So... Morgan is making me write this post, since she is pissed that her draft of today got deleted. Makes sense. Anyways, I guess I'm supposed to write about after Auschwitz, and our day in Prague. What I'll do is write about what happened and what we did, and then go back and share some of my thoughts. I think a trip like this isn't as meaningful if it doesn't affect the way you live your life, and your relationship with God, so I'll share some of those thoughts as well.
Okay...so we caught a bus back to the city of Krakow. Of course the bus wasn't on time, it's Poland! Sorry if that offends any polishes. We made it back, and Morgan and I were both super tired and sunburned. We booked our night train ticket, and chilled at an ice cream shop in the station. Poland is way cheaper than Sweden, so we have been enjoying being able to get ice cream and snacks when we need to, without it feeling like a rip off!
We finally recovered enough energy to go back out and do something, so we decided to check out the wawel castle. One thing I think is super cool about Europe is that even in random towns all over, there is guaranteed to be really cool buildings and history. Apparently this castle is where the polish kings and nobility lived for over 500 years, and I can see why! The castle is on top of this huge hill next to the river, and, like all good castles, has a giant wall around the outside, and basically a little village inside. It has a giant courtyard inside, and now there are museums and restaurants up there, it's pretty awesome. The view was great too, Morgan and I took lots of selfies haha (it's easier than finding someone to take the picture for you all the time). I also had to storm the castle, of course.
We finished that up, headed back to the station, ate some McD's and waited for our night train. And just so you know, night trains are not at all as fun as they look on Harry Potter. The air in ours wasn't working for the first two hours, so got way warm and stanky. Everyone was chilling in the hallway because the windows partly open there. I got to meet some cool people, a dude from Switzerland and a dude from Denmark. For them, traveling in Europe is something they just do every summer! That's awesome.
We made it to Prague, and luckily could check into our place at 9, so we did. Morgan and I both were pretty miserable on the train, it's not exactly a 5 star hotel, let alone a motel 6. Dude, about 3 in the morning, I would have taken sleeping on the ground in a park over the night train... so of course, once we check in, we pass out until the afternoon. I love naps, so I slept until about 3, and Morgan woke up around 1, which is about 6am in Texas, the time she usually wakes up. While I was still out, she was writing about what I'm writing now, but like I said, it got deleted and here we are. (That's 2 hours of blogging...gone! - angry Morgan)
We got ready and headed out to the city of Prague. Awesome city, lots of hills. The city has an old feel to it, a lot of the buildings are an older style than what we had seen in Stockholm. We made our way to the castle and cathedral, which is basically the top tourist spot here. The hike up to the castle is pretty long and steep, even Morgan and I were tired by the time we got to the top. There is an amazing lookout point at the top. The cathedral is even more impressive up close than in pictures. I've noticed that about a lot of things we've seen in Europe, a picture is one thing, but in person it's way more breathtaking. The cathedral is super ornate and has tons of little spires all over it, I don't know why. Unless they're trying to keep helicopters from landing on it. But it was hard to get any good pictures up close, since it was so big that any picture with the whole cathedral makes the person look tiny. We walked back down through the cobblestone streets, and found a subway. Not like the travel subway, like the "eat fresh" subway, and ate there. I like to try new foods and restaurants, but Morgan had been craving subway for a few days now!
We then walked over Charles' bridge, which is cool, but way too crowded, and into the old town. There, we saw the Prague astronomical clock, which does a whole little mechanical show like antique clocks do, on the hour. We saw that and headed back for our place. Prague was a lot more crowded than the cities we have already seen, and I'm sure the most crowded cities are still to come.
Over the past few days, the Auschwitz concentration camp has been on my mind. One thing that fascinated me was how the Nazis were able to get over one million people to go to the camps, where they would be killed. I think there are a lot of parallels to how Satan is able to persuade billions of people to leave Christ and go to spiritual death. I don't want to be too preachy, but maybe some of my thoughts will resonate with someone who reads this. The main strategy, and an obvious but essential one, of the Nazis was to never tell the people what the end would be. The Nazis knew it ended in death, but they lied to the people, and said that they were taking them for "relocation". Satan's plan includes the same strategy. He never lets us know that sin ends in death, and lies to us, telling us that "it's not that bad" or"you can repent later", trying to keep us from seeing his plan, and getting us to leave spiritual safety. Once in the camp, the Nazis were able to get people to go willingly into the gas chambers by telling them that they will be able to take a shower, then of course they lock the doors so they can't fight back, and pour the poison in. Satan does this too, by trying to disguise a bad thing as a good thing. Satan will try to get us to sin by telling us it's a "shower", when really it's a gas chamber.
So how do we fight against these strategies? Since Satan is using lies, we need to be able to see the truth, and the truth is in Christ. Having a personal relationship with Christ so that we have his spirit with us is essential, because I believe the spirit well alert us when we are told a lie. We need this all the time, not just once in a while. In Christ, we know that all sin leads to spiritual death. That is the truth that Satan hides with lies. If the Jews had known that if they get on that train, they WILL be killed, I'm sure they would have fought to the death before they went with the Nazis.
For those that were taken to the concentration camps, there was really no possible escape on their own. I've seen the fences, and the guard towers. If someone tried to escape, they were shot and their bodies were placed by the gate for everyone to see. If, by some miracle, they did escape, the Nazis went and took their family to Auschwitz OR they tortured and killed those that helped you escape. There really was no escape. When we find ourselves in Satan's grasp, we need to realize that we cannot escape on our own. We need Christ to deliver us, just as the people in Auschwitz were finally delivered (go 'merica!... and the other allies). When we fall into sin, we must suffer the natural consequences, but keep faith that Christ will deliver us.
All in all, I think it is super important that we see through Satan's lies, and see sin for what it is- a one way ticket to Auschwitz. Fight against Satan, and trust in Christ, who fights with you, and for you.
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