One of the places Ty and I felt that it was important to visit during our time in Europe was the Auschwitz Concentration Camps in Poland, so during our trip around the Balkans last summer we booked a long weekend away in Krakow. 

Our last trip to the continent was made much more enjoyable with Easyjet's new allocated seating programme. While its sad to think that there will be generations of kiwi backpackers to come who will never know the joy of the Easyjet seat scrum at least they've still got Ryanair!

Touching down in Krakow we managed to wangle a shuttle ride into town for the same price as the train, yay! Especially since it was snowing, the next train wasn't for another 40 minutes and the 'train station' was little more than a glorified bus shelter. We checked in to our hostel and went off to explore the city. Walking along the cobbled streets through the old town we immediately felt at ease - the central market square was bustling with what looked like the end of the Christmas markets. As often seems to happen the first stall we came across was selling cheese - but this time grilled Polish style. A warm and friendly local lady explained that the smoky sheep cheese was grilled over hot coals in bite sized morsels and served with cranberry sauce. so delicious! 

We spent a few freezing hours on Saturday doing another of the free walking tours that we have done throughout Europe - they really are the best way to see a city! Knowledge from local guides who really try to make every tour special since they work for tips . Fortunately Google's weather report for the day was wrong and we wandered round in a balmy -7 degrees, much warmer than the -17 that was predicted! However even with this piece of good fortune, 3 pairs of socks and my snow boots it still took a good hour for my toes to thaw out. 

Snow gives places a white wash; like a fresh coat of paint hiding away the dirt underneath. A clean slate. Visiting Auschwitz in the depths of winter put into perspective the hardship that the inmates would have faced but at the same time the glistening white snow gave us an unexpected impression of beauty in a place of absolute terror. 

The experience of visiting two of the three camps was awful but I have to admit that we were expecting it to be worse; a bit more graphic, more intense perhaps. Not that we wanted 'gore' but we had been to an exhibition in a former bunker during our time in Hungary which detailed stories of individuals and their families and I came away from there with my emotions in turmoil. I was so angry that the world had let such atrocities occur, like the international community failing to step in and stop them made it ok. The things that happened during that time were not ok. As a result of this exhibition I was feeling extremely nervous and had a sense of trepidation about our trip to Auschwitz and how I would handle my emotions. 

We chose to do an organised tour, which had both positives and negatives. It was excellent to have a native polish lady showing us around (it takes 12 months of study and numerous exams in Polish to be able to register as an official guide anywhere in Poland) so I don't doubt her knowledge, however we were rushed through certain areas where I think it would have been good to linger to really let things sink in. The numbers are horrific; 1.3 million people herded onto cattle cars for journeys of up to two weeks with no food or water, under the illusion that they were going to start a wonderful new life, only to be sorted like fruit on a conveyor belt on arrival with the bad apples being sent straight for destruction. Those who were considered usable being worked and abused until they too perished or were part of the 1 million people slaughtered in the gas chambers during the few years the camps were operational. Four men being made to sleep standing up in what can only really be described as an oversized chimney and then work an 11 hours of hard labour, surviving on a mere 1200 calories per day if they were lucky. I struggled seeing the tonne of human hair, and the hundreds of suitcases, combs, shoes and other belongings, but I think that the difference between this visit and the one in Budapest was the scale. 1 million people dying is horrific, but its also so hard to relate to, where as individual stories are much easier for the brain to comprehend and empathise with. In some respects there is a lack of documentation about individuals as everyone became just a number but there were also survivors, lets hear their stories, lets use those as a vehicle to prevent these atrocities from happening again.

Despite a couple of apparent close calls somehow Tyro managed to keep the best Christmas surprise I could ask for a secret for over a month! 

For years now Ive been dropping not so subtle hints about my desire to see Cirque du Soleil perform live. While there are regular performances across the European continent and a permanent Las Vegas troupe its pretty rare for them to come to New Zealand and unfortunately for me the time they chose to was very close to us immigrating to the UK so wasnt something that was in the budget. Typical then, that the time they come back to London is once again the month we pack up to head home. I had resigned myself to not-again-this-time when a Christmas card came my way which contained a note telling me to be home, ready to go in my best outfit, at 4pm SHARP on Tuesday 15th January....... Ooooo but what could it be!? Not someone known for my patience, it was extremely frustrating having to wait 3 weeks to find out what was in store. But the wait was SO worth it! 

My surprise evening started with dinner at a yummy Thai restaurant in Kensington and a bottle of delish kiwi wine, but I still had no idea what the rest of the evening had in store for me. After dinner Ty said we were going for a walk. Now, I was in a pretty dress and high heels....not exactly a winter 'walking' outfit but off we went along High St Ken. I was so busy focusing on trying to ignore the blisters that were appearing on my toes by distracting myself with inane chit chat that I wasn't paying attention to where we were going, when suddenly I looked up and saw a big Kooza poster on the side of the Royal Albert Hall! Oh my gosh are we going to Cirque?!?!??! A little squeal of excitement and my blisters were all but forgotten! Yus! Stoked! Best boyfriend ever! But the suprises kept coming... We went around to our gate and were ushered to our seats - 5 rows from the front!! Wow!

Kooza tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world, and is apparently a  return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil. It combines two circus traditions - acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The feeling of being at the 'circus' began from the moment we sat down with the popcorn merchants walking around and the slapstick clown giving away "Ballooooooons". When the show began however I couldn't take my eyes off the stage - come intermission I had to remind myself to shut my mouth! It was incredible! I wish we were able to take photos  as some thing's really have to be seen to be believed... the bendy contortionist lady who effectively break-danced upside down had me wishing for even an eighth of her flexibility and the sultry tango dancers would have been mesmerizing enough without the man also being on a unicycle!

How someone decides that stacking 8 dining table chairs on top of each other and then performing a handstand on top of them all, or strapping their legs into a pair of stilts before being catapulted 30 feet up in the air to perform a triple somersault is a good idea is beyond me, but my heart was in my mouth the entire time!

The experience was taken to another level by the in-house band and two beautiful singers who created a luxuriously exotic atmosphere. Our slapstick clown was back in the second half displaying his true colours - a master scam artist and wiley pick pocket who would steal the jacket off your back in no time (or watch, tie, and wallet as one unsuspecting audience member found out!). While the poor guy was trying to work out what had been taken I was so preoccupied by the show that I forgot to eat the chocolates Ty had brought us to enjoy.

Dessert was supposed to follow the show but unfortunately everything was closed by the time it finished but lucky me came home to a massage. *happy sigh* what a brilliant night! now the only problem I have is working out how I'm going to trumps this next year!