Exploring Poland: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Auschwitz, Poland

I was really torn about writing this post. Auschwitz-Birkenau is such an emotional place and I felt such rage about how people behaved there. I felt really uneasy about people taking selfies, people filming videos of the exhibition rooms and saying crude things as they walked around. I snapped a few photos of the outside and then felt an feeling of guilt. But I honestly believe that everyone should make the trek to the camps at least once as it's so incredibly important to see it with your own eyes. This is why I decided to blog about it.

Everyone knows the background of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's something we learn about all throughout School and from family members. Personally as well as my Secondary education, I also studied the rise of Nazism for A Level history. It's terrifying to see the signs today, it seems as if people have forgotten what happened in the 1930's. Forgotten how someone like Hitler rose to power. Being European, it's a place that's ingrained in our conscious. You know the horrors and the sheer brutality but I don't think you can truly quite understand what happened until you see it for yourself. Until you see those gas chambers. Until you see that execution wall. Until you see those mugshots on the wall of the people who passed through those gates. Until you see the tiny brick huts where prisoners slept. Until you see the endless pile of human hair piled up behind a glass wall taken from prisoners.

I left with such a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and filled with anger. It was terrifying to see just how close Hitler was to achieving his ultimate goal. But I was also so glad that I finally was able to visit. We did a guided tour with Escape 2 Poland and I learnt so much. I honestly thought I knew all about it but our guide was so knowledgeable that I found myself in awe. He really did make the trip.

If you find yourself visiting Krakow, then please do schedule in a trip to see the camps. Despite it being so difficult to visit, it's also so important to visit. It's so important to make sure history never repeats itself as sometimes, history can be forgotten.

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Exploring Europe: Malbork Castle, Malbork, Poland

If you've been following this blog for a while then you'll know I love castles. Literally love them so much. Blame the fact I was a slightly strange child who was obsessed with The Tudors who happened to live in lots of castles in England. Disney princesses? Nah give me Henry VIII. Anyway when I found out we were a short train ride away from the biggest castle in the world measured by land mass, it was immediately put into the itinerary. Pronto.

Around an hour by train from Gdansk, you start to grasp the sheer size of the castle as you pull into the station. It is absolutely huge. One word of warning, do check train times before you go as we came unstuck and it ended up being a bit of a nightmare journey back to Gdansk. So come prepared. It's also best to book you tickets online as you will have to queue to get tickets.

Pick up an audio guide - one of the best ones I've listened too - and start walking. Dating back to the 13th century, the castle was built by the Teutonic Order and is now one of Poland's official national Historic Monument. Heavily damaged during the Second World War, it undertook extensive restoration, finished in 2016, and the work completed in the main castle church is incredible.

I'd recommend to set aside half a day to really take it in. Go early in the morning as it does get very busy and try to visit on a weekday if it fits in with your plans. There's some medieval-esque huts to grab a bite to eat and a drink if you get peckish. After all, who doesn't want to have a hotdog and some mead in the grounds of a castle?

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A catch up: November 2017

Booking city breaks
We had planned to opt for a city break in the UK to celebrate our anniversary in January with Manchester and Liverpool being top of our list. But when I started looking into it, train prices were terrifying. Seriously what is up with the trains in this country? I decided to have a browse to see what Ryanair was offering and after scrolling past about 5 different Polish cities (I won't be back for at least five years), I stumbled across Bordeaux. The rest is history and now we're proud owners of £20 flights to France. We're looking forward to three days of stuffing our face with cheese, gorging on fresh seafood, eating too many croissants and drinking the delicious local wine. It's not a massive city and I have a few things on my list that I definitely want to see. But I am always on the look out for any recommendations - has anyone ever visited?

House gossip
The house is going full steam ahead right now and really starting to come together. The kitchen is looking lush and I couldn't be more in love with it. It's slowly becoming the kitchen of my dreams and I never realised just how excited I would be over a butler sink and a range cooker. We've got the worktops being cut at the weekend and hopefully the electrician coming in to finish off the electric then we can start tiling the walls. I already know that it's going to be my favourite room in the house.

Feeling festive
Blame it on working ten years in retail and hospitality but I'm not that much of a Christmas fan and only really start to get excited about a week before at the prospect of eating cheese and drinking too much gin. But this year it hit November 1st and suddenly I couldn't contain my excitement. Now I have my own house to decorate, my excitment is in overdrive. I'm feeling the most festive I've ever been and am LOVING it. Although my Christmas bauble habit is slightly getting out of control...

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