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.
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