Oh you guys, it is so dang beautiful in Budapest -- I am just loving it here. Today we walked all over the place (and I mean ALL over), and because it's Sunday a lot of shops were closed down, but it was nice because the city was quiet and the weather was gorgeous, and we had so many laughs. I know I've been going on and on about this trip and how lovely everyplace is, but I haven't really explained how lucky I am to have such an amazing travel partner. We compliment each other very well: I'm good with directions, he's better at math (currency conversion). And the jokes! Man, we crack each other up. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but we're making this trip as part of our wedding anniversary gift to one another -- next month it will be thirteen years. Yup. That's a long time, but not if you choose your spouse as wisely as I did.Anyway, enough of the sappy stuff. We took in the sights (the photo above is of Parliament shot from the Chain Bridge over the Danube). We also had lots of great coffee today and an *amazing* dinner. I ordered beef soup, and it came out as a shallow bowl filled with roasted carrots, parsnips, potatoes and a steak. Then the waiter presents this fancy tea kettle and pours homemade beef broth over the dish and leaves the kettle full of broth on the table to just keep refilling. It was so damn tasty. Jamie had something called "Chicken in a potato jacket." That meant it was chicken tenders dipped in shredded hasbrowns and fried in a batter with large dollops of sour cream and shreded cheese on top. OH MAN IT WAS SO GOOD. I just had a bite or two (or three or four), and it was so tasty.Anyway, I haven't been photographing the food much because we've only been eating about one big meal a day (dinner) and I'm just not shooting much after dark. I'll try to be better about that.To see more photos from today, they are up over here. And yes. Today is the day you get to see ME in a few.

This morning we got up early and set out for some souvenir shopping. I really loved Krakow -- it was surprisingly charming with finds around every corner. But alas, around 1 pm we began our trek to the bus station. We got there early, so we went next door to explore... the shopping mall. Oh my, it was like walking back into America. OMD was playing over the loudspeakers and there was even a Claire's (and a McDonald's, Starbucks and Burger King). We found a deli and got some fruit, nuts and meat for the bus trip, and then we were off!The bus ride was long, but gorgeous, and we arrived in Budapest around 10 pm, found the subway, figured out tickets and found our way to the apartment we rented. Whew! Of note so far? $100 in U.S. currency is $25,000 in Hungarian currency (roughly). Dude, you should see how big the dollar bills are ($10,000 and $20,000 bills, anyone?).Also? Budapest is way, way bigger than the other cities we've visited. Or at least it feels that way so far.The photo above was just a random woman feeding the pigeons this morning in Krakow. I don't have any more for a set (boo! hiss!), but here's one I captured on Instagram of the Polish countryside today, in case you missed it.

The sign above the camp which translates to work leads to freedom.This was the "Welcome Center" of Auschwitz I. This is where prisoners were photographed, documented and later tattooed.While of course many were killed in the gas chambers, those who made it into the camp mostly died of starvation. The average weight of a woman freed from the camp was about 50 lbs, and the average weight of a man liberated was 66 lbs.One of the more interesting parts of the visit for me were the halls filled with portraits of the prisoners. When the camp first opened, all prisoners were photographed and logged with their birthdate and their arrival date. Later, the date of their deaths were noted. This was so interesting because while I have read many, many accounts from survivors of the holocaust, obviously they survived. Looking at these images, you would see men in their 20s who only made it 3 days in the camp. It was also important to note that prisoners admitted in winter lived merely days or weeks. Now remember, if they were photographed and logged, they were not sent to the gas chamber. Those prisoners were not kept track of.So, for example, this gentleman was 47 when he was brought to Auschwitz. He arrived on January 30, and by February 25 he had died.This young man was 22 when he arrived at Auschwitz on February 26, 1942, and he died on March 7 -- a few weeks later.This young woman was 19, and she survived less than 2 months.The guards were not allowed to gas aryan children (only Jews), so they were kept mostly for experimentation by Dr. Mengele.These were the original bunks in Auschwitz I. The beds in this photo would have slept 36 as the SS had the prisoners at 6 to a "bed".The fences (at least 2 layers) were electrified barbed wire.More fencing.This was the execution wall in Auchswitz I.The Nazis were meticulous in their destruction of people. They would separate out all of their belongings to be re-used by Germans. This was a room full of the eye-glasses of killed prisoners.Kitchenware that the Jews had brought to the camp. Upon departure, they were told they were simply being "relocated" and they could bring a certain amount of clothes/supplies to their new home. Of course, women thought of feeding their families.Prisoners were told to mark their luggage with their names and address so that after their "showers" at the camp, they could easily find their belongings and move into their new homes. This was a pile of luggage found in the camp when it was liberated.These were the shoes found at the camp when it was liberated. Keep in mind that these were found at Auschitz I, which had far fewer deaths than Birkenau, and these shoes were just the recent ones (Others throughout time had been "recycled" already).This was a map showing all the places prisoners were brought from. I had no idea prisoners came from as far away as Oslo or Greece.These were empty gas cans found near the gas chambers.This was the gas chamber at Auschwitz I.The crematorium at Auschwitz I.Fencing around the camp.Auschwitz II (Birkenau). Since Auschwitz I started as a political prison in Poland before WWII, it wasn't really as "efficient" as the Germans wanted. They had the prisoners build Birkenau, which had train tracks that led straight to the gas chambers and crematorium.The Nazis had time to destroy Birkenau and much of the evidence of their "final solution" a few days before liberation. They did not have time to do so to Auschwitz I. Because of this, the gas chambers and crematoriums at Birkenau were demolished and only the basic rubble remains. There has been a large memorial built between the gas chambers to honor the dead. There are 21 of these exact plaques in each language of the victims who were killed. The plaques in German and Polish are covered in flowers and candles.These are the barracks in Birkenau.More barracks in Birkenau. The barracks had "furnace chimneys" but were never used. They were built so that the Red Cross inspections would determine the camps were humane. The winters in Poland get down to about 0 degrees. They had no blankets and their "uniforms" were thin cotton.This was one of the latrines at Birkenau. Prisoners were allowed to use the restroom twice a day. Many had dissentery. Certain prisoners had the job of cleaning the latrine, which it was explained to us, was actually a "good" job to have. The reason being the SS would never step foot in the latrines for fear of disease, so the latrine workers could talk to all of the prisoners and find out news about their friends and family. They also kept a sort of black market in the latrines, again, as no soldiers would enter.Man. What a day.

Today we visited Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau). Some of you might know that I studied the Holocaust a lot in college -- both tons of history classes as well as literature from survivors. Because of this, it wasn't the visuals of the barracks or the Jews' stolen belongings (such as the shoes above) that shocked me the most.What I kept going back to was the psychological strategy and calculation that went into The Final Solution.Some examples that really haunted me included:

• One of the reasons the women AND children were gassed (even though many of these women could have worked) was that if they had been separated from their children it would have created hysteria. The children would have began to cry and scream, and it would have raised panic among the new arrivals. Because they were kept together, they remained more calm on their way to the gas chambers.

• Through the entire process the SS used hope as a means to keep panic at bay. When the prisoners arrived, they immediately saw the enormous amounts of barracks, and assumed this would be their new homes after the showers. They were asked to mark their luggage with their name and car number (as well as address) so that they could find their belongings after they were cleaned from the trip and were ready to move into the camp. Also, they were told to bring a certain amount of goods to move into their new homes. Because of this, women brought kitchen utensils, men brought shaving accessories, some families brought prayer shawls etc. etc. None of them realized it would be immediately sorted and taken by the Nazis.

• In terms of "efficiency," the SS had the prisoners from Auschwitz I (which was much, much smaller and had begun as a Polish Prisoner camp) walk 6 km each day round trip (about 3 miles) to Birkenau where they built that camp from scratch. This newer camp had railway tracks that led straight to the gas chambers and crematoriums. The rail tracks divided the men's camp from the women's.

• If 1,000 prisoners arrived, it took about 2 hours from unloading thetrain car until they were dead. There simply wasn't time to put two andtwo together.

• Also, when Auschwitz I began, each prisoner was photographed and logged in with date of birth, date of arrival and date of death. After a while, they realized this was taking too much time and resorted to the tattoos to keep track instead.

• Also, if a group of 10 workers left the camp to help build Birkenau, 10 had to return or the rest would be killed or tortured. Because of this, prisoners would have to carry back anyone who died on the job to prove the numbers were still good. And the camp had an "orchestra" who would play music as the prisoners marched in and out of the camp. They found the music helped keep them walking to a rhythm and it was easier to count them this way.

• By keeping the camp so "internationalized" many of the prisoners didn't speak the same languages, and this lack of communication ability helped to stop any chances of rebellion.

 Lastly, there were 7,000 SS who ran these camps. Only 1,000 were ever caught because they were so rich from selling off the belongings of the prisoners, that fake passports and papers were easily obtained after the war. Disgusting.To see photos from the day, look here.Oh, and before I forget, there is a chance I won't be able to blog tomorrow. We arrive in Budapest at 10 pm, and I'm not sure if I'll have the wifi password upon arrival or not, or if I'll even make it on time. Don't fret if there's nothing new.

Oh man, so much to tell you guys!So after I logged off last night, we walked 20 minutes to the Prague train station. We could have taken the metro, but our local friend Brian warned us that it was just as much walking, but only underground. So we opted for above ground view. But, um, when we arrived to the train station (which was very old... maybe 1900s?) many of the doors were closed, and as we followed the arrows to where to enter, we found one door propped open, and it was PITCH DARK inside. Except for one hallway with a light on and some sort of terrifying, creepy janitor dude mopping the floor and glaring at us. I am not kidding when I tell you this was the start of a horror movie. I will have nightmares about this for ages.We frantically looked around and saw a light ahead. In the main rotunda of the pitch black station, there was a balcony below where it was lit and we could see many travelers, so we finally found the stairs and made our way down to what was a clean, modern, full shopping mall-type train station. So much less scary. Wow. That upstairs? That was the stuff of legend, I tell you.We made our way onto the train, and kids? It was so cool. We think our car was from the 50s or 60s -- it was very retro, and we had a private cabin with two beds, a medicine cabinet and a sink. Here is a photo of our train car that I put on Instagram here. Cool, eh?Overall, I think it was a great experience... as long as the train was moving. I slept fine and was comfortable... until we stopped at the Czech border for 2.5 hours in the middle of the night. Since we were still, the train heated up (I was on the top bunk, so it was very warm) and with the windows open, you could hear the sounds of the other trains at the station and the station announcements and the workers walking by etc etc. When the train *finally* started moving again, I fell back asleep instantly and all was good. But all-in-all we only got about 4 hours of sleep, and when we arrived in Krakow a nap was the first order of business.But after that? Holy Moly! We explored this city, and I love it so much! It's just as charming as Prague (maybe more so since there are far fewer tourists?), the food so far has been wonderful, and the shopping is fantastic! In Prague, most of the shopping was aimed so specifically at tourists, but here there are tons of marvelous boutiques and locally-made goods, and the people are super friendly as well. Plus? Cobblestone streets everywhere and horse-drawn carriages (those ARE aimed at tourists) but the sound of the hooves on the stone all day and night is lovely.Now, I'm not gonna lie, it appears that Krakow has had a much more difficult time recovering from communism than Prague -- there seems to be more poverty here, but I am still smitten. As an example though, I did photograph one of the more communist-era buildings here. And the tram cars also remind me of something out of a Jason Bourne movie (you'll see those in my photo set).After much walking around (and a quick trip back to the apartment to change -- it's cold here! And raining!) we made our way to dinner. I talked Jamie into sharing some Latke appetizer and a sampler platter of 6 different kinds of pierogi. The menu said it was good for 2 people to share, and the waitress looked doubtful at us when we insisted this was all that we wanted. I am not lying when I say it is good for five people to share. We brought our leftovers home, and we'll be snacking on them all week (delicious, by the way! And no, not on my diet at all!).I've posted more images from today over here. Tomorrow we go to Auschwitz, so brace yourselves for somber images.*Oh! The photo above is the ceiling at St. Mary's Basilica in the main square. It was a tad ornate.