Salt mine, Kazimierz & Shindler's list

To be in the salt mine of Wieliczka was an interesting experience...

They started producing salt in the 13th century and stopped in 2007...

I have walked there for 2 hours and there was much much more to be explored. However, it is not allowed for tourists...

You can read more about the salt mine here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine

Kazimierz is the Jewish district of Krakow. The Nazis tried to preserve that place because they wanted to tell the new German generations how they had destroyed the Jews culture and how it looked like. But they could not do it and currently we have Kaimierz which is full of heritage...

The Jewish ghetto (during the 2nd World War) was established in Podgorze district that is very close to Kazimierz...

The Schindler's factory is in Podgorze as well and you can visit a nice museum where will show you how the life was during that hard period...

Steven Spielberg used those areas to make Schindler's list...

It is in Kazimiers that you can find the most important synagogues of Krakow...

The old Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue that was built in 1407 or 1492 but it is not in active use anymore because currenlty it is a museum...

The Remuh Synagogue is the only synagogue in the city to remain in active use. It dates from the 16th century and includes an original ark and a fine cemetery with many old tombstones.

And also Kazimierz is the district where the famous Helena Rubistein was born.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Rubinstein

Now I leave you here with these links...

And you can keep investigating and reading more about Salt mine, Kazimierz & Shindler's list if you like...

Fabio
Krakow

Auschvitz-Birkenau, Poland

Auschvitz was the largest concentration and extermination camp used by the Nazis in the II World War.

Actually the most important museums of London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam and the concentration camp of Sachesenhausen have helped me to understand the History since I started to visit them 4 years ago...

However, I knew that an important piece would be very important to finish this puzzle. It was exactly Auschvitz...

I have planned to go to Auschvitz a few years ago and then this day has come!

When you are in Auschvitz you do not think about past or present, you do not think about money or job, you do not think about your future and debts...

My experience was that a deep peace and profound serenity came to me and made me stay in silence for hours and hours while I was there...

I spent almost 4 hours visiting Auschvitz and Birkenau...

It was a time of reflection and pause...

It was a time to think about life and death...

When you are there you do not focus on anything...

You only focus on the pictures that you see, the barracks that were rebuilt because the original ones were burned by The Nazis as soon as they realized they were losing the war. However, some of those original barracks are still there and they show you exactly how they were...

The same happened with the gas chambers...

The gas chamber was rebuilt in Auschvitz but you still can see the ruins of the Birkenau's gas chamber that has been left...

I really got impressive by observing and understanding the strategy of The Nazis...

They covered the windows of some of the barracks(block 11)and then they could kill the prisoners in the wall and no one wasableto see what was going on. No one could see and no one could hear because they used a kind of "silent bullets".

By the way, between 1941 and 1942 the world did not know and notice what was going on in Auschvitz because The Nazis' strategy was "perfect"....

From 1943 the world started hearing the rumors...

But during these horrible years they were able to deceive the world...

They separeted and selected children and mothers and immediately they were led to the gas chambers because if the mothers went to work (even though they had physical condition for that)and the children were put apart from them the children would cry and so in order to avoid the noise and calm down the "atmosphere" they killed both (mother and children)...

The crematory and gas chamber were at the end of the concentration camp and then as soon as the newcomers got there they would not be able to see what was going on...

Those ones who worked in the crematory did not have any contact with the other prisoners and so The Nazis were able to keep everything in secret and "order"...

The horrible physical condition of the prisoners and because The Nazis mixed the groups and nationalities made the situation be much worse and then the prisoners did not have enough strenght to fight or organize any rebellion due to these huge diferences about languages, culture and physical condition....

For me one of the most interesting thing has to do with the heating...

They had heatings in the barracks but they were just in order to show to the Red Cross and make them think they were "following" the rules for having prisoners of the war. However, the heatings were never used and the Red Cross was "deceived" when they came to investigate the concentration camp..

Once the Nazis knew the war would be over they started burning and destroying everything. They did not want to leave any evidence of the crime and genocide...

As a result of that nobody knows the exact number of people who died in Auschivtz. They mention 1,5 million people.

Most of the Nazis escaped...

One of them...

It is Josef Mengele who was responsible for selecting those ones who would be working and those ones who would be going to the gas chamber...

And also he was the famous doctor who made a lot of human experimentation by using twins and the prisoners...

He escaped after the war and lived in Argentina...

However, after some years he drowned and died in one of the beaches of Brazil, Bertioga.

The memorial of Auschvitz-Birkenau is something that shows us how the History may be repeated...

The memorial of Auschvitz-Birkenau tries to teach us what human beings are able to do against other human beings...

Being there has made me think about what we value and what we do not value in life...

It has made me reflect and do a break & pause about my own life and attitudes...

I left a small stone on the memorial because it is exactly how the Jewish culture does in order to show respect for those ones who have passed away...

It has made me think about all and thank God for the privilege to put my feet on the History and learn so many lessons and especially grow as person...

I hope I encourage you by writing this text and may be able to make you think about your own life...

Fabio
Krakow

Thermal Bath, Synagogue and Angelo Rotta.

A few months ago I went to a very nice Haman in Fez. Hamam is a very traditional Turkish Bath and very common in Morroco.

Last year Johnna drove me to the city of Spa, Belgium.

It was great to know and understand the beginning of the Spa and enjoy "a very good Spa" in Spa!

Budapest is considered officially a "City of Spas" and also it is very well known due to its medicinal water.

There are a lot of Spas in Budapest and they are very modern. However, this afternoon I went to one of the oldest thermal bath of Budapest because it was recommended to me - Rudas.

When you look at the front of the building it is not very nice but it is really COOL inside! The Turkish bath was built during the 16th century and it was a GREAT experience...

In fact, there is a lot of things to see in Budapest...

The city is beautiful in the evening. The Parlament building that is considered the 3rd largest of the world it is amazing and the chain bridge is very beautiful as well.

However, my experience with the Synagogue it was what I liked the most...

The Synagogue of Budapest is the 2nd largest synagogue of the world...

When you are there you can realize some Christian influence because the Jewish People did not want to be so outside of the cultural context of the city and then they decided to build the synagogue using some bizantine signs and also putting an organ above the altar that is very typical in the Catholic churches.

There is a very interesting cemetery in the same building of the synagogue. Most of those people are anonymous and lived in the Hungarian ghetto during the 2nd World War. Unfortunately, a huge number of Hungarian Jewish were taken to Auschwitz and were extermined there.

For me the most beautiful thing of the Synagogue and what I liked the most in the city has to do with the memorial area of the Synagogue...

There is a silver tree that its branches were cut and they represent the suffering of the Jewish People in Hungary during the Nazis period and you can read names of the families and some people's names in some of the leaves of the tree.

There is other memorial that shows to us a snake in the fire being burned which means the evil was killed and the Nazis period was over.

But the most amazing memorial has to do with the names of those ones who were not Jewish and saved hundreds or thousands of Jewish in Hungary.

They were from Spain, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, etc. and lived in Budapest...

One of the names that impacted me the most was Angelo Rotta from Italy who worked for the Vatican and had diplomatic activities during the 2nd World War in Budapest and then he had an unbelievable courage to give many fake baptismal certificates to many Bulgarian Jewish and was able to save them...

Basically I keep learning two things with this...

1. His action reminds me when Rahab assisted those Hebrew spies by hiding them and telling the soldiers that she did not know where they went.

Life is more important than any other "value" because life is the supreme value!

2. Sometimes the most important things have not to do with the biggest things but with its meaning. For example, the Jordan river is not the largest river of the world, it is not the cleanest river of the world but it carries by itself a huge importance due to its meaning!

So, if you go to Budapest...

Maybe you will love to see the hills, the bridge, the parks, the monuments, the Parlament building and other turist attraction but I would like to tell you just one thing...

If you go to the Synagogue and understand what I am talking about you may see things and start living life through a different point of view and perspective.

Because life is simple and we do not need too much to understand the rich and happiness in the simple things of life...

Think about it!

Fabio
Budapest

Prague, Budapest, Krakow & Jewish People...

I have realized the huge connection between the Jewish People and the cities Prague, Budapest and Krakow...

Prague has one of the most important Jewish Cemeteries of the world...

They do not know how many tombstones are there - probably 12.000.

They say that the first ones were put there in the 15th century...

Budapest has the largest functioning synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The first one is in Jerusalem...

Krakow has the most important concentration camp that was used by the Nazis...

As we know it is Auschwitz!

People say that more than 2.5 million Jews died there.

In addition, Krakow is very well known because it has been the scenery of the one of the most important movies of Steven Spielberg that is named Schindler's list!

Almost 2 years ago I was in Prague and could live this "Jewish environment"...

Especially by walking on the Jewish streets and neighborhood, looking at the synagogues and understanding their "signs"...

This morning I had the privilege to see the synagogue of Budapest...

And next week I will be visiting Krakow in order to see and understand the History a little bit more.

I am very excited because I love to study the cultures, their differences, museums, art and the History...

By the way, it was more than 3 years ago that I planned to go to Krakow and visit Auschwitz.

It was exactly when I went to visit other concentration camp that is called Sachesenhausen in Berlin.

For some reasons I have not been able to go to Krakow and visit Budapest but now it is their turn and I am really "diving in this ocean"...

I believe the History is for being studied...

But also for being understood in order not to be repeated...

Think about it!

Fabio
Budapest

The world is becoming smaller...

It has been a long time that I do not write anything here...
I am in Budapest right now...

Soon I want to write about my trips with Johnna...
We have been to Toledo, Salamanca, Avila, Madrid, Segovia besides Catalonya...

We had a lots of fun....

And also I want to write something about my last trip to Morroco...

I know I have already put something about Morroco in my blog but I would like to speak (a little bit more) about the very famous Roman city that is called Voulubilis!

The world is becoming small and smaller and much smaller every day...

The day before yesterday I was with Johnna in Madrid...
We took the flight and went to the Girona's airport....

Yesterday morning we had to go back to the airport but it was the Barcelona's airport...
She left Barcelona and flew back to the United States...

I went back home and she called me at 20pm to tell me she was in Atlanta and in a couple of hours she would be flying to Tampa, Florida...

I told her I was leaving my place to go back to the airport of Barcelona to fly to Budapest...

She said we would be flying at the same time...

I just got here and as soon as I arrived in the city I bought my ticket to go to Poland on Monday and I will take the train for 10 hours in order to cross Hungary and get to Krakow....

The world is becoming smaller due to the globalization...
We are becoming citizenship of the world..

Nowadays the borders and passports "are gone!!!"...

The languages are becoming common between different people and nations....

It is a privilege to participate of this generation....

Take your seat and your flight because the world is inviting you to get ready to understand that the sky is your limit!!!!

I will come back soon in order to share more and more things with you....

See you then!

Fabio
Budapest