Elizabeth's European Adventure - Part 5

In her own words:

Our travel through Germany and Poland was without a doubt the most difficult part of our entire study abroad experience. Sophia, Abby and I encountered every problem that could exist, beginning with our security issues in the Amsterdam Airport, a delayed flight, rude customs officers in Germany, our overnight bus being delayed by an hour, then our bus seats simply not existing on the bus, very few English speakers in Poland, and more.
We traveled to Poland to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. We had a tour scheduled for 12:15pm, and it was abruptly changed to 2:40. All trains from Krakow to Oswiecim appeared nonexistent, even though we had checked all details before the trip. A train station officer helped us find a train to a different town and told us we would be able to get to Auschwitz from there, so we hopped on a train and hoped for the best.  The ride was two hours, then we were told to take a bus to Oswiecim. From there, we waited for a shuttle to Auschwitz. We proceeded to wait 30 minutes for our tour guide to show up and then decided that we would go in ourselves when she never came.
It was an incredibly frustrating process, but all that matters is that we made it to the memorial, and we were able to see Auschwitz-Birkenau ourselves. It is a place that all of us were really looking forward to seeing and even though we were unable to get the full experience, it was still very moving.
It took us roughly 4 hours to get back to Krakow; waiting for shuttles that never came, walking 20 minutes to a bus stop, no running trains, etc. We eventually made it onto a bus where we stood in the aisle throughout the hour drive back to Krakow. We finally got back to our airbnb at 10pm!
Germany and Poland were definitely interesting and exhausting experiences. We had to make a lot of adjustments, keep calm, and learn a lot of life lessons. We also discovered that one of the best ways to keep a positive mindset is to use humor to get through.
Our last destination before returning to Paris is Prague, where we will spend Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday.

In Berlin airport searching for our bus.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Inside the camp.

Old town Krakow

Snack dinner in our airbnb. We were able to budge enough money to get a really nice apartment in a safe part of Krakow, and it was a really pleasant surprise after an exhausting day. Definitely brightened our moods to see three comfy beds and a kitchen!