Full Circle

As we spent our last day in Eastern Europe we came full circle.  Almost as soon as we left our hotel in Poland...and just before crossing back into Slovakia we got caught in a speed trap and Nancy was given a ticket.  She was able to convince them to lower the amount and evidently they were very excited to see a Minnesota drivers license!

We made our way to Rajecka Lesna to view the animated wooden carving which we missed on the way into the country at the beginning of our trip due to our car problems.  Then along our way back to Prague we went through the delightful village of Cicmany where the homes are uniquely painted.  They were having some type of folk demonstrations and many of the townspeople were dressed in their kroje (folk costumes).  This was an unexpected surprise for us.  We arrived a while later at the airport hotel where we spent the night.  Most of us ordered hamburgers for supper as we have overdosed on halushky, pirohy and the like.  We had several toasts and relived some of the memories of our trip.

We are off to the airport now, awaiting our flights home back to our families.  It's been a wonderful two weeks with a great group of people!  As Gary said last night..."It wasn't a trip, it wasn't a vacation...it was a journey!" 

Party Crashers

We said our fond farewells to Vlado and Dorothy as well as to Slovakia this morning as we headed up to Zdynia for the Lemko Vatra. Think Minnesota State Fair only 100 times better with the most amazing grilled food and wonderful Rusyn entertainment. Sadly we only had a short time to spend there however it was so incredible to see so many young persons there perpetuating their Rusyn heritage. We then left for Rabka Zdroj to hopefully find Janice's relatives. The scenery on the way their was some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. We found our way back to the gas station where a week earlier the owner had promised to help us. He spoke very little English and about all I can muster up is how to say thank you. Luckily his sister is here from Toronto on holiday. She met us and immmediately invited us to her mother's house across the street for some tea. It has been very cold and rainy today and we noticed many houses with fires going to keep the occupants warm. As we entered their house we became part of their mother's names day party! Out came desserts, tea and if course some traditional Polish liquer, Krupnik...a kind of vodka with honey in it. The owner then showed us his property across the street complete with swimming pool, tennis courts, a soccer field and two ponds. They then took is to Janice's family where she made a connection to a relative. After visiting a short time we headed to our last stop before returning to Prague tomorrow. The highlight of the day however was the co-ed bathroom we stopped at earlier. And no you don't take turns...everyone is in their together. You walk out of the stall to a group of urinals. Only in Poland!

Pay Dirt!

Whew!  What a day!  We started out early to Chmelova.  We tracked down Milka Dennis who seems to know about everyone in the village...what a Godsend she was! After spending time at her house we headed over to the Gary's relatives and found out that Gary and the owner of our pension are cousins.  In addition, so am I!  So many connections were made.  Afterwards we went to the Rusinak household and met with my second cousins. We were moved as we saw the place where our grandfather was born. They then called their cousin in Bardejov and they came out as well.  They brought out some wonderful kolbasi and we literally inhaled all of it!!    After an enjoyable visit we headed to Smilno to walk through the cemetery to look for Nancy's relatives. Milka also showed her where Nancy's grandmother was born.  A few of us went to our cousin Dusan and Maria's house for dinner and we tried to figure out our dual relationships...more work is needed on this.

As I am writing this  we are all gathered together in the pension reliving our past few days.  I'm not sure about the rest of the group but I know that I personally am going to be very sad to leave Stary Kraj.  It has been an awesome trip with a wonderful group of people!  Tomorrow we head for Zdynia , Poland for the Lemko Vatra and on to Rabka Zdroj to meet with Janice's family.  On Saturday we will begin the final leg of our journey back to Prague where we will spend the night before departing home.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have some great news to report about Janice and her relatives!  Until then.... 

Stormy Weather...And No I Don't Mean The Song

Yesterday we took a trip to the Bardejov Spa known for
their famous mineral treatments! On the grounds is a Skansen, or group of small buildings brought from various areas of Slovakia and set up to resble
what a village may have looked like when our grandparents lived here. Our group then split up. Some attempted to get
Spa treatments while the rest of us headed to the cemetery in Chmelova. While we were wandering amidst the tombstones
A rather large front began to move through. We made it to our cars just before the deluge hit. This was followed by extremely heavy downpours and very high winds. Several roads were blocked with debris and fallen trees. Power was knocked out in
parts of the city as well. We made it back to the pension
safely and them when the sun returned we used the time
for some last minute shopping in the square. I was able to meet up with L'ubica for a lovely dinner last evening followed by a your of some of the areas in Bardejov I had not. Seen
before including the new fountains.

Today we are back to the villages to hopefully uncover more new
relatives.

Shop 'n Tour Til You Drop

A very long day today as we headed to Presov for some crystal shopping followed by a wonderful lunch at Victoria's. Afterwards we toured the Orthodox Seminary and the Rusyn Museum where our interpreter, Maria Silvestri has an exhibit on Rusyns in America. We drove home afterwards and chose to dine on pizza in the square as we have all overdosed on Rusyn comfort food. I think I am wearing everyone out, including myself, as we were all in bed by 9:00 pm!

Tomorrow we are climbing to the ruins of the Zborov Castle followed by a trip to the Bardejov Spa and Skansen.

Stary Kraj!

Yesterday some of us spent a few hours shopping in the central square of Bardejov while we waited for our translator to arrive from Presov. Kate and I took a drive to Varadka and Ondavka to make a delivery there.  We met with the priest and he showed us the reconstructed wooden church in their village.
We ate leftovers of goulash and holubki, compliments of our friends in Tichy Potok.

Afterwards we began our trips to the villages.  First off was Stebnik.  I was saddened to learn that my second cousin, AnnaPidani, had fallen, broken her hip and now lives in a nursing home in Bardejov.  She has the most primitive wooden cabin with beautiful lace curtains.  We ran into Stephen Rusinak.  We are still trying to figure out how we are related but it must go back many generations.  We then stopped at the Tkach family house where we were treated to chlebicky (Slovak open-faced sandwiches) and many rounds of vodka.  Family connections were made with four of us.  They also showed us their old cabin furnished with many antiques, the place where we think our grandmother was born.  After bidding farewell to them we made our way back to the cars where we ran into Insa Peregrim, the proprietor of the Karcma (tavern) and she invited us in for a round.

We were scheduled to be in Becherov for Vespers followed by a dinner that the church hosted for us.  They are most wonderful and hospitable people and we truly enjoyed ourselves.  Then we drove thru the village to see the Greek Catholic church and cemetery where Gary was able to find some relatives in the cemetery.

After our return to the pension we headed to the town square for a beer and to talk about the days journey.  Today we are making our way to Presov to shop, have lunch at Viktor Krushko's restaurant and then a visit to the Seminary and Rusyn museum before an early return back to Bardejov.

Things Do Come in Three's!

This morning I felt like I was on the preacher's circuit. After a miscommunication we arrived early to church in Chmelova so we drove to Stebnik for the last part of the Liturgy. We then headed back to Chmelova where I was reunited with one of my cousins on the Rusinak side. We then poked our head into the church in Bardejov before heading back to the pension. We departed for Tichy Potok where we were treated to a wonderful meal and performance by their folk group. Prior to that we toured the village and Barb discovers quite a few long lost relatives. I was able to spend some time with our foreign exchange student's family. As always it is much too short of a visit and we said our tearful goodbyes and headed back to Bardejov. No sooner than we left the village the oil light came on in our car. Of course there were no gas stations until we returned to Bardejov an hour later. Then it was time for a beer in the town square for this driver!!! Now that we have had three incidents with our cars we figure we are done! Tomorrow we will spend in the villages in search of more relatives.

Again apologies for errors...blame it on the iPhone!

Typos

Apologies for the typos...doing this on an iPhone late at nite! :-(

Saint Pavel

So off we were to the Wieliczka Salt Mine this morning...or so we thought. Seems whole parked overnite one of the cars decided to get a flat tire. Thank God Pavel had come to help me plan the route back to Prague next week. He and Gary put the spare on the car and we were off to Wieliczka. While we toured Pavel took the car to get fixed. Words cannot adequately describe the exquisite beauty of the salt mine. Altars, reception halls, statues, etc were carved into the used cavities of this mine. As we walked the mine shafts we were encouraged to touch the walls and then taste the salt! It took several minutes to descend some 800 steps down and only 40 seconds to ride the lift to the top at the end of the tour. After emerging from the mine our Saint Pavel was waiting for us with a repaired tire. We dropped him off at the bus station and were on our way to Stary Kraj. After arriving and settling in at the pension we ate dinner at a new restaurant and we applauded th chef for a fabulous meal. We retreated back to the pension where I caught up with Joe Urista and his darling granddaughter, Annichka. An early night for all of us as we are headed to various churches in the morning androgen we are off to Tichy Potok. By the way, did you know storks can fly?

Krakow Tour

Sorry for the short post...sending from my iPhone. Thanks to Nancy's friend, Brother Milt we were hooked up with Saint Pavel...more on his sainthood later. He took us all over Krakow, a beautiful city, like Prague, untouched by WWII. We then headed to Chlopskie Jadlo for a typical Polish meal served family style. Two wooden platters piled high with pork knuckle, chicken, meat roulade, kasha, potatoes, smoked sheeps cheese and on and on! Enough to feed an army! After one last stop at Cloth Hall for souvenirs we called it a night.

Don't Rely on TomTom!

Our day started with the three hour drive to Auschwitz.  We had a very informative guide whose great-grandfather survived Auschwitz and it has become his mission to educate persons on the atrocities that happened there.  One cannot describe the horrific conditions those people had to endure even though it was usually for just a short time.  Afterwards a shuttle bus transported us to Birkenau.  The sheer enormity of that place is beyond imagination.  We all came away with a much deeper appreciation for what took place.

At the end of our tour, two young British girls aproached our guide asking where the train station was as they were returning to Krakow.  The mother in me took over and we asked them if they would like to ride with us instead and they readily accepted.  They are two bright young college students who are touring Europe for one month.  They hail from Leeds in northern England and one of their mother's best friends lives in Minnesota though she couldn't remember the name of the city.

As we entered Krakow it immediately became evident we were in a larger city.  Thank God for TomTom...sort of.  It actually routed us through the main square...a pedestrian only zone!  You can imagine the looks we got!  There was no place to escape as the side streets we encountered were one way.  We had to drive around three-quarters of the way before we could get out.  The young Brits said...let's just roll down the windows and wave and pretend we are celebrities!!!

After a scrumptious meal at Starej Kuchyna we walked the beautiful central square.  Everyone was amazed at how beautiful Krakow is.  Today we tour the city by foot and once again partake in a traditional Polish dinner.

Day Four

Okay...so you are probably wondering what was going on in yesterday's photo.  Seems as soon as we left the rental car area at the Prague airport one of the cars was having some problems.  Code 03 was appearing on the car's computer system but they finally seemed to get it working.  A little while later the driver was unable to shift gears and we had to all pull over on the freeway.  After waiting a while the police finally pulled over and had to push our car off of the freeway.  They brought us a new rental car and we were on our way.  Because of the delay we had to pass on one of the tours we were going to do and arrived in Strbske Pleso last night....just in time for dinner.

This morning we took a leisurely walk around the beautiful lake at the resort where we are staying.  We then headed up to Cerveny Klastor for a ride on wooden rafts down the beautiful Dunajec River which is in a gorge between Slovakia and Poland.  Before boarding the raft we had lunch at a typical Goral restaurant featuring the local cuisine.  We headed back to the Patria and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Koliba restaurant on the property and enjoyed listening to the Gypsy orchestra serenade us.

Tomorrow will be a more somber day as we head for Auschwitz for our tour there in the afternoon before settling down for the night in Krakow.

Here is a photo of the resort where we are staying (it's the A-frame).  Till tomorrow!

Code 03

I'll leave it to your imagination!!!

Wonderful Prague!

We all had a good night's sleep and woke up to the wonderful European breakfast at the hotel.  We then met our tour guide, Vilma for the second half of our tour of Prague.  The tour consisted of an in depth tour of the Jewish quarter and a visit to the famous astrological clock where we watched the twelve apostles perform their favorite march.

I actually ran into someone from DC who knows a mutual friend.  She had a byzantine style cross on and I couldn't help but ask her where she was from and one thing led to another.

We had a short respite in the afternoon before we headed off to dinner at Kampa Park, a fabulous restaurant on the banks of the Vltava River.  We dined on scrumptious food as we enjoyed the view of the Charles Bridge.  We also met a group of young Americans celebrating their graduation from college.  One of them was from Edina!  As we walked home we were treated to fireworks across the bridge.  We stopped for a nightcap and then headed back to our hotel.

Today we head to the beautiful Tatra mountains in Slovakia!

Our Dogs Are Barkin'

After an uneventful couple of flights over we checked into our hotel, the Cloister Inn.  We all kind of chuckled at the size of the beds.  While they may be twin size, they are a little low to the ground with small headboards and look like they were made for munchkins.  During our tour later this afternoon we learned that our hotel was formerly part of a monastery (hence the name) and then later a prison.  Great.

Anyway,we quickly freshened up and headed to the lobby to meet Vilma, our tour guide.  She capably led us around Prague on foot for four hours.  Now mind you, Wilma is younger than any of us and we had to keep reminding her that we literally had been up all night.

Nonetheless, she did an excellent job of sightseeing and recalling historical events in this country’s past.  I had been here ten years earlier and even I saw things I hadn’t before.

Where Vilma excels in sightseeing, she lacks a little in the conversational area.  She was trying to tell us about a wonderful restaurant that had the smallest blueberry in town.  We finally figured out that what she meant was “brewery” as in micro-brewery. We did end up having a fabulous dinner there.

As we were touring, she pointed out Infant Jesus of Prague church and gave us a photo accompanied by a special prayer.  I made particular mention of this to Barb as her home parish in Youngstown is Infant Jesus of Prague.  Her remark:  “They make cheese in Prague?” Okay, I’ll chock it up to the fact that she had no sleep.

A little while later, we toured the Castle and came upon these handsome young men in uniforms who stand inside these little houses guarding the Castle.  Vilma mentioned that they have the changing of the guard every hour.  Patty then said “How do they change their clothes in that little place.”  Okay, due to lack of sleep again.

So now, we are off to la-la land to catch up on some much needed sleep…especially Barb and Patty! 

Tomorrow we finish the last four hours of our tour of Prague followed by a hopefully memorable dinner at Kampa Park Restaurant on the banks of the Vltava River with a spectacular view of the Charles Bridge.

We Made it to Amsterdam

We had a nice flight to Amsterdam though none of us could sleep.  The Amsterdam airport (Schipol) is quite the place to see.  We made our way to the gate now and are awaiting the final leg to Prague.  Barb met up with us here so we are only waiting for Kate to arrive tomorrow morning.  When we land in Prague the fun begins!  We will hit the ground running with the first half of our Prague tour. Looking forward to an early dinner, and an early bedtime to catch up on some much needed sleep! 

Not a good way to start the trip....

So...upon arising today and having to do lots of last minute things...my netbook stated that it's hard drive was nearing capacity.  Great!  Like I really needed that today.  So I started removing programs (which I was going to do anyway once I returned home) from the netbook...and I mean really LARGE programs only to find that it wasn't having any effect on the available space on my hard drive.  Guess what?  I either have a virus or malware.  I can't run Norton because there is no space left to run anything.  Thank God that I printed all of my trip documents out last week, although I was going to use my netbook to post on our blog and Skype.  So...this is your advance warning that my blog posts may be sporadic as I can either post on a public computer if I find any or try to do it on my iPhone.  Thank you Steve Jobs.  Good bye Bill Gates.  I am now officially going to become an Apple user.