Oktoberfest Tonbridge

The Saturday before last, Tonbridge held its own Oktoberfest, in a large marquee attached to the town’s football ground, at Longmead. We first became aware of this event through one of the building firms that Mrs PBT’s does accountancy work for. The company’s yard and office are adjacent to the Tonbridge Angels ground, so they often have first hand knowledge as to what’s going on at the club.

It was Mrs PBT’s boss who tipped us off about the event, although I do recall seeing some early advanced publicity for it, but the thing that really sparked my interest was the event’s sponsor.  This was the people behind Hofmeister Helles, the re-vamped 1980’s lager brand. The beer is now an authentic German Helles, brewed by a small brewery in the heart of Bavaria, and very tasty it is too.

Tonbridge Oktoberfest was as a “ticket only” event, with the option of pre-booking a table. As well as Hofmeister Helles, there was food in the form of Bratwurst and pulled pork, supplied by local butchers Hayward’s, plus classic Oktoberfest entertainment provided by the London Oompah Band.

Sponsor, Richard Longhurst, one of the two people behind the re-launch of Hofmeister, said: “I love Oktoberfest and I am so excited that Hofmeister can sponsor the very first Oktoberfest in Tonbridge. It will be a true Bavarian experience and Hofmeister Helles is the perfect beer sponsor for this – a truly authentic Bavarian beer.”

Mrs PBT’s boss booked a table for 10 people, which included the Bailey family. Included in the ticket price was the first beer of the evening, along with a complimentary “Stein.” Now anyone who has been to Bavaria will know, that the large, glass one-litre drinking vessels are known as a Maβ Krug, rather than a Stein; the latter word, of course, being German for "stone."

Stein can be used to describe a ceramic, stoneware drinking vessel, but leaving semantics aside, the drinking vessels at Tonbridge Oktoberfest were made of non-breakable polycarbonate, no doubt for safety reasons. They were CE marked as two pints, so were slightly larger than the traditional Munich one litre Maβ Krugs.

The beer was token only, and if I did my maths correctly, the beer worked out at £7.50 for a full two-pint refill. The polycarbonate drinking vessels were returnable; Matthew kept his but I exchanged mine for a charity donation at the end of the evening.  The food was also token only, which I thought rather unnecessary.

Once you’ve experienced the real thing any attempt to replicate Munich’s world famous Oktoberfest is bound to end up leaving one wanting more, so the thing to remember about these “copy-cat” events is to not even attempt a comparison with the real deal. Instead treat them as something enjoyable in their own rights and then just go with the flow.

Mrs PBT’s and I wore the pointed felt hats we’d purchase at Oktoberfest 2017,  but there were a surprisingly large amount of people who went several stages further and turned up in traditional Bavarian costume. There were a lot more Lederhosen and braces being worn than Dirndl’s, whereas in Munich, the split is much more 50:50.

If truth be known, the event didn’t really compare with the real one, but on the plus side, the beer was very drinkable, being brewed to a much more sensible strength than the 6% plus Festbier, served at Oktoberfest Munich. The London Oompah Band were good, and helped get people in the mood, but the timing of their set was too early in the evening,

The DJ set that followed was far too loud, making conversation impossible, but it did get people up on their feet and dancing. As at the real Oktoberfest, dancing on the tables was not permitted; although several people did get carried away. Mrs PBT’s boss was amongst them, and had to be helped/persuaded down by security. He ended up falling off the table, but apparently can remember nothing about the event!

I was quite restrained, in comparison, sticking to two x 2 pint mugs, plus another one which I shared with Matthew. We also enjoyed a pulled pork roll each, along with a Bratwurst – two in Matthew’s case!

To sum up, Tonbridge Oktoberfest was a reasonable attempt to replicate the Munich event, even though it doesn’t really compare with the real thing. My main criticism, apart from the music being too loud, was the rows of tables and benches were too tightly packed together. I suppose it comes down to “bums on seats,” but I ended up getting beer poured down my back on a couple of occasions, as people attempted to squeeze past me.

Will we go next year? It depends really on what else is on, but if we do we might have to go the whole hog and don traditional Bavarian attire; just for the sheer hell of it!

Renewing my acquaintance with Norwich

I’ve got to know and love Norwich over the years, although admittedly it’s taken rather a long time. The fault lies very much with me though, rather than with the city itself, but last Friday, I renewed my acquaintance with the city, on my way back from seeing dad.

First some background. I was 19 years old when I first set foot in Norwich, and that was on a weekend visit to catch up with an old school friend. My pal was studying at UEA, whose campus is on the edge of the city. I was enrolled at Salford University, and being a typical, hard-up student, I hitch-hiked all the way from Greater Manchester, to Norwich.

The journey took me the best part of a day, but the look on my friend’s face when I knocked on his door and burst into his room, was priceless. We enjoyed a good weekend together, but it didn’t involve much pub going. Unlike me, my friend was more into wacky-baccy than beer, but I did persuade him to accompany me on a visit to the Wild Man.

This was a Tolly Cobbold pub (remember them?), and was recorded in CAMRA’s first Good Beer Guide (1974), as “The last Tolly house in Norwich, serving beer by traditional methods.” It was also the city’s only entry in that first GBG. After 44 years, I don’t remember much about the place, apart from it seeming pretty basic, but I’m pleased to record that the Wild Man is still trading, although looking at the entry in WhatPub, it has gone rather upmarket.

Fast forward 20 years to the early 1990’s, when my parents had retired up to Norfolk, and the older of my two sisters was living fairly close-by with her American husband. My brother-in-law was serving in the US Airforce, and during his time in the UK had developed quite a taste for English ale.

Amongst the places he’d discovered was a brew-pub called the Reindeer, sited on the Dereham Road on the main route west out of Norwich, so I joined him there, for a couple of sessions, whilst staying at my parents’ house.

After he and my sister emigrated to the United States, there wasn’t much opportunity for a beer in Norwich. Mrs PBT’s was never keen on Norfolk, dismissing the county as being “too rural.” This prejudice probably extends from the days when we would  stay at my parents’ place,  as a cheap holiday option, although I did keep telling her she might change her mind, if she gave Norwich a try.

I never pressed her on this, especially as a trip into Norwich meant me driving, which negated having much more than just a single pint, but six years ago I spent five days in the county town, as a delegate at CAMRA’s 2013 AGM. My stay allowed me to discover many of the Norwich’s finest pubs, and I also got to know the city centre quite well.

However, but the concentric layout of the streets, as they radiate away from the Castle Mound, still disorientates me as much today, as it did six years ago, so last Friday I had to keep checking the map on my phone, so as not to get lost. It was mid-afternoon and I had a couple of hours free before my train was due to depart. The bus from Dereham had dropped me off at the city’s bus station, and I fancied a pint, plus a bite to eat.

 

But where to drink in a city which now offers a choice of decent beer and decent pubs, that would have been unimaginable on that first visit 44 years ago?  I’d carried out some online research during the outward train journey, and thought about St Andrew’s Brewhouse, which Matt and I had visited a few years previously. I also considered the Rumsey Wells, an interesting looking Adnam’s tied pub, that I’d noticed before. I particularly fancied a pint of Adnam’s Old, although it was probably too early on for this seasonal dark ale.

There was the nearby Belgian Monk as well, along with the Plough, which belongs to Grain Brewery. I’d squeezed  my way into the latter on a busy Friday night, back in 2013, so this was another possibility, along with the Brew Dog outlet that has opened in the city, but in the end I found myself gravitating towards the Gardener’s Arms, more commonly known as the “Murderer’s.”

I’d spotted the pub from the bus, on the outward  journey towards Dereham. It was in the general direction of the route that would lead me back towards the station, and I knew there would be a good choice of beers there. More to the point, I’d drunk in the Murderer’s several times before, including one occasion with Matt.

I therefore walked along from the bus station and saw the Murderer’s beckoning, up on a sight hill, in a pedestrianised side street. The pub was relatively quiet as I entered, and the upper bar at the right of the building was closed. This was perhaps not surprising for mid-afternoon, even on a Friday. I noticed a good selection of beers and opted for the Fresh Hop, a 4.3% “Amber Ale” from Moon Gazer.

It was billed as a “limited edition,” and reading between the lines it may have been a “Green Hop” beer. After sitting down, facing the entrance, on a wooden settle, I scored the beer at 3.5 NBSS. It was a nice and refreshing pint, which was just what I needed. I sat there enjoying the beer and just taking in the moment, pleased that I’d chosen the Murderer’s for my mid-afternoon refreshment stop.

When the time came for another beer,  I went for the 4.9% Chocolate Porter from 3 Piers Brewery. I’d over-heard a group of students ordering the beer, so having missed it when I first surveyed the two banks of hand pulls, decided to give it a try. I was glad I did, as the beer certainly lived up to the chocolate in its name. It was satisfying, full-bodied and worthy of another 3.5 NBSS.

Good as it was, I decided to make that beer my last. I was feeling peckish and also felt I should be heading back towards the station. After accessing the pub Wi-Fi, I checked for the quickest route back, and also for the location of the nearest pasty shop. I didn’t fancy a full-blown meal, as I’d had a subway-style roll in Gregg’s, earlier in the day, but I did have a real craving for a proper Cornish pasty. I envisaged myself biting into the thick ridge of crimped short-crust pastry and then savouring the beef and turnip filling inside.

Google showed there was branch of the West Cornwall Pasty Co nearby, so bidding farewell to the friendly and helpful young barman, I set off in search of sustenance. The shop was nearer than I thought, and once inside I discovered they were operating a “meal deal.” For £4.95, shoppers could purchase any medium size pasty, alongside a packet of crisps and a bottle of water. In keeping with the shop’s Cornish ethos, the crisps and the water were sourced from Cornwall.

I was asked if I wanted to eat in, but I decided it would be wiser to head for the station. I walked round the base of the castle mound, where every bus in Norwich seemed to park up, before heading off down Prince of Wales Road. It was all very different from the last time I’d walked that route, as the road is at the centre of Norwich’s nightlife and club district. This time, the scantily clad and slightly worse for drink young ladies, were nowhere to be seen, but I reckoned they would be out in force in another six or seven hours time!

I reached the station in plenty of time and sat on a bench to enjoy my pasty. It was still piping hot, and every bit as good as anticipated, proving a fitting end to my afternoon. My train was in, so I boarded and found a seat next to the window. I made a start on this article by writing up some rough notes, although it’s taken me a week now to finish the post and get it up on the site.

Gressenhall, Norfolk by train and bus

Beer and travel are the main themes of this blog, but this particular post is solely about the latter. Give its title it could have been written for bus and train anoraks  public transport enthusiasts, and as I count myself amongst the latter category, perhaps I should not be so disparaging to the former.

Those who have followed  this blog over the years will know I am a regular visitor to Norfolk. This came about following the decision of my parents to retire to the county, about a quarter of a century ago. So there were regular visits to see them, and cheap holidays as well, especially when our son was small, but during the course of the last half dozen or so years, the trips became more and more fraught.

This was due to the deteriorating health of both parents; mum’s problem was physical, whilst dad’s was/is mental – specifically advancing Alzheimer’s. After mum’s passing in 2015, my sisters and I took the difficult decision to move dad into a care home, and after inspecting several without being overly impressed, we found him a place in a small and pleasant home, with high standards of care. The home is in the small village of Gressenhall, just a few miles to the north of Dereham and not too many miles from Swanton Morley; the village where mum and dad originally retired to.

I’ve found over the years, and certainly since my parent’s health started to decline, that a visit to Norfolk was best combined with an overnight stay. It is of course, quite possible to drive there and back in a day, from my home in west Kent, but even on a good run I’ve never managed the journey in less than two and three quarter hours, and that’s with the recent improvements to the A11.

So whilst it is dual carriageway all the way from Tonbridge, it's a tiring drive, which seems to get worse as the volume of traffic on our roads, continues to increase. I also find the journey repetitive and boring, as over the years I know exactly what lane I need to be in, the location of all the roundabouts and also which diversions to take, should the road get too busy or become blocked.

Public transport is the other option, and with fast and frequent trains between London and Norwich, completing the journey in under two hours, the train is increasingly the way to go. With cheap, “Saver” tickets, book-able in advance, the train is also competitive when you factor in the cost of fuel, plus wear and tear on the car. Getting to London from Tonbridge is also easy, with around three trains an hour, which just leaves the section at the other end i.e. getting from Norwich to Gressenhall.

Now this is where the real, bus geek stuff comes in, as Konect bus operate an express service from Norwich to Dereham, with buses every 20 minutes in both directions. I used this service last year, but it still left me the short journey from Dereham to Gressenhall. There is a busy B road which head north out of Dereham, but being narrow in places, and with fast moving traffic, they are not the sort of roads I wish to be walking on; even though the distance is only three miles.

 I solved the problem last year, by pre-booking a taxi from Dereham, but this plan nearly came unstuck after my train was delayed for three quarters of an hour at Ipswich. So determined not to be faced with a similar problem I conducted a little more research and found that Konect bus also operate a convenient service between Dereham and Gressenhall.

Last Friday I put this combination train and bus route to the test, and set off to visit dad in his Gressenhall care home. I’d timed the various stages of my journey to include sufficient slack, so that if there were delays on the trains, they would not impact on the overall itinerary. The critical part was the buses to and from Gressenhall, as there was only one viable outward service coupled with a final return service at 14.21.

I therefore opted for a train which would get me to Norwich shortly before 10.30, plus one which would depart for London at 17.30. So, sounding even more like an anorak, I bought two "Advanced Singles" – one in either direction, which would fit in with the above times. What I hadn’t realised is that not only do these tickets specify which Inter-City services to take between London and Norwich; a situation which is exactly what one would expect, they also specified the times of trains to and from London Bridge.

This was a new one on me, and unfortunately it did add unwanted and unnecessary inflexibility to my journey. What was worse was no-one bothered to check my ticket on either of those local, South Eastern trains. The other strange thing was my outward ticket to Norwich was designated from Stratford, rather than Liverpool Street.

Stratford wasn’t difficult to reach from London Bridge - 7 stops on the Jubilee Line, but the station itself took a bit of getting use to. I entered the wrong platform to begin with; why have a 10a when your platform numbers run up to 12? But with sufficient time to correct my mistake I boarded the 08.38 Greater Anglia service to Norwich, and settled down to enjoy the journey.

There were no disruptions on this occasion, and I passed the journey either reading or listening to some downloaded music on my phone. I also enjoyed the scenery, especially the section where the line crosses the River Stour, close to Manningtree and just before the river widens to become an estuary. Looking out the window, it was possible to see the towering cranes of Harwich Port, in the distance, some twelve miles away.

My train was a few minutes early getting into Norwich, which allowed me to catch the 10.37 No. 8 Konect bus to Dereham - £5.60 return. In Dereham, I had time for a ham and egg salad roll, plus a flat white in Gregg’s, before finding the correct bus stop for the 12.30 No. 21 Konect service to Fakenham - £5.40 return, also calling at Gressenhall. This was a small single- deck bus; don’t ask me what type as I am not a bus anorak, even though I am starting to sound like one!

I had around an hour and a quarter to spend at the care home, with dad. He was finishing off his dinner when I arrived, and whilst he wasn’t looking too bad, he wasn’t very communicative, hardly opening his eyes. There was no real acknowledgement of my presence, and if truth be told I don’t think he knew who I was.  

Alzheimer’s is a cruel and debilitating condition, which not only robs sufferers of their memories, but also leaves them increasingly isolated form the outside world. It’s heart-breaking to think back at how intelligent and witty dad was in his prime, but as I’ve mentioned before he is being well cared for and doesn’t appear to be in any stress.

The 14.21 return bus to Dereham was running a little late, which gave me time to gaze forlornly at Gressenhall’s sole pub; the now sadly closed Swan. It was a pub I’d wanted to take dad to, before his illness became too crippling, but in all honesty by the time he entered the care home, he wouldn’t really have been up to it.

The No. 21 bus dropped me in Dereham town centre, allowing me to hop smartly cross the road and onto the 14.38 express service back to Norwich. I alighted at the city’s bus station, as I wanted to take a look around and also visit a pub or two.

I will describe in a separate post, what I got up to in Norwich, but I had ample time to do what I wanted before catching the 17.30 Greater Anglia service back to London Liverpool Street. The train was a lot more crowded than it had been on the outward journey, but this wasn’t surprising for a Friday evening.

After waiting at London Bridge, for my timed connection back to Tonbridge, I was picked up at the station by son Matthew, who was waiting in his car. The entire journey ran like clockwork and cost a total of £43.45, probably not much more than the cost of diesel, and significantly less when combined with the price of a overnight stay.

A poignant and thirsty walk around Kazimierz

It’s back to Krakow for a while, as we take a look at the Kazimierz district of the city. Kazimierz was the former Jewish quarter of Krakow, and whilst most of its Jewish inhabitants have sadly departed, the memory of them lingers, along with many of the physical structures they left behind.

Prior to WWII, Poland had been home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, and perhaps the world. It is estimated that the country was home to 3 million Jews; the large number reflecting the fact that, compared to other European countries, they had been mainly free from persecution in Poland.

Kazimierz was the centre of the Jewish community in Krakow, but in 1941 the population of this district was forcibly expelled by the Nazis, and marched across the River Wisla to the Podgórze area of the city. Sandwiched between the river and cliffs to the south, the Nazis saw the setting as a natural prison, and sealed the area off from the rest of the city. For the history and film buffs amongst you, Podgórze is also the site of Oskar Schlindler’s enamelware factory.

What became known as the Krakow Ghetto, only lasted a couple of years before sadly, most of the inhabitants were either murdered inside this natural prison, or transported to one of the death camps. During the communist era Kazimierz became one of Krakow’s least desirable districts, as the area gradually fell into disrepair, but today it has re-discovered itself and is home to several of the city’s best craft beer bars.

My plan was to take a look at Kazimierz’s Jewish past, before decamping to one of these outlets for a spot of lunch, plus a few beers, as after a morning spent traipsing around the Wawel Castle complex,  I was certainly looking forward to a beer or two.

Kazimierz was just a short 15-20 minute walk away, along some pleasant tree-lined boulevards, but after entering the district, with its maze of narrow streets I decided that the historical/cultural stuff could wait, and a beer should come first.

I headed for a place called Omerta, which was one of the first craft beer bars to open in Krakow. The write ups I read, along with the ratings, persuaded me this would be a good place to start off the afternoon. Imagine my disappointment then at finding it shut. To be fair, the opening times were indicated by a sign in the window, which clearly indicated the pub didn’t open until 4pm.

It’s a pity that the guide I down-loaded from local-life Krakow, didn’t mention this, but the moral here should be, check the website before setting out.  Plan “B” was a bar called Strefa Piwa, but as it was several blocks away, I decided to do what I’d come for, and take a look at the area’s Jewish heritage.

The Remuh cemetery and synagogue were conveniently close by, and after a wander around the former, with its rows of tombstones, I stepped inside the restored synagogue, which is one of the smallest in Krakow. I made a donation towards its continued upkeep, whilst pausing to reflect on the enormous crime perpetrated by the Nazis. In the space of just six short years, they had destroyed centuries of Jewish culture and traditions, and were well on their way to eliminating Europe’s Jews altogether.

What makes people act in a way where they go out of their way to inflict pain, suffering and death on their fellow human beings? Europe’s Jews weren’t a threat to the Nazis, or to the German people, but they were a convenient scapegoat for the regime. Now they’re gone, vanished like snow in the spring, and only their ghosts living on.

On a more positive note, it was encouraging to see a handful of Jewish restaurants and cafés as well as a Jewish bookshop. I walked back towards Strefa Piwa, passing the impressive Old Synagogue en route, but when I arrived, I discovered that it too didn’t open until 4pm.

I was beginning to think this must be a local conspiracy. I was footsore, weary, hungry and of course thirsty, but fortunately salvation was on hand, in the form of the Wrega Pub-Gallery and Restaurant. It was also blessed with an attractive looking courtyard that I’d walked past earlier. I dived in and was rewarded with somewhere pleasant to sit in the sun, some excellent beer and some traditional Polish food as well.

I wrote about Wrega in a separate post, which I posted from Krakow at the time. It ticked all the right boxes leaving my inner man well satisfied. What is worth repeating from that post are the lines about the Zywiec Porter. It was excellent, dark, full-bodied and with just the right amount of residual bitterness. In short, it was a very satisfying beer. Although the early morning rain and cleared and the sun had come out, conditions remained quite sultry. I headed back to the hotel, arriving just before the heavens opened.

I made a brief return to Kazimierz the following evening, on my way back from a trip across the river to Podgórze. Ironically, whilst the craft beers bars were open, none of them seemed to serve food. As I don’t like drinking on an empty stomach, I called back in at Wrega, where I enjoyed an excellent chicken Schnitzel, plus more Zywiec Porter.

Before returning to my hotel for the night, I stopped off at the Omerta pub, where there was indeed an excellent selection of Polish craft beer. I sat out at one of the outside tables, watching the students passing by, whilst wishing I was 40 years younger! 

The locally brewed Chocolate –Vanilla, Coffee Milk Stout, 6.5% ABV and the Irlandzkrie Cienne 6.0% Lager, were both excellent. I can’t tell you who brewed them, or where, but you can look them up on Untappd if you’re so inclined. 

Wherever they came from, they were a fitting way to mark the end of my short visit to Krakow.

Mikkeller at last

After the dark and rather disturbing nature of the previous post, I wanted to get things back on a more even keel. There are still a couple of areas I want to write about concerning last month’s trip to Poland, but in the meantime here’s something a little lighter and a lot less serious.

This short post concerns the renowned Danish brewer Mikkeller, and is a follow on to an article I wrote at the beginning of 2016. That particular post was a review of “Mikkeller’s Book of Beer,” which I’d received a couple of weeks previously as a Christmas present.

I wrote at the time that, despite all the publicity and hype surrounding Mikkeller, I had never drank one of his beers. I qualified that by saying that the bigger the hype surrounding something, the more likely I am to shy away from it.  I also wrote that as I have never been a person who just follows the crowd, I may have been avoiding Mikkeller beers, either consciously or even subconsciously.

Now it’s rather unlikely that your local supermarket will stock Mikkeller beers, and it’s not even certain that a specialist off-licence will carry them either, so my excuse that the beers might not have found their way down to this part of Kent, might not have been as lame as it first sounded. I could have been wrong, and might just not have been looking hard enough, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that the opportunity to enjoy a glass of Mikkeller’s finest, first surfaced.

It came about at last August’s summer party, held by the British Guild of Beer Writers, which took place at the London Fields Brewery Arches, in Hackney. There was a wide range of interesting beers on offer that evening, including a couple from Mikkeller. I enjoyed one called Hair in the Mailbox, which was an interesting and enjoyable IPA,  but missed out on the Double Sour Cherry Organic Berliner. I did manage to pick up another Mikkeller beer as a take-out, towards the end of the evening, and finally got round to trying it at the weekend. This is what I wrote:

The other day I cracked open a can of Mikkeller The National 5.0%. – “Reality Based Pils.”. The beer describes itself as a German-style Pilsner, and is presented in an eye-catching can decorated with the iconic Mikkeller, trade-mark cartoon figure.

Like many Mikkeller beers, this one is brewed at the De Proef Brewery in Belgium. De Proef have the technical know-how to bring Mikkeller’s ideas and recipes into reality, and they also have the capacity to handle the relatively high volumes demanded by the Danish “gypsy brewer.”

It seems strange, but Reality Based Pils is quite a “thick” beer, as evidenced by the way in which the foam “lacings” cling to the side of the glass. The head also lingers right to the bottom of the glass. The beer has a slight haze, and has plenty of malt character set against the dryness of the hops. To my mind it’s not quite as dry as a typical German Pils, but is no less enjoyable for being fuller in body than the latter.

“Drink fresh,” the can said, but the BBE date was 30^th August 2019. I cracked it open on 4^th October, so whilst the beer was not as fresh as it should have been, it was still good and most enjoyable. I ought to have taken a photo of the "lacings," but I'm afraid you'll have to make do with some photos of a few cans instead!

 I won’t be going out of my way to track down more Mikkeller beers, but if I come across any on my travels, I will certainly give them a try.

Should I visit Auschwitz?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/xiquinho/16380127035/en:Creative_Commons

This post was always going to be difficult to write, and I made several attempts at getting it right before hitting the “Publish” button. It probably still isn’t all it should be, but given the subject matter it’s the best I can manage, without belittling, in any way, what I have written about.  

For several centuries the Polish town of Oświęcim was a quiet backwater place, largely unknown to the rest of the world, and pretty much untouched by world events. That changed during WWII when the town, known as Auschwitz under German occupation, became the site of the largest Nazi death camp in the Third Reich.

It is estimated that between 1.1 and 1.5 million people were exterminated in the twin camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau; a statistic that is equally staggering in its awfulness, as it is in being able to comprehend. The name Auschwitz  has since been burned into human collective consciousness as a place where unimaginable wickedness was wrought upon innumerable innocent victims, whose only crime was to have been a little different from their neighbours.

The camp survives today as both a museum and a monument to what the human race is capable of inflicting on its own kind. It also exists as a shrine to all those who perished there – ordinary people, young and old, people who, like most of us, just wanted to get on and live their lives in peace, without the interference of the outside world, or of dark forces beyond their control.

Auschwitz is only 70 kilometres from Krakow, so is relatively easy to reach whilst staying in the city. But being so close to what is the most infamous of the Nazi death camps, does give rise to the dilemma of whether or not to visit, as part of any stay in Krakow.

I mentioned in a previous post, that I would attempt to explain why I didn’t make the trip; even though from a personal viewpoint, I don’t feel any need to justify my actions. But if I needed an excuse, it would be a visit to Auschwitz takes a whole day. My trip Krakow was a short, mini-break, and with just two whole days in the city, there was more than enough to keep me occupied without leaving the confines of the former Polish capital.

Would I have made the visit, had my stay in Krakow been longer?  Whilst there, I thought that I wouldn’t; not out of disrespect, but more because I wasn’t certain about the right motives for going. I’m still not sure, but let’s keep an open mind and look at some of the facts as well as the mechanics behind a visit.

First, you can’t just turn up at the site and visit Auschwitz  independently, without a guide, as all visits must be booked in advance. You can do this online, or make use of one of the many organised tours. Shops and hotels all over Krakow offer day trips to Auschwitz, almost as if they are offering a day out at a local attraction.

I won’t go into their motives for offering such excursions, as this blog is not the forum to be looking at such issues, but what I do know is this place of abject horror attracts over a million visitors each year.

I may be completely wrong, but when I thought about it, I had the feeling people were visiting because they felt they had to, or because a trip there was on their bucket list. Worse still, they went along because it was just something to do. How can something so abhorrent be treated as though it was just another tourist attraction?

You may feel uncomfortable about visiting a site where horror and raw emotions resonate at every corner, and would you want to be experiencing such feelings at the same time as hundreds of other tourists, whilst they just gawp and stare? Alternatively, you could ask the question, can you not spare just a single day from your busy life to see the place where so many innocent people lost theirs?

The “Krakow in Your Pocket” guidebook I picked up in Poland, assures readers that a visit to Auschwitz was not at all like I imagined, and was instead, a very sombre and respectful affair. Without skimping on the sheer horror of Auschwitz, the site’s curators and custodians have gone out of their way to ensure everything is handled with sensitivity and with respect. In this way one of the most horrific acts in human history is chronicled with just the right level of tact, passion, poignancy and professionalism, thereby sparing visitors from totally surrendering to their emotions.

With this in mind my fears were possibly groundless, although I still have mixed feelings about visiting the site. Leaving these aside, I want to end with the summary below, contained in that Krakow in Your Pocket Guide.

“It should be understood that Auschwitz is not a site of Jewish concern, Polish concern, German concern, Gypsy concern or historical concern…. It is a site of human concern. As such, we believe everyone should visit.”