Nick and Cece's European pilgrimage, part one {Poland}

in Krakow

in June, Nick and Cece took the trip of a lifetime along with a group from our priest friend's parish. for years, Father Aron has led pilgrimages to Europe for his confirmation class and their families, supported by incredible events throughout the year (he really puts the fun in fundraising). this year, they planned a twelve-day trip to Eastern Europe, visiting religious sites in Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia. our whole family was invited, and in a different season of life, I would have loved for all six of us to go! but we already did the two-toddlers-in-Europe thing once when we were young and crazy. for logistical reasons (not least being that Nick's services as organist for daily mass were requested), we decided that Nick would go with the older girls and I would stay home with the younger ones.

from the very first time we brought up the idea of the trip, Cece was all in, and Greta was adamantly not interested. Nick and I debated about whether or not we should force Greta to go along, both because we thought she probably would enjoy it once she was there and also because we knew it would be a good experience for her cultural and spiritual formation. I think it is so important for our kids to be exposed to different languages, cultures, and worldviews especially in the tween/teen years. however, she never wavered in her vehement disinterest and since I was already going to be staying home with the little ones, we decided she would stay home too. (as an aside, shortly after we made the final decision for her to stay home, an opportunity to travel to Paris with her school choir in 2026 arose! we decided that I would take her on that trip so Nick would have his father/daughter trip with Cece and I would have a mother/daughter trip with Greta. unfortunately, the Paris trip fell through due to lack of interest, but I am still planning to take Greta on a mother/daughter trip somewhere next year.) 

leading up to Nick and Cece's trip was a whirlwind of preparation -- renewing Cece's passport, restocking the travel-size toiletries, getting forms notarized to allow Cece to travel out of the country with just one parent (pro tip: UPS stores offer notarization for a nominal fee with no appointment required!), making sure everyone had comfortable shoes, and buying Nick an actual backpack (he previously has used a briefcase as a carry-on, which is just insane to me -- the day before they left, I got him a heavy-duty backpack at Walmart because it was bothering me so much!). 

the intrepid travelers were up bright and early on the morning of departure. they would be driving out to Central Pennsylvania where they would meet for confessions and mass at the parish, then board a chartered bus to take them to Washington Dulles to fly overnight to Vienna and then just a short flight to Krakow. for posterity's sake, and for anyone interested, their full itinerary can be found here.

their travels were blessedly uneventful, unless you count Cece being completely grossed out by Nick's Leberkase breakfast sandwich in the Vienna airport. she got her own chicken version that passed the taste test! 

their first few days were spent in Krakow, Poland, where they stayed in the beautiful guest house at the Sacred Heart Sisters convent. they celebrated daily mass with the nuns and ate delicious food, including homemade pierogi. Krakow has been on my travel bucket list ever since reading The Trumpeter of Krakow as a child. in fact, I downloaded it on Cece's Kindle for her to read on the plane and she was so excited to tell me about hearing the five-note trumpet call that is still played by a bugler from the tower of St. Mary's each day.  

in the gardens at the convent

the beautiful guest house

exploring Krakow!

Cece and her new BFF got matching flower crowns. most of the kids on this trip were teens preparing to make their confirmation (8th grade), but fortunately for Cece, one family had a younger daughter as well and they became fast friends! 

Cece has always been an adventurous eater and was up for trying just about anything (except for that Leberkase sandwich). also, that European Fanta just hits different

inside the basilica of St. Mary's

Pope St. John Paul II

with the famous bell at the top of St. Mary's

view from the tower

they both hopped on this scooter but were scolded by a Polish policeman -- "only one person per scooter"

daily mass in the convent chapel

doing some window shopping in the main square

Nick had a bit of a health scare a few days into the trip when he developed severe right-sided chest pain that persisted for hours even at rest. at first it seemed most consistent with muscular strain or maybe indigestion, but it didn't respond to prescription-strength ibuprofen, Pepto Bismol, or a hot shower. if he was in the US, I would have insisted that he get checked out at the ER (I doubted a cardiac cause because the symptoms were non-exertional, but I started to worry about a pulmonary embolism especially given the recent transatlantic flight). we talked on the phone for a while about his symptoms and after we hung up, I started to panic about whether something was seriously wrong and God forbid, the worst happened while he was overseas. I sent out the bat call to my moms prayer group and googled the different hospitals in Krakow. turns out, the hospital most recommended for foreign tourists was only a four-minute walk away from the guest house, so I sent him a screenshot of the map and finally went to sleep myself. the next morning, he was feeling somewhat better and realized that wearing that darn backpack his wife bought for him was actually the culprit -- one of the straps dug into his upper chest right at the spot where he was having pain. after adjusting the straps and continuing the anti-inflammatories for a few more days, his symptoms resolved. thank God! 

I'm so glad he never had to make use of this map, but also so grateful for technology that allowed me to research the options and communicate with him during this -- and for the prayers of my friends that were definitely answered, both in Nick's health as well as in my peace of mind! 

the next day, the rest of the group departed early to visit Auschwitz. we had decided in advance that Nick would stay back with Cece. I think Auschwitz is an important place to visit, remember the horrors of the Holocaust, and pay our respects, but more appropriate for the teens and adults. this turned out for the best so Nick could get some extra rest after finally being able to fall asleep (he texted me that morning that he'd gotten about five hours of sleep and still had some pain, but it was better than before). 

that afternoon, they met up with the group to visit the famous Marian shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa, also known as the Black Madonna. legend has it that St. Luke painted this icon on a slab of wood. the best estimate of art historians is that it originated sometime before the 9th century and has been venerated as a symbol of Our Lady ever since. it was brought to its present home in the monastery of Jasna Gora in the 14th century. 

on the bus

the outside of the Jasna Gora monastery

inside the monastery

Sunday, June 15, was Father's Day, and a definite highlight of the trip! from the moment she heard about various stops on the itinerary, Cece was most excited about their visit to the Wieliczka salt mine and couldn't believe that Greta would pass up the opportunity to visit a chapel made entirely of salt. (meanwhile, Greta was underwhelmed at the prospect.) the salt mines date back to the 13th century and are notable for not just one but four chapels carved out of the mines, complete with altars and chandeliers crafted out of salt. 

The Last Supper, carved out of salt

the detail is unbelievable!

after a few days packed full of sightseeing, the group had a welcome afternoon of leisure taking a traditional boat ride on the Dunajec river, which divides Poland and Slovakia. when Nick sent me these pictures, I wanted to jump through the phone and join them!

Cece bought her new hat at one of the outdoor markets

they concluded their evening at the ancient wooden church of St. Michael in Debno, dating from the 15th century. I can only imagine the tangible sense of holiness in those walls which have heard the prayers of the faithful for hundreds and hundreds of years.

detail of the intricately painted ceiling

an epic carving of St. Michael the Archangel

golden hour

dinner was a veritable feast of roast pig, sausage, haluski, schnitzel, and cabbage soup

believe it or not, this only covered the first three days of their trip -- but there are so many photos to share that I'm splitting this into multiple parts! more to come...