Kate, over at Centsational Girl, is having a Favorite Destinations Link Party.  I had been thinking about doing a similar post and so this is the perfect opportunity.

Many of you know that in college I spent two summers in Europe.  The first summer, my junior year, I spent in Poland studying history.  (WWII)  I wasn’t sure when I signed up for the trip.  I mean, POLAND is NOT a prime European destination!  Fortunately, the trip was a wonderful experience and I will carry the memories with me forever.

Memories being the key word.

You know when you hear about people going on vacation and having something traumatic happen to them…well, this sort-of happened to me.  We had taken a weekend trip to Austria and I had my purse stolen!  I have NO IDEA how it happened, which was even more scary.  Luckily my passport and important things were in a separate place, but my camera and most of pictures were taken.  So, these are the only pictures I have from my time there.

We stayed in Krokow, Poland.  It is such a charming town and full of character.  It is very close to Auschwitz concentration camp, so it was a great place to study WWII.  I will say that this is the first time, I truly appreciated history.  We participated in a Holocaust Convention, and got to meet some incredible people who survived those horrible camps.  It brings back such strong emotions and memories, just thinking about it.

That’s me, on the right!  😉

Since our Polish was very limited, we got on the wrong train and ended up here.  Katowice, Poland.  It was a tiny town with not a lot to do…especially on a Sunday!  We had planned to go hiking in the mountains, but we rolled with the punches.

And ended up finding one of the oldest cemeteries left in eastern Europe, after WWII.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Italy and Switzerland (two other places I spent lots of time in), but Poland will always be a special place for me.  Hopefully one day I can take my kids and share the experience.

Thanks for letting me share!

~Angela