Auschwitz and the Nazi Babies

Then God commanded - "Let there be light" - and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated light from darkness to make Day and Night".  Genesis 1:3



Light attracts Darkness, just as Darkness attracts Light. 

Does evil only exists so that we can understand the beauty of kindness? 

The Auschwitz concentration camp was one of the largest camp during the Nazi occupation, where at least 1.5m Jewish were killed, among others including prisoners of war from Soviet Union, Gypsies and other "politically unfit" citizens.





The Nazi championed "Arbeit Macht Frei" also meaning, "Labor Creates Freedom", and yet many did not live over a year. Many believed they were merely going to a work camp. The camp was strategically located at the center of Europe, making it easy for the Nazis to transport refugees to the camp. Only a few thousands managed to escape. For those who have escaped, their immediate families were captured and questioned until the escapee has been found. 

The Nazis had three different projects, a systematic product line of creating birth and death. They were trying to be god. 

- The Nazi Babies: Reproducing pure Aryan babies 
- The Death Factory (Auschwitz)
- The Human Experimental Lab

The Nazi Babies (Lebensborn) 
Apart from getting rid of the unwanted Jews, Hitler had a higher level plan of creating the "perfect babies" with pure Aryan race. Women were screened for their ancestry and given incentives to have babies with his SS soldiers. Since resources were scarce then, many women did not think that this was an improper thing to do (and they did not have to go through the social stigma as many could leave their children in the special orphanage if they wish not to take their child). About 60% of the women participated in the program were unmarried. 

The Death Factory 
 When women and men arrived on the train to the Auschwitz concentration camp, they undergo a medical inspection to separate those who were fit and unfit for working. Women and children were usually sent immediately to the gas chamber. They were told they were going to have a "bath", where their clothings were taken off (these were then resold or reused in other ways). The Nazis had a systematic approach, where they leveraged as much of the dead bodies as possible - removing any gold tooth, jewelry. They used the deceased hair for textile, or human fat for making soap before the actual cremation.

The museum had a shocking display of hair brushes, luggages and glasses, which were kept to remind us that this is only a portion of what remained. They found at least 800 cans of unused Zyklon B (each can is about 5kg, enough to gas 2000 people). 

The Human Experimental Lab 
At camp 1, there was medical building where doctors went through inhuman operations to test the limits of a human body. Prisoners were operated alive without anasthetics. Many were injected with various viruses to understand the changes of a human body. After WWII, the lab was disintegrated into 6 medical companies, and one of the most well known one that still exists is Bayer. 

In addition, these medical experimentation results were shared with the Japanese, where the Japanese also established a similar lab (Unit 731) in China. The doctors may try to persuade themselves that they were doing it for the love of science, yet essentially they've become a culprit to this system of cruelty. 



Hitler was a painter, he had an eye for beautiful things, for perfection. Yet no one stopped him from seeing through a different lens, that perhaps his notion of perfection lacked compassion and understanding of accommodating the differences.

Looking forward, with the refugees from Syria roaming into Europe, cultural clash is unavoidable. Cultural indifference inspires fear and pompous attitudes. Discrimination instigates revolt and turbulence. Just like using a rangefinder camera, we must learn to understand the different view points,  to put down our prejudice and racial pride, before we can seek social harmony. 

History repeats, but it can be prevented.














[Florence, ITALY] Day 2: Piazza Republicca, Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria, Marco Ottaviano Gelato, Caffe Giubbe Rosse, PiazzaSignoria,Palazzo Vecchio (Secret Passage!)


From Italy to Croatia, I've found the footsteps of the Roman Empire.

The Romans had a very systematic approach to city planning and it was unsurprising that the forum (or also known as the main intersection and heart of the city) was situated at the exact spot of Piazza Republicca. Usually you would find a thermae (public bath complex) and or temples of the Roman gods close by.

We can no longer see the remnants of the thermae, which was situated on the south side, or the temple of Mars (swept away in a flood in 1333), but you can get insights about the remains beneath the space based on the road names i.e. Via delle Terme. 

There you would find the Column of Abundance, the witness of the demolished Piazza del Mercato Vecchio (currently known as the Piazza Republicca). 

Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica 

We got tired of being disappointed by highly reviewed restaurants, and decided to try our luck at ones that we thought would be good instead. This trattoria only had 2 reviews on google map, but was one of the best ones that we've had during this trip.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria  is one of those restaurants you would want to go to for family gatherings and celebrations. It was an indulgence to eat here! I would have wanted more if only my stomach could have accommodated it.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria 
Proscuitto with Mozzarella cheese 

Truffle with sliced steak and arugula 

Florence is more of a meat city I would say, so indulge in the Florentines steak and beef stews if you ever get bored of the pastas here.

In the afternoon, we got coffee at Caffe Giubbe Rosse (famous for Futurist gatherings). It's a place where you go for the atmosphere and just chill to enjoy the children's laughter riding the merry-go-around. When my boyfriend first arrived Florence, he was shocked that there was NO starbucks at all. Being a starbuck's fanatic he was so ready to leave Florence just because of this. However, he gradually understood why.

No matter where we went, the coffee was perfect. The Muslims and Turks introduced coffee to the Venetians in the 14th century, and the first coffee house was opened in Venice in 1645. So Italians have had a long history of knowing how to brew the best coffee.



Piazza Signoria

At night, we signed up for the secret passage tour at Palazzo Vecchio, which covered the key history about the Medici family and the hidden study room of Francesco Medici. He was a great alchemist, and his love for art, literature and alchemy shows through these walls of painting.


 Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio Francesco Study Room 
Each painting is a cabinet, where the painting infers from a Roman myth, or some symbols that are related to the treasure that he has inside the cabinet. For example, they believed Francesco kept potions, medicines behind this cabinet. 

 Palazzo Vecchio
Can you guess what's behind this painting? 

Secret passage!



Hall of 500
The Hall of 500 
The tour is about 30mins, and you get to visit the museum too afterwards. For the Dan Brown Inferno fans, you will get to see most of the secret passages that were shown in the movie!






The Gate to Paradise: Meo Modo



 I guess the best way to understand if someone is destined to be with you is through traveling. Too many things can go wrong and one conflict can easily lead to another. It was raining, my luggage was lost during a flight transfer, and everything that seemed could have gone wrong has.


It was raining the day on the day, and although the Val D'Orcia was as picturesque as it could be, I was in no mood for it. The rain stopped as we reached this monumental gate and there was a huge rainbow hanging across the sky.






Suddenly, it seemed as everything was ok, and that no matter what happens next, I should at least enjoy this dinner. We were greeted by staff with umbrella and a lavender towel. There is a farm on spot, where all the fresh produces were used for the restaurant.




It felt visiting a distant uncle's villa, rows of bookshelves, a warm fireplace, a living room with a grand piano... Finally we were seated at a table under the arcade, overlooking a beautiful garden of greens.



The restaurant, Meo Modo, recently received a Michelin star and is part of the boutique hotel Relais Borgo Santo Pietro.  (I would love to come back here again for my honeymoon or something!). Chef Andrea Mattei is most known for creating seasonal dishes straight from their own organic farm.

[----- Our Menu -----]

Absolutely Borgo 150 Euro


  • Seasonal Vegetables with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and beet root sauce
  • Mushroom Sponge, Cherry tomatoes and goat cheese with fermented millet and olive oil 
  • Sunflower seed, cream and coffee risotto 
  • Sucking Pig with wild berry sauce and spinach cream (with Lavender infusion) 
  • Dried tomato with lemon, zucchini with elder flower 
  • Flower and Leaves, Mascarpone cream and vanilla
Infused tomato, millet and olive oil capsules with goat cheese

seasonal vegetables with beetroot sauce

Mushroom sponge 


Risotto with coffee, cream and sunflower seed

Suckling pig

Flower and leaves with mascarpone cheese and vanilla 



 You could tell from the menu that it isn't your ordinary, over the top, sous vide style of cooking. Everything is engineered from seasonal flavors and food at its rawest form.

The suckling pig actually reminded me somewhat of a peking duck with its smokey, powerful flavors, which when paired with wild berry sauce really feels like you are hunting through a forest. It was good at giving you an imagery.

I would say the thing that really surprised us both was the dried zucchinis, which was almost as thin as hair!

All in all, I would say this is a place for a romantic dinner, with impeccable service and most of all, having chef that does justice to home grown organic food!


Dried zucchini that was so thin that you could see light through it!









[SALZBURG, AUSTRIA] Festungs Fortress, Dom Quartier, Mozart's birth place, Residenz

The Festung Fortress had a fantastic view of the city of Salzburg. Much of it has remained as it was first built in 1077, though throughout the years the Archbishops have expanded the castle to prevent the Turkish invasion. Luckily, Salzburg also remained its neutral position during the 30 year's war, that largely helped to protect the baroque architecture to remain as it is today. 


 View from the fortress


This somehow reminded me of the town from Beauty and the Beast

 the night view of Salzburg is just as dazzling!


The Bräustübl Tavern
We came across this gem when we found we were still a little early for our Michelin star dinner Esszimmer. The Bräustübl Tavern  is a 1000 seat monk brewery since 1621. There were no clear signs and I believe we couldn't get any more local than this. 

We felt the air froze when we entered, since we were the only Asian (and possibly tourist) there, but they soon resumed to their normal day to day conversations. 





[US] Top 10 Things to do in NYC



1. Go Picnic & enjoy for an outdoor movie at Brooklyn Bridge Park or Bryan Park 


2. Visit the Frick Collection on Sunday (11am-1pm) for Pay As You Wish
3. Roam through the Chelsea historic district, walk the High Line and shop at Chelsea Market. (Remember to eat lobster roll! )
4. Experience Restaurant Week at Top Chef Restaurant in September -- Bar Boulud, Taboo's 
5. Immerse in antique books, autographs and listen to old tales at  Argosy Book Store




6. Get an awesome night view of NYC at The Press Lounge 



7. Fountain hopping at Washington State Park 


8. Snuzzle in at Kobrick Coffee for an afternoon read 




9. Get an afternoon tea at the Palm Court 

10. Gallery Gazing at historic district in Chelsea 

[Florence, ITALY] Day 1: Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, Antique Market Santo Spirito, Santa Novella Maria, Lobs Fish Restaurant, Duomo




Florence is a very walkable city, at every turn, there's something to amaze you.

Our apartment is literarily just at the corner of Basilica of Santa Croce, which is one of the largest Franciscan church in the world, and the resting place of Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini and many others.



We took a long morning stroll around the city, making our way towards Ponte alle Grazie, so that we can get a good view of Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge that wasn't bombed in WWII (a last minute decision by the Germans to preserve it for its historic values). The Ponte Vecchio, also carries the secret passage "The Vasari Corridor" that connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti and many of the other buildings in Florence. Supposedly the Medici instructed that every citizen's roof needs to be opened up to build a connecting passage that allows the family to travel anywhere above ground.



I think the best way to observe and understand a city, is to go to a local market. I was in luck, as the Saturday we arrived, there was an antique flea market at Santo Spirito, and it was a great place to watch people rummage through for treasure, hackle on price, and the owners chilling and chit-chatting with neighboring vendors. 

Wonder if they picked up these wine from old sailing boats? 
Amazing antique silverware 






We then stopped by Basilica Santa Maria Novella and Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella to do some shopping!



Although Florence is not really the city to have seafood, but if you are craving for some, Lobs Fish restaurant is the one to go. I would also suggest getting the warm seafood salad for appetizer. 

Since this is the first day of us arriving the city after a red-eye flight, we wanted to take things slow, so in the afternoon we took a quick tour at the Duomo. 

Tips: If you want to get ahead in line, they have tour guides (10 Euro per person) waiting at the door, which I thought was pretty decent deal since you get a little introduction about Cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore (Duomo) and you didn't need to wait for the long queue. 







[Florence, ITALY] Day 1: Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, Antique Market Santo Spirito, Santa Novella Maria, Lobs Fish Restaurant, Duomo