Thoughts from Krakow, a tough one.

It has taken me a while to write this and in a way I think I've been avoiding it.

First off, Bratislava was stunning, though one day is definitely not enough time to make a true judgement. We went to the national museum and it was a hilarious hodgepodge of random. It said in the guidebook we had that the museum highlighted the history of Slovakia in a very dry way...well apparently since that book was written they tore out all the old stuff and replaced it with rocks (minerals), taxidermied animals and trinkets depicting young children within the country. Nonetheless it was a lot of fun to explore and we had a good time.

We arrived in Krakow quite early in the morning after a long, and eventful, overnight train ride. We got a bit of a mix up on the directions to our hostel and it ended up taking us about 2 hours to find it, needless to say we were all exhausted. We were located very close to market square which was so beautiful and had a lot of really neat things to see from street performers to shops. We spent the first day getting a bit of rest and taking in some of the sites.

Friday arrived and we had all decided we were going to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Both concentration camps that were active during WWII. I spent many years reading about these places and the people in them, it was surreal to think that I would be entering those grounds on that beautiful sunny day. Auschwitz was set up like a museum, full of information and had been restored in some ways. There was one moment I had where tears came to my eyes; walking through a room filled with shoes. It's impossible to even try to explain the enormity of the room or the amount of shoes, but all I can say is that standing there walking through I knew these were real, tangible and they belonged to people. Another was walking through the crematorium, we were asked to walk through in complete silents, and I shed a tear for those who had died there and had never been recovered. The most odd thing is that is all looks so normal, Auschwitz was originally built to house "political prisoners", but was transformed into a camp later on.

We got into our tour bus and made our way to Birkenau, which was much harder to see. The land goes farther than ones eye can see. It was closed in by barbed wire, and there we saw the train tracks were many Jews, Gypsies and others were transported by cattle truck to the camps. We entered the "dorms" and saw the bunks, they were so tiny and said to have held up to 6 people on one bunk. Our tour guide explained that in the winter it was so cold they would burn the planks under their bunks for heat, but that often also meant that the bunks would collapse. Birkenau is in ruins in a lot of ways, the gas chambers no longer stand (because of the bombs that were dropped by the Germans to try and hide the Holocaust) and there is now a memorial near its place. Our tour guide was a native of Poland and a wonderful man who had passion in his eyes and sorrow in his heart. As we stood on the tracks he told us we would take a walk down to where the gas chambers once stood and said to us "please remember that you get to return to your cars after this, but for many this was their final walk. They had been stripped of their belongs and their families, you get to go back, they did not." It was the hardest part for me personally. I walked alongside those railroad tracks and I cried because it just hit me so hard that this was the same walk so many others had made in order to be murdered. It is still tough to think about now and that is probably why I have been avoiding this post. There is no absolute way for me to express the "bigger than you" feeling you get as you walk down that path.

I could say so much more about Krakow like about the amazing Georgian food I had tried, or walking through the Jewish quarter, but it seems fair to say that I should write about what moved me most. Looking back, I want to remember that moment always, and remember the feeling of appreciating life and family and every belong I own even if it is just a pair of shoes. I am blessed in so many ways, and from the experience I have taken from it a whole new humbleness. I hope this hasn't been too sad or unpleasant to read, but if you ever get a chance to visit a place like Auschwitz-Birkenau you should go. The experience is worth a more than I could ever express in words.

Until next time,

Jeg elsker du

Meghan

Hungary; an overview

Arriving in Hungary was beautiful. The weather was sunny and much warmer than I had become accustom to in Copenhagen. The most noticeable difference was the lack of wind, and trust me, it was a welcome change! We spent the morning finding the apartment we were staying. It was in a beautiful location and equipped for all seven of us.

The first major thing we did was head to the National Museum of Hungary, which gave me an overview of Hungarian history. It started in with the history of the people of the Hungarian lands from 400.000 BC to 804 AD and all the way up to modern times. There was some beautiful clothing and a great display on the communist and socialist era. The museum was a housed in a beautiful building with columns (seen below).

We found a café that we fell in love with. “Drum Café” was a small hole in the wall we found a couple blocks from where we were staying. It was cheap, fresh and Hungarian. They served up Langosh (fried bread with any topping you’d like), Goulash (tomato based soup) and lots of paprika filled goodness. We returned three times during our stay and were never disappointed.

Wine at Drum :)

One morning, we headed over to the baths for a relaxing soak. The building was stunning and, though I was surrounded by elderly Hungarians, I still enjoyed the view and the heat from the tubs.

The Terror House was one of the most remarkable and well put together museums I have ever encountered. Having survived two terror regimes (communism and fascism), this Hungarian museum highlights how difficult it was to survive during those times. In its 4 floors, the museum takes you on a first hand look at what was happening. The layout is beautiful and takes you on a journey through time. With the perfect mix of videos, audio and props, this museum is one that should not be missed if you are ever in Hungary. It took about 3 hours to get through and I learned an enormous amount. I don’t have any pictures of the museum and walking up to it you aren’t really sure if you are at the right place. There were guards at the door and in the hall that you enter there is a large marble memorial. What is truly remarkable is that the building was one that was actually used to detain, torture and kill individuals during both reigns. Since 2002 it has housed the museum and a large memorial in both the main floor and the basement.

Finally, I want to touch on Buda. Buda was absolutely stunning. We made our way down there for the afternoon and found ourselves atop Castle Hill enjoying the most magnificent view. It let us see the entire city and I literally had one of those moments where you need to step back and take a second with yourself to reflect on it (trust me, I had many of those during the week).

Hugeee. Also, really steep hill to get to and lots of stairs haha

I hope you enjoyed my post on Budapest, I’ll be posting part 2 about Bratislava and Krakow within the next couple days.

Jeg elsker du,

Meghan

Rickety and damn reliable.

Sunday, as I picked up my things to head out the door (and went back twice for forgetting things...typical) I reflected on how much of the world I was about to embark on seeing. I've been all over Canada, but Europe is unchartered territory for me. Waiting to go on this trip was bittersweet; it was the first time I would be backpacking in Europe and that was an amazing feeling in itself.

The flight to Budapest took about 3 hours and was enjoyable, we chatted and I fell asleep waking up to the sunshine of Budapest's beauty. The public transit consists of metro, bus and tram cars. The metro was unlike anything I had seen, old, rickety and damn reliable. It ran very frequently and was usually always packed full. We had rented an apartment for the nights in Budapest, which was actually quite affordable and wonderful to have our own space, though I am enjoying hostel life as well.

The city itself was amazing. Buda and Pest are divided by the river and we were on the Pest side. The buildings were all ornate and wonderfully preserved. They had a charm all their own and the atmosphere screamed comfort and confidence...it was different than Copenhagen, and I needed that.

I'm still on my trip now, so I'll leave this one short. I look forward to writing about the Terror House, which was by far one of the BEST organized and presented museums I have ever run into. Until Sunday, write soon. Ask any questions you may have :)

Jeg elsker du,

Meghan

View from Buda Castle (the massive building you see across the river is Parliament)

National Identity

How one defines their national identity is widely based not only on the people, but several other factors like history, status, language and even economic issues.

Over the passed couple weeks here, I've realized how national identity manifests itself in different ways. Ask a Canadian how they might define their national identity and one might answer "I'm not sure". I think the reason that occurs is because we have a hard time seeing the differences between our own country and others that surround us (like America). We are quick to dismiss and assure others that we are nothing like Americans, however, we share many things (language, trade, land etc). What makes us unique? Our free health care or our education system? If these are the only things, it makes me wonder how we ever defined ourselves. I am not suggesting that it is a bad things, I merely found myself wondering about the phenomenon of national identity because here in Denmark it exists in a big way.

Denmark possess its own language, which is not spoken virtually anywhere else (with exception of some of the Nordic/Scandinavian countries). More than that, it has a rich culture and history that the Danes are aware of and continue to pass down from generation to generation. Sure, I took Canadian history in school, but the amount of pride that the Danes take in their history is astounding. Moreover, they are currently fighting to keep their own currency versus taking the Euro. In a country with a little over 5 million people they have done a remarkable job of making sure everyone around knows how proud they are. If you had never heard much about Denmark (much like I had not before I left), it is worth your time to know that these are proud people. They create a national identity that I have yet to see anywhere else. I don't want to argue about what is better or worse (because I haven't even an idea), but it is different and interesting to see.

I posted this video on Facebook, but since everyone so far has seemed to enjoy it so much, I thought I would put it up here as well.

I wanted to make something ridiculous for the Improv troupe I am a part of back home. It's something that we would all do together normally, but since I'm so far, I went solo on this one. Shout out to Margaret for filming and taking all the pictures. She helped me out even though she was mortified :).

Here it is, enjoy!

shorttt

AH!

It's been a week since I posted, sorry about the lack of post. This week has been very uneventful, just started school. I'm taking a Shakespearean lit course and a ancient textile course. Also have a Danish culture course, but it doesn't start for another 2 weeks.

I've been searching for a bike, but no luck so far. Hopefully I'll find something within the next week. I'll be post a vlog soon hopefully, but I just thought I would stop by and say HEJ!

Jeg elsker du and I hope you are all well :)

Meghan

Towers, food and Sweden

Hej!

I realize I'm a little late for a weekend update, but it's more of a last week update. My friend Heather came from Canada, she is studying in Aarhus but stopped by for a week visit. We explored more of Copenhagen and ended up going to Malmo (Sweden) on Saturday.

I had passed Rundetarn many times while walking downtown but never thought to go in. I had wanted to wait for a nicer day so that I could actually see the city, and not just fog. Rundetarn is a tower which overlooks all of Copenhagen. Because Copenhagen is so flat it means that the tower gives you an extraordinary view of the city. Heather and I decided, since the weather was stunning that day, to make our way to the tower and take a look. We ended up staying up there for about 40 minutes.

Notably, the tower also has a church in it and houses galleries and exhibits. When we arrived the exhibit being shown was Hungry Planet. Hungry Planet is a incredible display of pictures depicting the ways in which families eat all over the world (including the price of food per week and other prevalent information). Peter Menzel is the photographer responsible for the display (more info at http://www.hungryplanet.dk/ - it is in Danish, though I believe you are able to use Google Translate).

On Saturday Heather and I hoped on a train to Malmo. The ride takes about a half-hour and is quite calming. Once we arrived we ran into our first pay toilets at the train station. Needless to say we willingly paid.

We made our way toward the Malmohus Castle, which has been converted to house an aquarium, art galleries and a lot (seriously there was so many) taxidermied animals. Heather is by far one of the jumpiest people I know and we ended up giggling at the ridiculousness of being terrified by a stuffed harmless creatures. Unfortunately, we couldn't understand some of the displays because everything was in Swedish and Danish.

The rest of our day was spent walking around, shopping (it is great there) and eating some pretty awesome food. We even sat outside one of the restaurants and enjoyed the heaters and complimentary blankets instead of sitting inside. A good day all in all.

Elsker,

Meghan

Malmo lit up at night