The House of Mutt is a favourite doggy staycation for when I have to leave them behind. It was Darcy’s most favourite place to go to. She always knew when her cooler bag came out and would bark with excitement when they arrived to pick her up. And this time around George did the same. I could sense him tensed with excitement when his bag stood by the door.
As soon as the driver from The House of Mutt arrived, he greeted him with a waggy tail and couldn’t wait to get going! This makes it a lot easier to leave him.
We walked him out to the car. And Lulu saying goodbye to George was the sweetest thing.
Do you think Lulu wanted to go too?
The House of Mutt sent daily pictures of George exploring the outdoors within an enclosed space. But I loved the ones of him walking with the big boys (maybe there were girls too) through the woods. If you know George, you’ll understand how amazing this looks.
He doesn’t usually like big dogs. He just becomes incensed whenever he sees one and I literally have to pick him up and cover his eyes. There are a few exceptions, our friends, Skylar, Ayla, Zac and Piccolina. Maybe he has small man’s syndrome. It’s not due to fear because he would go after them! I guess he hasn’t looked at himself in the mirror recently. Who knows the reasons why? It could go back to when he was a street dog and they fought him for food and he never forgave them. It warmed my heart to see him trotting along, albeit on a long lead, with the gang and at peace with the world.
They do have a way of introducing the dogs that come to stay – there’s a meet and greet from the moment they arrive. And though he was at first a bit wary, he soon realised they meant no harm and settled right in.
All the times he has stayed at The House of Mutt, there was absolutely no way he could be trusted off lead. He is after all, George the Explorer and the acres of woodlands and fields would have been too intriguing for him. He didn’t mind being on a long lead though. He could still wade in the puddles and run with the big boys. Sarah, from The House of Mutt did say that “he does have a keen nose/instinct, you can see that when he’s out in the woods – he’s more aware of what’s out there than a lot of others are.”
In the meantime, this was Lulu during her stay with Aunty Ju-li and Darcy! After lots of walks each day, this was her usual position …
Maybe the next time Lulu can go along.
I left George and Lulu when we went away to Krakow, Poland over the half term break with Sasha. My first time in Poland, and I really wanted to bring them with me. It would have been possible for us to do so as they were both small enough to fly in-cabin and we had three pairs of hands – me, Alison and Sasha. But the logistics and time restrictions made it difficult.
Krakow, a southern Poland city, was a pleasant surprise. Pretty town, lots of churches. Rynek Główny, the Main Square of the Old Town of Kraków was lovely. It is sometimes called the largest medieval town square in Europe.
Krakow was very dog-friendly and so many dogs of all sizes! Made me wish even more that I had brought George and Lulu with us.
We stayed at The Stradom House Hotel, once a church and monastery dating back to the 14th century in Krakow, it is centrally situated between the Wawel castle, an easy stroll away from the city’s Market Square in the Old Town and Kazimierz, the historic Jewish centre. Absolutely loved the interiors, the finishing touches – everything was just beautifully crafted and thought through. And yes, dog-friendly.
We ate really well and tried the local specialties – Pierogi (dumplings) and Obwarzanek Krakowski!
But our main intention of going to Krakow was to visit the Auschwtiz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum – a symbol of Holocaust and place of genocide in the world.
It was about an hour and a half drive from Krakow.
The sights were familiar because we have seen them in movies and in the news. But to stand in the place where the most horrific war crime was committed was a reminder of how inhumane and evil it was – the precision planning and staging of executions of over a million human beings because of one man’s ideology. It’s simply mind-boggling how all this happened.
This was an all-day trip, the journey there and a good three hour guided tour. It was one of the reasons I didn’t bring George and Lulu. They could have come on the drive with us but the driver would have to look after them when we went on the guided tour.
I highly recommend Krakow as a destination. Such a pretty town and full of history. And I think most people who visit Krakow would make the journey to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
