Auschwitz & Birkenau: History’s most Infamous Murder Camp

There was a profound silence.

Just silence, no one had anything to say to each other, what could you possibly say? You don’t expect to be so overwhelmed by it all until you step into the camp.

It is like two different worlds, the outside and the prison. Outside filled with people talking, eating, drinking – acting normal.
Step Inside the camp and no one speaks, there isn’t a smile, there’s an air of complete respect, sadness and apologies.

I’m sorry for the pain, the suffering, the devastation. I apologise for every evil action, word and gesture. I don’t say this out loud, it’s an internal apology.

All you could hear was the crunch of people’s shoes on the gravel and the guides reiterating the horrific events that took place here in solemn, quiet voices while we all tuned in via headset.

The silence, despite the number of people ‘visiting’ was overwhelming, as was the ground i was standing on.

My Spontaneous Solo Trip: Krakow, Poland.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

I opened my tired, sleep-deprived eyes to a beautiful sunrise, waking up the scenery of fields, beautiful houses and forests in the horizon. It was somewhere between 5am and 6am and we were zooming our way towards Krakow, Poland.

I shared this train cabin with two strangers, Rachel and two crazy – but awesome – Canadians. I’m not sure when the two strangers joined us.
We had laughed, joked and talked until we had fallen asleep. Rachel and I had been worried we would get an awkward cabin, but instead it was perfect.

Arriving into Krakow we said polite goodbyes to the strangers. Added our new (crazy) Canadian friends on Facebook (obviously), waited until there was enough space for the two of us to try to retrieve Rachel’s (Gigantic) suitcase from the overhead without knocking anyone out.

Walking to the hostel it started to Rain – I was secretly, really annoyed at the rain – it was refreshing, morning due rain, but I really hoped it wasn’t going to rain for the next 4 days.

It was early and despite both of us being in a sleep deprived state and totally useless with direction, we made it to ‘Lets Rock Hostel’ too early to check in, but early enough for breakfast and sleeping on the breakfast tables.

My Spontaneous Solo Trip: Prague

You often find that magical spot unexpectedly, a spot where the beauty just takes over and your whole being instantly sighs ‘you made the right choice here lady, keep going’. 

This came to me when I was sitting on the King Charles Bridge – yes, literally sitting on the edge of the bridge – in Prague at 5:45am, waiting patiently for the sun to come up, enjoying a rare moment when the few people cluttering the bridge were stumbling home from the clubs, setting up tripods to capture the sunrise and romantics having a morning stroll.

Prague was always somewhere I wanted to visit. Looking at the city with ‘Google Images’ it was just as beautiful in winter as it was in summer. The burning red roofs, the Castle which can be viewed from almost everywhere in the city and the beautiful riverbanks attracted me to it.

The Scottish rain and constant grey weather was getting me down. I hadn’t seen the sun since March and ‘Skyscanner’ was becoming my best dreaming partner. So when I clicked ‘explore’ and Prague was offered as one of the cheapest choices, I thought, ‘hey, why not?’

So I booked a 3-night stay in Prague.

Let me Catch My Breath Here: Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award.

So I woke up in Poland 2 days ago with a wonderful message from Amanda from Aroamertherapy and I honestly had to do a double take, a re-read, make sure I wasn’t still dreaming – cause hostel sleeps aren’t always the best –  but no, it was there in black in white. She has nominated me for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Wow, thank you!

To accept this nomination fully, she has asked me ten questions which will let you all into my thought process behind writing and learn a little more about me. Enjoy!

My First Solo Adventure: Travelling & Volunteering in Nepal

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”  ~Leo Buscaglia

I boarded the small Jet-like aircraft at Delhi, the next stop was Kathmandu, the Capital of Nepal. A small country Sandwiched between India and China, gateway to Mount Everest and a destination I knew almost nothing about, yet chose this to be my home for the next six weeks.

It was clear almost immediately as I got to the gate that this was not ‘tourist season’. Taller than most – although, I wouldn’t say 5’5″ was tall – blonder, well, just being blonde, paler than pale and carrying a rucksack. Yep, I stuck out. People would stare, which didn’t bother me too much. The women would come up and chat to me and touch my hair and giggle – I had no idea what they were saying and ended up nervously giggling with them – I seemed to be the only stranger on this ‘Jet’. Everyone, and I mean, everyone seemed to know each other and it was a game of musical chairs right up until we were about to take off – Reminded me of the mad hatters tea party.

Sitting at the end of the Runway, waiting to take off. Suddenly, every single person (except me) on the plane began chanting and praying. Then someone rang a small bell and off we went – it was if the pilot was waiting permission from those aboard to take off – Oh God, was I missing something here?

Dubai: My Little 5 Star Experience

“Most of people talk, we do things. They plan, we achieve. They hesitate, we move ahead. We are living proof that when human beings have the courage and commitment to transform a dream into reality, there is nothing that can stop them. Dubai is a living example of that.” – HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Standing on the Balcony of my impressive room, in a hotel built on a man-made island, staring across the water to the City lit up at night, imagining the amazing effort and spectacular dreams, vision and drive one man had which created a bustling hub city, internationally cultured and the meeting place for many all over the world.

Most of all, I stood there and realised just how lucky I was, at 22 years old to be in Dubai where I would be spending the next 4 days peeking into the luxury that is on offer.

Rome: The Ancient City meeting the Modern World

“Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning.” Giotto di Bondone (Italian painter and architect. Died 1337)

Leaving Venice our next stop was the legendary city of ‘Roma’.

Everyone knows something about the magnificence of Rome and the Roman Empire, it is ‘shown off’ in movies filled with action, adventure and romance, depicted in books and taught at schools all over the world. So it comes with no surprise that Rome is one of the worlds most iconic and ‘bucket-listed’ cities in the world.

Rome, once the hub of a legendary Empire is now known for its history meets modern city landscape, fashion, religion and of course food. We were here to explore it all – okay, maybe not the fashion part, but window shopping counts, right?

Venice: The Floating City.

“I stood in Venice, on the bridge of sighs. A Palace and a Prison in both hands”.

In the air, on approach to land in Venice it’s hard to believe that these (sinking) islands can sustain such a bustling and influential city. The dream city that is famous on postcards around the world.

Who decided to build a city on (floating) islands? They sit in such a way it looks as though one wave would engulf them all – and this plane was about to land on one, we hoped.

Venice is a city of dreams, where imagination comes to life and is begging to be explored, I was so excited to finally, be arriving with my best friend to experience the whole thing and to begin our fleeting love affair with Italy.

Other than the city itself, I was attracted to the city to visit one of my very good friends I met while travelling and volunteering in Nepal. I hadn’t seen her in years, but we had kept in touch (by writing gorgeous letters) and I had always promised one day I would be back – and here we were.

Shark Cage Diving In South Africa..

“French fries kill more people than guns and sharks, yet nobody’s afraid of French fries.”

Sharks. I’m not sure why I am completely fascinated by these misunderstood animals. They capture me with their stealth, beauty and elegance. The fact that we know almost nothing about these animals – how long they live, where they go to breed etc – only attracts my interest further.

I remember when I was very young – I’m not exactly sure of the age, let’s go with about 7 or 8 years old? – and taking weekend visits to the Video Store (those were the days) and picking out movies our parents wouldn’t want us to watch, but our Grandparents would…
I picked up the Jaws video.
For me (maybe 7 or 8 years old) this was a terrifying movie and I blame it whole-heartedly for my incomprehensible fear of swimming in water I can’t see the bottom of – I am trying to overcome this by Scuba diving.
I also praise this movie for being the main influence for my undying curiosity and love for Sharks. 

The visits to our local Aquarium became frequent. I would go round-and-round the underwater tunnel. Running up and down to follow the ‘Giants’ as they swam by – not the kind of Giants I would go on to watch – I was fascinated the more I learnt, even with the smallest of Shark Species.

So, to be flying down to Cape Town, the home of Great White Shark Cage Diving, I was more than excited – I was living in a dream land mixed with fear and excitement – I was going to bubble over with anticipation and childish joy.

How to Stay Friends After Travelling;

“Friends forever,
Never Apart,
Maybe in Distance,
But never in Heart”

Travelling is a beautiful thing. It opens you up to new cultures, new loves, new friends, extended families, new experiences and gifts you with some amazing experiences.

It is never hard to meet people and find those that you connect well with. In two-week vacations I have met some wonderful people who I connected better with than friends I had known for years back home – crazy huh?!

The famous saying applies often here, you don’t realise what you’ve got till it’s gone.

These can be some of the hardest goodbyes and I often find myself saying ‘keep in touch’ – add me on (insert social media of choice here) – but finding it all to easy to get lazy and lack the effort needed to sustain a friendship.

Here are my top tips on How to Stay Friends After Travelling;