A trip to the High Tatras

The day after Christmas dawned foggy and gloomy -- which, by the way, was a carbon copy of the past two days.  It's kind of a bummer that the kids are not getting to see our views of the mountains, especially when their cottage would have spectacular scenery out the door.    And there is still some disappointment at wearing the same clothing AGAIN, since the suitcases weren't scheduled to be delivered until the 26th.  But, we are together, and enjoying every moment!!  

Christmas morning breakfast was celebrated Julius family style with waffles, but on the 26th.  :-)   We also had
scrambled eggs and bacon, and we had honey instead of maple syrup on the waffles.  

Paul had some surgery on his big toe a few weeks ago, and he was in quite a bit of discomfort in the morning.  So he decided to sit out today's hiking in the mountains.  We were sad he couldn't be with us.   :-(    We drove to Vychodná and picked up Katarina and her boyfriend Michael to continue on into the High Tatras to a famous resort area with a mountain lake called Štrbske Pleso.  

Horse-drawn carriages were available to get around near Štrbské Pleso, the mountain lake resort area in the High Tatras

This is a fancy, expensive resort overlooking the valley on one side, and the lake on the other.  

Michael spotted a MICHIGAN license plate on a Ford in the parking lot, so Beth and Lute had to show their Hope College sweatshirts (which they have been wearing for 4 days straight - LOL!).  So how did that car get here???  

Thankfully, the fog cleared, or maybe we were just above it!  The views from the High Tatras are beautiful!  

Walking around Štrbské Pleso - it was a nice trail, and there were lots of others out enjoying Nature!!  

5/6 of the Olsons at Štrbské Pleso.

A World War II memorial on the lakeshore. 

On our way to Štrbské Pleso, we stopped in Vychodná to pick up Katarina and her boyfriend Michael.  Here we are at the lake with them.  What a fun time getting to hang out with them!!   They were terrific tour guides for the day!!

This is a huge ski jump, which has been used for world championships in the past - WOW!!!  

Two beautiful Olson ladies!!  

It was neat being up above the fog!  

I tried to get this pretty star-shaped dried flower in the foreground!  

Such pretty views from up in the High Tatras!

All the "young-uns" up on the mountain!

There were stations around the lake for circuit training, so Beth tried them out!   :-)   We would love to hike around
the lake (or jog) and do the stations as we go when the weather is warm.  

Overlooking the lake.  

Another station was a balance beam suspended by chains, which moved --- tough!!   

The pictured instructions said to balance on one foot  -  way to go Beth!!

Alana, the gymnast had no problem, but we wouldn't let her do a flip dismount like she used to do as a gymnast!!  :-) 

This tree stump sculpture welcomed us to a restaurant where we all had hot tea or coffee to warm up after our walk around the lake.  

The girls waiting for hot tea!

The hot tea really hit the spot, and we enjoyed the rustic cottage look!

The decor in the restaurant included cowbells and sheep bells in every size imaginable!  

The railing on the stairs had sculptures in wood-carved traditional style.  

Then we drove back to Vychodná for lunch at Katarina's house.  Her parents served us a wonderful meal that was far more bountiful than a lunch!!  We had the Sunday chicken noodle soup, then two kinds of meats including turkey and venison, with potatoes, pickled beets, and pickles!!  

This was the amazing dessert tray that was served after dinner ---- OH MY!!!  (Notice Alana is also taking a photo of these delicious treats home-made by wonderful bakers --- Jana and Katarina!) 

Michael, Katarina, and her parents Jana and Juraj - what a beautiful family!!  We got a phone call during our meal from the courier service who would be delivering the kids' luggage from the airport in Košice.  What good timing, so Katarina could talk to him in Slovak!!   The scheduled delivery time was later in the evening.  YAY!!  

The Olson and Halijahova families!  We went outside to see their sheep and dog before heading back to our flat. 

We had planned on meeting Janka for tea/coffee in the afternoon, but we got back a little later, so we just invited her over to our flat.  She fit right in with the family too, just like Katarina and her family did!!  (So, I had to include this picture despite Lute's expression, since everyone else got the memo to smile for the pic!!   LOL!)  

Thanks Lute!  Let's go Hope!!  :-)  Everyone was a little nervous after Janka left due to the fact that the luggage was to be delivered between 7:00 and 8:00, and we still hadn't heard anything further by 8:30.   :-(   

And then, finally, the delivery guy called saying he was downstairs at our flat!!!  There was pandemonium as everyone scrambled to get their boots on and rush down the stairs.  It was the best late Christmas present ever, to finally get their luggage, after leaving Ankeny on Dec. 22, and still wearing the same clothes on Dec. 26!!  (I have to mention that Paul did pack some extra clothes in his carry-on bag, but the other three didn't.)  

In the lobby of our building - everyone was ecstatic that the luggage was delivered at last!!   :-)  

We loaded all the suitcases and gimpy Paul onto the elevator, then sent it on up as the rest of us took the stairs! 

 So, there was a second "Christmas" when the suitcases were opened, and we even had a few surprises from friends back in Ankeny!!  (THANKS Nancy and Dawn!!)  Alana and Paul also brought an ice cream bucket of Christmas treats that they had made for all of us to share here!!  (So now I even have an ice cream bucket here - YAY!!)  We enjoyed a lot of Slovak Christmas goodies too, from our students and wonderful friends here.  We loved sampling the wide variety of holiday treats from both countries!  

This was one of the cookies in the gift package from my student, Eva.  Beautiful!!  :-)  

This is the cottage where the kids stayed the first 3 nights in a small village nearby called Benice.  The fog was SOOOOO thick for the first few days!!  Everything was decorated nicely for Christmas.  

The cottage was really cute - kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom on the main floor, then two sleeping lofts accessible by ladders.   There was a lot of wood for the fireplace too.

Lute used his Riverside Bible Camp campfire skills to light the fireplace each night.
What a fun place for the four of them to stay for a few nights!!  There was plenty of room for them to spread out.  Of course for several nights, there weren't even any suitcases taking up space - HA!!