There were a lot of things in Krakow and one of those things is Auschwitz, which was not a very happy place, but it was very interesting. The places that the people lived and suffered in were the opposite of lugjerious, they had straw mattresses that were on the the floor or on three bed bunk beds, and the bunk beds wiggled around a lot, so if you were on the second or third bed, you would fall off every once in a while. That was not the worst thing about Auschwitz, they would put a lot of people in very small rooms with out food or water for days, and that was how a lot of them died, but there are two other ways that happened a lot, and they are getting beaten to death or being gassed in the gas chambers, where you would be put in a large room with a lot of other people, and the room was filled with shower nozils that the gas would come out of. The people in Auschwitz would also be shot on the spot if they did not follow directions when they were working, for the people there had to work all day every day, and they did not get much to eat and drink, so they were not very healthy which made it hard to do work. This was a horrible place where many people were killed, and tortured.
Kurt: a few differences between Texas and Sweden
Four differences between Texas and Sweden: First, barbed wire is banned in Sweden. At the farm where we stayed the pigs were kept in the fence by electric wire. I’m not sure if an electric shock is more humane than barbed wire, but I doubt electricity will work on large Texas ranches. Second, it is against the law for parents to spank their children in Sweden. Third, Sweden has a “right to public access” law that allows anyone to walk on, camp on, fish on (but not hunt on) and generally enjoy someone else’s private property as long as they don’t mess things up and don’t come right up into your yard. I’m sure the law is more detailed than my description, but that is the gist of it. This right of public access seems to have worked pretty well in the past, although I’m told that there have been discussion about it recently because large, organized groups of immigrants are coming into Sweden and picking berries on private property and not only profiting from this activity (which I understand is not against the law) but also blocking roads and otherwise bothering the landowners. Fourth, my impression is that most people I met in Sweden seem to trust and have confidence in their federal government.
Nadine: Sweden
