DAY 5 – AUSCHWITZ BIRKENAU AND THE SALT MINES
If ever you needed proof that there is no god then Auschwitz and Birkenau are it. The Nazis murdered 1.5 million men women and children here, most in the gas chambers as soon as they arrived. A truly chilling place to visit. If you have trouble imagining the scale of this abomination, picture this, when the Russians liberated the camp they fond two tonnes of human hair destined for the German textile industry. The other thing that really made me think was that some of the photos of the murdered people had flowers on them. For New Zealanders Auschwitz is a horrific historical event. For the Polish, Jewish and others who visit many lost family and friends. Often whole families. The gas chambers at Birkenau are covered with flowers and candles.
Also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Who knew salt was mined out of the ground like coal? I certainly didn’t. The mine contains numerous works of beautiful art carved from black rock salt including a chapel that measures 54 meters by 17 meters and is 12 meters high. They even have concerts in the mine and if you want to you can get married in there. The tour took two hours and we walked over two kilometers and we still only saw one percent of the mine. We ended the the tour with a meal at a restaurant 100 meters under ground.
