But, the good news is that my Rudolph Christmas costume allowed me to fit right in with the excessive holiday greenery still decorating the town (perhaps due to the city-wide Nativity contest that is ongoing until the end of February), the tastefully-adorned Christmas tree in one of the many picturesque town squares, but yet very conveniently was also in the correct color to help blend in with the Valentine's day hearts dangling in windows, artfully arranged in candy boxes, all while being illuminated by candles abound in numerous restaurants. A festive city indeed -- and one where I have never felt so proud to have a pimple.
But the red is also connected to a more gruesome item, and one that deserves no celebration or jubilation. As our Saturday started with an early rise to board the bus to Auschwitz, the day became one of melancholy and sadness. The nip in the air and the high winds aided in the dreariness that accompanies such atrocities. Regardless of how much Holocaust knowledge you may have, nothing prepares you for standing in front of the execution wall or roaming the basement corridors, lined with the pictures of grim faces who were murdered in those very cells. Red can also be the color of evil (and blood) and was certainly symbolic of our time on the sacred ground.
And as our hotel room did not afford us a weekend of MTV, instead we tuned into CNN to stay abreast of the situation in Egypt. The images are appalling --- rocks being collected as artillery, people looking exhausted, bruised and battered, all while fighting for the simple concept of equality (along with deodorant --- also an international mandate, I believe). The wound is clearly still open and will be spewing red for weeks (and potentially years) to come. If we reflect on history, blood-red is present in most major national/cultural/religious overhauls and changes. But as someone who has never had to suffer in any of those capacities, red in that form is hard to accept.
If I had to chose how I most prefer my red, I would have to opt for it in the shape of a heart (covered in chocolate and filled with peanut butter). Shallow, I know.
Some other rouge items of note this weekend:
-Matt's beet soup in the Milk Bar where we had Friday's dinner (a cafeteria style joint subsidized by the government). The best and most massive meal 10 euros has ever bought us!
-The cherry liquor we were served after dinner Saturday night. This was to help erase some of the memory of the massive meal we had just consumed (and how the band moved right next to use to harass us with a polka rendition of "I Love Paris in the Springtime").
-The color I want to use to decorate the possible new flat we are looking at upon return today! Think fantastic shoebox ---- with lots of red!
The main gates of Auschwitz
Execution Wall
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