Adventures for Anyone

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Remember, Jenn asked for this...Auschwitz

At Jenn's behest, I'm discussing a very solemn place today. I've been there. I know what I'm talking about.

I chose now to delve into this one, because Liberation Day is coming on January 27th. It will be 77 years since this place was liberated. Auschwitz was the biggest, most notorious, death camp in Nazi History. The entire place has been preserved so that no one ever forgets what happened in WWII. I've heard ridiculous claims that the Holocaust never happened from uneducated neanderthals throughout my lifetime, and all I can say is that apparently ignorance is bliss.

Work shall make you free. What a thing to put on a sign at the entrance of the place you will die. There are a list of movies and documentaries in the links where you can learn more about the details of life in this horrifying camp. This is an educational voyage, folks. If you leave here with a smile on your face, you didn't get it.

From homes to ghettos to camps, to gas chambers; the Jewish folks were herded like cattle and treated worse. Women were raped, people were tortured, experiments were done on them and they were worked to death or gassed. Fortunately, this place is there as a reminder, and hopefully, no one will ever have such thoughts again.

My recommendation for visiting Auschwitz is simple. I believe that every person in the world should visit this place once. Not for a quick walk. Watch the movie in the educational center. Talk to people who volunteer and work there that help the families of victims reconcile their histories every day to this day. Look at each and every display. Read each and every card, placard, plaque. Stand and think about what you're looking at the whole way through. Visit every building. Walk every street. Stand in the gas chamber. Comprehend the incinerators. Go with a guide who knows all about it. Watch the look on the guides' faces as they tell the horror stories. Truly absorb what humans are capable of. After visiting Auschwitz properly, you should never have to visit again. Once you learn. Once you know. Once you realize how absurd anyone who ever denied the Holocaust is. Then you are good to go and never return. The place will turn your stomach if you are human. It will make you cry, even though you may not know anyone whose family was there, and you certainly had nothing to do with it. The place will affect you deeply. You will come away a changed person.

You will see a magnificent educational center at Auschwitz. If, by some horribly unlucky past, you lost family to this place or in the Holocaust in general, they may be able to help. 77 years, and the good people who work in education centers like that one are still trying to help people reconcile their family's past. It's unbelievable.

You will see displays throughout the camp and the education center and museum that will shock you. There are displays of glasses, shoes, luggage, artificial limbs and even children's toys. You will see examples of lampshades made from human skin and other sick experiments. You will see teeth that were harvested for gold fillings. This is not for the feint of heart. This is hardcore, this is what actually happened in WWII stuff.

The hardest part to fathom is that the people who were incarcerated in this camp didn't save all that macabre stuff. They were gassed to death. They died. The Nazi's saved all that stuff. The military that liberated the camp discovered all that sick stuff. We worry about PTSD now. Imagine if you were one of the liberators. Imagine finding all of that. Imagine finding the acres and acres of mass graves. Imagine finding it all. Imagine listening to people for the rest of your life, who have no knowledge and no brain say that it never happened after you were there. That's PTSD.

We, as humans, need education. We are not like any other animal. We don't live on instinct. We have cognitive thoughts and mental problems. Hate is something that humans excel at. Places like Auschwitz happened because humans hate. Hopefully, this place will help humans remember how wrong hate is. One can only hope.

Recommendation for this experience is to rent a car and drive out early in the morning from Krakow. Arrive at Auschwitz as early as possible, so that you have time to take it all in and learn what you need to know. Make an appointment to tour with a guide, and then wander more on your own after. If you can, make an appointment to speak with a historian on the premises. Ask questions. If you take a bus tour for a trip from the city, you won't have enough time to see it thoroughly. Don't leave until you get it. Learn what you need to know. If you aren't feeling deeply, you haven't learned enough yet. Everyone needs to learn this. Everyone needs to truly try to wrap their minds around it as much as possible. It is a learning experience, and shouldn't be skimped on. If you ever even think about visiting Auschwitz a second time as a tourist, you didn't learn enough the first time.

The professor who took us there, had been there many times. He did not enter. He stayed on our chartered bus and read a book for the entire day while we learned. He'd already learned and didn't need to learn again. It was etched in his brain as it has been in mine since my visit.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Now that we've covered Auschwitz, remember that this will only be one part of your trip to southern Poland. Either before or after your experience with the Holocaust, you will probably have plenty of time to enjoy some of the rest of the area.

Krakow is one of the best preserved cities in Poland. Much of Poland's great cities were leveled during WWII. Krakow has a giant medieval town square, castles, forts, and plenty of things to do. You will find it a great place to shop, go to a casino, try great cuisine and see ancient architecture. You should take a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the most fascinating places in the area. People lived in this mine at one time.

Another place to visit is Czestochowa and the Jasna Gora Monastery. The city is a fabulous place to visit and has some of the best ice cream around. Know that one first hand and highly recommend it. The Monastery is home to the world famous Black Madonna painting. It is believed to be the oldest Madonna painting in the world.

So, if you ever wanted to visit Poland, I recommend the Krakow area. I've been all over Poland, and it was the most amazing part. You will find the people friendly, willing to try and talk across a huge language barrier. Most things in the area are educational. When in the area, you must visit Auschwitz. I stand by my belief that everyone should visit one time. After that, take in a castle, a salt mine, a monastery, some great food and enjoy!

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https://www.discovercars.com/poland/krakow/krk?keyword=car%20rental%20krakow%20airport&network=o&msclkid=d9df88d455c418c25720e90b4d5aef43&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CPAc3%20Poland%20out%20(en-broad)%20EN&utm_term=car%20rental%20krakow%20airport&utm_content=Poland%20Krakow%20Apt%20%24%20exact&lr=1

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022

How About a Castle and Some Whiskey?

So, I've returned to the bucket lists of my friends to start 2022, and this one is for Jenn and Merle as we talk a little bit more about Scotland. Today, I want to discuss two of the most famous things about the country; castles and whiskey. They go hand in hand in Scotland, so I have to discuss them together.

There are over 3,000 castles in Scotland from Aberfeldy to Wolfburn. There are castles that you can rent, visit, or stay in because they are now a hotel. They have castles that are ruins, landmarks, museums, tourist attractions, hotels, private residences, armories, and home to the Queen herself. They are dated anywhere from the 1100's to the late 1800's and have a thousand different styles. Unless you have unlimited time, choose your castles carefully. It would take years to visit them all.

I will touch on a few highlights of castles in no particular order. Let's start with Balmoral, as it is the one and only castle that you will find Queen Elizabeth II and her family living in. This estate is one of the Queen's favorites. It is amazing. It is partially open to tourists from April to July. Check the website for hours and days.

If you are particularly influenced by literature, you should make sure you visit Cawdor Castle and Abbotsford. Cawdor is proclaimed to be the location of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sir Walter Scott built Abbotsford.

If you want to visit the notorious, then you must visit Stirling Castle. Famously the prison and death location of William Wallace, it was also a historic spot for several Scottish Royals including Mary, Queen of Scots. Stirling is one of the best preserved castles of its era and there are many things to see and do there.

Edinburgh Castle actually sits on an old volcano in its elevated position above the city. It is probably the largest of the castles and has so much to see. Edinburgh is the capital of the country, which means that it is a rich and busy location to visit and you will never be bored.

Jedburgh is another must see, as is the Abbey at the location. Religion is part of the country's rich history and should not be overlooked. The more you learn about a people, the more you will enjoy a historic country like Scotland. Religion is an enormous part of that history.

Culzean Castle is a national landmark and was once a part time residence to Dwight D. Eisenhower. The residence was partially gifted to him for his use because of his contributions to winning WWII.

Dumbarton, as well as other castles have been used as armories for centuries. As some of the castles that were built to be fortresses in the early years became public property, the government began to store munitions and cannons there. Several of the fortress like castles in the country are still used for this purpose. This doesn't mean that you can't visit them. They have guides who are happy to tell you the history of how they became a storage space.

Scotland has been inhabited for 12,000 years or more. The Celts and their ancestors are some of the oldest lines of people on Earth. Scotland is home to ruins of castles dating back to the 1100's. Places like The Ring of Brodgar allude to a history far beyond that. We all know about Stonehenge in England, but there are stone formations all over the British Isles that tell us that there were significant amounts of people there before Christ was born.

For this reason, you will find castles of all styles in all kinds of places. Most castles are not in the city. Just putting that out there. Most of them are country homes and fortresses. You will find several that are nothing but ruins. You will find some of them hanging out on cliffs along the shore. You will find some of them on the islands that belong to the country. Some of them will look like fancy mansions. They are of all kinds and come from several centuries.

Some of the castles are huge mansions. Some of them look like they came straight out of a Disney fairy tale. Glamis Castle is considered the most beautiful castle in Scotland. It's rustic look and the many towers give it a look that you would only normally see on TV or in Vegas. It's open to visitors and shouldn't be missed.

So, there are over 3,000 castles in Scotland of various styles, ages and uses. They are all worth a visit, so choose carefully which ones you really wish to see. I would talk more about them, but it would take years for me to research them all. I would have to learn as much about Scotland as I know about Russia.

I do have some advice. As always, check the Department of State for any problems, restrictions, or covid issues with visiting the country. Know before you go. You also might want to take a tour, since there is so much to see. If you want to take a tour, choose carefully. I recommend with this country to take a tour provided by a British company. I don't think that foreign companies will do this one justice. Try and find something more local.

And this brings me to the other part of the story. The Whiskey business and its distilleries in Scotland. There are over 300 Whiskey distilleries in Scotland. Speyside is the region with the most whiskey to try. Over half the distilleries in the country are found in that region. Also in the Highland Region, Lowland Region, Islay Region and and Campbeltown Region. They all have tasting rooms. You can tour most of them. Most of them have open hours. You can check several sites that will help you find them and decide which ones to visit. They date back hundred of years, and it is the one and only place that you can try the real deal of Scotch Whiskey.

Whiskey is as big a part of who the Scottish people are as kilts and woolens. It's part of their history, and families can be profoundly loyal to their particular brand of Scotch Whiskey. It's a cultural journey to go and investigate the history of whiskey.

That being said, why did I combine these two things in this blog? Simple. Because I believe that taking a tour for either one of these things is wise. Taking a tour of castles gives you information. Your guides will know all the things that you want to learn and made you come to Scotland in the first place. As far as whiskey goes, just like wine in Napa Valley, you should have a driver. By taking a tour, you can visit several distilleries and not have to drive. It's wise.

The best part about castles and whiskey is that they come together. A lot of companies will offer whiskey and castle tours. That's why I brought them both up. When you book a tour, and I don't mean with a foreign company or to take a cruise, you can do both things and have a great time. You won't have to figure out your itinerary, or worry about renting a car or finding your way around the countryside of Scotland. With the proper tour, and there are many, you can visit castles, stay in castles, taste whiskeys and see how whiskeys are made. You will also get to enjoy meeting a lot of locals that way and have a chance to check out the scenery along the way. It's the best of everything, and you don't have to do all the work.

So, if you ever wanted to see castles, Scotland is your Mecca. There are so many to see. I recommend buying a book on Amazon that's written by a British Author that tells you all about the castles. There are several to choose from. I recommend that you talk to a tour company that hails from Britain or specializes in Britain only. I recommend that you talk to your tour company about times of year and locations to visit. There are a lot of options, and you may want to pick a summer month in order to visit while there is a highland festival or other festival going on.

All that being said, Scotland is one of the most mystical countries in Europe. Castles are something that should be experienced. Whiskey is a national drink that has an amazing process and hundreds of different flavors. So, take your time and choose the right trip for you. Don't try to do it alone if you've never been to Scotland. Take a tour. Pick the right one and enjoy!

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