Page 3 - 張祝珊英文中學－ECHO V.13

Overseas study tour

Visiting "God's Playground" - Historical and Cultural Tour to Poland

4C Chan Lam

Due to her glorious past and extreme sufferings
th
during the partition in the 19 century and World
War II as well as the rule of the Soviet Union, Poland
is dubbed as “God's Playground”. After visiting
Poland, I truly understand the meaning behind this
nickname.

Located in Central Europe, Poland is a
developed market and regional power while having a
rich cultural heritage. With all the ups and downs in
history, she now boasts 15 UNESCO World Heritage
Sites as well as numerous historical monuments.
During the tour, we paid visit to a number of these
attractions and I found two of them, the Auschwitz
concentration camp and the Warsaw old town,
particularly inspirational. We are ready to visit Wieliczka Salt Mine!

On the second day of the journey, we visited the Another impressive place is the Warsaw old
Auschwitz concentration camp in Krakow. Named a town. Warsaw is the largest city and the capital of
World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, the camp Poland. Strolling in the old town and appreciating
symbolizes the melancholic history of the Poles the extraordinary buildings allowed me to have a
during World War II. When I first stepped into the better understanding of the development of Poland
camp, it gave me a sense of heaviness. I was shocked in the course of history. I admired the efforts that
when I was listening to the exposition of the tour the Poles paid to rebuild their country after World
guide. It was ghastly to hear that at least 1.1 million War II as most of the buildings in the district were Do I look like Charlie Chaplin?
of people died in the camp. The 4-hour guided tour destroyed by the German army during the war. It is
was in-depth and reflective, reminding us the heavy good to see that Poland has recovered from the toll
price that humans need to pay for initiating wars. of wars and thrives again. In the trip I also got the opportunities to explore
interesting places like the Wieliczka Salt Mine
and the Chopin Museum as a traveler rather than a
tourist. Though the guided tour of these attractions
always lasted for a few hours and could be boring
sometimes, they were educational and inspirational,
prompting my desire to immerse myself in the local
culture and keep exploring the social and cultural
life beneath the surface.

Poland is an amazing country brimful of
historical footprints. The trip is a fruitful and
treasurable experience that I will never forget.

Visiting Auschwitz concentration camp, a history lesson
that should never be forgotten Enjoying traditional Polish food at a local restaurant

We spend a lovely afternoon in the countryside of
Poland

Visiting a local fellowship, learning about the origin of Catholicism, chatting with local people and
making Easter eggs there

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