The week my husband turned 50!!
I had been planning a surprise trip to Poland, but sadly the surprise was spoiled at a family gathering, but at least it was easier to plan with him in the know.
My husband and I are both History geeks, although we both prefer different times. I am more a Tudor fan, whereas my husband is fascinated by the World Wars.
The plan for the week was therefore all things WWII.
Here is our week:
Sunday 2nd July
A much needed day off for me as I have worked 12 days straight – I started the day off with a nice relaxing bath with a bath bomb that Callan bought me for my birthday.
The rest of the day wasn’t particularly relaxing as I was running around trying to get everything sorted before leaving for our short break.
Monday 3rd July
It was Saxon day at school and Sebby got to go in dressed up as they were having a visit from the local ancient technology centre.
I was a but disappointed they didn’t get to go, as it is such a good day out, but apparently all the parents didn’t pay for the trip, so they came to the school instead.
We finished packing our cases and once the kids were home from work / school, we left them in Abbey’s capable hands before setting off for a premier inn near Heathrow as we had an early flight the next day.
Tuesday 4th July
Up early to catch our flight to Krakow. It all started smoothly as we dropped our car with purple parking and headed through security. Sadly it didn’t last long as our plane was delayed.
The delay got longer and longer as the crew were over their time limit, so British Airways had to find a stand-by crew………almost three hours behind schedule, we finally boarded.
Thankfully the rest of the journey went without a hitch and we arrived in Krakow at 4pm, throwing our bags into our room and heading straight out to explore.
Our hotel was just a short 5 minute walk from the Old Town and our first visit was to St. Mary’s Basilica in the main square.
We explored our surroundings for a couple of hours before heading back to our hotel to get changed for dinner. Our hotel was very basic, with not even a reception, so we headed back out to the Main Square for dinner.
We didn’t stay out too late as had an early start the next morning, with a 7am coach to Auschwitz.
Wednesday 5th July
My husband’s 50th Birthday and his birthday present – a visit to Aushwitz.
It wasn’t the cheeriest of places to visit but it has been on his bucket list for years.
It was a fascinating place to go, although very sobering to learn about all the atrocities that happened there. Thankfully, our afternoon trip was a little kinder, although harder on the legs – the Wieliczka Salt Mines.
Over 800 steps down into the mines, but so worth it. Thankfully there was a lift to get back up to the surface.
We arrived back in Krakow to an epic thunderstorm and got drenched on the quick dash to the hotel doors. Thankfully, the storm passed before we headed back out for my husband’s birthday meal at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Thursday 6th July
Today was all about exploring Krakow and we headed down to the Vistula River to follow it down to the Jewish Ghetto.
We had the most amazing coffee and cake by the Ghetto Memorial, my husband even got a free muffin as we were chatting to the owner and said it was a birthday trip. From there it was on to Schindler’s Factory.
The story of Oskar Schindler and his employees is well-known since Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List and the factory offices have now been transformed into a museum about Kraków During Nazi Occupation of 1939-1945. I now need to watch the film again!
It was definitely the busiest day of our trip as we covered over 36,000 steps as we then headed to the Old Jewish Quarter to explore.
Friday 7th July
Our last day in Krakow and with our flight not leaving until late evening, we had another day to explore.
Our first stop was Wawel Castle, which is huge and has so many different areas to explore. Our favourite was Wawel Cathedral and although not quite as impressive as St. Mary’s Basilica, we got to climb the bell tower which offered spectacular views of Krakow.
From there we enjoyed a boat ride along the river, which was the perfect place to relax after a busy week.
Thankfully our return home went smoothly and our flight left bang on time. We sailed through passport control and literally walked on the bus for Purple Parking. Sadly the car journey didn’t quite go to plan as there was an accident at the M25 / M3 junction and then the M3 was closed at junction 4-4A, so our 90 minute drive took over 2 hours.
Saturday 8th July
Back to earth with a bump and lots of post holiday washing to get through.
The kids were very excited as its their house festival at school. Isaac is currently leading with Webster House, but Eliza is 2nd in Anning. It’s all to play for this week.
How was your week?
Ahh! That’s a shame the surprise trip was spoiled but at least it became easier to plan. It looks like you had a fantastic time! Aushwitz must have been interesting to visit but I imagine it being so sad. Fantastic photos!
Looks like ir was a good and interesting trip. We’re like you and your husband. I prefer the older history, my OH likes the world wars.
N’s house competition isn’t going well – although I suppose it will end at sports day – and his year group has quite a good team, although not sure about the other age groups.
Happy 50th to your hubby! Sounds like a good trip this week!
Love Sebby’s Saxon outfit. Happy belated birthday to your husband. Lovely to have a trip away together and it sounds like you had a very interesting time in Poland. I can imagine that Auschwitz was a very sobering place to visit. The Wieliczka salt mines sound like a very interesting place to explore. The view of Krakow from the cathedral is beautiful. #project365
I’m with you for loving the Tudors! What a lovely trip for your husband’s birthday. I can’t imagine trying to arrange something big like that without him finding out so would probably have to tell! #project365
Sounds like your trip away was perfect apart from all the transport issues. Shame the surprise was broken. I visited Dachau concentration camp in Germany, it was a difficult experience but I’m glad I went