Hey y’all, last time I checked in I was in Lublin, Poland and preparing to visit Majdanek and Treblinka concentration camps on my way to Bialystok, Poland.
After checking out of my hostel in Lublin, I made my way 10 minutes outside of town to the site of the former Majdanek Concentration Camp. Majdanek is one of the best preserved of all the Nazi concentration camps due to the speed of which the front near it moved, giving the Germans little time to destroy evidence of its existence as they did at many other locations. It is also the site of the largest mass execution committed on a single day in any concentration camp, when 18,000 Jews were gunned down in a single day there in November of 1943.
Below are some images from the camp:
Memorial at the entrance of the camp. Signs in front of the visor center explaining the history of the camp. A memorial stone erected by victims of the camp thanking the people of the Lublin area for assistance rendered during the occupation. A view of some of the barracks buildings from a distance. Most were torn down but a few survived or were rebuilt after the war. The camp in it’s present configuration is huge, but only a third of the size it was when in use. The rest of the land has been absorbed by the growing city of Lublin which has more than tripled in size since the end of the war. Barracks buildingGuard tower. Barracks building. A line of guard towers. Inside of a barracks building. A display showing then and now of various locations within the camp. Entrance to the gas chamber. Zyklon B traces can still be detected on the walls. It was disguised as a bath house. A disinfectant bath new prisoners were forced to take. A large group of Jewish school girls I encountered in the gas chambers. They were being guided in English, so I’m not sure where they were from.
All of the sudden they began singing in Yiddish and many started crying so I took the shortest of discreet video clips and got out of there. I didn’t feel I belonged in what clearly was them paying their religious respects in such a hallowed place. Information about how the Lublin Castle had been used as a prison and execution place for Polish resistance members, some of whom wound up at Majdanek as well. I had just visited the castle the previous day. A memorial to a local woman for evidently aiding Jews. A dangerous business in the time of Nazi occupation. A row of persevered barracks blocks. Thousands of pairs of shoes collected from victims before they were gassed. Many had been shipped there from Treblinka, the camp which I was to visit later in the day. Thousands of pairs of shoes collected from prisoners before they were gassed. Some very small shoes among them. Explaining how a lot of the shoes were sent back to the Reich for use there. 430,000 pairs left behind when the camp was liberated. A guard tower. This explains how the Nazis desecrated Jewish tombstones and made the prisoners use them to build roads out of within the camp. Just about as degrading as it gets and the ultimate insult to the Jewish faith. More barracks buildings. Inside a barracks building as it would have looked during the war. The crematorium where thousands of bodies per day were “processed”. The smokestack at the crematorium. I read that the acrid smoke lingered in the area for weeks and even months after the camp was liberated. Some implements used in the gassing and incineration process. The ovens – some of best preserved in the entire concentration camp system. They survived after the Nazis hastily burnt down the crematorium and a replica crematorium was built back around them. The ovens – some of best preserved in the entire concentration camp system. They survived after the Nazis hastily burnt down the crematorium and a replica crematorium was built back around them. A memorial inside the crematorium. A mausoleum built in 1959 to hold the ashes of victims discovered after the war. The trenches dug by Jewish prisoners to hold bodies of those killed in the largest known mass killing of the war. 18,000 plus killed in a single day by gunshot, 5 at a time, to the sound of festive marching music over the loudspeakers. The victims were made to lie down on the bodies of the people who had previously been shot before being shot themselves. Sickening. The Germans called it Aktion Erntefest or Operation Harvest Festival. 43,000 killed all together in a two day period from November 3-4, 1943 on Majdanek and across several other camps. Final impression of the camp.
After visiting Majdanek, I had a two and a half hour drive to get to Treblinka – one of the most infamous death camps of WW2. They were only open until 630 and I would not be able to get there until 5pm, so I was in a hurry on that drive and didn’t get a lot of pictures of the scenery in between. A few shots are below:
Hitting the outskirts of Warsaw on the way to Treblinka. Heavily forested landscape. A large bird I saw in a field approaching Treblinka. I believe it is a stork.Treblinka is in a very rural part of the country. Entering Treblinka. Approaching the visitor center.
Upon arrival, I realized that I was the only visitor there. There were no other cars in the parking lot. I made my way to the museum and looked around in there quickly, as I didn’t have a lot of time before it closed and I still wanted to see the remnants of the actual camp. Below are some shots from the museum:
The museum. The map of the two camps. Treblinka I was a penal labor camp, while Treblinka II was strictly a death camp – where victims were gassed as soon as they got off the train. Shoe fragments found in excavation of the camp. Jewelry found in excavation of the camp.Jewelry found in excavation of the camp.A tile from the floor of the gas chamber found during excavation. The Nazis had time to completely dismantle this camp and plow it under, so nothing remains today. The camp commandant and his assistant. A scale model of the camp.
After viewing the museum, it was time to head to the camp. The Treblinka II death camp was a 400 meter walk along the “black road”, so called because part of it’s composition was ashes from the crematorium. The Treblinka I camp was another two kilometers down the road. A big disadvantage of arriving so late was that I was completely alone. To say it was spooky to walk out there alone would be putting it very mildly. I felt very uncomfortable out there alone and I didn’t linger after paying my respects and taking my photos, and I decided seeing Treblinka II was enough for me, as Treblinka I would have been another two kilometers of walking – further away from the museum. I’ll never forget that feeling of standing all alone on the same ground where hundreds of thousands of people died horrific deaths, packed like sardines into a “shower”and choked to death from the fumes of a Russian tank engine. I can only imagine their spirits would be far away from that evil place, which gave me comfort in that moment of standing out there alone. Still, I was ready to get out of there as soon as I could.
Walking the black road to Treblinka II. Recreation of the train tracks and platform where the Jews were offloaded and “processed”. They would have their belongings collected and then be sent to have all their hair cut off (it was then used to make socks and pillows for the German army).. Then they would be told they needed to have a disinfection shower before being sent to the next destination in the east. But the shower was the gas chamber. The whole thing was very sick and they even had a fake train station to make the Jews believe that they were just in transit. There are far worse details than I’ve described here – if you are interested in learning more simply read the Wikipedia article for Treblinka.Standing on the platform.
Overview of the Treblinka II remains. The monument is where the gas chamber was.
Another overview of the Treblinka II site.
After getting my pictures I quickly walked back to the parking lot – deeply disturbed and ready to go. I had seen and read about enough death and destruction for one day, but was glad that I had taken the time to learn more and pay my respects to the victims. I met an employee in the parking lot who took time to give me a little more background info and told me to stop by the former train station in the town to see where the arriving Jews would wait their turns to be put on the railroad spur to the camp. So I stopped by there and got a few more pictures.
The former train station in the town of Treblinka, now a memorial site. This tells a story about the horrible conditions on the train transports, with Jews arriving dead or dying of thirst. Absolutely horrible.
After my visit to Treblinka I can say that I was truly shaken. It took me an hour or so of driving in silence and reflection to start to refocus on the rest of my trip and my imminent arrival to my next destination of Bialystok, Poland. Here are some pics of the drive between Treblinka and Bialystok:
I wasn’t feeling much like busking Tuesday night after the camps, so the incoming rain didn’t bother me as much and I even saw another cool rainbow. The world can be very ugly and very pretty at the same time. Heavy rains upon arrival to Bialystok.
Arriving to Bialystok, I easily found the hotel I’d booked right in the middle of town. Since I was going to be staying two nights, I decided to splurge and get the Best Western – a 4 star hotel. But it was only $62 a night and I’m telling you it was money well spent. Parking was simple, the room was amazing, and I took full advantage of the spa area and on site restaurant. Living like a king!
My hotel in Bialystok My hotel in Bialystok In Europe the call elevators lifts – I guess they are just raised differently 🤣Very nice spa included with my room. I greatly enjoyed the hot tub, although it was more of a warm tub. But the jets were still nice. Steam roomFinnish sauna Y’all know I didn’t use this room 🤪A chicken Caesar salad at the hotel restaurant. Some fancy pasta at the hotel restaurant. Was very good but not enough – thank God for bread and butter to supplement it. Poland was playing Belgium while I was eating. People in the restaurant were really into the game and it was a good one, but Poland ultimately lost 1-0. Taking a quick walk after dinner and happy to find my room literally off the main square. Hopeful for busking the next day.
I slept in big time on Wednesday – not getting up until about 1230pm. The bed was so comfortable in my room and I’d been burning my candle at both ends most of this trip, so I think I just needed it. I finally ventured out at about 2pm to get some food and I found this little cafeteria place nearby to the hotel where I had some great Polish food for very cheap. After that I walked around and got some pictures of the downtown area and started thinking about busking until – you guessed it – the rains decided to move back in.
Little cafeteria where I got some lunch on Wednesday afternoon. The buffet style set up where you paid by the kilogram of food. I had a type of meatball and mashed potatoes and salad. It was very good. A memorial of some kind in downtown Bialystok.A church across from my hotel.Another church at the far end of the main strip. My hotel perfectly located to the main city square. Part of the main city square.Part of the main city square. A ferris wheel in the main city square. More of the main strip. Main city square from the other side. They were working on relocating the Bialystok sign as I was passing by. The top of a church out in the distance. No sooner had I finished walking around town and started thinking of getting my gear to play did the dark clouds move in and soon the rain.
Soon it was raining again on my parade! I went back to the room to wait it out and when I thought it had stopped about 90 minutes later I went and grabbed my gear and headed into the main square. I picked out a spot and began to set up when out of nowhere it started raining again. I went to a nearby cafe with all my stuff to wait it out again and had a soup and some fruit and ice cream and two beers and by then it appeared to be gone for good, so I went out and set up and got things going with the busking.
Along with a bowl of tomato soup, this was dinner on Wednesday night. The rain finally passed over for good at about 730pm. Treated to another rainbow after the rain had passed over downtown Bialystok.My rig set up in downtown Bialystok. Unfortunately, there was very little action in the way of tips – I only made about $10 bucks in the 90 minutes I played. A few people were around and letting me know they were enjoying it, but the rain really cleared out downtown and the foot traffic never returned.
Just when I was about to pack it in for the evening, a group of young girls showed up to my location and started dancing and carrying on to one of my songs. I stopped playing to chat with them after that song and found out that they were out celebrating one of their birthdays and that they were wanting to sing a song with me. I happily obliged and they came up and did some background singing with me on “Jolene” and then took over the mic to do a kareoke version of some Polish party song they wanted to sing. It was a real hoot!
This was from my tablet recording of my busking in Bialystok. If you listen close, you can hear the girls signing in the background on “Jolene”The girls singing their Polish party song on my rig.
Not long after their performance, they persuaded me that I’d have a lot more fun if I went out celebrating with them than I would if I continued on with busking. With the way things were going tip wise and the opportunity to hang out with some local people being presented, it was a no-brainer. I packed up all my stuff and took it back to the room and met them back at the square. We headed to a nearby bar and were joined by a guy who’d been hanging out and listening to me play named Derek. He turned out to be an awesome dude and I was glad that he joined us. Good lord, the vodka we all drank!
A fun and unexpected night on the town in Bialystok. These girls could party, but were also very smart and interested in talking about politics, etc. They all spoke excellent English and said they enjoyed getting to practice it with me. I went to buy a round for everybody and found it was cheaper just to buy the whole bottle. 7 beers and a bottle of vodka for $41. Can’t beat that with a stick.The shot glass carrier I thought was cool.
After two bars with the girls, they decided it was time to go home but Derek and I kept after it for a while longer. We hit up a couple more places and then we went to the Fiesta and I gave him a little taste of home. After that it was time to pass out and I was thanking God that I’d been able to secure a 2pm check out for the hotel the next day.
Me and Derek at about 2am on Wednesday night. We were feeling it 🤣Bartender with a stack of shot glasses. Vodka is very popular in Poland. Derek trying out some of my Bulleit bourbon from the trunk. At least we didn’t wind up like this guy 🤪
I got up on Thursday feeling a little rough to say the least. But I had time to go back down to the spa and sweat out some of the vodka in the stream room and have another dip in the warm tub before showering and checking out just before 2pm. After loading up my stuff in the car, I walked over to a highly rated Eastern European restaurant near the hotel and had a really good lunch before hitting the road for my next destination of Druskininkai, Lithuania, 2 1/2 hours to the north.
This dish was similar to Chicken Kiev and it was very good, although I didn’t care too much for the beetroot salad.Blueberry filled dumplings for dessert. This meal got me to start feeling human again after the big night out on the town. Saying goodbye to Bialystok.
Below are some pics from the drive from Bialystok to Druskininkai. Overall it was flat, but very heavily forested and very green. A pretty drive.
Nearing the Lithuanian border, I came across this stand of crosses on a hill. I stopped to investigate and learned that it is a memorial to Polish resistance members who were murdered during the Soviet occupation of Poland. Information regarding the memorial crosses. Flowers and candles at the memorial crosses. A very pretty church I passed by near the Lithuanian border. Another view of that church. Google routed me down a dirt road which slowed me down a bit. I was with the cows in the middle of nowhere. Crossing the border into Lithuania on a dirt road.
After crossing the border into Lithuania, it was not far to my destination of Druskininkai. Druskininkai is a medium sized spa town in southeast Lithuania. I reserved a small apartment because I thought I could do some busking for tourists, but it turned out there is hardly anyone there. It didn’t bother me too much as I got in to town fairly late and wasn’t feeling too much like busking anyways. Instead, I took a walk around town and checked out the sights and very much enjoyed the cityscape.
I saw a lot of these purple flowers on the roadside after crossing into Lithuania. A baby animal, I think a fox, was just chilling in the middle of the road as I approached and he made no effort to get out of the way. So I stopped and got a picture of him. One of the several lakes I passed in Lithuania. My room in Druskininkai. Not bad for about 40 bucks. A statue just outside of my apartment. A memorial to fallen Jews of WW2 just outside my apartment. An Orthodox church built in 1865 in the middle of the city. Druskininkai was popular with Czars and other elites in former times because of it’s spas and beautiful natural landscape. Another view of the church. The practically deserted main pedestrian strip. Busking here would have been pointless. Some pretty flowers in the city park. Some pretty flowers in the city park. A sculpture in the city park.The river that runs through Druskininkai.A snail I almost stepped on in the city park. A statue in the park. The Catholic Church in Druskininkai. A horseshoe scripture. The sign says it’s a national symbol of good luck and that walking through three times and touching your country’s decal would bring good luck to you and your nation. So I did it. The USA decal on the horseshoe.
That’s all the news I have for today’s post. Thank you guys for reading and feel free to leave me a comment to let me know you were here.
Tomorrow I’ll be headed to the capital of Vilnius where I have an apartment booked for 3 nights. Talk to you again soon!
Nice. The Jewish camps were sad. Histery has its ups and downs. The scenery is beautiful. Take care.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill. Yes it sure does and yes it is!
linda South
The concentration camps were so very sad, the visual of all those shoes were so heartbreaking. I can see being the only visitor there was so eerie ,feeling their prescience and sorrow would be easy to do. Love all the towns and cities you visit, so clean and well organized Your lodging and meals look great! Take care!
Zeb South
Thanks for the comment mom. Yes it was sad! But overall having a great time. Talk to you soon
Bonnie BIngman
The camp pictures were difficult but the others were great. The towns look nice – also the different rooms!
William Schwab
Nice. The Jewish camps were sad. Histery has its ups and downs. The scenery is beautiful. Take care.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill. Yes it sure does and yes it is!
linda South
The concentration camps were so very sad, the visual of all those shoes were so heartbreaking. I can see being the only visitor there was so eerie ,feeling their prescience and sorrow would be easy to do. Love all the towns and cities you visit, so clean and well organized Your lodging and meals look great! Take care!
Zeb South
Thanks for the comment mom. Yes it was sad! But overall having a great time. Talk to you soon
Bonnie BIngman
The camp pictures were difficult but the others were great. The towns look nice – also the different rooms!
Zeb South
Thanks Bonnie!