Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II Birkenau

By far the most humbling experience of my trip so far, a trip to Poland definitely merits a trip to this place. In the town of Oswiecimiu there's not only one concentration camp, but three. Two have been preserved as museums, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau. I went to Birkenau first. They've left many of the barracks up that survived, though before the end of the war, the Nazis attempted to destroy as much documentation and any other proof of the mass genocide; so the crematoriums are now just rubble. You get to go into some of the barrack buildings, which gives you quite a chill. This camp is extremely large, I was shocked at how big it actually is. It's so bizarre to see the actual locations the most famous genocide in recent history took place. We've all read about it, seen the pictures, etc, but it still doesn't answer any of the questions we all have about it. I can't say a visit answers those questions either, but it's certainly one of those things that makes you wake up and have a look at the world around you.

The second camp, Auschwitz, was basically a massive museum. This camp was already an army camp pre-WWII, so the Nazis utilized what was already there. Many of the buildings in the camp house museums on different themes. For example, almost every European nation who lost victims in the Holocaust has their own memorial building, there're buildings about the resistance movement, what the Nazis took from the victims (hair, glasses, clothes, shoes: you actually see heaps of these things). They've even preserved some buildings to show what it was like for the prisoners in these camps.

All in all, it was a really important experience to have. I'm thankful I'm blessed to have the CHOICE to go to these sights as opposed to being herded like cattle. I was thinking about that on the train ride this morning, because so many people would've been carted in on that same journey without any say whatsoever, not to mention a knowledge of the horrible fate that was coming their way. I know we all have a choice in our own fates to a degree, I just hope we choose to learn from the past and never see something like this happen again.

Wroclaw, Poland

I went to Wroclaw not because I knew anything about it, but to visit my friend Martyna who studies there (I worked with Martyna last summer at Planet). It was great to see her again, and as it turns out, Wroclaw is an extremely interesting city! Doesn't hurt that one of Martyna's close friends is a pro Wroclaw
tour guide, literally. The city (based on it's geographical area, and obviously for political and historical reasons) has been a part of the Austrian Empire, Hungary, obviously Germany (3rd Reich) and Poland. The symbol of the city is a small dwarf: there are 70 of them throughout the city, the reason being a funny 'revolution' in the 80's against communist rule. During the 80's, whenever there was graffiti of a protesting manner written on the walls of the city, the police would come by and simply white it out with white paint. Obviously that left loads of white blotches all over the city, so what did these people do? They returned to the spots to illustrate a dwarf in different ways. Earlier forms of protest were being replaced by the use of humour: the police had no idea what to do! One time, they even arrested 100 some people dressed as Santa, which apparently made world headlines. Anyhoo, it was great seeing Martyna again, I would highly recommend Wroclaw to anyone who gets a chance to go there.

Pics:
1) Martyna and I in the rain
2) Dwarf who ate too much
3) Oldest restaurant in Europe
4) City Hall
5) Tour guide Marek and I in front of the university
6) Jailed dwarf

Edinburgh, Scotland

Pics:
1) Edinburgh Castle
2) Royal Army march
3) Holyrood (Queen's home in Scotland)
4) The hike to Arthur's Seat
5) View from Arthur's Seat
6) Me at old church ruins

Despite the fact that this is where I missed my flight from, I really enjoyed Edinburgh. It was much colder than London, but I didn't mind. The castle on the hill was amazing, the valley parks in the "Loch" that used to be swampland are beautiful, the people are surprisingly friendly (something you don't always get in foggy Londontown), and you can't walk a day in the city without hearing at least one guy in a kilt playing the bagpipes. The hike up to Arthur's Seat offer's unbelievable views of the city and the ocean (cold water I'm sure). Anyway, I'd put more photos up of this great city, but some guy's bugging me for the computer (free internet at this hostel). More updates soon!!

Goodbye Party at Planet and Casino

Pics:
1) My Saffa girls and I
2) My sirloin dinner with a Bulmers cider
3) Jorge and I
4) Christel, Iris, Maria and Erika
5) Me drinking cheap Spanish 'sparkling wine'
6) Ladies Man Brady (yes, still no tan haha)




I finished work at five, got a sirloin for my last meal (delicious!), and started my goodbye party in the Planet bar. We stayed there until some more people got off from work, then we headed to one of the casinos in Leicester Square since they're open late. It was kinda funny, there were three tables in the casino bar: one belonged to TGI Fridays, one to Hard Rock Cafe, and one to Planet Hollywood. We had a laugh about that, because we all know each other from around town. I met some random guy from Edmonton who bought me a drink, we had cheap Spanish bubbly, and all in all had a great time. I was really happy to see how many people actually came out.

Random London

Pics:
1) Planet
2) Timmies in London (I KNOW!!!!!)
3) View of the London Eye from St. James'
4) Jana and I in St. James'
5) Erika and I at Buckingham
6) Changing of the Guards at Buckingham
7) Picadilly Circus


As you probably all know, I've been working at Planet Hollywood again since I returned to the UK in February. I've really had a good time here again, though I think I made even better friends this time than last summer. I'll really miss everyone. It's a pretty busy lifestyle at Planet, but whenever I got the chance, I tried to get out and enjoy what the city has to offer. I got to see the changing of the guard again as my friend Erika and I just happened to be walking past at 11:00, good timing! I also enjoyed my last few weeks in London with great weather, ironically. I hung out with friends in St. James' park, and just enjoy the sunshine.

Cardiff, Wales

Pics:
1) Millenium Stadium
2) Millenium Center
3) Cool modern art
4) Welsh dragon
5) Me in front of the Keep at Cardiff Castle
6) Cardiff Castle

I know I haven't put much up lately, mostly because I've been working and not much has been happening, but I also just didn't get the time. I took a 2 day trip out to Cardiff, Wales a while back. It was really nice to get away from the rush of London for a while. Cardiff was a beautiful city, the castle was spectacular, the people were friendly, and the weather was good. It was a nice town to just wander around in.