Seeing Auschwitz & the Salt Mine Again, Poland

I went to Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mine when I went to Krakow in 2010.  While I knew that my family wanted to visit both I wasn't really looking forward to it.  Don't get me wrong, they are both must-do's when you come to Poland.  It's just that I had already seen them.  Especially Auschwitz.

After you've been there you can't really say that you've had a good day, in the traditional sense.  It is such a powerful experience that it leaves you kind of spent afterwards.

Well I was wrong.  Both places have made changes since the last time I was there that I didn't feel like I was seeing everything for a second time.

Auschwitz was different because the last time I was there was in the middle of winter and the snow gave it a different vibe.  This time the tour was conducted with headsets so it was easier to catch everything that the guide had to say.  But the biggest difference was that we saw so much more of Auschwitz II-Birkenau.  Last time we only spent, maybe, 30 minutes at Birkenau.  This time we were there for almost two hours.  Perhaps they shortened the tour last time due to the cold.

The salt mine too now used headsets for the tour.  There have been some enhancements and there was actually much more to see this time than there was before.