Dinner at a sidewalk vendor location. Charcoal grilled polish sausage.
April 20, 2015 - Went to see the salt mines. A very interesting tour of a small portion of the mines that have over 100 miles of tunnels and caverns. Some were extraordinary, but all fascinating. Everything is salt. The walls, floor, ceiling and all the carvings that were done by the workers on their own time.
Even the light fixtures are made of salt.
April 21, 2015 - Went to Auschwitz - the Nazi concentration camp that had murdered millions of people. It is unbelievable that anyone could have carried out such mass murder and torture of people for so many years. This camp is one of the small ones and held about 25,000 people at a time in the barracks. It was said that 90 % of the people that were shipped there by train were murdered upon arrival. They were put into a room of up to 150 people and then gassed. They then moved them into the next room to cremate them. Seeing the place and the cremation ovens makes this place a true horror museum. The other Auschwitz camp on the other side of town was about 5 times larger. The 10 % that were not executed upon arrival at the camp were worked to death or died from starvation or disease within the first few months of arrival.
This is a map of where the victims originated.
This is some of the stuff that was taken from the prisoners.
This is a small set of photos that were taken of the prisoners that were determined to be healthy enough to be worked to death.
Sleeping quarters for about 50 people.
Wash sinks.
This was where they would hang up to 9 prisoners at a time.
Where the commandant of the prison was hanged in 1947.
The gas chamber and crematorium.
The gas chamber.
The crematorium that was in the next room.
April 22, 2015 - Prague, Czech Republic. Very scenic town. Lots of tourists.
The castle/palace.
The changing of the guard ceremony.
On the castle grounds.
One of the cathedrals within the castle walls.
This is solid silver.
300 year old organ.
The crown jewels.
The throne.
The torture chamber in the dungeon.
Drove to a very small town of Ahorntal, Germany and stayed the night in the Rabenstein Castle.
April 23, 2015 - Drove to Mannheim, Germany. Nice scenery along the road and saw a few castles from the highway.
April 24, 2015 - Stayed in Mannheim.
April 25, 2015 - Drove back to Amsterdam as we have to turn in our rental car on the 26th.
