Locked out at Auschwitz.
I had always wanted to visit Auschwitz; to touch with my own hands and see with my own eyes that a place where acts of such incomprehensible atrocity does indeed exist. Not that I ever doubted it.
Left the hotel early enough to get to Oswiecim (the Polish name of the town; renamed Auschwitz by the Germans), as I expected to have to stand in a long line to buy tickets. So said AI. I tried to book on-line, but all I found on offer were tours which included hotel pick-up, which I could not use as my hotel was 100 Kilometers away. But I remained reassured that I could stand in line and buy on site. No such luck. No tickets to be had. Not even for the following day. Not for any of the three parts of what they now call a “museum”. I could have, and was indeed tempted, to mingle with an English-speaking tour group that was about to enter the gate. It would have been easy enough, but I did not.
Well, it was my birthday and I had to make the best of it. So what if I’ve driven for two days to get here. I walked around the perimeter of what is called Auschwitz2-Birkenau and was able to take a few photos, see a short video, shop in the bookstore, read all the descriptive signs. Enough to give me chills. After all we all know the story, although apparently, we still have not learned the lesson.
The only thing I was happy about was that now I could get to my destination quite a bit earlier than anticipated.
When traveling on vacation I hate taking motor highways. They are so boring. Only occasionally is there anything worth admiring while driving on them. But they do save time, a lot of it, especially in Poland where highway speed limit is 87mph (140Km). And the highways here are mostly new, constructed in the last decade or so.
I did make it to Prżemyśl, a town with flair. My hotel for the night is some ten miles from town, in a lovely hilly forested area with rivers and lakes around. The owner of the hotel asked me to find him a buyer. 2 acres, 2 buildings,20 rooms, banquet hall, huge kitchen. One and a half million dollars. Offered me a good commission, too.
After checking in, I wanted to spend a little time in town. Very enjoyable. So busy, yet so tranquil; nobody rushes about. Even had a terrific dinner, made even better when Eric reached me there on a video call to wish me a Happy Birthday.
Driving back in the dark, I completely missed the turn to take me to the hotel and drove an additional 15 minutes (a 30-minute round trip). There was none to ask directions of in the woodsy environment and I had no internet for GPS. Eventually I did find an elderly man outside a closed supermarket. He did not speak English, but we found a way to communicate and set me in the right direction. I got in too damn tired to do a post, so you had to wait a couple of days. Until the next time.
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