What a hectic past month it has been! Unfortunately, I am just now writing about trips and stories from a month ago...so here is what you all have been waiting for (or at least I like to pretend that everyone has been anxiously checking my blog every day for the past month waiting for the next post).
For Spring Break, I traveled around Eastern Europe with four of my friends from the IES program. After returning to Berlin from St. Petersburg on Saturday, all of us unpacked, washed, and repacked for our adventure which began on Monday morning (March 28th). We began our journey in Krakow, Poland, which is the second largest city in Poland and dates back to the 7th Century. Krakow is situated on the Vistula River, and the city has a wide walkway that follows alongside the river. All five of us were amazed by the beautiful weather, the scenic stroll along the river, and the view of the old town and castle fortress. We stayed in a small hostel called "Elephant on the Moon," and all of us were happy to find that we were the only ones staying there that night. The place was quaint and I almost felt like we were living in the owner's house. She sat us down at a table, circled places on the map, and gave us suggestions on where to go. The hostel owner also asked me (after she had copied information from my passport) if I was of Polish decent. I looked at her confused and told her "No, I am of German descent. Why?" She told me that "Ruch" is polish for "movement" and that I would see my last name written all over the city. I called my mom and told her that our relatives may be lying about our ancestry. Once we finished filling out the paperwork and talking with the owner, we started our walk into the "Old Town" of Krakow. We first walked along the river toward the Wawel Castle, which is an historical fortress that dates back to the 12th Century. Actually, people lived on Wawel Hill for as many as 50 thousand years ago in the Paleolithic Age. The castle went through many different renovations up until the 20th Century, and it was made into a national museum post-WWII. The fortress area is beautiful with a variety of differently shaped spires, crosses, and towers that complement one another.
After Wawel, we walked around the Old Town where there was amber jewelry vendors galore! I mean, with every step there was a vendor. We also noticed that there were a plethora of "head shops" and/or hippie-like stores (basically Asheville-type stores). All of us are still unsure on why this was so. From Old Town we walked to the Jewish Quarter where we looked around in some folk-art/jewelry shops and got dinner. We ate at a small restaurant that is tucked away in the Kazimierz area. We all picked off of each others' plates (yet, I was still on my limited diet from my Russian hospitalization, so I was a bit more limited) and ate the traditional red-beet-soup, perogies, and potato pancakes. All of the food was fabulous, to say the least.
The next day we traveled to Oświęcim, where the Auschwitz camps are located. There are three Auschwitz camps: Auschwitz I base camp (which is now the museum), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (which is now a memorial) and Auschwitz III-Monowitz (which has been destroyed). The tour began at Auschwitz I where we met our guide and walked through the infamous "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" ("Work makes you free") gates. Once a military base for the Polish army, the camp is actually aesthetically pretty with the red brick barracks and buildings; therefore, an uncanny feeling devours you as you try to imagine the atrocities that occurred in this location. (I am sure it would have been easier to imagine if we visited in the dead of winter when the temperature drops to an average of -4 degrees Fahrenheit.)
It was difficult to make my way through all of the rooms that displayed the hundreds upon thousands of personal belongings. There were rooms devoted to the victims' shoes, glasses, dishware, shoe shiners, brushes/combs, and (most disturbingly) hair. Yes, the victims' hair was shaved off, saved in bundles, and used as a textile. The gross amount of personal effects was enough to bring tears to your eyes. The faces that stood around me were vacant and tears welled up in most visitors' eyes at some point during our visit. While I found the Washington D.C. Holocaust Museum interesting and grotesquely insightful, my visit to the Auschwitz--the actual location where the heinous crimes of mankind took place--was life-altering. To stand where the crimes took place, to feel the chill of the cool air permeate my clothes, and to see the artifacts of an all-to-horrific past made history come to life in front of me. To truly understand our past, we must visit it; this is a journey that all beings should make during their lifetime.
So I was dying to get out of the hospital on Thursday, since Thursday night was the ballet performance at the Mariinsky Theater. The performance we went to was a set of three one act ballets. The first was called "The Serenade" with music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Serenade in C Major for String Orchestra, Op. 48), and this performance included a full stage of dancers. Watching the synchronized movements of the elegant ballerinas was amazing. The second performance was called "In the Night" with music by Chopin, and this ballet was my favorite of the three. The performance was divided into four different parts, with three different ballet couples who danced alone with each other and then all together in the fourth part. The music was beautiful and so was the dancing. The final performance was "Theme and Variations" with music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (final movement of Suite No. 3 for orchestra in G major). The costumes were so ornate and colorful in this ballet, which made it so much fun to watch. I was truly taken aback by the artistic talent of the dancers and musicians of the Mariinsky Company. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
On Friday (the final day of our trip), I went to the Church of Spilled Blood market where they sell matryoshka dolls, Faberge eggs, scarves, and other small trinkets. After the market, a few friends and I walked to the Hermitage Museum, which was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great as a palace. The Hermitage now holds over 3 millions pieces of art and has the largest painting selection in the world. The head of IES Berlin has visited the Hermitage over six times and has yet to see every room of the museum. Created in rococo style, the interior rooms of the palace were gorgeous with wooden inlay floors, intricate ceiling designs, and gold accents all around. I believe it is the most beautiful place that I have ever visited, and I am so happy that I was able to get back to health and visit it on my final day. I got to see the art of Henri Matisse, Kandinsky, Pissarro, Vincent van Gogh, Monet, and many others. It was a truly wonderful experience to say the least.
The whole IES gang traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, during the week of March 20-26. Everyone was extremely excited about the "exotic" (for lack of better words) destination. During our first full day, we took a bus around the city and saw some of the major city center sites like the "Bronze Horseman," St. Isaac's Cathedral, The Church of Spilled Blood, and a few others. We returned to the hotel for lunch, ate, and then walked to University of St. Petersburg after lunch. During the walk, I started to feel really sick, but I tried to suck it up and not complain. After our 45-minute trek, we finally arrived at the University. I walked up to Janka (our IES Student Assistant) and the tears spilled through as I explained that I felt sick. The two of us did a complete turn-around and traveled 45 minutes back to Ibis Hotel, where my feeling sick evolved into being sick. I rested in my hotel room for a few hours, but the sickness only escalated. Janka decided to take me to the American Clinic (thank goodness it was not an actual Russian clinic), and they quickly decided to admit me to the hospital due to my condition. My condition caused me to become severely dehydrated, so they hooked me up to an IV-drip immediately. I had the IV for four days (fluid and antibiotic drips), had two shots in the bottom muscle (ouch), and had my blood taken twice, and ran a few other tests. My two doctors spoke English; however, I had the most interaction with the nurses who did not speak any English. Well, one nurse did and she sat down with me one day and told me about her life as a nurse in New York, how she hates working in Russia, how Russian men are "drunks" and "don't want marriage...only other things," and that she and her boyfriend are having problems. I sort of felt like I was in some Russian Twilight Zone, but it was nice to have the company.
I did not eat for a period of 18 hours, and when the nurses finally brought me my breakfast on Tuesday morning, I was a bit upset to see bland porridge and English Breakfast Tea sitting on a tray. The food did not get much better as the meals passed. I got a plate of rice for most meals (even for breakfast one morning), and one afternoon I got some nasty, mushy grain. On Wednesday (my final night), I received what I like to call "The Last Supper": a plate of rice, cabbage, and ground beef all mixed together...SOO EXTRAVAGANT! Needless to say, I had Katrin (the IES leader) bring me some bland crackers and wafers for in between meal times.
The IES leaders visited me on a daily basis, and my friends also came to visit me during my stay. I was so happy to have visitors and they even brought me flowers--it was very sweet! Otherwise, I think I truly would have gone crazy lying in that room for four days! I was released on Thursday afternoon and rejoined the group for about 1.5 days before we traveled back to Berlin.
