Poland, Austria and a hint of Germany
- Tracey Earl
- 5 days ago
- 13 min read
This is the trip we planned with a different dynamic. Three bunnies but this time Mr and Mrs B along with Daddy B. A trip intended to take in favourite places, new places, places of history and importance, and just a few fun and because places. We will be visiting Poland, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. A trip we will not forget in a hurry.
Poland
We flew into Krakow with a view to spending just two days in the city to visit places that I personally feel everyone, no matter their age (over 15 that is) should go. Auschwitz/Birkenau and the Schindler Museum.
Auschwitz. Nobody should ever forget the time in history when one person decided millions should die, for no reason whatsoever except the fact that they were different, or Jewish. Auschwitz was not the only concentration camp during the War but it is the one that is most complete, and evokes the most gut wrenching feelings of `why`? Why was this allowed to happen? I have to say that after our rather chatty bus of around an hour to the place where Auschwitz is situated my heart sank, so many cars, endless buses and coaches, people milling around, have they really turned this place of murder and horror into a tourist hub? No. They have not. The singular building, black, understated, houses a bathroom. A machine provides drinks, maybe a few basic snacks. No garish posters, no tourist shops, a simple entry system in a large sparsely furnished atrium where you pick up an audio headset. No colour, no larger than life people, everything quiet, practical. We were placed into a large group, put on the headsets, and from there on, Silence. The only voice was that of the guide. You walk silently as a group into the camp, listening as a voice in your ear reels off the names of people who were murdered there. The voice never stops. The sense of incredulity at the scale of the place before you renders you dismayed. The buildings that housed the people were not temporary affairs, they were brick built and solid. No makeshift roofs, a few wooden buildings, no, just row after row after row of solidly built units. It is truly sickening to see for yourself the scale of the murderous efficiency of this camp. Built for one purpose only. If you could stand, you worked, if you could not, you were `selected` and murdered. Nothing in between. Different buildings, adapted in recent years to escort large groups of people, each contain their own story. The hospital sickened me the most. Why would a camp with a sole purpose of murder, have a hospital? So that one sick minded German `doctor` could use these particular people of `no worth` to conduct the most hideous experiments. The nearer you walk to the final solution, the more poignant the reminders. A room full of suitcases, carefully labelled. Shoes, so many shoes you cannot comprehend how many people, then you realise that the next room houses shoes of the children. Spectacles by the thousands. Human hair by the tonne. The tour itself was conducted in a very matter of fact manner. I am unsure if our guide lacked emotion, or if by giving you the cold hard facts in a forthright manner helped supress the overwhelming inner feelings of grief, anger and sadness. Prior to coming on the tour each of us had a pain that was hard to control, whether it be pain of standing, back pain, or the debilitating pain of a trapped nerved, but here at Auschwitz teeth got gritted and determination sets in. What the people of Auschwitz suffered put our own afflictions into a perspective so trivial and gave us fierce respect for the innocent victims. Our last walk through, was the Gas Chamber. I looked at the people around me, they would have been naked, scared, shaved, barefoot, men, women and children, and I took that walk trying to breath in the last air i would take, see the sky for the last time. I walked into that Gas Chamber with 25 other people. I walked out, alive, with 25 people. Millions walked through those doors, but did not exit. Their bodies loaded onto trolleys and systematically cremated. Let us never forget.
Birkenau. I wish I could tell the story of this camp, but alas our guide spoke far too quietly and I heard not one word. I absolutely refused to mention my own personal difficulties whilst at this heart breaking scene of human misery and torture, but we are living in a modern society now where such atrocities should not (but we know are) taking place, and feel I ought to mention the fact that both Auschwitz and Birkenau cover huge areas. You will be standing, or walking for long periods of time. Be prepared.
Oskar Schindler Factory
This factory is now a museum of history, the history of the people, the workers, the German Officers, how a German Nazi Officer saw potential to make money through the sacrifice and victimisation of the Jewish people. Oskar Schindler was a good man, to a point, but he was a Nazi. Did he save everyone? No, he used his position for both profit and good. The factory is large, and without a guide perhaps a little hard to follow. I feel it is a place that should be visited to fully understand the story. I would however recommend a guide. Truth be known, I lost my respect and understanding for the factory, interesting as it was, when a tourist handed his phone to his wife, and posed with a great big grin, next to the flag depicting the swastika. I felt myself seethe with anger, and if looks could kill, that b*star would be stone cold right now. How dare you smile and consider that appropriate behaviour! Incidentally that flag is forbidden to be displayed in Germany, this is Poland however, and a Museum. If the film Schindler`s List compels you to visit the factory, then prepare for disappointment. The film is mostly historically accurate, the list itself is not. There are some records, there were lists made. Nothing is left.
Germany
Munich. Like many of our cities on this tour we would stay two nights only. One day to drive, stop, sleep, Day two Tour. The first city on the list, home of Ocktoberfest, the very beautiful Munich. With a couple of bunnies having old man walking troubles, Mrs B /decided that walking was not an option and booked the HoHo Bus. (hop on/hop off).Two different routes. I would simply describe Munich, in my opinion, as Clean, Smart and Efficient. The last time we came to Munich it was raining, there were endless roadworks, traffic jams and traffic cones. This time it felt like a different city. Added to the natural heat of the month, this trip would also coincide with a summer heatwave. It would make for some tiring days and less active than usual ones. We stayed out of town using the option of an easy walk to the Train Station as our mode of transport to the city. This year is also World Cup Year, and right now Germany is still a contender. Mr B was certain every pub would be showing the match and eagerly went to the restaurant bar next door one evening to enjoy the atmosphere there...and returned five minutes later totally incredulous saying that the bar tender had told him that no bar in the area would likely be playing the football!
Austria
Salzburg. The first of four stops in our favourite country, Austria. Staying slightly out of town again in what can only be described as one of our nicest hotels for a long time (bar the fact that we had no air conditioning) and came with a view that could only been described as magnificent. We had planned to drive into the town, but with free public transport tickets included in our stay, and a bus stop a short walk away, the choice of paying overly expensive parking fees or taking a bus was a non starter. We love Salzburg, the home of the Sound of Music with all its iconic places of interest, a tour that incidentally I have never chosen to take! I have seen the film, but have I seen the film enough to be able to recognise all the key spots? Perhaps not. Tours are equally quite expensive, visiting places that were used in a film almost 60 years ago (yep, its that old) is quite some cashing in. We didn`t see all the horses and carts that were in the city a few years ago either? But with some quite hefty roadworks, street works in action, perhaps they were having a rest? Mr B and I had planned to go to the museum again, but alas a third bunny failed to be interested. The Haus der Natur is an excellent natural history museum with a lot of interesting, hands on exhibits. A few years ago we had a lot of fun here, unfortunately not an experience we were to enjoy again this time. Another year maybe...Instead we opted for a non Sound of Music tour, and had an experience akin to the descriptions of the Night Bus in Harry Potter. Our very speedy driver flung his bus around his route at quite some pace, hovered long enough for the audio spiel to complete, and woosh we were off again! We completed our tour in 60 mins flat. Salzburg is a very pretty, easily walked small city. Situated on both sides of the river. The original home of Mozart, and `that` scene in Knight and Day where Tom Cruise jumps easily from hotel balcony into the river....Ha! Go see for yourself.....The fraud of good ole movie making.
Hallstatt
Described as the prettiest town in Austria, with its picture postcard location and the false and misleading stories that it was the inspiration for the Disney film town of Arendelle, (it wasn`t) also aided and abetted by the Instagram brigade, this little town lives up to its reputation for being very pretty. With experience of hyped up places we took to the road early and headed for Halstatt at 7.30am. With blissfully clear roads all the way, we even wondered if we were on the correct route. You approach Halstatt through a long mountain cut tunnel, two tunnels in fact, one out, one in, and arrive into this very picturesque small town. We knew parking was going to be hard and at a premium, hence the early arrival. We did have accommodation booked in the town, very, very expensive accommodation I may add, but still went early just in case. We were not the first cars in the small car park. We were however one of the first tourists, so we were able to wend our way through this beautiful little town without the loud noise and chatter that mass tourism brings. Whilst exceptionally pretty, and a joy to be there, you really do have to feel for the people who live in the town. Prior to Instagram, I wonder if they displayed then the frequently seen, `This is our town, not a museum, we live here, please be quiet and considerate` type notices that adorned many doors? We were very careful to be respectful, quiet and low key tourists, but it was clear that walking back through the town later that day, many people are not that considerate. En masse tour groups, babbling loudly, standing under peoples windows talking, bored kids running around yelling, half eaten ice cream tubs left abandoned anywhere and everywhere. Halstatt is picture perfect. The tourist groups are not. Incidentally, the small supermarket, poorly stocked, was one of the most expensive shops we have encountered. Was it worth staying in Halstatt? No. Stay anywhere else bar Halstatt assuming of course you have transport. With hindsight and hands on knowledge, I would simply recommend an early start, be amongst the first people in the town, enjoy your time there, and leave. Austria is far too beautiful to get hung up on one small town with its silly overpriced rooms. Go, see, leave.
Bertchesgarten
Staying anywhere close to Bertchesgarten was a non starter, at least for our humble budget. The nearest place I could find was the small town of Ramsau. I initially booked one room and one caravan, as that was all the property appeared to have left on booking.com. I wasn`t entirely bothered as the photos looked glorious. One set of comments remarked `a perfect place to stay for a rural experience`. Suited us! We climbed, ahem, drove...up into the hills, passing stunning detached properties in true Austrian style, wooden flower decked balconies, steep roofs, and stunning positions, wondering each time, `which one was ours` then we found it. A very plain, rectangular box shaped house, no balcony, no flowers, and in a dip!!! Totally surrounded by trees, every hill, vale and mountain vanished from view. It was also run by the Clampetts.....Met by `Jed`, he grunted and gestured towards the caravan, in a field, surrounded by chickens, and said, I have a room if you prefer. We did. We did prefer. Have to say that the room offered was actually very clean and pretty, old fashioned, but pretty. It also had the biggest wall tv we have ever seen! We never actually watch tv, but we would have been watching the equivalent of cinema size had we chosen to. The second room had no tv. The lack of was never mentioned. Not once..
Not wishing to name the property, or the owners, lets just say that fly filled warm breakfast room, and the mouldy jam did not endear us to partake of any breakfast product that did not come wrapped or from a fridge. Mrs Clampett was visibly cross that we objected to her jam, and was equally rude and suspicious when Daddy B dared to venture through a wrong door with a bag, said bag she grabbed from him inspecting it thoroughly for what I wonder? Theft? So rude. The bag, incidentally, contained garbage, and he was looking for the bin! We arrived, stayed, slept, day two Eagles Nest, returned, slept, left. Not a place I would recommend for more than a night or two. Our evening food was purchased from Lidl in the nearest town. Bertchesgarten. With research done as to the best time to go, (morning) and tickets for the first bus booked, 9am, we headed off on day two, to one of the most spectacular viewpoints we have been to in a long while. The knowledge that a certain person of the anuls of history was in charge of the positioning of the Eagles Nest, (personally I see no reason to keep referring to this mass murderer by name), was cast to the back of my mind. Absolutely every brick and stone of It`s house has been, and rightly so, destroyed. There is no sign of this particular structure having ever existed, but the Eagles Nest remains intact. Built purely to entertain by day, it is not, and never has been a hotel of any sort. What it was, and what it is now, is much the same. A place to wine and dine and admire the view. From the car park at the bottom of the hill you can either hike to the top, 1.5-3 hours depending on your fitness levels, or take a rather comfortable and slightly hair raising bus ride to the top. This stunning winding road took only 13 months to build, an incredible feat of engineering. The modern electric buses wend their way effortlessly up the switch back mountain, no cars, just the official buses. The views are nothing short of spectacular, especially when the road teeters on the edge of a vertical cliff, and down is a long long way. If you are of a slightly nervous disposition, I would suggest a good book, blinkers, and sit on the opposite side of the bus! Arriving at the `top` bus park, the well timed buses seeming to arrive and leave together. the journey took around 15/20 mins tops. This bunny arrived and was not looking forward to the final leg of the journey. It is actually the reason that I have avoided the Eagles Nest on previous trips, The Elevator inside the mountain. A long tunnel walk, wide, smart, brings you to a medium sized domed room. (Once upon a time I believe this space doubled as a wine cellar). A smart brass door is the Elevator. With a queasy memory of the film 33 and that tiny one man lift box jolting its way inside a rocky mountain, my nerves were frayed. The brass doors opened, and Wow !!! A large, brass, mirrored, human lift operator, stool, cctv and complex communication system clearly visible, this lift was no more scary than your average 5* Hotel lift. The space is immaculate, the rise smooth. The building, the Eagles Nest, is not very big at all. A meeting room, indoor restaurant, I assume seasonal? kitchen, bathrooms and a sun corridor make up the main part of the building, it is the outdoor space, the large cafe terrace, the view points, the walk to the cross, that makes the visit worthwhile. Yes, there is history there, photographs etc, but it is not a museum, nor is it a place to go if you feel an urge to learn more about said nameless person of history. There are some well written blogs about the Eagles Nest that suggest that there is a lot more to the place, personally I now feel said blog is a little exaggerated and over eggs the place a little. I was also led to believe that the restaurant was expensive, it was not, and that the restaurant menu was limited to pork based ingredients, whilst the restaurant itself was not open, the menu suggested otherwise.
Innsbruck
We started our brief time in Innsbruck with a viewpoint. Not just any viewpoint, but the one at the top of the Ski Jump. We came here a few years ago and wanted to share the experience with Daddy B. Gloriously quiet, very few tourists, a crazy vertical cable car/train to the summit of the lift, followed by a lift to the highest point and its cafe . Such spectacular views over Innsbruck. We can only imagine what it must be like for the jumpers, who still use this place even in summer, to practise their jumps in such a lovely location. If they miss their landing, or overshoot, (unlikely, but....) the well placed graveyard sits just over the wall from the ski jump at the bottom!. I am gutted to say that I missed filming a young guy doing a jump by mere seconds, I was filming, clicked off, and was in the process of putting my go pro away when I heard `flomp` behind me as he landed!! I asked him if was going again, he said Yes, but then he spotted the Ice Cream truck, and that was that. The three bunnies had very nice drinks and cake at the cafe at the top of the ski jump. Our next stop in Innsbruck was the Alpine Zoo. A zoo for Alpine animals, who by their very name prefer cold, and snow. We managed to spot one tiny mouse and two pigs, as just about every other animal on sight was huddled inside their ice cold caves or hutch. Cant blame them. For a Zoo on a mountain side, during a heatwave, if I was a bear, I too would have been hiding out. Innsbruck itself is a lovely town, we feel very comfortable there. I wish I could expand more on its history and architecture, museums etc, but alas our bunny dynamic was more suited to a quick hop, a look see, then leave. Other than the zoo, we could have visited the nearby Kristallwelten, home of Swarovski. Whilst we did not chose to visit this place, I can remember enough from a previous visit to not need to go again.
Kristallwelten. In brief. Pretty, sparkling, some nice exhibits and things of interest. The scenic pool was nice, but the crystal clouds surrounding the pool looked grey and dull, despite the fact that they are (or were back then) made up of millions of tiny crystals. It was the shop that, well quite frankly disgusted me. Set out like a cheap tourist shop of mass produced items the endless amounts of rows and rows of Swarovski necklaces, hang limply on basic displays, some tangled, some even just lying on the floor like they were worthless bits of tat. Yet all these necklaces were displayed with 60/70 100 euro price tags, some even more so! Personally I have never seen such amounts of jewellery so casually or randomly displayed with such contempt. It made the brand look cheap. My last visit was 10 years plus ago. Has it changed? I wonder...
And the journey continues..
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