Never Again: From Berlin to Auschwitz

After a few days in Berlin, we plan to travel to Krakow, a city that flourished in the 12th century and has a rich history of being the ancient capital of Poland.

Destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century, Krakow was rebuilt with a near-perfect grid plan and was left virtually unscathed by World War II, an amazing feat since it is only a one-hour bus ride to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Less than 10% of Krakow's Jewish population survived the Holocaust, and the city is rife with the history of the atrocities committed at the concentration camps. Over 4,000 people were gassed and cremated every day at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and today the camps stand as a reminder to the world of the atrocities that were committed. Free for visitors, Auschwitz is now more of a museum, paying homage to those lost with displays of hair, shoes, and other belongings taken from those interned.

Traveling to Krakow is less about the city and more about the day we'll spend at Auschwitz. This is the part of the trip right now that I'm looking forward to the most. The nature of my studies have led me to study genocide and its history, and especially with the controversy surrounding the Armenian genocide right now, I think making the trip to Poland, despite it being slightly out of our way, will be beneficial for us both.

I'm told that visiting Auschwitz is a profound experience, and I expect it to be. I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

I decided to devote my life to telling the story because I felt that having survived I owe something to the dead, and anyone who does not remember betrays them again.
- Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner

Going green?

How could one even fathom traveling "green"? It seems like a daunting task that is going to cost far too much money and take more energy than it's worth. However, it's been proven that this is a misconception, that although jet-setting can be detrimental to the globe, there are small things that everyone can do to make their travel footprint a little lighter.

When I think long and hard about it, maybe going green is the way to... go?

One billion people around the world travel every year, meaning everyone needs to watch out for the effects this type of global movement can have on the environments we're visiting. Increase in globalization has led to an interconnectedness unlike anything the world has experienced, but often this means a loss of respect for the impacts of unrestricted travel.

The potential negative effects of tourism are both local and global; oceanfront hotels contribute to beach erosion in Hawaii, rising numbers of visitors threaten the fragile ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands, and carbon dioxide emissions from planes are a growing contributor to global warming. - MSNBC

Go Green Travel Green says that traveling green is more cost-effective (good for us since we're on a students' budget). Their "15 reasons to travel green" was however, not very compelling. Reason #2 was "It's good for your children, and your children's children" - not really something high on my priority list, I have to say. Although "You'll lose weight", reason #9, was sadly more compelling.

I hate to say I'd rather go cheap than go green, but let's be honest here - the majority travel with their ecological footprint only in the back of their mind as a small voice reminding them to take a shorter shower. But I think I've resolved myself to attempting to be as environmentally friendly as I can while I'm traveling. While in South Africa, I worked alongside wildlife projects, which gave me a good sense of what I should and shouldn't be doing as a visitor abroad.

Backpacking is going to be a different story. With a wide array of places on our list to visit, we will try to take more environmentally sustainable methods of travel, like train instead of bus or plane, since USA Today reports that a flight from New York to Denver produces as much carbon dioxide per passenger as an SUV produces in a month, a train seems like a healthier solution for the planet.

With some quick Internet searches, it's easy to come up with a list of easily attainable goals for traveling, and I hope to keep the following things in mind.

Goals to travel green

- ask hostel staff not to change towels or sheets every day

- use public transportation in destination cities

- bring your own toiletries

- when hiking, always stay on marked trails

- when snorkeling, avoid touching sea life

- buy local

- carry your own reusable container for drinking

- visit a local park, waterfront, aquarium or museum

- rent a bike, sailboat, canoe or kayak to explore

- travel light

Berlin: History meets modernity

As a political science major, I have always been enchanted by the fall of the Berlin wall and the Soviet Union, which is why Eric and I have decided to take our travels east from Amsterdam to the German city of Berlin.

Berlin has had a history of occupation and reform, including the 1806 Napoleon occupation which lasted three years but also introduced a self-governing, early form of democracy to the city.

The sometimes tumultuous monarchy in Germany was abolished in 1918 with the end of the First World War, which was followed by a period of relative prosperity throughout the 'golden' twenties until the US stock market crash of 1929. There are many historical locations which reflect Germany's monarchy and its legacy.

The cite of many historical events, such as Napolean's entrance in Berlin and the celebratory procession after the rise of Hitler in 1933. In May of 1945 Berlin fell to the Soviets after on April 30th, after being encircled, Hitler killed himself and Eva Braun, his mistress.

Berlin has suffered the brunt of many of the bombings during WWII, with more than half of all buildings and one-third of industry destroyed or damaged. At least 125, 000 Berliners had lost their lives and around one million women and children had been evacuated.

Second World War history is where Eric's interests lie, whereas mine revolve generally around the Berlin Wall, which we expect to visit. Other interesting destinations in Berlin include the Berlin Zoo, the Brandenburg Gate, and the numerous town squares in both east and west Berlin.

We have been warned by a German friend of mine to stick to the tourist parts of Berlin, though I didn't envision us straying from the beaten track while there.

Rick Steves claims that Berliners joke they don't need to go anywhere because their city is always changing, and we hope to catch a snapshot of this year's Berlin.

Facts about Berlin

• The earliest evidence of settlements in today's Berlin central areas is a wooden beam dated from approximately 1192.
• Sixty percent of Berlin residents have no registered religious affiliation.
• The Teufelsberg (Devil's Mountain) is an artificial hill in former West Berlin. It rises about 80 meters above the surrounding Brandenburg plain built by the Allies after WWII from the rubble of Berlin during the following twenty years as the city was rebuilt.

From the Past

Thought you all might enjoy some old pictures!!

-A

(from left) Myself, Eric, Danielle and Jose

in Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Sept. 2008

China, Nov. 2005

Memories Resurface

OK, so I'm struggling a bit with not returning to South Africa this year, and I'll admit it.

Eric is getting upset that every day I seem to turn to him and question: "So, you wanna just go to Africa instead?"

I rarely get an answer any more. Just a glare. In recent days a promise of "next trip" has become commonplace, which gives me some peace of mind, but I still find myself pining over not going back this year.

For the past two years, February has marked the time where I would be preparing for leaving, getting shots or even booking flights. This year, I'm left with an empty void once filled with plans of volunteering on development programs with African Impact.

A few weeks ago, when images of relief work in Haiti flashed across the TV screen, Eric and I debated going to do relief work. We both speak fluent French and I've worked on development projects before, and I've been to Haiti.

Despite this, neither of us could find an organization where we were assured we would really be making an impact, instead of taking a space that could have been taken by a doctor or nurse, or even someone simply more valuable than the two of us.

So I think I've come to terms with not returning to my aid work on the continent. There's always next year, and maybe I'll have someone accompanying me on that trip, too.

-A

It Begins...Again?

Today, we finally booked our flights. There's no turning back now.

Leaving on May 1, we'll arrive in Amsterdam for the day on May 2 before moving on to Berlin. The rest of our trip has been tentatively laid out, but I figured I'd let the path we'll take unfold as I complete blog posts. I'll give you a hint that a few of the countries listed in previous blog posts will not appear on our route, but a few extras will!

And so the planning begins, for real this time. With time seemingly running out, Eric and I have started flipping through the many travel books given to us over the Christmas break. But with searching and applying for jobs over the past month, it seems that our travel plans have gotten away from us and today was a big slap in the face.

We're predominantly using Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring book - which is by far the best guide to traveling Europe on a budget that I've ever seen. Even their website is so navigable and helpful, it's making a daunting task seem manageable.

As is expected, we do have some problems with planning (and most of them stem from me). I like being in control, and having more experience I often feel like I need to control the planning, forgetting that Eric is just as capable as I am (he's going to love reading this).

Otherwise, planning is going well, so stay tuned for our first destination, Berlin, and what we plan on doing there!

-A

Planning the Holidays Away

It’s hard to plan a trip so far in advance, especially one that takes up almost two months of your life.

We have made the decision not to travel to London, seeing as it is so expensive there and in the interest of saving money we will probably just travel through Heathrow Airport.

We’ve been buying and borrowing books and we’ve found it’s really hard to know just where to start when planning a trip that has so much scope and is full of so many opportunities.

Some people have said not to plan, which I think is crazy. I’d like to have an element of excitement and spontaneity, but every book I’ve read has said the best way to be economical is to plan.

So we’ve begun the long process of doing so. Once we had decided this was exactly what we wanted to do, and decided we weren’t going to kill each other along the way, and had our practice run of horror outtripping in Algonquin Park, the next step was planning.

And with Christmas coming up, more and more people are asking Eric and I what we want that will help ease or travels when we leave for Europe in May.

We have gotten plenty of suggestions from so many friends and family members about where to stay and what to do while we’re overseas. And despite my constant pleading to reroute our trip to Africa, which Eric isn’t buying, things are starting to come together.

But every once in a while I get in a panic. I have documents on my computer dedicated to questions I need answers to – should we bring sleeping bags? Pack more than two pairs of jeans? Should we both bring MEC packs? Eric asked me yesterday how he will shave. Maybe these are stupid questions?

But every one needs an answer and we’re running out of time to get them.

Despite some setbacks and mix-ups, we’ve decided (after much debate) on which countries we are most likely going to visit:

· Romania (Transylvania)

· Hungary (Budapest)

· Czech Republic (Prague)

· Germany

· France (Paris and maybe Lyon)

· Italy (Venice, Rome)

· The Netherlands (Amsterdam)

· Belgium

· Switzerland

· Austria

· Greece

· Turkey

· Croatia

Obviously this is just a guideline, and some of these countries we are visiting only by the ship during the cruise we’re taking of the Mediterranean.

So our planning continues. Formulating this list was probably the easy part.

However, with some people’s help we have been able to come up with a few places we are planning to stay, including this boutique hotel in Budapest courtesy of Paula. We’ve also been able to find some activities like cycling along the Danube and visiting castles in Transylvania that seem to peak our interest.

We’re also thinking of tentatively travelling to Ireland if we can find a cheap flight to stay with my family there.

The next few weeks of the winter break will be optimal time for planning and hopefully we can decide on a route to take. As you can see from the map, we already have a tentative plan of what kind of path we plan on taking from city to city, but this is constantly changing.

They’re going to be a long few weeks…

Until Next Time

-A