We visited Auschwitz, and saw rooms filled with shoes taken from the prisoners. I saw pictures of babies who were tortured and glass exhibits filled with human hair. We visited Treblinka, a camp completely destroyed by the Nazis to hide their crimes, a Nazi made forest in its place, and memorials throughout to remember.
â–º honorable mention 2012 Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
We marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau on the March of the Living with 14,000 people. We listened to survivors stories. Majdanek was so intact that it could be running within forty-eight hours. I was horrified to see people biking through the camp, as though hundreds of thousands of lives hadn’t been lost right there. I stepped into the gas chamber of Majdanek. I saw the walls, the indentations on them and the meaning behind them being there. I heard stories about the claw marks in the wall, But when I myself put my hand against the stone, I couldn’t imagine being so scared, so absolutely terrified and panicked at being locked in with death, knowing that this was the end and yet refusing to stop fighting, filled with so much terror that you tried whatever you could to escape, no matter how unlikely. I thought about this as I brushed my hand over the several claw marks on the wall.
Thinking about the courage of the people who died; the children and women, and men, the fathers and sisters, the friends, who were murdered and fought until they couldn’t anymore. I had tears in my eyes when I walked in, and hands clasped in mine when I walked out. I sat down and held onto the people I had grown so close within such a short time. I felt Trudy, the holocaust survivor accompanying us on our trip, hug me as she looked at us with tears in her eyes, as she said, “He didn’t win. Hitler didn’t win. It’s okay.”
I heard this and started crying all over again. This little woman was reassuring me after she had experienced the horror of losing her family in Auschwitz, of being the only survivor and returning to the place where she endured the incomprehensible insanity of the Holocaust. Trudy astonished me with her bravery as she comforted anyone who needed it, while confronting what I can only imagine as a past of nightmares.
As we continued to walk through the barracks that have become museums, I held Bri’s hand, we stopped for each other when we had to cry, we held the hands of strangers and friends, and we helped each other through it. Later, I walked up the stairs to the massive dome, and under it was death. The death of 60,000 people, reduced to ashes. I sat next to one member of my new family, who was crying and then I cried, and when I was done, another friend sat down and as she cried, I repeated, over and over, “I know” and “It’s okay”. And she said what we were all thinking every time someone repeated those words to us, she said, “No, it’s not.” Countless tears fell that day. I cried when I walked into the crematorium, as I sat on the grass outside staring at the barbed wire, on the bus back to the hotel.
That night we got on the plane to go to Israel, and I looked around to see nearly everyone giddy with excitement. I felt as though I was filled with happiness and the sense I was going home, a place where I could be safe, a home for the Jewish people.
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Great information. I love travelling and the winter holidays are best to go out with family and friends. there are many places in India for the best winter holiday. here is the list 5 Best Winter Holiday Destinations In India
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As per my opinion Mountains are the real beauty of any country but not only a particular country is the the natural beauty of World….. It gives feeling like we are in heaven.
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Can you tell me a estimated amount required to spend 6 days in Washington including hotel price . thanks in advance .
Spending quality time with family is always a good thing to do , I have recently visited to Switzerland with my family and booked online experience that was pretty cheap and fun , really like your article appreciated buddy.
Hi, thanks for the huge list of good ideas! I reconnected with an old childhood memory of travelling on house boats.
Wow, that’s a great list. The Free Tours By Foot sounds amazing and such a great way to explore a city. Have you guys ever tried indoor skydiving? It’s not cheap, but it’s a great activity for the whole family. Some of the centers even offer a Virtual Reality experience. With more and more tunnels popping up it’s become quite easy to find a spot nearby. For those interested check out dropzone.com/indoor/ . They’ve got a nifty tunnel finder.
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Great Article ! Everything you explain in this blog in detailed! Thank you so much for sharing this blog and I also want to visit !
Thank you for writing this useful tips. it might be help me in future
Hi There,
Thank you for putting together a list for Fall vacation. It is so informative and exciting. We love the nature! We should be planning a trip to Aspen Mountain, Colorado soon. The infographic on emergency is so well done and very handy for travelers.
visiting california is always enjoyable. thanks for sharing your feelings about california. Have traveled any other countries? I’ve been travelling for last 2 years and I would like to share some of my great experinces with you. do you accept guest post?
Everything in this blog is nice. Fabolous infographic and presentation also. I also want to go there for these types of rides which are shown in this blog.
First of all, you need to find out what type of vacation each member of your family prefers. At lunch, dinner, or watching your favorite TV show in the evening, try discussing your upcoming vacation together. Listen to suggestions from everyone, remember where you have already visited and, taking into account the interests of the child, try to choose the right direction. It should be borne in mind all the details: the possibility of excess spending, the size of the vacation budget, the presence of health problems, interests, hobbies and hobbies. If you are organizing a trip with your child, you will have a wonderful joint vacation!
NYC is a great place to celebrate Halloween, and good opportunities for celebrity sightings too!
Please meet the winners of the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship at this post: https://myfamilytravels.com/family-travel-forum-announces-winners-of-2019-teen-travel-writing-scholarship/
Hi, just wondering who won, every time I click the link it just takes me back to the homepage
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Thank you for sharing … I love to do a river rafting….thankyou so much for giving details about all things
Thank you for sharing the Information and images… Its very good and I am traveling soon on this place
Great post!
Thanks for sharing..
Hello Charles,
Thanks for your note. As stated in the post above, it has been sponsored by You Fly, We Drive, who has paid to market their services to readers of our website and forums. We hope you and other readers find their car transport service useful.
The terms and use clearly states… ” that no post on this forum should advertise or engage in promotion”. So how do you explain this article that was at the end of a link in your forum?
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The moon landing marked the culmination of America’s Cold War human spaceflight program and positioned itself as a global leader in science and technology. Apollo 11, the mission Armstrong and Aldrin flew with colleague Michael Collins, represented the U.S. accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal on a seemingly impossible timeline. Fifty years later, the world is remembering the historic mission and its impact on society and science, thanks to all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE.
I am also a collector of space memorabilia and I run a website dedicated to Space Exploration memorabilia https://www.space-collectibles.com . In fact, I leave in Paris, France. (Yes, that does mean I drink too much wine and eat too much cheese) . Since the age of 21, I became a big fan of Space Exploration as I studied in Cap Canaveral Florida, and worked with the engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. So, this is perhaps the reason why I became a pasionate Space Collectioner of photos from the space race in the 60’s from Nasa and Soviet programs. I whish I could be in all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE
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Great post, I love it!
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I love traveling and I will take my parents to another country. Your writing gave me some useful information, I can arrange an effective trip.
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Hey, Grandparents are the blessing of God to there kids and I am a professional travel agent of “Thia’s Travel Services” planned lots of successful tourism if you are planning or looking for more luxury trip and affordable tours with your friends and family feel free to keep in touch
Hey thanks for such a nice article, there is nothing better than getting away with the fam or group of mates into the wilderness and just relaxing while staring into those embers. I go camping regularly and I know you stated unplugged but if you dont play an instrument I highly recommend bringing along a nice loud Bluetooth speaker to jam away with all of you friends into the late night. That and beer ofcourse.
Thanks again and keep up the good work
Hershey is such a fun town to visit with so many family-friendly activities. We loved driving up to spend the weekend when we lived in Maryland.
Excellent post, Firsta! I enjoy reading about your travel experiences! Can’t wait to read your next blog post!
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Thankyou for writing this wonderful article. I love to read .keep going
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Doing so saves money on your shipping costs. Most travelers are charged for gas as they are free. Tourists save money on car rentals and pay for their travels.