Today was an unforgettable day. Today was the day we had decided to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Our trip from its inception is about trying to understand the World we live in. The atrocities that happened here, Lisa and I will never understand, but visiting will ensure we never forget!

As we drove to Oswiecim both of us were a little apprehensive – this is not the type of day you say you look forward to – but in our minds it was a 'must' visit to make.

We had no idea really as to what to expect, OK, we had read our history books and seen the films like Schindlers List – but was this going to be anything like what we had watched and read?

The first surprise was that it was not clear as to where exactly Auschwitz was. There were no obvious signposts and from the centre of Oswiecim we had to head North out of the town. We only knew this as an English couple had visited the day before and given details as to exactly where it was placed.

Again, it was strange when we arrived as, quite suddenly, there it was – AUSCHWITZ. A name now synonymous with death.

For most of us, Auschwitz is a place ingrained on our minds since childhood, linked through all those history lessons with horrific injustice, barbarism and death. It felt a little unnerving to be here.

Initially, you enter the car park and new, clean fresh tarmac greets you. A little further on we found the normal tourist facilities with a typically modern tourist information area and food hall where you can choose from pizza, burgers etc. We both noted that everything from the info signs to the decor were muted. Its difficult to explain, but both of us felt awkward and almost embarrassed that there was such food readily available. Many people had travelled a long way to get here and when we arrived we also needed something to eat. However, despite ordering a small pizza we didn’t feel comfortable enjoying our food so close to where thousands had starved to death – maybe this was just us being too sensitive as the whole town of Oswiecim is now just a normal working town with the atrocities of 60 years ago just history and not memories for many of its residents.

We booked for an English tour guide and joined a group of about 20 English-speaking people –

Entering the gates to the camp (known, not as a concentration camp but a death camp) a cold shiver made its way down our backs. How many thousands had walked through these very gates only to meet their end, hours, days or weeks later? The figures are said to be at least 1.1 million prisoners died at Auschwitz, around 90 percent of them Jewish.

What struck us both was how new all the buildings looked – this more than anything hammered home that the this is not ancient history but very recent. The idea that all that happened here was long, long ago makes us all feel a little better and perhaps allows us to mentally deal with the facts at arms length, as though it doesn’t effect us. The ‘up close’ experience of actually being here and the realisation of how recently the events took place really packs a powerful blow.

We can’t explain what we felt as we walked around being shown the "Death Wall”, the collective gallows, block 10, where many women were ‘experimented’ upon, the gas chambers and crematoria, where we also saw photos of people entering the gas chambers. They all look so composed. They had been told that this was a shower area – of course no water came, just the poison Cyclon B (a highly lethal cyanide-based pesticide). As the tour continued the mood and atmosphere of the group became more solemn, with expressions of disbelief increasing, as we were shown more.

All others that we saw were silent and strained. The only way we can explain it is that a heavy sadness sits in your chest. There is a feeling of disbelief that things like this can happen and the question ‘Why- how could these things happen?’ keeps coming into your mind. As you are told ‘why’ your history lessons are remembered with painful accuracy and the full beliefs of the Nazis is explained to you. But, this is very different from sitting in a sterile classroom with a book and some black and white footage in front of you.

On liberation of the camp we were told that the Soviet Army discovered approx. 7,000 kg of hair from women. The hair was packed into large bags and was being prepared to be sent to the cities were it was used for producing tailors lining cloth. A large room with Perspex sides now displays some of the hair. The room is completely full from floor to ceiling. It’s a very uncomfortable sight and one we wont ever forget. We saw rooms of personal items; glasses, suitcases, enamel bowls, hairbrushes, shoes – thousands upon thousands of them – all at one time belonging to people who thought that they were being sent to a ‘place of work’.

However, despite the atrocities we were both struck with the fact that Auschwitz now feels very peaceful. We had expected to feel some kind of bad ‘vibes’ but were surprised that this was not the case. Maybe others may not feel the same and may not understand why we felt this way.

We then made a short visit to Auschwitz II-Birkenau,(KL Auschwitz 2, 3km away), which was a purpose built death camp built in order to ‘ease congestion' at the main camp. When we arrived we walked across to the main entrance and immediately recognised the two crossing train tracks that led into the main area. It was quite a shock to see it really as it has always been. Our tour ended with the final information that when Birkenau was liberated, among the items found by the Russians were 370,000 men’s suits, 837,000 women’s garments, and 7.7 tonnes (8.5 short tons) of human hair. The estimated number of victims are 2,1 to 2,5 million, however, its widely thought that the figure is closer to 4 million.

We were left physically and emotionally drained. The one main thought that did come from our visit was summed up in a quote we saw on one of the walls “Those who do not remember history are destined to live through it again”.

A chilling thought.

I remember the Czechoslovakia as it used to be, before. 10-years previously, in 1993, it (to quote wikipedia) 'peacefully dissolved' and became the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Czechoslovakia was one of the many countries in Europe that I (Lisa) had ridden through as a teenager and driven through with my family when we lived in Germany in the mid 1960's.

For us, time was passing by all too quickly and we had to make a decision to pass through certain countries in Europe much faster than we would have liked. However, Europe is our back yard and we have both spent a huge amount of time in and out of Europe during our formative years. Therefore, the decision to ride through the Czech Republic in one day and head straight into Slovakia, was not too hard as we know we would be able to visit the Czech Rep properly at the end of our 4-year trip as this will be on our way ‘home’ but, for today, a quick dash in and out would have to suffice!

During our short time here however, we had great roads, good riding and this was made all the better for having a lovely sunny day!

Leaving Poland it was only a quick 47km visit to the Czech. Rep before entering Slovakia.

However, our plan to make an early start was buggered from the beginning as on starting to dismantle the tent we heard a sudden snap. One of the poles had just shattered!! We wouldn’t have minded but we hadn’t done anything other than begin to move it out of its holding caps and ‘SNAP!’ – the sheared end, which was at the top of the tent went straight through the material! This was all we needed and after making a few urgent telephone calls to ‘Taunton Leisure’ (where we originally purchased our tent) we continued to pack up, both now frustrated and in bad moods.

We made our way to the border and after making sure that we had had our passports stamped at the Czech Rep. border, we headed towards Martin in Slovakia where the map showed there was a campsite.

The days ride so far had been uneventful with the roads being a really good standard. Both of us were excited as we approached signs indicating up coming Z-bends! Over the last few days many of the roads had been very long and very straight, riding some curves was something to look forward to and savour!!! As the miles continued mountains rolled into view. We realised how we’d missed seeing a more rugged landscape – neither of us like to be in a very flat country or a flat area for too long and this had generally been the case since leaving Norway.

Arriving in Martin around 7 pm we were desperate to obtain some Slovakian cash. Heading into the centre of Martin we tried 5 ATM’s all of which had no money in them! Getting a little frustrated and annoyed (this seemed to be the trend of the day) we set off with no cash to try to find the campsite. 2 hours later, after having been given directions by a variety of people, we were still searching and even more frustrated and annoyed! We found signs that would just disappear and leave us stranded. Thank God we had decided to pay out (a lot of money!) for a GPS. Simon had researched this before we left and looked into these devices that, only 3 years earlier, were available to the public. We initially weren't too sure if it was gong to be worth the money but now being able to use its tracking meant we could at least retrace our steps exactly and get back to where we came from!

Getting to the point where we were both ready to give up and just continue on our way out of Martin, we were stopped by a local in his car and asked “Problem?” After one word “camping” from us, he was off waving for us to follow him. We ended up outside what looked to be a very nice and well-kept camping site but by this time it was pitch black and we could see nothing of the surrounding area. With a wave from our guide we quickly found our place in the site and began to put the tent up remembering that we still had to fix the broken pole!

With the tent laid out but not erected we decided that the whole process would be far easier with the inclusion of beer. The bar door was locked (it closed at 9pm). Not discouraged we tapped lightly on the door. Victor, who we know now to be the campsite owner, appeared. Explaining our desperate need for beer and looking a bit pathetic, (we can only presume he took pity on us) Victor obliged. ‘Aaahhh you are English’, Victor remarked. ‘You must come in, I am with some of my staff and we are celebrating’. We never really found out what they were celebrating but 3 hours later and whilst all other guests were turned away, we were still in the locked bar, being plied drinks of every description by Victor, who by now was in full swing. Eventually we said our 'goodnights' and struggled outside only then remembering that the tent was still not up and our kit was still on the bikes. We had just been ‘shanghaied’.

The details of Victor’s campsite are:

• Autocamping TURIEC.
• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• GPS: North 45°48 East 09°24

This site is run mainly by Victor, Marta (Victor’s sister) and Simone – they make a great team!

The day did not start early, but what a start it was. Bleary eyed we gingerly poked our heads out of the tent only to have our eyes massaged by the most stunning of views; to our surprise (we had arrived in pitch black) luscious green mountains on all sides cradled our campsite in Martin, a beautiful area in Slovakia.

After unpacking the remains of our gear, we got our bearings. We met Victor mid morning and asked if we could use a power socket under one the roofed barbecue areas. This was going to be our new office as we spent the day catching up on our journal. With food from the campsite restaurant – the soup is a must – we had a very productive day.

The following day sitting in Victor’s office we again spent the day catching up. Our journal was now up to date, but communications and internet access had been difficult over the last few weeks so emails had to picked and even more sent.

With Victor’s kind permission we tapped into the sites phone lines, dialed up and got to work. Despite the connection being slow we got all of our jobs done and with the sun slowly sinking behind the mountain range, it was time to play.

With the panniers and tank bags taken off, our bikes were transformed from the workhorses they’d been to the hill bashing toys we wanted. Off to explore!

The tallest mountain is Martin ‘Ole, with its peak 13Km from the campsite. Half way up the road becomes dirt track and rocks. Both bikes happily bounced along, back wheels occasionally bouncing out of line with an overly excited blip of the throttle. Weaving on and off the track around rocks and in and out of water ravines we made our way to the peak, finally enjoying the relative lightness of our machines. The view at the top was breathtaking as distant mountains gently faded away in the subtle pink hues of the fading day. Beneath us there were just rolling green forests as far as the eye could see.

Slovakia is a very beautiful country.

With the light finally gone we slowly made our way down, grateful for the new powerful Hella Xenon lights on my 1100GS. (Thank you Barry and Keith at SED)

04-08-2003

After our unladen mountain excursion in Slovakia, the bikes once again felt heavy as we waved goodbye to Victor and made the push toward Budapest. The imaginatively named R2 road, that lead us to the city had been pretty but uneventful.

On the outskirts of this legendary city our excitement grew. “Budapest, Budapest,” I blurted to Lisa over the Autocomm’s.

It strange but as Brit’s we’ve been hearing the name Budapest our entire lives, but the name sounds so, so, exotic. Should this city be somewhere more remote and dramatic than Hungry? OK, enough thinking out loud. I’ve just pissed off every Hungarian reading this…sorry guys.

As is now our usual form, we rode straight in the centre of Budapest and slammed into rush-hour. The four clearly marked campsites on our maps were harder to find than Bigfoot, and two hours later, after a dozen stops, countless u-turns and ton of swearing, we finally picked up our first sign for Squirrel Camping. Six km’s later, having weaved through the city we slid through the battered wooden gates of the camp site and sweaty and tired, pull-up and kick down the side-stands.

You can find Squirrel camping at GPS: North 47°30 East 18°58.

It was fast becoming dark as we struggled to pitch the tent in the small, narrow but steep valley of Squirrel Camping. Small short pitches have been cut into the dusty ground of the hill face and our Hilleberg tunnel tent barely fitted and by the time we finished both the tent and ourselves were covered in a black, layer of dry, ancient dusty earth.

With our bikes locked and tucked up safe we headed for the showers. Funny thing is on the way to the showers we somehow detoured and ended up at the bar and after 2 or 3 beers we said “screw the showers, we’re bikers, we’re meant to be dirty!”

05-08-2003

Today’s a new day.

The 158 bus picked us up right in front of the campsite gates and 15 minutes later dropped us at Moscow Square in the heart of Budapest. Twenty minutes later and it was easy to see why Hungry’s Capital is ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

A walk along the banks of the Danube felt like the right thing to do, and before too long we had picked up a tourist map and chosen some of the prime sites to see.

This stunning city is actually formed from two separate ancient settlements, which sit on either side of the River Danube: Buda, a former medieval citadel town, situated amongst rolling hills and the newer Pest area with its 19th century buildings.

We’re only spending a day in Budapest; so choose to explore the older Buda side with its hot springs, churches and castles. In basking sunshine we climbed Castle Hill, and at the top we found, unsurprisingly, …Buda Castle (the “Vàr”). Castle Hill is one of the most ancient parts of Budapest; medieval walls fence off a ‘town within a town’ – ancient Buda.

Bypassing all the normal tourist traps we stopped for lunch in Trinity square and enjoyed the cheapest goulash we could find, whilst in the shadow of the 80-metre tower of Matthias church (also known as the Church of our Lady). Lunch finished we decided not to go into the church itself, mostly due to cost and instead decided to investigate the beautiful turreted walls and the Fisherman’s Bastion – a fairy-tale like fortification which flanks the Danube side of Matthias church and which provided us with glorious views of the Danube and Pest.

As if to prove that all of this ‘culture’ wasn’t going to our heads we found in front of Matthias church a wonderful statue of an imposing man astride a fierce-looking horse, not knowing who the statue was of, we spent the day referring to him as ‘CAPTAIN GEEGEE’, only later on in the afternoon did we find out that the imposing statue was, in fact, St Stephen, the founder of the state and the first King of Hungary!! We still think that ‘Captain Gee Gee’ has a certain noble ring to it! Having walked all day in unrelenting heat we once again boarded the 158 and headed back to our dusty home.