Oświęcim - Auschwitz

In the waiting area of Oświęcim train station, sleeping is naturally forbidden. I can't see any cameras and everything seems quiet as I arrive there around 12:00 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Nevertheless, I first leave Rango with our luggage in a corner of the room and take a seat on a bench myself. About 30 minutes later, a security guard finally shows up - he is obviously sitting in the next room. Communication is difficult, but I manage to make it clear that I will be leaving by train in a few hours. The fact that there might be some sightseeing in between seems secondary to me. So I am allowed to stay and then I make myself comfortable next to Rango. I can doze a little until about 5:30 am and leave the waiting room with the beginning of the public traffic. The first thing I need is breakfast somewhere. There is a Carrefour marked on the map nearby, so I head there. Unfortunately, it only opens at eight, but the McDonald's next door opens an hour earlier and also provides protection from the slowly intensifying rain. I just took a seat under an umbrella when it starts pouring down. I spend the hour until breakfast fixing Rango's backpack, which has suffered quite a bit in the mountains. After a small bite, we head to the center of the small town in southern Poland. Fortunately, we don't have to fight any further rainfall for now. After crossing the Soła River, we are welcomed by the town with a small castle, several churches, a nice market square, and a well-preserved small town structure. The town definitely has a certain charm. We cross the Soła River again and head back west, where we reach the district of Brzezinka with the Auschwitz II - Birkenau Memorial Site about 75 minutes after breakfast. I leave Rango in front of a café in the parking lot and make my way to the camp. However, to book a tour, I have to go to the Auschwitz I - Main Camp Memorial Site about 3 km southeast of Brzezinka. I'm a bit tired from the last short night and wait with Rango for about 20 minutes for the next bus there. After parking the car and my luggage under an umbrella in front of a restaurant, I can book a guided tour in German for 12:00 pm. Until then, I keep my faithful companion company. The tour starts in the main camp, where we get a good 2 hours of insight into the history of the concentration camp. The pictures made by the prisoners and the 'raw materials' found after the liberation (mountains of glasses, shoes, hygiene articles, human hair,...) make a special impression. Afterwards, we spend another good hour and a half in Auschwitz II - Birkenau, where the majority of the extermination machinery operated. 1.1 to 1.5 million people murdered in the entire Auschwitz complex alone. Man as the crown of creation? A bad joke. The whole thing is and remains UNBELIEVABLE!!! Back with Rango, who always patiently waits for me, I take a short breather. Then we make our way to the train station through Brzezinka. The next destination is Lake Solina, a dammed lake in southeastern Poland, where I want to spend a few days. On Tuesday evening, I make it to Krakow, where I eat something at the train station and use the Wi-Fi for some travel reports until I can continue eastwards late at night.