Auschwitz in Retrospect
My day at Auschwitz was certainly a sobering reminder of what must be the biggest human tragedy of the 20th Century. What many people refer to as "Auschwitz" is actually Birkenau (they call the complex Auschwitz/Birkenau). A much larger camp, Birkenau is where the mass of torchered humanity lived for years, either immediately sent off to the gas chambers or living in a subhuman existence not sure if they would be alive tomorrow.
The main take-away I have from the day is that no human can even begin to fathom the magnitude of the tragedy that happened there. How do you feel anything about 1.5 million people having died in the place you're visiting? If you felt what you were supposed to feel, you would die. As humans, we have a mechanism to make sure that doesn't happen: Denial. And not denial in the sense that I didn't think it happened, but in the sense that I couldn't possibly even start to get my head around the amount of misery that came from that plot of land in Poland.
Along the way to Krakow from Berlin, I took pictures from the little window at the top of the big window next to my seat. As much as I could (or couldn't), I was trying to imagine what it would have been like to have a little hole to peek out through and not even sure if what I saw I would ever see again. Trees. Birds. The Sky. Buildings. What do you think of when your future is so clearly uncertain? More than anything, you feel a sense of gratitude for this very moment. Close to that on either side of magnitude would certainly be fear. The complicity that had to occur with thousands of people, maybe more, is inhuman. The people that perpetrated the atrocities at Auschwitz and in death camps around Europe are nothing less than monsters. There have been times in the past I've admired the the nolstagic part of the Nazis, mostly from things we would see in old movies. After seeing what I saw, I can see them as nothing less than the most worthless of humans. As much as I don't necessarily agree with Israel's aggressions these days in the middle east, seeing their history through the lens of places like Auschwitz, you can imagine how a people coming from that past would fight with everything they have to preserve there future, because there was a time when a few people were doing everything possible to make sure they didn't have a future. I think we would fight as they do if we'd been through that.
Taking pictures of yourself like a tourist is odd in a place like Auschwitz, but I still got many. This is a picture of me in front of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign ("work makes you free").
Afterwards, the couple I was traveling with that day, Jen and Ollie from Vancouver, B.C. and I went out for a beer in Old Town in Krakow. A delightful end to a tough day.
I was off to Istanbul the next day after a short trip to Munich to send some of my crap home. It became clear after just a few days traveling that my load was not only heavy but cumbersome. Hopefully, my load will now be a little more manageable. It was easy enough to get to the curbside at the airport in Istanbul, which was all that was necessary. It was time for me to adventure in Istanbul.
Around 4 p.m., I checked myself in to my hotel, a 4-star hotel in a beautiful location in the Old Town (Sultanahmet) in Istanbul. Right up the hill from my hotel window was the famous Blue Mosque -- photo is below. This photo is from my hotel room. After a few days, I've already gotten so used to it, but it's really the most gorgeous mosque and I'm so lucky to be able to wake up to everyday. I hear it's beautiful inside, too. I'll see tomorrow!
Originally, I planned to simply stay in my room and rest. But it was my first night in Istanbul and I felt it would be an opportunity missed if I didn't do something that first night. As the sun started to fall in the sky, I thought I should find a place to view the sunset. I packed up quickly (it was getting late and we're much closer to the equator, so the sun falls quite quickly), went downstairs and had them hire a taxi for me. He showed up in a few minutes and we were off.
My driver was Mahmet and he was goofy and friendly. The gentleman at the front door had recommended a place called Pierre Loti, and that's where we went. Actually, we sat in really bad traffic for an hour trying to get there, but I was so amazed to be in Istanbul that it didn't really matter. The sun glowed like this amazing luminescent orb, shooting out a brilliant orange shadow into the sky. The sky looked like it was on fire! Mahmet finally got me to this lookout which is on a hillside with amazing views of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian side of Istanbul. It's flanked on both sides by a huge cemetary that seems to continue down to the sea. This was a cafe, though, and so I invited my driver to have coffee with me. He decided on tea and I actually had both, wanting to sample everything. In return for the tea, Mahmet started to give me English lessons.
Yesterday I did some siteseeing, taking a look at the old Palace and later checking out the Grand Bazaar, the covered shopping area full of thousands of shop where visitors haggle to get trinkets and treasures of every sort. I finished the day on the terrace of a great little kebab restaurant, from which I called my brother Carew and his wife Dawnie to congratulate them on the birth of their Sun, Cutter Dane. I believe he came into the world late Tuesday Night or early Wednesday, but I'm not sure because of the time difference. I took a picture so that they would know where I was calling them from. Congratulations, you guys! A long road to get to this point, for sure. I'm thrilled for you guys. And to my parents, finely grandparents by your eldest. Ah shit, the pressure's on :)
That's it for this update. One more day in Istanbul and then off to ancient ruins along the Turkish coast of the Aegean. Finally, off to Santorini for some R&R, and some web design work. That's all coming along nicely, too, as I find a way to have balance between work and fun on this crazy adventure.
Thanks for being along for the ride!
The main take-away I have from the day is that no human can even begin to fathom the magnitude of the tragedy that happened there. How do you feel anything about 1.5 million people having died in the place you're visiting? If you felt what you were supposed to feel, you would die. As humans, we have a mechanism to make sure that doesn't happen: Denial. And not denial in the sense that I didn't think it happened, but in the sense that I couldn't possibly even start to get my head around the amount of misery that came from that plot of land in Poland.
Along the way to Krakow from Berlin, I took pictures from the little window at the top of the big window next to my seat. As much as I could (or couldn't), I was trying to imagine what it would have been like to have a little hole to peek out through and not even sure if what I saw I would ever see again. Trees. Birds. The Sky. Buildings. What do you think of when your future is so clearly uncertain? More than anything, you feel a sense of gratitude for this very moment. Close to that on either side of magnitude would certainly be fear. The complicity that had to occur with thousands of people, maybe more, is inhuman. The people that perpetrated the atrocities at Auschwitz and in death camps around Europe are nothing less than monsters. There have been times in the past I've admired the the nolstagic part of the Nazis, mostly from things we would see in old movies. After seeing what I saw, I can see them as nothing less than the most worthless of humans. As much as I don't necessarily agree with Israel's aggressions these days in the middle east, seeing their history through the lens of places like Auschwitz, you can imagine how a people coming from that past would fight with everything they have to preserve there future, because there was a time when a few people were doing everything possible to make sure they didn't have a future. I think we would fight as they do if we'd been through that.
Taking pictures of yourself like a tourist is odd in a place like Auschwitz, but I still got many. This is a picture of me in front of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign ("work makes you free").
Afterwards, the couple I was traveling with that day, Jen and Ollie from Vancouver, B.C. and I went out for a beer in Old Town in Krakow. A delightful end to a tough day.
I was off to Istanbul the next day after a short trip to Munich to send some of my crap home. It became clear after just a few days traveling that my load was not only heavy but cumbersome. Hopefully, my load will now be a little more manageable. It was easy enough to get to the curbside at the airport in Istanbul, which was all that was necessary. It was time for me to adventure in Istanbul.
Around 4 p.m., I checked myself in to my hotel, a 4-star hotel in a beautiful location in the Old Town (Sultanahmet) in Istanbul. Right up the hill from my hotel window was the famous Blue Mosque -- photo is below. This photo is from my hotel room. After a few days, I've already gotten so used to it, but it's really the most gorgeous mosque and I'm so lucky to be able to wake up to everyday. I hear it's beautiful inside, too. I'll see tomorrow!
Originally, I planned to simply stay in my room and rest. But it was my first night in Istanbul and I felt it would be an opportunity missed if I didn't do something that first night. As the sun started to fall in the sky, I thought I should find a place to view the sunset. I packed up quickly (it was getting late and we're much closer to the equator, so the sun falls quite quickly), went downstairs and had them hire a taxi for me. He showed up in a few minutes and we were off.
My driver was Mahmet and he was goofy and friendly. The gentleman at the front door had recommended a place called Pierre Loti, and that's where we went. Actually, we sat in really bad traffic for an hour trying to get there, but I was so amazed to be in Istanbul that it didn't really matter. The sun glowed like this amazing luminescent orb, shooting out a brilliant orange shadow into the sky. The sky looked like it was on fire! Mahmet finally got me to this lookout which is on a hillside with amazing views of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian side of Istanbul. It's flanked on both sides by a huge cemetary that seems to continue down to the sea. This was a cafe, though, and so I invited my driver to have coffee with me. He decided on tea and I actually had both, wanting to sample everything. In return for the tea, Mahmet started to give me English lessons.
Yesterday I did some siteseeing, taking a look at the old Palace and later checking out the Grand Bazaar, the covered shopping area full of thousands of shop where visitors haggle to get trinkets and treasures of every sort. I finished the day on the terrace of a great little kebab restaurant, from which I called my brother Carew and his wife Dawnie to congratulate them on the birth of their Sun, Cutter Dane. I believe he came into the world late Tuesday Night or early Wednesday, but I'm not sure because of the time difference. I took a picture so that they would know where I was calling them from. Congratulations, you guys! A long road to get to this point, for sure. I'm thrilled for you guys. And to my parents, finely grandparents by your eldest. Ah shit, the pressure's on :)
That's it for this update. One more day in Istanbul and then off to ancient ruins along the Turkish coast of the Aegean. Finally, off to Santorini for some R&R, and some web design work. That's all coming along nicely, too, as I find a way to have balance between work and fun on this crazy adventure.
Thanks for being along for the ride!
posted by The Laughing Penguin at 3:05 PM
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