Tag Archives: poland

Escape Impossible – My Auschwitz Experience

I know the history. I have seen Schindler’s List. When I was a girl, I visited Dachau. None of that prepared me for visiting Auschwitz. Being there felt like all of the historical tragedies of the past few hundred years were smothering me. There isn’t much left of the camp, but what remains sucked the oxygen from the air and from my lungs. I searched for open space, an escape, a moment to catch my breath, but it was impossible. Everywhere I looked, I was bound by brick, barbed wire, or electrified fences. Escape would not have been possible.

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Krakow – Tasting my Polish heritage

Krakow doesn’t show up as a common destination for Americans, but I wanted to go.  My mother’s side of the family is Polish and live in the large Polish community in South Chicago. I grew up learning about that heritage through the foods that my mother and grandmother cooked, holiday traditions, and family visits to Chicago in the summertime.  Neeley and I wanted to fit a trip into Poland after Prague, so off we went to Krakow.

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