First pictures of Taipei

Settling in to Taipei now - really enjoying the city so far. Have been exploring areas to live, as well as getting a feel for the lifestyle here - including night markets, shopping, restaurants, bars and movie theaters. Also both of us got to fulfill our first goals - Andy to stand at the base of Taipei 101 and look up and Ev to hike up to the top of Elephant Mountain for the famous view of the city.

More to follow at the end of the month (when we'll plan to update monthly), but a few pictures to get us started.

 Our first view of Taiwan

 Guting - our current home (hotel) - minutes from our employer's headquarters

 Bottom of Taipei 101 - for a while, the tallest building in the world. Not been to the top yet, but will do soon.

 Looking up from the base

 Waiting for night fall from Elephant Mountain - the sun just beginning to set

The city sparkles at night - a beautiful view from the top of the mountain.

Dubai

A great short trip to Dubai, and a great taster of the Middle East.

 Taking a river taxi - very cool.

 At the spice souk

Krakow, Poland

We had a great trip to Krakow - an old city in Poland, famous for many reasons, including being the home of Pope John Paul II, the tragedy of World War II Nazi concentration camps (where Poles and Jews were persecuted, amongst others), as well as for its rich, long and colorful history.
It ended up being one of our favorite European cities. See for yourself ...

The huge (largest in Europe) medieval market square - the Cloth Market Hall in the foreground, and St Mary's Basilica in the background. Every hour, on the hour, a bugler plays half a song from the top of the other - only half of the song to commemorate the bugler who was shot in the throat while raising the alarm by an invader's arrow centuries ago.

 Pope John Paul's home when he was the archbishop of Poland - he would return when he was Pope and sit at the upper window talking with the locals - a large photo of him is there now ...

 Inside the walls of the fabulous (and very busy) of Wawel Castle. Tourists everywhere - never felt claustrophobic in a cathedral before ...

 We were surprised by the emphasis on culture in Krakow - one evening we stumbled across a fantastic, free open air opera event complete with huge mechanical contraptions, fireworks and people swinging from cranes sprinkling glitter over the crowds. A full moon rose over the buildings and we had a most memorable and magical evening.

Krakow is also close to the Auschwitz complex - and we felt it important to visit and experience this side of Poland's history. When Germany declared war, it quickly invaded Poland. The Polish people fought back, but were severely outnumbered and without international help, within weeks, the country had fallen. The Polish people were targeted, alongside Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, etc.. Auschwitz was the first camp (a converted prison), but it soon couldn't handle the deportations coming from all over Europe, so more camps were built. We visited the original Auschwitz plus Birkenau,another huge camp in the area. 

 The entrance to the camp - the sign above the gate means "Work sets you free" - a terrible joke to the majority of people entering here that were either killed immediately or worked to death.

Empty gas canisters used in the gas chambers.

The piles of possessions was terrible sad - many people were tricked into believing they were simply being relocated and so brought supplies to start a new life - this was, of course, an evil lie that was used to help calm the deportees until they could be dealt with

One of the 'shower' rooms = gas chambers. People were given hooks to put their clothes on, and sometimes bars of soap and towels, to trick them into thinking they were taking a shower. It took about twenty minutes to die from gas suffocation. Fellow inmates then had to remove the bodies, remove valuables, and cremate the bodies.

 The crematorium

One of the cattle trucks used to transport deportees - 70 - 100 people per car.
Overall, we were really glad to have experienced and witnessed this. Very difficult, but so important to remember and respect.

OK, on a brighter note, evening in Krakow was fantastic - we loved grabbing a beer and watching the world go by at one of the outdoor bars

Krakow is also home of Oscar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame. So, another important place to visit. Again, not so easy.

 This is Ghetto Square to commemorate the sight of the Jewish ghetto established the Nazis.

The factory.

So there are some of the highlights from our trip to Krakow, Poland - definitely worth visiting.

Back on Blogger

After a year in Bellingham, we are back on the road. We are planning to post news and photos monthly again - but today, they'll be two entries - one for a UK update and one for our recent trip to Poland.

UK
Currently, we are in the UK preparing for and relaxing before we go to Taipei, Taiwan to teach English to children. We leave for Taipei next week, via Dubai.
In the UK, we have been visiting friends and family, and enjoying both cities and countries. Here are some of our recent photos -

 Meeting up with Gina (from California) in London - us via Poland, she via Denmark. That's Tower Bridge in the background.

 Up in the Newcastle area (northern England) - visiting George Washington's ancestral home - yes, GW the first president of the USA - his family came from here.

 One of our favorite things to do - a country hike through the Essex countryside (southern England).

Poland photos next post.