 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Anyone visited Auschwitz, Chemno or Dachau ?? |
 
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| Tarrel Member Since: 21 Sep 2012 Location: Ross-shire, Scotland Posts: 94   
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It's a bit out on a limb, but you might want to visit Majdanek, near Lublin. Will probably be less busy. The memorial with the piles of skulls will blow your mind. Agree about visiting Auschwicz out of season. I visited both before the iron curtain came down. Auschwicz (Oswiencim in Polish) was practically deserted, and the atmosphere was eerie. No birdsong, even though it's in the middle of a woodland.
Last time we were at Auschwicz was 2004. I looked after my youngster so my wife could take the older two in (they don't allow under-13's). There were quite a lot of parking scams going on. Don't know if this is still the case, but be careful if driving. p.s. my uncle was in there during the war. He survived, thank goodness. Sad to hear the stories about how it's become so touristy. Kind of counter-productive, as well as disrespectful. 2012 Defender Utility Wagon 1981 SIII 88 inch SW Follow our blog: www.newlifeinnorthernscotland.blogspot.co.uk |
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12th Aug 2013 9:03pm |
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| smb Member Since: 15 Jan 2013 Location: Cheshire Posts: 1232  
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That's interesting. I hadnt heard of Majdanek. What sort of parking scams are there?
Cheers Steve |
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12th Aug 2013 9:11pm |
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| Tarrel Member Since: 21 Sep 2012 Location: Ross-shire, Scotland Posts: 94
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http://www.majdanek.eu/articles.php?aid=679&mref=65
The sort of scam I experienced at Auschwicz was the usual dodgy-looking characters offering to "guard" your car for a fee in the open, public car park. Obviously, one wonders what happens if you don't pay to have your car "guarded". Fortunately I was dropping off, so it wasn't an issue. You get the same thing in some parts of Africa. HTH 2012 Defender Utility Wagon 1981 SIII 88 inch SW Follow our blog: www.newlifeinnorthernscotland.blogspot.co.uk |
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12th Aug 2013 9:18pm |
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| Tarrel Member Since: 21 Sep 2012 Location: Ross-shire, Scotland Posts: 94
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There's loads to see in the area itself. The Tatra mountains and Czech and Slovak borders are a fairly short drive south. So, you have a choice; sprint there and back (relatively speaking  ) and spend the time down there, or amble there and back.
If ambling, you might want to consider going through the Czech Republic. Prague is definitely worth a visit, and there's a terrific campsite called TrioCamp north of the city where you can lay the defender up safely and take a short bus ride into the centre. TrioCamp has space for tents and caravans and also lodges for rent. We crossed into Poland near Ostrava. Auschwicz is mid-way between Katowice and Krakow on the Polish side of the border. Frydek-Mistek, south of Ostrava on the Czech side, is surrounded by lovely wooded hill country, and also has a nice campsite. On the way back, once we entered Germany from Czech, we took a more northerly route, heading up through Dresden and Leipzig (the latter a beautiful medieval town), and through the Ruhrgebiet - a chance to see the German industrial machine in full action! If you want something a bit more scenic, take a more southerly route through Frankfurt and up to Koln. My nieces live not far from Katowice and we drove over in 2005 to pick them up and bring them back to UK for a holiday. It's easily do-able in two weeks, with time to see stuff en-route. (Although we were in a Disco 2). Do ask if there's anything more specific you want to know - I'll see if I can remember! 2012 Defender Utility Wagon 1981 SIII 88 inch SW Follow our blog: www.newlifeinnorthernscotland.blogspot.co.uk |
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12th Aug 2013 9:36pm |
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| salesman Member Since: 01 Sep 2014 Location: The Yorkshire Dales God's Country Posts: 72 
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I would recommend dachau, been twice leading two tour groups of 30 folk.
very moving, and the audio guide is worth renting. both times we visited mid-week in summer, and came across groups of german school kids on trips. like others have said they went in giggling and fooling about. but after their organised visit they were very quiet and certainly touched by the place. some were even crying I asked one of the teachers has to why, and was informed that they are dressed in rags and visit a hut which is set up like it was during the war. sights, sounds, smells, the works. during their time in the hut, they lay on wooden bunks, stacked to the ceiling with no room to move. it appears this is part of their history education before you ask, the education centre is only open to German school children 14/16 years. There is a Mcdonalds directly across the road from Dachau although its always busy, its the quietest Mcdonalds I have even visited where school kids are regards Barry newbie member. |
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24th Sep 2014 12:45pm |
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| 216lcg Member Since: 11 Oct 2012 Location: London Posts: 50 
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I went to Buchenwald about 10 years ago. I stayed in the Elephant hotel in Weimar - the hotel has been there for many many years. It was a weird experience. It was about July and the temperature that summer really was oppressive. I was a little nervous about my planned trip to Buchenwald the next morning and over did it a little with the superb dinner,wine and cognac offered by the hotel. I was sat on the terrace at the back of the hotel after dinner enjoying a little more to drink and through my hazy mind contemplating the next day. It must have been about 1am . All was quiet. Still incredibly hot. From some distance i heard the sound of an old fashioned air raid siren. In the 70's in the small town in England where I lived they used a similar arrangement to summon part time firemen for an emergency. I can only imagine it was a similar arrangement in what had been east Germany. With the old hotel (that probably had hardly changed since some German generals had stayed there), the excessive heat, excessive alcohol and the siren, together with the prospect of my imminent visit to Buchenwald it made for a surreal and eirie experience. When I got to bed (slightly the worse for wear)I couldn't sleep thinking about the whole thing. The next morning I was feeling delicate. Funnily feeling like that actually added to the experience of visiting the site. I hated being there. Never wanted to visit another and felt terrible. 10 years later I would go back. Or visit another. It is important to remember the past to ensure these things are not repeated in the future. But of course it never works that way.
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25th Sep 2014 10:12am |
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