After arriving home to visiting relatives, I am now finding time for our last post. The remainder of the group departed Bardejov on Saturday morning for Vienna. We decided to be somewhat adventurous and take the southern route which appeared to have more freeway. An added benefit was that it took us through Hungary and around Budapest. While the scenery was not as spectacular as that of Slovakia (it is basically flat with some rolling hills) the route provided us with some unexpected twists...namely they do not use the Euro which is the only money we all had. So we found ourselves using our credit cards for lunch! We couldn't figure out what the currency was (it is forints).

We all arrived safely in Vienna but very tired. The drivers went to the airport that evening to return the rental cars. While waiting for the shuttle to take us back to our hotel, we enjoyed an Austrian beer in a local pub at the airport. We did not have time to finish before we were hustled into the shuttle so we all enjoyed finishing our pivo on the shuttle...obviously something you can't do here in America!

When we arrived back at the hotel, everyone was tired from the drive and did not want to go out for dinner so we opted for pizza to be delivered. Note to one's self...order cheese on your pizza in Austria as it does not normally come with cheese! It still was good as were the beers. Everyone turned in early as our flight left at 9:30 am and we needed to leave for the aiport at 7:00.

We had one last breakfast at the hotel, headed for the airport and got on our respective planes. The flight back was non-eventful thank goodness. Everyone arrived home safely. Until the next trip....oh...and did I mention how nice it is to be using an American keyboard again!!!

Sad day...our last day here in Slovakia. We bid the Stenachs farewell this morning as they departed a day early for Vienna and the return trip to Minneapolis.

We all headed our separate ways to finish up last minute trips to the villages ańd shopping. Viktor Krushko came from Presov to help us translate. Vladyka met with his relative in Visny Mirosov one last time and spent a while in the cemetery there hoping to find some relatives-

We then hooked up with Skip and Emily and headed to Stebnik where I photographed relatives headstones and reacquainted with my 84 year old cousin, Anna Pidany. We then headed to Chmelova to pick up Milka Denis who accompanied us to Regatovka to see if we could find some of Emilys Leba relatives. While none are living there anymore, we did find a statue with their name on it and we suspect that it attested to the fact that they were a founder of the church there.

We happened to run into Joe Jurista while we were there and he invited us in for a shot of his homemade Medovica...honey brandy. We all laughed at his tribute to the Beatles...a take off of the statue in Bardejov...only his was made with fish heads.

We shared our last dinner at the Hotel Bardejov and had wonderful food there. We all then met in the square at our usual hangout for one last drink on the town.

Tomorrow we take off across the country for Vienna before departing back for the states. As I had no internet connection there, this will most likely be the last post. I hope to post some photos once I return to the states.

Dovidenia Slovakia

Another full day....headed off to Presov in the morning for a visit to the seminary. We had a wonderful tour with Fr. Emil and Iveta. Unbenknownst to us they had prepared a luncheon for us...only to be followed by lunch at Victorias. We then went our separate ways...some of us stayed in the Centrum for shopping and others went to tour the Rusyn Museum and Orthodox Cathedral.

While having lunch at Victorias we were entertained by a famous actor/opera singer. A couple of us bought his CD and we listened to it on the wy home only to decide that it needed to go into the white elephant pile!!!

We met in the square for drinks and a light dinner and some of us ended up at the Hotel Artin for drinks afterwards.

The Stenachs depart tomorrow while the rest of us will do last minute shopping and visits to the villages. How quickly the time has flown!!! Saturday we head to Vienna for our flight out on Sunday.

What day is it? Oh yes...Wednesday...funny how when you are on vacation the days all seem to melt into one another.

I think I neglected to mention that yesterday we started the day with a visit to the Icon Museum in Bardejov. They have many icons from the past several centuries that have been taken out of churches and displayed very tastefully. They also have models of several of the wooden churches.

We left this morning for our visit to Kosice. We arrived in time for lunch at an outdoor cafe. Nothing special. Except for when Angie ordered a cheeseburger...and that is exactly what she got...cheese in a bun!!! Seems that the cheeseburgers over here are just a little different than the ones back home. They were also served on a pita and not the traditional hamburger bun. Beware of false translations!!! While we were eating one of the Romas in the area crept up behind Angie and scared her before Mike chased him away.

Several of us toured the church of St. Elizabeth but it was a disappointment after seeing the church in Levoca yesterday. The singing fountains were beautiful but there was no music. We spent the afternoon shopping...the guys loved it...yeah right. Polly was able to meet up with her Slovak teacher from the University of Pittsburgh and she gave us an overview of the city.

We had dinner at the El Restaurant in Bardejov Square...one owned by one of Jack Leschisins relatives.

Everyone headed back to their hotels, pensions, internet cafe for an early evening. Tomorrow we visit Presov for our last formal day of touring.

Forgot to mention yesterday that our trip to the villages was delayed a bit in the morning. It seems that Fr. Jan Lakata arranged for the local television station to come and interview Archbishop JOB for TV!

We left early this morning to head to Levoca and Spis Castle. We took the scenic route on the way there through gorgeous mountain roads complete with hairpin turns. Though the weather was a little overcast, we still viewed some magnificent scenery. I might add that it took a little longer than anticipated to get there as those of you who have been here know...roads are not well marked in Slovakia. They are not used to many foreign tourists so you really need to know where you are going! A side benefit however was the gorgeous scenery and some lovely entertainment. By that I mean....most villages have speakers mounted on top of poles. They date back to the days of communism when they were, and still are, used for announcements. Today however, we drove through the village of Dubovica and the speakers were blaring wonderful Slovak folk music around the noon hour. We all rolled down our windows and some of us were tempted to get out of our car and dance!!!

We arrived in Levoca where we met Jan Dzugan, Todd and Pollys exchange student who took us on a tour of St. Jacobs Cathedral with its exquisite baroque carved wooden altar, the tallest in Europe. After our tour we met Jans parents for lunch at the Three Apostles Restaurant.

After our lunch we waited outside to say our goodbyes to Jan and his family. Mike had to use the restroom before we left and as he was doing his thing at the urinal he looked over and saw a nun in a blue habit washing her hands at the sink!!! Only in Slovakia!!!

We then drove to Spissky Hrad, the largest castle in Europe. It was an imposing sight. Some of us ventured up to the top and others chose to stay at the base. Either way we had an impressive view of the area.

For Jim Brinda...I have found out why the pronunciation for the village of Becherov...and others...is different. Here is how it was explained to me. In Slovak the first syllable always has the most emphasis where in Rusyn the emphasis is usually on the second syllable. So I have been calling it the Slovak way...and you have been calling it the Rusyn way.

Tonite we were treated to a slide show presentation by Vlado, our host. He has followed us around with his new camera since we arrived and we saw the results this evening. He even gave each one of us a CD with all the photos on it!

We said goodbye to Karen Varian this evening as she headed off to Presov to meet her bus to Ukraine tomorrow.

We head for a day of sightseeing and shopping tomorrow in Kosice. Hopefully there will be no more nuns in male restrooms there!!!

Monday was our long awaited day in our villages. After rising early, we all departed for various parts of the area. Vladyka JOB went to his village of Vizny Mirosov where he met with a relative who ironically is also an iconographer. He said they knew of a relative in the US that was a bishop but did not know where. The priest and his father, the retired priest, of the Orthodox church there visited with us and then showed us the church and cemeteries. While a few hours in the morning was not enough time we will return again on Friday to visit yet another cemetery.

Off we then went to the villages of Becherov, Chmelova and Stebnik. In Becherov we deliveree a package to the Slosarcik family and were treated to Sheeshki...fried doughnuts...something that my brother and I had not had for over 30 years. Our Baba used to make them and for us it was a huge treat to have them again. She shared the recipe with us. We also peeked in at the Greek Catholic Church which was having a service while we were there.

In Chmelova, we walked in the old cemetery although the church was not open. In Stebnik again, the church was holding a service while we were there. We found my grandmothers land and then we headed off to the Karczma for a beer.

The evening was spent in the Bardjove Square as we sat outside on a beautiful summer evening drinking beer and sampling different kinds of fruit brandy, plum, pear, raspberry and cherry. We started singing and a passerby evidently liked it as he bought a round of Hrushka for all of us.

The singing didnt stop there. We headed back for the pension and continued on in the kitchen singing Rusyn songs until the wee hours of the morning.

Today we are all dragging a little but happy nonetheless. We head off to Levoca shortly. Until then...

Sunday morning we attended St. Seraphim for Liturgy. It is just a short three block walk from our pension and it was wonderful not to have to drive to church! We were given front pew seats and listened to the beautiful Carpatho-Rusyn chant typical of this area. Fr. Jan Lakata presented Archbishop JOB with some gifts and spoke fondly of Jim Brinda and his friendship with the parish and efforts to help support them. We all had tears in our eyes. And like typical Slovak hospitality, they invited us to a wonderful luncheon in the church basement.

We then drove to the village of Tichy Potok where Mayor Lubica Dzuganova welcomed us and ushered us in to the Cultural Center for a meal of Paschal foods. We then toured their gift shop which sells rugs, lace and other items. We also visited the Greek Catholic church there followed by yet another meal of holubki and potatoes. We have all vowed to go on diets once we return home!!!

But by far the highlight of the evening was the program presented by their folk group which consisted of a reenactment of a Rusyn weddding. Afterwards we were invited to dance with them.

The trip home in the dark was uneventful sans a couple of wrong turns along the way. Does anyone know of someone in the DOT who can make these Slovaks some road signs???

We had been given many leftovers from the past two days so an impromtu party was held at the pension. Tomorrow is a free day so many of us will be visiting our villages. Until then...

Saturday took us to the Dukla Pass, between the borders of Slovakia and Poland where a bloody battle was fought during WW II. There is a touching monument of a mother hugging her son as she sends him off to war. Many fallen soldiers are buried there as well as a few hundred unknown soldiers in mass graves.

From Dukla we headed once again to Poland to Zyndranowa where Fedor Gocz has a museum of Lemko culture. We walked the grounds, toured the antique buildings and Mr. Gocz shared some special liquor from Ukraine with us. No one knew what it was but it sure tasted good! Greg and Jeanette departed for other areas of Poland to search for relatives with the help of Karen Varian while the rest of the group worked their way back south via Bozdruzal. We stopped there to tour a beautiful wooden church and admired the interior. We arrived in Becherov in time for Vespers where afterwards they presented Archbishop JOB with an icon of the Protection of the Virgin Mary and treated us to a wonderful dinner. Many of us renewed acquaintances with relatives and others discovered newly found relatives. Now we are starting to get excited!!!

Ah...finally back to some normal internet connections!!! I am feeling whole again! Friday we departed from Krakow with all of us wishing we could stay longer but vowing to return again. We stopped in what we thought was the village of Myslenice to try and find some of Emilys Pilacinski relatives...sorry about the typos...Slovak keyboards are different and I am having trouble finding some of the punctuation marks. It turns out Myslenice is a town of 20,000 people. She and I stopped at various stores and businesses to try and find a phone book...or at least someone who spoke English. We were finally ushered to the church where we encountered an older gentleman who recognized the name and promised Emily that as soon as he returned from his vacation he would do some research and contact her. We ate on the lovely town square and then continued our venture southward.

We also stopped in the village of Gorlice to visit the Orthodox church there where the relics of St. Maxim Sandovych are kept. St. Maxim was a Carpatho-Rusyn priest who was martyred during WW I. His great-nephew is Fr. Daniel Ressetar of Harrisburg, PA, a friend.

We were happy to once again be in Slovakia and shortly after we crossed the border we stopped at the Salas Lesna just outside of Bardejov for a reunion with Kathy Miller and Toni Simmons who have been traveling here.

After our somewhat adventurous day in Zakopane, our next day was spent touring the somber Auschwitz Museum in Oswiecim, Poland. We had an English speaking guide who took us through the first part of the tour which included the museum, visited the barracks, gas houses and crematoriums. The second part of the tour takes you two kilometers down the road to Birkenau with the infamous railway platform. The size of the camp is beyond imagination and to walk in the same footpaths as the Jews that perished there is beyond description.

We quietly departed for our hotel in Krakow with an intent to stop for dinner along the way. Somewhere, we lost the Stenach car and ended up sitting for 45 minutes hoping they would find their way back. No luck...so we decided they had good maps although their cell phone was no longer working and they probably had found the highway to Krakow and were headed to the hotel so we began again. We called the hotel to alert them to call us if they arrived and to our relief they did!

We stopped for dinner at a typical Polish establishment along the way and had wonderful food! After arriving at our hotel in Krakow at a late hour we decided that we all needed to sleep in the next morning and skip the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour.

We woke up to pouring rain and had to rethink our plans for the day. Luckily while we were eating, the sun finally came out. Everyone did their own thing...shopping, touring, sightseeing. Krakow is a lovely, charming and vibrant city. The majority of the group went on a tour with our guide, Pavel. We saw incredible cathedrals, buildings, the Pope in the window and the Wawel Castle. While in the castle, I was looking at some lovely ivy, a type which I had not seen before and thought "Skip will know what kind of ivy this is." When I turned around to find him he wasn't with our group and we realized we had lost him about an hour or so before and no one noticed!!! Seems he got sidetracked with a watercolor painting and a bottle of beer!

Dinner was at a famous Polish restaurant and the food was tasty! Several people ordered Holubki (or Gowumpkie as they call them in Polish). Much to their surprise the size of them were like small loaves of bread!

Off we were to finish off the evening...some chose to have drinks in the fabulous courtyard and then Skip treated us to a wonderful horse and carriage ride. The town square is full of these carriages and with no automobile traffic makes you feel like it is the turn of the century.

Tomorrow we are headed back to Slovakia and hopefully some normalcy and a slower pace in the villages.

Greetings from Poland and a Day to Forget!!!

Apologies for not blogging earlier however the lack of internet connections had made it impossible, but not for lack of trying!!!

Tuesday morning brought us the opportunity of either mountain climbing, relaxing at the resort and walking around the beautiful lake with its incredible scenery or traveling to the "wonderful" town of Zakopane, Poland. If anyone sees a sign for Zakopane with a line through it, please forward it on to me because the word Zakopane is now considered a four letter word in my vocabulary!!!

The day started off wonderfully...Kathy Stenach dropped her glass in the bathroom and shattered it and Polly flooded the bathroom because she couldn't figure out how to use the European shower heads. After using every available towel in the bathroom to clean up the mess, it was Emily's turn to take a shower and she proceeded to re-flood the bathroom!

We finally found our group that was heading to Zakopane and started off an hour late! We decided this time that George Chakot would be our navigator and Polly our driver. Three and one half hours later, after missing several turns, taking various U-turns (the same one twice) and backing up on many occasions, we finally made our three car caravan to the village of Zakopane for a little shopping but not before we went through the village of Huncovce where Karen Varian called our car and said to look for the wooden Rusyn church. After not being able to find one, we stopped and in my best Slovak I asked a gentleman where the church was. He insisted there was none, just a Catholic church and a Protestant one. But of course we insisted that there MUST be a wooden one somewhere. It took him a few minutes but then he told us that the church we were looking for was in Hunkovce, not Huncovce...details!!!. When we finally got to Zakopnae the place was a zoo! We all had to park in three different spots and met up at the center of town. Of course by this time we all had to use the WC (water closet) so we stood in line at McDonald's. Using the facilities in Europe usually requires payment or a purchase at an establishment so I dutifully bought my bottle of water and took a place in line. I was then informed that no one was really monitoring it and it was on the honor system...people were just holding the door open for the next person. Great! I was next in line and the Gestapo shows up and demands that I pay to use the room. I flashed the receipt in her face and headed into the WC.

In the meantime, we all needed to find an ATM so that we could get some Polish currency for our fabulous purchases that we were about to make. ATM machine #1 worked fine for Polly but did not for the rest of the crew. We finally found another one and everyone else got their dough!

By this time we were also very hungry and found a place that served shish kebobs. About the time our food was ready it started to rain. Oh, did I mention this place was outside??? So, after sitting in a slight drizzle for a few minutes we opted to go inside to finish our meal. As we were leaving, the downpour started...and kept going...and going...and going...and going. We sought shelter under a vendors booth. After realizing that we were going to spend the rest of our lives there as the rain would not let up we decided to make a dash for the car.

In the meantime, it was obvious that we were going to be delayed in returning to Strbske Pleso so I needed to call the hotel to inform them that Dede was not going to be back in time for her massage. After trying to track down the number of the hotel, I called and explained to the gentleman that I needed to reschedule a massage. He seemed a little confused and finally told me that I was talking to the Patria Company in Bratislava and NOT the Patria Hotel. I hope I made his day!!!

So, after driving 3 1/2 hours to use the WC at McDonald's and eat a shish kebob we headed home as we had dinner reservations at the Koliba. The ride home was pleasant as we fought for space on the roadway with horses and we all laughed at how the day went and tried to deal with smelly, wet shoes. Polly had decided to wash her clothes in the morning and her only clean outfit was a victim of the morning shower flood so upon arriving at the hotel had to borrow an outfit from Sue to wear to dinner.

The day ended on a high note with our lovely dinner at the Koliba complete with musical accompanyment. We sang, danced and sang Many Years to a German couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

So...will someone PLEASE find that darn Zakopane sign and send it to me!! Oh...and remind me to never go back there again!!!

Dear Diary...day three...

I guess the Internet gods are not with me on this trip.

Our flights over were uneventful. A small amount of turbulence however...and a lot of food!!! By the time we landed in Vienna we were too stuffed to enjoy any Viennese food!

We arrived early in the morning, procured our rental cars and headed to the hotel. Our accomodations were nice, we settled in and headed off to tour Vienna on foot. Never mind that it was 98 degrees...the hottest it has ever been in Vienna.

Oh, before I forget...one of our group who shall remain nameless but have the intials MR, SR, JK, AK got disconnected from our group caravan on the way from the airport to the hotel. They were savvy enough to flag down a policeman who gave them a personal escort to the hotel!

We cut short our tour after viewing the Opera House and headed to the Sacher Cafe for their famous Sachertorte and some Viennese coffee...a must while you are in this city. A few of the older members were hurting with bad knees (the guys) and decided to take a short cut and meet us at the famous St. Stefan's Cathedral. The girls headed to the Hofsburg Palace and did a quick exterior tour. We kind of got turned around inside the palace and as we exited we saw a spire and figured it was St. Stefans. Lo and behold after walking many, many blocks and many phone calls to the guys to figure out where the heck they were...we realized that WE were the ones that were lost. Heat exhaustion took its toll on a couple of us but we finally made it back to our hotel not really that impressed with Vienna.

Some of the group decided they were too tired (or too full) to venture out for dinner. A small group of us however did try...went to the nearest town for a meal but alas, none of the restaurants are open on Sundays. After I flagged down two older women, they pointed us in the direction of a restaurant. Finally...an open one! We sat down and ordered...very slow service and took about two hours for our meal.

Today we headed off to Strbske Pleso and the lovely Patria resort. A pretty drive with a stop in Rajecka Lesna to view the intricate Bethlehem animated wood carving which totally blew everyone away. We sampled some Oplatky and headed off to Martin for a lunch of typical Slovak cuisine. On the way there we all chuckled at the roadside worker who had a speedo on and proceeded to bend over just as our car was passing!

We arrived at the Patria and found our lovely rooms. The hotel was sold out of most of their doubles so the majority of our group is staying in suites with lakeside views.

We ate dinner at the restaurant (which is now included in the cost of your room) and headed off to the Koliba to hear the gypsy band sing but arrived just as they were finishing. Then we headed back to the hotel bar and of course arrived just as they were closing. The restaurant manager was kind enough to convince the bartended to provide us with one final round however!
We had lots of laughs this evening reminiscing about a lot of things.

There was no internet service at the Vienna hotel and I could not access it on my iPhone. The room we are staying in at the Patria does not have an internet cable (even though it is supposed to) so we sauntered up to Karen and Karen's room but alas THEIR cable internet was not working either. After spending a goodly amount of time trying to get the computer in the lobby working...I finally suceeded. I hope this isn't an indication of the rest of the trip!!!

Everyone is fine, healthy and having a great time. Tomorrow some of us will stay and relax at the resort and others will venture into Zakopane, Poland. Until then....

Our pre-trip party was a success! Those of us in the Twin Cities metro area gathered together for an informal meet and greet with a chance to learn a little about each other. While listening to traditional Slovak folk music we tried Zlaty Bazant pivo (Golden Pheasant beer), viewed a Slovak tourism video that showed us many of the sites we will be visiting and then talked about some basics to help us make the most of our trip including how much clothing we REALLY do (or do not) need! We also had the chance to taste some Slovak cuisine to get our taste buds ready and sampled the traditional Slovak liquor...Slivovice! I think the excitement is mounting and we are all anxious to begin our adventure to Eastern Europe!

Planning, planning, planning!

The past two days have been spent working on final plans for our upcoming trip to Slovakia in August. Our get-to-know-each-other meeting will be this Sunday. Can't wait! I think all of us are excited and anxious and ready for August 1st to come!