Megan and I had separate activities for today. I chose to visit the Jewish concentration camp at Terezin. Megan decided to look around New Town a bit more. The concentration camp was a 1-hour bus ride away and I set off in the morning. My visit of the camp ranks up there as one of the most memorable experiences of my life, right up there with running of the bulls in Pamplona. While running of the bulls was more of an extreme adrenaline rush, the concentration camp brought forth feelings of sadness, anger and even fear. I’ve been to a few WWII concentration camp museums before and I’ve understood the history behind this terrible time. But it’s a completely different experience to actually be inside the concentration camp where it happened. Terezin Concentration Camp housed ~60,000 Jews during WWII. Terezin is now a small quiet town with monuments that blends into the rest of the buildings. The town used to be the “Ghetto” which the Nazis called a “self-governed Jewish resettlement area”. About 700m from town is the Small Fortress where people were taken to be executed. I toured both the town and the Small Fortress. When I was there, it was near-freezing and raining. I was also one of the few people in town which made Terezin feel like a ghost town. Needless to say, the atmosphere very gloomy and eerie. Note: There are certain parts of the concentration camp where I’m not allowed to take photos. There are other parts where I can take photos, but I can’t video. 
(On the bus to Terezin)
 
(The town square in the Ghetto)
  
(As you can see, Terezin was awfully quiet. Hardly any tourists or locals around.)
(Outside the Crematorium)
 
(Heading inside Crematorium...)
(A cart used to carry the dead bodies)
 
After the Ghetto, I headed for the Small Fortress that was a 20-minute walk away.   
(Scenery on the walk to the fortress)
(The National Cemetery, which is right outside the Small Fortress. Thousands of victims were properly buried here after the war.)
(The outside of the Small Fortress)
     
(For a while, it felt like I was the ONLY person inside this large "Small Fortress". I could not see anybody in any direction. Definitely creeped me out a bit.)
  
(As mentioned, the fortress was actually not small. there were different sections of the fortress that served as prison yards, execution ground, office quarters, etc.)
(The middle door is the entrance to a narrow and long (~300m) tunnel/walkway that led to the burial and execution area. At first, I wasn't sure if I was meant to walk through there since it looked dark and creepy. But the brochure I got at the entrance said that was the right path.. so I headed in.....)
(This is one of the brighter areas of the walkway. The tunnel is long and curvy.. and the farther in I went, the darker it got. It got to a point where I couldn't see the end of either direction because it was completely dark! Yes, I was freaked out of my mind. I kept thinking that I must've walked into an area that was not intended for tourists. On the side of both walls were occasional metal bars that blocked off small enclosed areas that appeared like burial grounds. I walked in this tunnel for what felt like 15 minutes... when I realized the end of the tunnel is still not in sight.. I turned around and walked back.)
     
(I believe this was galled the Gate of Death because it led prisoners to the execution area.)
(Completey empty. No humans in sight...)
Whew. The trip to Terezin took half a day. I returned back to Prague at around 6pm to meet up with Megan. After unwinding a bit (and it was much needed after my trip to Terezin!), we headed out to a popular beer hall in New Town.  
 
(Double Trouble - A beer and an Absinth shot)
 
(Fried Pig Knee)
 
(Bottoms Up!!!)
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