Tullamore College's history and geography trip to Kraków

5th and 6th year History and Geography students from Tullamore College enjoyed a fun and memorable trip to Kraków, Poland, from September 13-16, writes sixth year student Saoirse Garry.

From our arrival in Katowice Airport to the bus back home to Tullamore, we enjoyed new experiences, made great memories together, and gained a better understanding of Kraków’s history and culture.

On the trip, we were given plenty of opportunities to explore the city of Kraków. We started the trip off with a guided tour of the Old Town, which included walking along the Vistula River, seeing Wawel Castle and visiting St Mary’s Basilica. We also had some free time to explore the city with our friends, which gave us a chance to see more of Kraków for ourselves. As part of this, we were given a photo challenge where we had to find and take pictures of different things around the city, including famous landmarks as well as some more unusual and funny items.

Another highlight was visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which was particularly interesting for the geography students as we got to see how a natural resource was mined and used by people. We went as far as 135 metres underground, where we saw large chambers, tunnels and sculptures carved into the salt. We were all impressed by the amount of work that had gone into creating the underground mine.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

It was difficult to see parts of what we had learned about in history class brought to life through the remains of personal belongings, the buildings, and the sheer scale of the camp. Seeing these things made the reality of what happened much clearer and reminded us why these events must continue to be taught and remembered.

Overall, we returned home with brilliant memories, a better understanding of the history we study and lots of stories to tell. Thank you to Mr Feighery who organised the trip and to our other teachers Ms Bradley, Ms Dunne and Mr Moran who all looked after us while we were there.