POLAND 28 September – 30 September 2011 (Oswiecim)

Dzien Dobry!

We were four of the 1.3 million yearly visitors to the Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camp Museum’s. This is the location of history’s most extensive experiment in genocide. We came here to learn about this infamous Nazi camp’s history and pay our respects to the dead. We were led on the tour by a Polish woman whose family had perished in similar camps and who even interviewed some of the survivors from the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps. We were lead through barbed wire and into several brick barracks, originally used for the containment and punishment of jews, gypsys, political prisioners and criminals, now used as a museum to document the story of this camp. We passed photos, documents, personal effects and all that was left of what the Germans did not have time to destroy before liberation.

We learnt a lot about how victims were tricked into coming to these places, some dying within an hour of arriving at the camp and others having to work 11 hours a day with very little food and near no sanitation. We were also shocked to find out that the Nazi’s had also set up factories to support these camps. They would strip their victims of all possessions, including coins, jewellery, clothing, shoes, they would even shave their heads and pull out their gold teeth. The gold items would then be smelted and sold or used for the ‘war effort’ and the hair would be sold to be used in carpets and other linens. These are only just some of the atrocious things that we learnt about and that will be seared into our minds forever. It was a terrifying but eye-opening experience for all of us.

Children on the walk to the death with no idea what's coming :(

Boot Polish from the victims luggage. Their were lured into the idea that they would be needing their best clothes for job interviews.

One of the cemetorium's at Auschwitz, it was terrible to be in here.

The lavatory - 400 people had 5 seconds to do their business and then the next 400 would sit down. They were allowed this 'privilege' twice a day.

One of the original train carriages..

The memorial with a tiny portion of the victims ashes

The gas chambers and cremetorium, destroyed by the germans before liberation.
EJnRHE xx

CZECH REPUBLIC 26 September – 28 September 2011 (Prague)

Hey!!

We drove through Czech Republic and had a look around Prague. Prague was a beautiful city, albeit very smoggy when we were there. We watched the changing of the guards at Prague Castle and had a stroll around the shops and gardens. We are now heading into Poland to see the Auschwitz and Birkenau Museums.

 Changing of the Guards

EJnRHE xx

GERMANY 22 September – 26 September 2011 (Munich)

PROST!!

Beerfest Time!!  Unfortunately, we did not get much of a chance to see Munich itself, but boy was the beer cold and the people were wonderful J

We embarked on our 4 day Oktoberfest experience wide eyed and woolly tailed, not surprisingly, I cannot say we ended it in the same way lol! We spent the 4 days enjoying the golden ale, the high spirits and the rowdiness that is Oktoberfest. We visited the Hacker, Paulander and Schotten Hammel tents and beer gardens, went on rollercoasters (not overly advisable, but fun all the same) and ate delicious Bavarian meals! We met a lot of new friends and had a ball with them all. EJ managed to swindle a pair of Lederhosen off one of Kiwi guys we made friends with (he was leaving the day we got there) and we will have to return them with we get back to London lol! They didn’t smell the best after being worn for 7 days straight haha! We had a fantastic time and can’t wait to come back and see more of Munich!!

 Paulanader Tent

 Lederhosen!! Sexy Beast

 Prost!

 Lifting six (four empties though haha)

 Linda and Sean :)

 Pork Knuckle Time with Joel!

 The crowd - Joel, Sean, Tom, Shannon :)

 Evan, Bec, Linda and EJ before the rollercoaster lol!

 Log Ride at Oktoberfest :)

 Delicious!

 Inside the Schotten Hammel Tent

 Weiner-Gingerbread anyone?

 Cathedral in Munich

 Sean and Tommo!

Joel, Kate and Sean

Prost!
EJnRHE xx

AUSTRIA 18 September – 22 September 2011 (Kitzbuhel, St Johann, Salzburg)

Hallo!

We left Innsbruck and drove to Kitzbuhel, a quaint ski town and had a look around. It was freezing and very wet here but it was nice to look around all the same. We drove up the Thurn mountain pass and found a car park on the top to stay the night J The four of us spent the night playing cards and watching movies huddled in the van and then went to bed (freezing), only to wake up at about 2am to a loud thud on the van. We looked out and we saw white, fresh snow everywhere, no wonder it was cold! We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was snowing fairly hard and the snow was already half way up the tyres haha! We went back to sleep and awoke to a winter wonderland (mind you, this was strange even for Austria in Autumn). We had a play in the snow and tried to go back down the mountain the opposite way we came. It was way too slippery here so we had to go back up to the top lol.. Also note, we are not out of water and gas, so definitely not keen on staying another night trapped here! We waited it out for about an hour to see if the snow would start to melt or let up but it was set in! We followed the plough truck back down to Kitzbuhel (VERY slowly). We had a lovely traditional Austrian meal at a toasty warm restaurant while the snow got heavier outside.

We drove to St Johann, after getting some advice that it is a much cheaper town haha, we stayed at a campsite here, which was lovely, albeit freezing.. They had a massive barn where they had moved all of their cows when it started snowing as well. We stocked up with a much needed new furry blanket and some pillows and we are now very cozy and warm in the van lol (sometimes we just let the fireplace/gas cook top warm us up for a little bit).

We arrived in Salzburg, still cold, and set off on foot to explore the city. We took the cable train up to the big castle and had an audio guided tour; showing us the bell towers, torture chambers, organ room and the various museums, where plenty of old war artifacts were kept.  We spent the night in a car park then got up early to head to the festival that was starting that day.We went to the catacombs near the old cemetary, which was good to see, but nothing compared to the others we have visited. We got to the city centre and walked through all of the markets; cheese, weiners, pastries and flowers everywhere! We settled down in the sunny section of the beer tent area and started our steins! We had a few beers and some pork meat, sauerkraut and mustard buns (delicious) and then went  and looked around the shops and bought some yummy cheese. We headed back to the vans and had some more to drink and played cards J

Kitzbuhel town centre

 Chinese Laundry (nothing would dry because of the weather haha)

 Snow Storm!

 Heading back down the mountain

 Following the tracks of a plough truck and a semi..

 Lunch in Kitzbuhel, trying to defrost lol!

 View from the castle in Salzburg

 Massive pretzels, yummo

 Salzburg's biggest festival (first proper steins!)

 Thurn mountain pass

 White out

 Salzburg

View from Festung Hohensalzburg (Castle)

Catacombs and Cemetary
Until next time..
EJnRHE xx

AUSTRIA 17 September – 18 September 2011 (Innsbruck)

Gruss Got!

After winding through the mountains and stumbling across a seemingly male nudist beach (much to EJ’s dissapointment) we crossed the border into Austria! We are really in love with the countryside here and Rhe loves all of the colourful flowers they have on their balconies and along the streets  J We drove into Innsbruck, which lies in the valley of the River Inn, scenically squeezed between  the northern chains of the Alps and the Tuxer Mountain Range to the south. We discovered the authentic medieval old town with its cobbled streets and narrow alleyways, packed with expensive boutiques. This part showcased the ‘Golden Roof’ that Emperor Maximilian I had built in the 16^th century to show his wealth. After a cold and very wet ride back to the vans we cooked up some Knatwurst (we are now addicted) and settled in for the night. We had to move the van to another carpark soon after as we realised that all the drunks that were hanging around the van were coming from the nightclub next door!! The joys of free-camping J

Town just before Innsbruck

Cow with a bell :) So cute!

 Main street in Innsbruck

 Maria Theresa Triumphant Arch

 River near Innsbruck (Nude Beach)

 Innsbruck (Golden Roof on the right)

Mountain Pass