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<\/p>\nAfter our quick two days in Warsaw, we hopped on a train and headed south to Krak\u00f3w. Our friends, the Sigstons and Crabtrees, were waiting for us in Krak\u00f3w.<\/p>\n
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We spent our first full day wandering the Old Town, wandering through the beautiful Main Market Square, and checking out the historic streets. We tried pierogi. \u00a0Krak\u00f3w has such a cool mix of history, architecture, restaurants, shops, and lively streets. We could easily spend weeks here exploring the city.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nThe most significant part of our time in Krak\u00f3w was our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.<\/p>\n
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The night before our tour, Lucas Michael and I watched Schindler\u2019s List. Watching the movie and then standing in the actual places where these events happened the following day made the history feel very real. Our tour guide has been giving tours for 28 years, and her experience and knowledge brought so much depth to the visit. We toured both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, learning about the concentration and extermination camp complex and the millions of people who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_2127.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nThere really are no words to describe what it feels like to stand there.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nSeeing the belongings left behind by the victims \u2014 including enormous collections of shoes \u2014 was heartbreaking. One of the most difficult exhibits was the collection of human hair taken from women who were murdered. The Nazis used victims\u2019 hair as raw material, including for textiles and other products. Standing in front of those exhibits makes the scale of what happened almost impossible to comprehend.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_2139.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tThe devastation left behind should be unfathomable. Yet, it happened. And that is why places like Auschwitz matter. They preserve the evidence and the memories of the people who were there, so we can learn about what happened and remember the human beings behind the numbers. It was a difficult day, but an important one.<\/p>\n
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We also visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which was a completely different kind of historical experience. The mine dates back to the 13th century and produced table salt continuously for hundreds of years. It stretches for miles underground and contains an incredible network of tunnels, chambers, chapels, sculptures, and even an underground lake.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nThe most amazing part was seeing the enormous underground chapels carved directly into the salt. Generations of miners created sculptures and religious artwork from the rock salt, turning the mine into something that feels almost like an underground city.<\/p>\n
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