carved out of salt. You descend 800 steps to get near the bottom...thankfully, there is a super-small lift that whisks you back up to the top. Ah yeah, this morning I was awakened by the sound of power tools (saws again) at 6:30, so I napped this afternoon from 3-8 and then went for supper. Tomorrow I will finally take my bike tour of the city. On Monday I head to Budapest. Can't wait to get to one side of the bridge and yell BUDA and then run to the other side and yell PEST...I wonder how long it will take before someone tells me to shut up.