Yesterday was a busy day and ended late after seeing the opera "Land of Smiles" so there was no time for blogging (I did rest in the afternoon but I was trying to get rid of a headache so that took precedence over blogging). The scenery and costumes were great and I had a write up of what the opera was about (thank you Art).
Yesterday we started our day by taking the public bus up to a walkway above the city. It was supposed to have outstanding view of Trieste below. It did have a few picture worthy spots but they came at the end. Nevertheless it was a nice morning walk with a breeze. After lunch we headed to the other side of town by bus to see a concentration camp. I think the audio guide said there were only 3 camps in Italy and this was one of them. It was an old rice factory that was turned into a camp. It held political prisoners or military personal and a few Jewish people (most held here were not because of religious reasons but instead political reasons). The prisoners were held here before being sent to another camp or they were killed. It was the only camp in Italy with a crematorium. It's estimated that between 3,000-5,000 people were killed. The Nazis tried to destroy the camp by blowing up the crematorium before it was discovered. Then there was a fire in the 60's that destroyed more of it. I thought the audio guide gave a lot of good information. I find that visiting these camps helps to give me a history to what happened. I hope that it serves as a reminder to the past so that we can make sure not to allow it to happen in the future- although there are things happening today fueled by hate so we still have a long way to go.
Today we drove into Slovenia and went through a couple of caves that date back 3 million years!! Both were a little different but had HUGE stalactites and stalagmites and curtains. Considering they only grown 2 mm. a year it's AMAZING. Truly one of nature's masterpieces! The pictures aren't the best- we were only allowed to take them at the end (as a rule follower I did just that but MANY disregard that rule, which was so annoying). The 2nd cave had a great walkway that was lit (it took 10 years to built). It would have been a GREAT picture. The 2nd cave also had 400+ stairs, thank you very much. Most were down but some were up. I made it- red faced and huffing and puffing- but I made it (like I had a choice?) : ) We also saw a castle from the 9th century that was built into a cave in the rocks. It's been added to over the years so now it sticks out. The guide books said the inside was a dud, so we skipped it.
View down on Trieste, Italy
A local
We could see the castle Miramare from the day before
Walking to the bus......so pretty
A Serbian church along the way (love the golden mosaics adoring it- see below)
Risiera di San Sabba- the concentration camp (at the old rice factory)
A modern statue created to represent the smokestake from the crematorium.
The cells where some prisoners were held- 6 to a room w/ a bunk bed in it.
Notice the doors that remain from the different floors that used be there.
Ready for the opera!
Cave time! How low can you go? Apparently VERY low!!
Red faced, sweaty and hair pulled back to prove my successfulness!
The castle in the cave (obviously we did this before the 2nd cave) :)
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