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     As I had always wanted to visit Poland ever since my daughter came back from a University trip and told me how much she had enjoyed it, the return trip from Romania seemed the ideal time to do it and also to satisfy an ambition to visit Auschwitz. Unfortunately the weather was not too kind so I never got to see as much of Poland as I wanted to. On the day we entered Poland we had travelled over 250mls, all the way through Slovakia and the Czech Republic in almost constant heavy rain, so to get to the campsite we had chosen off the internet at Bielsko Biala, in South Eastern Poland, only to find it deserted caused more than a slight lowering of morale. However the reception office was open so we thought we would enquire anyway. We asked the guy in charge if there was any chalets to rent, (common on most continental campsites), but there was none. Being by now totally knackered we told the guy that we would camp, even after he had told us that the ground was soaked from 5 days of almost constant rain, which explained why the site was deserted. At this point he suddenly dashed off and returned a few minuets later clutching a set of keys and gestured for us to follow him. Thinking that they did after all have chalets available our spirits rose until he stopped outside the most beaten up caravan I had seen in a long time, (see photo). He had, it seems, taken pity on us and offered to rent us the caravan that belonged to the guy that owned the horses and stables on the site. As it was by now nearly dark and still raining the caravan suddenly looked like the Ritz so we took him up on the offer and a deal was duly struck for a couple of nights. The weather stayed mainly cold and damp for most of the time we were there which meant that we couldn’t see much of the area, which was a shame as what we did see on the way to the site looked beautiful with mountains and forest. However Auschwitz was only 25mls away which was why we had originally chosen the site, (See Auschwitz Below).                                                                                                        After visiting Auschwitz we decided to see a bit more of Poland  and took the E40 motorway from Krackow towards Warsaw to save time. One thing I noticed however was that fuel was not available anywhere on the motorway so if you are planning to use the same route make sure you have a full tank as it is approx 160mls. Rest areas were under construction but none we stopped at had fuel. We left the motorway near Warsaw as we wanted to see some of rural Poland. Poland seems to consist of a flat plains in the centre but it’s borders seem to be all mountains and forests and it really was beautiful. The roads are generally not too bad but seem somehow seem worse in the towns. There was plenty of evidence of road repairs going on but we generally had no problems. Stayed a night at a really lovely campsite at Woliborz near the town of Nova Ruda. This looked like the site of a former chateau that had been converted to a hotel and the showers were within the hotel so you felt a bit odd marching through this rather posh country hotel with your towel on your shoulders on the way to the showers. Although the weather for the next couple of days was good the nights were freezing (late September) so we decided that from then on we would look for campsites with chalets for rent. This worked out to be not much dearer than camping. Next night saw us at the Camping Park Hotel in Jelenia Gora near the border with the Czech Republic. On the way in we got caught up in the road closures for the Tour of Poland cycle race so it was interesting to watch it on TV that night when we were only a few hundreds yards away.   We left Poland for Germany via the border crossing at Gorlitz. What was handy was we had been told about a Carrefour supermarket just before Gorlitz where we could fill up with petrol, (much cheaper in Poland than in Germany), and get rid of whatever Zlotys we had left. Nowhere will exchange coins and you always seem to end up with pockets full so I always try to spend them before moving on. Poland was a beautiful country with friendly people and if it hadn’t been for some poor weather I would have liked to have seen more, particularly Krackow, which my daughter said is beautiful so maybe in the future. It always seems to be a case of so much to do and so little time as they say.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Auschwitz

     Auschwitz, (or Oswiecim as it’s called in Polish), is the site of the Nazi concentration and death camps that were at the centre of the Holocaust and are now a museum. There are two sites, the original camp known as Auschwitz 1 which was a labour camp, and Auschwitz-Birkenau which was constructed specifically as a death camp. The museum entrance is located at Auschwitz 1 and entry is completely free, (unless a guided tour is requested then there is a charge). Auschwitz 1 is very much as it was at the time except the barracks now house the museum and to walk through he various blocks and read exactly what happened and how prisoners were treated  whilst actually being in the buildings where it happened is very moving. Auschwitz-Birkenau is 3km away but there is a free shuttle bus that runs between the two camps. You may, like me, have seen various documentaries and films about Auschwitz and what went on there but nothing can compare with actually being there. It was, quite simply, on an industrial scale and although the Nazis tried to destroy it at the end of the war many of the buildings are still there, including the main gatehouse, railway and prisoner barracks. The wooden barracks were built from a design for a stable to house 52 horses but were converted to house 400 prisoners but when the camp was in full use up to a 1,000 prisoners were housed in each block, (see link to photos).There are a number of web sites, including the official museum site, that can detail what it was like far better than I can so I have put some links at the foot of this page. I know it’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea but if you get the chance to visit Auschwitz then do go, it’s the only way you can get a true appreciation of what went on and it is also a very moving experience.

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