Auschwitz

We visited with one of the Baha'i families near Krakow this morning. It was great to say some prayers together and have some lunch and discuss life in general. Dominic and Daniel even showed Yasmin and Roya where the raspberries were in the backyard.

We spent the afternoon at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. There was a guided tour starting just as we arrived, so we quickly got our headsets and joined the group.

This was the main concentration camp used fo the "solution to the Jewish Question" by the Nazis. At one point the camp held over 90,000 prisoners. Between 1940 and 1945 approximately one and a half million people were murdered in these camps. We were shocked at that number. Most died in the gas chambers, but many were shot, hanged, starved to death, or died of disease from the horrifying conditions in the camp.

There were rows upon rows of wooden and brick sleeping quarters, each housing up to 700 prisoners. They had to sleep on 3-tiered bunk beds, 5 or more persons to a bunk. Some of the bunks would collapse on top of the people below. There were limited latrines, to be used once in the morning and once in the evening. The life expectancy at the camp was only 2-3 months!

Jews would be brought in by trains from all over the occupied countries, traveling in over-crowded cars for days and sometimes weeks, having been promised a new life. People brought their luggage, including pots and pans, shoes, tools, etc. to help them in their new homes. Upon arrival they were separated into 2 groups - fit and "unfit" for work. The elderly, women, children and disabled were declared unfit and would walk down the path to what they believed was the shower area. In fact it was the gas chambers, which were able to kill 2000 people at a time. Once everyone was dead, other prisoners were sent in to collect any valuables such as gold teeth before taking the bodies to the crematoria.

We saw piles of human hair in one exhibit. These camps were really death factories. They would take even the hair from the victims and send bags of it off to German factories. There they would be used to stuff pillows and matresses. We were not only saddened, but made angry by the complete lack of respect for these people. How could this happen in a "civilized" society?

We visited several rooms with personal items that were found at the camp after the Soviet soldiers liberated Poland. These were items that were not shipped to Germany because they had little monetary value. One of the most moving displays was the huge pile of children's shoes and clothes of all sizes. Our guide said that about 20% of those killed here were children. There was also a room with about 40,000 pairs of adult shoes, including heels and dress shoes. People really believed they were being given a new life and brought their possessions with them.

It was so emotional to walk down the same path that thousands of these "unfit for work" had walked to their deaths. The whole operation was very methodical, systematic and organized. It was not the heat of the moment type of scheme, but a well planned and executed undertaking. These were educated, otherwise normal people, who thought they were actually doing something good for humanity.

We visited the women's quarters, which was very similar to the men's, about 10 to 12 women sleeping on each bunk of the 3-tierd bunk beds. Virtually non-existent latrine and washing facilities, the lack of proper food, the insects, bugs and vermin, the constant beatings by the SS guards - the list goes on and on.

It was a very emotional time, and we experienced extreme sorrow and anger at the atrocities that were committed here less than 70 years ago. The memorial in Birkenau was set up at the end of the train tracks and said in many languages that we must learn never to repeat this in the future.

NM & CM

Park Wodny

No castles, no churches, no town centres - just water and slides! This was a day for Yasmin and Roya. The park was inside a huge building. The tubes for a couple of slides were outside, but they emptied into pools within the building. It would have been nice to have some sun, but at least we didn't have to worry about sunscreen.

Most of the slides were for kids over the age of 10, and a few were for kids over 12 or 13. Nadim and I checked out the slides and they were pretty tame so we snuck the girls on them despite their age. Our little thrill seekers had great fun. There were other water activities too - rock climbing, jumping from floating pad to floating pad, a rope bridge, and even a river with a strong current. It was nice to see the girls having so much fun.

CM

Wawel Castle

We took in Wawel Castle today. The castle is really like a small city. The main courtyard has the remains of old buildings, but the surrounding buildings including state rooms, and a cathedral are all beautifully restored.

We visited the state rooms. The whole castle is now a museum with various paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and furnishings from the 1400's to the 1800's. The rooms themselves had marble floors and painted or carved ceilings. They also had a few Persian carpets.

After the state rooms we went to the Dragon's Den. There were caves under the castle that supposedly were inhabited by a dragon. Perhaps more believable history is that these caves were once used as a brothel!

It was a hot day so we walked slowly back to the main square. We spotted people feeding pigeons and just happened to have part of a bagel left so we joined the others in making the pigeons even fatter than they already are! Some were even brave enough to eat out of our hands.

CM

Like Cinderella

It's nice to be in one spot for more than just a couple of days. It means we aren't in such a hurry to get out and see the sights. We didn't get out to see anything until well after lunch, but just hanging out was nice.

We found our way back to the main square. There were several horse-drawn carriages waiting for customers, and the girls were very excited to take a ride. The carriage was very fancy and we felt like royalty.

It was nice to be taken about town with our guide pointing out churches and buildings of significance, all to the clippity-clop of the horses. In a few places there were other tourists taking pictures or video of us. I like to think that it was our gorgeous family that was so camera worthy, but perhaps it was the horses and carriage!

CM

Krakow

The drive to Krakow was pretty, but long. The girls were entertained with a movie and some books. Along the way we kept to the speed limit. It's not so bad when the limit is 130 km/hr. However, there were a few spots where the speed limit was reduced for construction and Nadim didn't slow down to 60... of course there was a policeman waiting for us and we got pulled over. He was going to give us a ticket, despite Nadim's apologies and cajoling. He filled out the paperwork and Nadim went back to the car to get some money. Of course they make you pay on the spot when you are a tourist. The policeman followed Nadim back to the car and when Nadim had the money in hand he said no, don't give it to me, give it to them, and he pointed to Yasmin and Roya, and with a warning to slow down, a wave of thanks and many happy smiles we were off again! Phew!

We arrived in Krakow and found ourselves a nice little apartment. It is within walking distance of the old town so we went for a walk to find the square and then some groceries. The square is huge. The picture above just shows a quarter of it.

There were a few street shows going on in the square and we stayed to watch one guy with marionettes. He was great! He had Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Elvis, and Michael Jackson. Very clever with the hand movements and eyes and everything.

CM

Adrspach Rocks

The rocks at Adrspach are majestic. There are strange boulders that seem to be growing in the forest along with the pine trees. As you go deeper among the rocks there are deep canyons.

We went through a deep canyon/crevice that was several stories high, but only 50 cm wide. We had to turn slightly sideways so that our shoulders would fit through easily.

Many rocks looked like animals, or people. We saw some that looked like a glove, another was a pair of lovers, another was the head of a lioness, and another bunch were elephant faces.

There was a boat ride about half way along, so of course we had to take that too. There was a bit of a wait and the ride was pretty short. It really wasn’t worth the wait, but the view from the water was pretty.

The girls had great fun climbing the rocks. There were many steps on the second half of the walk, so we were all pleasantly tired by the end of it.

The bunnies that are just steps from our front door have been a great hit with the girls. Yasmin is a real animal lover. I think we may need to get a pet when we get home again.

CM

Adrspach

We packed up yet again and set out to find Adrspach where there are unique rock formations. We found the area and then found an apartment. Our apartment is basic with a sort of rustic feel and a great view. It is at the edge of the very small town and is on a little farm. They have goats and rabbits. Yasmin and Roya were enthralled as they held two little baby bunnies.

After settling in we went for some groceries and information. We had thought we might take a walk along one of the paths, but it started to rain so we were happy enough to come back and read our books, do some laundry, and simply relax. The rocks can wait until tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll still be there.

CM

Prague Castle

We were able to find the Baha’i National Centre this morning and attend a meeting with the Prague Baha’is. It was great to meet new friends and discuss how the Baha’i community is doing in this country. We also met a couple from New Mexico, here on holidays, who also came to the meeting. It was wonderful.

We visited Prague Castle in the afternoon. We had great views of the city from the top of the hill. This is the biggest castle complex in the world, and is still used as the seat of government.

Within the castle grounds are different museums. One of them was a Toy Museum so we just had to visit it. They had an impressive collection of toys from all over the world. Of course there was an entire wing devoted to the Barbie phenomenon. Yasmin and Roya were in heaven!

After we dragged the kids out of the toy museum, we visited the stunning St. Vitus Cathedral, which took about 600 years to build. You can see the colours on the interior, created by sunlight shining through the beautiful stained glass windows. On the outside are numerous arches and spires topped with gargoyles and sculptures of saints.

We walked back down the hill by a different route and feasted our eyes on more spectacular views. Prague is really a beautiful city.

It started to pour rain when we got to the bottom of the hill and we were soaked in spite of our jackets. So after a quick supper we made our way to the subway and returned to the pension.

NM

Prague

This morning was cool and threatening rain. We were going to go bowling, but the bowling alley was closed so instead we played a game of pool in the games room of our pension before we got on the road to Prague. Luckily the owner of our pension had a friend in Prague with a pension and so we went straight there.

We left the car safely at our accommodations and took the metro into downtown. I really think Ottawa has got to get with the times and get a subway!

The town square is huge. There is a really cool clock tower that even has calendar dials. At the other end is the cathedral with its ornate spires. We were too late to go in, but perhaps tomorrow.

We had our supper at one of the many restaurants and then went for a walk. Prague has the Vltava River running through the middle of it and there are many arched bridges that cross it. We crossed one bridge and then went along the other side, stopping to admire the view before crossing the Charles Bridge to come back.

By this time it was starting to get dark and the city lights were coming up. The castle, which we’re planning to visit tomorrow, was all lit up making it look even more impressive.

CM

Cesky Krumlov

The Vltava river bends back on itself creating a bit of a loop. In the middle of this loop is the beautiful, old town of Cesky Krumlov. It has been well preserved and even has a huge castle.

We started our morning with a visit to the castle. At the entrance of the castle, there is a bridge across a deep pit. The pit holds a few brown bears! Apparently bear keeping has been a castle tradition for many years. As we toured the castle we saw at least three bear skin rugs!


The castle tour was nice, but we’ve seen so many castles now that we weren’t terribly impressed. We also took a tour of the castle theatre. It is one of only two Baroque theatres in the world. There are others that have either the equipment or the building, but not both the theatre equipment and building. It was pretty cool to see how they would switch sets by using ropes and winches under the theatre stage. We also checked out the sound-making machines they used to create sounds of thunder, rain and wind.

We walked along some of the castle courtyards and found our way to a bridge with a nice view of the old town. We then strolled along some of the streets. We noticed some rafts on the river and wanted to go too, but the water is running too fast as there has been a lot of rain here, and they didn’t think it was wise to take children.

Instead of rafting we bought ice-cream cones and went to the Marionette Museum. The museum was pretty small, but at the end there was a little puppet stage and several marionettes that we could play with. We made the devil dance, the dragon roar, the princess give orders and the prince take them! Grand fun!

CM

Driving to Czech Republic

This morning was cool and cloudy. It was time to move on, and the weather was good for driving. We said our goodbyes to Frank and Adrie and took with us a huge care package of fruit, snacks and sandwich fixings. We really had a great time in Italy and we felt a bit like we were spoiled.

The drive north to Czech Republic was long, but beautiful. The north part of Italy was quite mountainous, there were many vineyards on the steep slopes and the clouds seemed to be resting in the mountains. We then went on through Austria. We had planned to drive through a particular mountain pass in Austria, but in the end we just stuck with the highway. We figured we had seen enough mountains and didn’t really want to add the extra time to the drive. Besides, even the view from the highway is beautiful.

We had some Italian music that we had copied from Frank and Adrie. It was so nice to be driving along listening to such romantic music. The girls preferred some of the English music we had picked up.

We found a hotel in Cesky Krumlov with little difficulty and then walked into the old town for some supper. It’s a beautiful little town and we were sorry that we had left our camera behind in the hotel room, but there will be time for photos of Cesky Krumlov tomorrow!

CM

Last Day in Tormini

When we were in India, one of the zippers on Nadim’s travel pant pockets broke and he had it repaired by a local tailor. Unfortunately the tailor didn’t have the right colour zipper, or the right colour thread. Not such a good job, but what do you expect for 50 rupees ($1.50 CND). So, this morning Adrie and I visited all the supermarkets in the area and didn’t find the right colour zipper! We did find some elastic which I needed for another pair of pants. In the end we took the zipper from an old pair of pants of Frank’s and used that. It wasn’t quite the right colour, but close.

After our sewing chores were done and we’d had some lunch we went once more to the beach. The lake was even warmer than the previous time. The girls were in the water for two hours, came out for a lesson on skipping stones, then they were back in for another half an hour!

Tomorrow we’re off again. We’ll pass through Austria and go to Czech Republic. It’s sad to be leaving our relatives again, but it will only be three weeks before we are in Holland visiting more relatives!

CM

A Relaxing Day

We just took it easy today and hung around the house, enjoying the beautiful view. There is a young olive tree, flowers, basil and other herbs on the terrace. Always relaxing to sit there and enjoy a cup of coffee. We also visited the Saturday market for a little while. They had samples of salami and various cheeses so I was glad we went.

Frank and Adrie are thinking abut replacing one of their cars, so Frank and I went to look at different cars in the afternoon. We visited the showrooms for Fiat-Lancia, Renault, Peugeot, and Opel. Most of the cars had 6-speed transmission, which was very cool. We didn't take any for a test drive, but I got to sit in a bunch of cars and check out the features.

I was also due for a haircut, so Frank took me to his barber too!

NM

Beach and Garden

We have grown to like the pebble beaches here. You can just put your clothes or towels on the ground and not worry about sand getting everywhere. The kids made rock sculptures and let their polly pocket dolls have some tanning time while they played in the water.

We got home and cleaned up and then it was time to go to the fruit garden with Frank. Again we picked some apricots, plums, figs, and cherries. Some of the figs were quite high so I hoisted Yasmin and Roya on my shoulders (not at the same time though!) and they used the picker to get the ripe figs for us.

Frank also has a big vegetable garden at the "farm". We all helped pick some beans and lettuce. It is wonderful to pick our own fruit and vegetables and have them fresh. Frank also surveyed the grapes to make sure they were in good shape before we headed back.

On the way back we took a drive. We drove through a tunnel which goes almost directly underneath Frank and Adrie's house! We also drove up one of the hills for yet another beautiful view of the lake and surrounding area.

We had various fish and shellfish on the barbecue for supper and Frank introduced us to tiny fried fish that you have to eat whole - with the head, tail and skin still on! They are quite tasty actually, but Yasmin and Roy didn't think so. They tried one each, but we took the heads off for them first.

NM

Around Lago di Garda

Last night we talked about when we should get on the road for our trip around the lake. Frank was leaning towards 9:00 am and Adrie said 10:00 am. In the end we were on the road at 9:30 am, a happy compromise.

We drove through some pretty little towns and stopped by a small village that is surrounded by mountains and water. The entrance to the village was actually through a tunnel in the mountain! There were many tunnels along our drive. These tunnels are very old. Some had holes along one side to let in the daylight, you can see it in the picture above.

We stopped at a waterfall near the far end of the lake. It had a total drop of almost 100 metres. The water had carved a deep gorge in the rock and within this narrow gorge it felt almost like it was raining and the temperature was quite cool.

For lunch we stopped along a beach on the far side of the lake. The lake was at the bottom of mountains on either side and as we got out of the car we heard thunder coming from the clouds on the mountains on the far side of the lake. We ate our sandwiches in sunshine but then started to hear thunder coming from the clouds around the near side! Surprisingly the girls got a swim in and we sat by the lake for about an hour and still no rain.

We drove down to the other end of the lake where there is a peninsula called Sirmione. Here there is a castle, complete with a moat. We saw the outside of the castle, but didn’t go inside. Instead we walked about the little town which is very picturesque with cobblestone streets and many cafes and ice-cream shops. Of course we had to stop for an ice-cream. As all of this was happening, again we heard the thunder rolling, but no rain! We did have a brief sprinkle of rain as we drove the final stretch back to the house, but it was gone by the time we got there. Amazing considering all the thunder and dark clouds!

We went out for Italian pizza tonight. It is quite different from what we get back home. The crust is much thinner, and the topping choices are very different as well. It was delicious! We didn’t really have room, but Frank and Adrie insisted we try maringata, an Italian dessert with dried meringue around a thick frozen cream. It was very good - a great end to a great day.

CM

La Rocca

The history of La Rocca dates back thousands of years. It has been the site of a fortress that was built and rebuilt several times, but before that there was evidence of various ceremonies that took place here a few thousand years BC!

The fortress was in ruin and not much to see, but the views were spectacular. Lago di Garda is a huge lake. The cove that Frank and Adrie's terrace overlooks seems like it could be a lake of its own. The mountains in the background just make it more beautiful.

It was fairly clear so we could see across the lake. We plan to take a drive around the lake tomorrow. This should take most of the day. From this view you could understand just how large the lake is.

Along the edge of the cliff you could see farm land below. There were olive groves and rows of grapes, which are the main crops of the area.

We then went to a Wednesday market. The girls were spoiled by Uncle Frank and came home with some special T-shirts! It's Canada Day today, but here they are wearing Italia shirts! World citizens, right?!

CM

The Garden

Today was a completely easy day. We spent most of the day on the terrace. Frank and Adrie have the most beautiful view! You can see the mountains sloping down to a small town which sits at the edge of a magnificent lake.

In the afternoon we finally roused ourselves enough to take a walk to Frank’s garden. We were happy to walk among the rows of grape vines and the various fruit and nut trees. They have walnut and hazelnut trees, plums, apricots, cherries, olives, kiwi, apples, pears, and even pomegranates. They also have a vegetable garden with tomatoes, zucchini, onions, herbs, and more. It was rather educational to see all the plants. I thought the nut trees and kiwi especially interesting. The kiwi is a vine that has fuzz over it much like the fruit!

Despite all the fruit and nuts, Frank’s real passion seems to be his grapes which he uses to make his own wine. They make about 600 litres each year.

The girls had great fun picking plums and apricots. We picked a bowl full, but there is much more on the trees, in fact more than they can eat. We’re very happy to help them with that task!

Late in the afternoon we took a drive to the lake and to the nearby town. We stopped for a nice view which just happened to have an ice-cream shop next to it! With Italian ice-cream, real salami, cheeses, and all the other goodies that Frank and Adrie are feeding us, I’m thinking I’ll need to loosen my belt by a notch or two by the end of the week!

CM

Venice & Murano

We went back in to Venice this morning. We couldn’t get enough! The small canals are so cute. Around each corner is another picture perfect moment!

The large canal is such fun to watch with little gondolas, taxi boats, barges, and public transportation boats! It’s all so busy below the colourful houses with their pretty window boxes full of flowers.

We took a boat to Murano which is a smaller island that is famous for its glass making. We had a little tour of the factory and of course this was followed by the show case room.

We did end up buying some Venetian glass, or at least we hope it is! The guide book says that some of the shops sell the real thing while others sell products that are made in China.

The gondola rides are extremely expensive, and we almost skipped it but after some hard bargaining we decided that perhaps it wouldn’t break the bank after all! It was so nice to see the city as we quietly glided through its canals.

The girls thought it was funny that the gondolier would call out “oy” as we approached corners, to warn other that he was coming. They also thought it was funny that he would tilt the boat a bit as we went under some of the shorter bridges. This was so that the bow wouldn’t rub the underside of the bridge! It was a great way to end our trip to Venice.

We have now arrived safely in Tormini where we are staying with my aunt and uncle. So nice to be with relatives again!

CM