The last time we went to Poland on a Christmas vacation was December 2018. Matilda was almost 3 years old, and we had a wonderful time with my husband’s family in Krakow.
This Christmas, our visit to Poland was even more important given how we lost my mother-in-law over the summer. It was also a chance for us to get back to Europe and see my father-in-law’s new house for the first time.
It had been 4 years since visiting Poland, so we booked our flights well in advance. Since we purchased them before my mother-in-law passed, we planned a stop-over in Bulgaria to add a new country to our bucket list.
The Journey from Hell
As we boarded our Lot Airlines flight out of O’Hare, my heart skipped at the excitement of being back in Europe.
Sadly that happy feeling ended once we landed in Warsaw. We had a pretty tight connection from Warsaw to Sofia, Bulgaria, and upon landing were told we needed to wait another 20 minutes as our gate was occupied by another plane. Okay fine, no problem. But an hour later? We had not only missed our connection, but were then told there was potentially a dangerous substance on board. I’m sorry, what?
Have you ever been on an airplane that had a bomb threat? Well, now I can say I have. While this was not originally on my “40 Things” list, I am wondering if I should add it posthumously. The best part was that this was first announced in Polish, so I got to hear lots of scared gasps before I knew what was going on. Talk about a nail biter. My first reaction was that my heart fell through my body and almost out my butt. I looked at my daughter and froze. But then, logic set in. Wouldn’t they have blown us up in the sky? Isn’t that so much more effective and dramatic?
Once my woman brain became activated, I immediately calmed down and resumed my annoyance at our delayed situation. They finally let us de-plane, but we were literal miles from the actual airport terminal.
We were loaded onto airport buses which was a relief, until we were made to stand on said buses for another HOUR before they started moving. It was bad enough to be on an airplane with these people for 9 hours. Now we were sardined together with half of them coughing and didn’t even have the luxury of sitting down.
I won’t even go into the sh*t-show that was the bus ride. Let’s just say we had to get on and off twice before they finally decided the correct airport entrance for us. We trudged upstairs to ticketing to figure out our options. We were exhausted and stinky.
As we were only meant to spend two days in Bulgaria and had missed the last flight of the day, it no longer made sense to go. I had ticketing re-route us directly to Krakow instead, but that meant another 3.5 hours in the Warsaw airport. We sucked it up and grabbed some food before heading to the gate.
The next thing I knew, Tony was nudging me awake. Tilly and I had fallen asleep at the gate and it was time to board. Luckily the flight to Krakow was quick and easy, but we had to get on another one of those devil buses to get to the plane. I was so tired, I didn’t resist, but my face said it all.
How my girl managed to smile at this point was beyond me. Thankfully our luggage made it to Krakow, but low and behold, one of them was damaged. Somehow the security lock had been cut, even though our Away suitcases have airport security key access. We were so exhausted, we rolled our eyes, filed a claim, and exited the airport. Once in the safety and warmth of my father-in-law’s home, I passed out.
Sick in Krakow
We spent our first full day, which by this point was December 21, relaxing. We were so tired, stinky and hungry that we washed up, vegged out, and then headed over to my sister-in-law Veronica’s house. Tilly was so excited to see her cousins, and they spent the evening playing while we re-told our travel horror story to Tony’s family.
Veronica had asked me to save the 23rd as she was going to give me an experiential Christmas present. I was thrilled! She is so thoughtful and I couldn’t wait to see what she had in store. When I joined Tony downstairs for breakfast that morning, we both looked at each other funny. “Is your throat bothering you?” he asked me.
“Yeah, a little,” I said. “I’ve got this tickle that won’t seem to go away.” And you know what that means.
Our first stop was to get our nails done. The Polish nail salon was able to put an adorable snowflake stamp on my nails with a jewel in the center. But by this point, I was wearing a mask because this “tickle” was becoming stronger. We then ventured to downtown Krakow for massages. This was such a lovely, generous and thoughtful gift from Veronica and I LOVED it. However, when on my stomach with my face squished against that open face cushion, my nose started up. Sniffle, sniffle….and then drip, drip, drip….ONTO THE SPA FLOOR! I felt mortified and when I was flipped back over needed tissues to clean up my stupid, gross face. This cold was now coming on fast and furious, and when done with the massages I needed to head home.
Welp, I found Tony in a similar state. Stuffy, coughing, chills. That demonic airport bus ride had found us all sick, and the day before Christmas Eve.
We tried hard to make the most of the holiday. We went to Veronica’s in-laws house to celebrate (her husband is from Poland) and we did our best to keep our distance.
The evening started with the traditional oplatek which is a blessed wafer shared amongst family members. Each person is offered a piece to break off and eat and well wishes are then bestowed upon the eater. I adore this tradition because of how heartfelt and full of love it is. It was especially needed this Christmas since we were missing my mother-in-law so much.
We dined on a traditional Polish meal that was delicious. Sadly Tony and I felt so awful we couldn’t eat that much, and we excused ourselves not long after finishing.
We slept by Veronica’s, and given some thoughtful planning, Santa did not disappoint. Tilly was thrilled with all of her toys and gifts, and we spent the day nursing our colds while the children played.
The Void
Relaxing on Christmas Day was the first time since arriving in Poland that I had a moment to pause and reflect on the huge void left by my mother-in-law. I saw Veronica bustling around the house but I was used to her being part of a pair, having her mother by her side. I missed the sound of her laughter, and her loud kisses on Tilly’s cheek as she cuddled up into her lap.
This made me even more sad and angry at the state of the trip up until that point. This trip was meant to be the most special one in her honor. Instead, with the exception of the amazing time with family, it was shaping up to be a dumpster fire. We had to fix this.
Kicking it Krakow Style
By December 26, I was starting to feel better. Veronica and I were committed to helping my father-in-law organize his home a bit. Organization is my jam, and she and I spent 4 hours sorting through boxes, cleaning and wiping down items, and crying at the memory of my mother-in-law. We had grown so close over those few days together, and this felt so special.
December 27 was Tony’s birthday, and while he was still feeling crappy, there was a reason to be happy. More family from Chicago would arrive in Krakow by that evening. At this point, to make space for the new arrivals, we headed over to the newly opened Hyatt Place Krakow. This gave us a chance to indulge in room service and be closer to the city center as we recovered from our colds.
Tony stayed in with Tilly on this night, but I headed out with Veronica, her kids, and their cousin Angie to explore downtown Krakow. I was finally feeling better, and it was great to move around and enjoy how beautiful the city is, especially at Christmas.
December 28 was our last full day in Poland before heading back. I was almost fully recovered and Tony was on the mend. The whole family descended upon Krakow and we spent the afternoon eating traditional Polish food and drinking tea with honey vodka. Oh wait, that was just me. 🙂 It was a wonderful way to wind down the trip – in this beautiful city and spending time with our family.
We hugged our family tight as we said our good-byes. As we headed to the airport the next day, we prayed hard, hoping we would not repeat what happened on our inbound flight. And what do you know? Thanks to my mother-in-law watching over us, it was smooth travels all the way home.
I extend my heartiest love and thanks to Veronica, my father-in-law, my nieces and nephews, my brother-in-law and his family for making a rough experience so special and memorable. I guess that’s just one of the many reasons family is so important.
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