Krakow (first visit)

Work is amazingly busy, hectic, don't have time to think at the moment. We're in the final stages of our migration to Poland and Malaysia and it's pure madness! I was lucky to be asked to go to Poland a few weeks ago for a week, and then again for next week and not it's also been requested that I spent the end of May & all of June out there. So that's quite exciting for me! Krakow where our team is based is beautiful. I was there over Easter and that was fantastic! I think we miss out on some of the magic of Easter & Christmas in NZ. Krakow is a incredibly beautiful city! It's hard to imagine that not so long ago it went through the war and through it's communist period! Krakow is based around a main square - always useful that the taxi driver points out how to say whatever the main square is called while driving past! Over Easter there was an easter market in the sqaure - a bit like the Xmas ones I went to but with Easter things not Christmas things (the things were the same however, sweets, gingerbread with icing, decorations) and also over the weekend before Easter the Square was filled with palms in all shapes and sizes for Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is quite big over there, I've never noticed it in NZ and we only just arrived in England in time for Palm Sunday last year! There are some must see's in Krakow - such as the main square and also the Castle district which is quite nice but I could not get inside anything as there was no tickets left! The castle area has nice views over the river! Krakow is also where you find Schinder's Factory from Schindler's list so I went and had a look there because it was Easter weekend nothing was open! The Jewish Quarter in Krakow is amazing, there are lots of beautiful Synagoges & cemetaries which where desecrated by the Nazis. Krakow is one of the first places I have visited that I have had a real sense of the Nazi's policies, you can imagine the forrests were witness to a lot of deaths, the streets have had much blood shed in them and it seems that every person you meet who's willing to talk about WWII - ok you all know this interests me - sorry! Auschwitz is about an hour and a half's drive from Krakow so of course I went there! It was weird actually because now it's just like a must see attraction filled with trigger happy holidaymakers! I was quite shocked at Auschwitz itself - it's design reminds me kind of a Christian holdiay camp, those sort of buildings, and it makes it hard to imagine that you're at the site where so many people died. I always thought the gate with 'work makes free' is in front of the watch tower but it's just there in among the barracks. The gas chambers were surreal. You're able to walk through them. First into the changing rooms and then into the 'shower rooms' and then out past the furnaces and the wheelbarrowy things that people were pushed into the furnaces with. It just makes it all so real. I also went to Birkenhau - 3km down the road - Birkenhau is what I thought Auschwitz was. Birkenhau is the watch tower and the train tracks and the awful wooden barracks and the horrible washrooms and the mass crematoriums. Also while we were there looking at the crematoriums it started to snow which added to the atmsophere! I was there for 3 hours and only saw the main bits like the cells where they were in isolation, their belongings left behind like the hair and the glasses etc and there's still so much to see so I'll be going back in June I think to see the other bits. I also went to see the Tulips in Holland a couple of weekends ago. Buddha once said 'if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change'I just spent the weekend with some of our family in Holland to see the tulips are they are flowering at the moment. When I say the tulips are flowering at the moment, I mean the tulips are flowerring at the moment! The fields are awash with colour and it is just stunning!We also went to a tulip park which has displays and displays of tulips in every colour imaginable! There are some amazing tulips! Now I have a problem I don't know which I like more tulips or waterlillies!It's a shame I haven't had a chance to upload my photos and send you all some! Stupid work computers have a lock so you can't upload pics straight onto them from your camera you have to burn them to a disc first which is a pain for when I have to upload pics for our work website! What else has been happening here? We just had a sneaky trip to the station to get ice creams! Anna & Josh are starting their London experience so we've been seeing them at the weekends and things which is very nice, been getting nice and brown as well because the weather is so great! We've got a busy few months ahead. Tanya arrives on Saturday til mid June (poor thing she's coming to Krakow with me!), Amelia & Rob arrive on 27th, Emily's mum early June plus I'm in India in August, Adria & Deanna start their London time in August as well .... the list goes onand my parents & squirt in September/October and then we're starting the countdown to birthdays and christmas! and the year starts again! I just signed up for my big trip for 2008 yesterday ... hoping they accept me as I caused them some trouble recently! I'm starting the preperation for India as well ... 4 weeks in the monsoon season! I was going to be there for 8 weeks and surprise you all in NZ at the end of it but ... since my parents are over to see me and since my key to our house in NZ was taken off me ... I think I better go to where I have a key to let myself into! Tomorrow I'm starting the innoculations you need ... not looking forward to them after getting the Hep A ones! Then it's visa, insurance time! Least work is getting to be quiet now with our teams officially taking over on Monday our current work and we can sit in London and do nothing and get paid for it! ... well not me though cos I'm in Krakow with them. Ok I think that's all for now ... have to chase some work! I'm in the process of adding all my holiday pics onto the net ... so perhaps in like 50 million years I will be finished and you can see the pics! hope you're all well, not too cold if in NZ! take care, Kylie “How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” Dr Seuss