The Trip There:
I took the night train from Prague to Krakow. The train actually passes through the town of Oswiecim where Auschwitz is located, but it got there at 4:45am, so I preferred to stay in my sleeper until 6:30am when the train reached Krakow, from where I could take a bus to Auschwitz.
I arrived in Krakow on October 17, 2009. At the Krakow railway station, I grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee and headed to the bus station that is located conveniently next to the railway station. The round trip bus ticket to Aushwitz was 20 zloty which was roughly $6 or so if I remember right.
After a comfortable bus trip of about 1.5 hours, we were dropped directly outside the entrance of Auschwitz 1.
I took the night train from Prague to Krakow. The train actually passes through the town of Oswiecim where Auschwitz is located, but it got there at 4:45am, so I preferred to stay in my sleeper until 6:30am when the train reached Krakow, from where I could take a bus to Auschwitz.
I arrived in Krakow on October 17, 2009. At the Krakow railway station, I grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee and headed to the bus station that is located conveniently next to the railway station. The round trip bus ticket to Aushwitz was 20 zloty which was roughly $6 or so if I remember right.
After a comfortable bus trip of about 1.5 hours, we were dropped directly outside the entrance of Auschwitz 1.
Building 4 is aptly named "Extermination." Inside is a model of the gas chambers and crematorium, where corpses from the gas chambers were burned as well as displays of the gas canisters that were thrown into the gas chambers. One of the most striking exhibits in this building is a wall sized glass panel behind which there is gigantic mound of hair probably about 20 feet by 10 feet in area - over a thousand pounds worth, that had been shaved off the heads of prisoners and were used to make blankets for the German army. Also on display were huge piles of shoes, suitcases, toothbrushes, pots and pans and other assorted belongings that the prisoners obviously didn't need once they got dispatched in the gas chambers. The exhibit that affected me the most in this building was a large pile of kids shoes and dolls. Kids were dispatched to the gas chambers directly from the trains (more on this later) and if anyone who has kids (as well as those who don't) can stand before this exhibit and not get a lump in your throat, you are not human.
The cellars of building 11 contais numerous rooms where prisoners were tortured and often summarily executed.
Right next to the gallows is Crematorium 1 and the gas chamber on Auschwitz 1. No photos were allowed here, so I didn't take any. It was a chilling feeling though standing 2 feet from the crematorium. Words cannot describe it.
Note the same view of the entrance building from this vidcap from Schindler's list. This is from the scene where the train carrying Schindler's female workers gets routed to Auschwitz by mistake instead of his factory. 
Note the guard tower with the searchlight on top of the entrance building. I took this panoramic view of Auschwitz II from this guard tower. The camp is HUGE. It took me over an hour to just walk all the way around it. 
Here is a vidcap from Schindler's list showing the same unloading location. 
Here is a view of where the train tracks end. Far in the background, the entrance building can be barely seen. That gives an idea of the size of the camp. This was the end of the line, both literally and figuratively for many people on the trains. The tracks ended right next to Crematoria 2 and 3. 
The ruins of the crematoria can be seen in the background. 
The Nazis destroyed the crematoria when they were retreating from the Soviety Army to try to hide their crimes. Only the ruins remain. 
This picture above shows how the gas chambers were built underground. Steps led down into the gas chambers as seen in the vidcap from Schindler's list below. 
