Teacher Appreciation in Prešov

The first digit on the alarm clock for Thursday morning was a dreaded '5', but we felt rested.  We packed a thermos of hot tea and arrived at school to meet the bus by 6:00 a.m.  

It was a small bus, for about 25 passengers, and of course the secondary staff headed for the back of the bus, with the pastor, the headmistress, and the elementary staff in the front.  Many of our secondary school colleagues were working at school on Thursday, grading Maturita tests, instead of going on the trip.    :-(  

On the way to Prešov, we passed Spiš Castle, which we intend to visit sometime this spring.  (It's closed in the winter, and it's quite a hike to reach it evidently.  

We've read that Spiš is the largest castle in Slovakia, and everyone says it's a 'must-see'!  

We arrived at the Bishop's office.  The building formerly housed the first secondary school in Slovakia.  It's very beautifully reconstructed to preserve its historic looks.

At the Bishop's office.  (Lutheran Bishop of Eastern Slovakia)  Erik kept insisting that HE take some pictures so I would be in some of the photos too.  Thanks, Erik!      :-)  

When we arrived, there were many delicious refreshments.  Hot and cold drinks a plenty, and a multitude of sweet and salty treats.  (There was also another set of tables in a nearby area with more goodies, tea and coffee, etc.)

After refreshments and a time to visit and chat with people from other schools, we walked across the street to the Lutheran church for a worship service.  This is Vicki and Katka (who both play volleyball on Monday nights), and Erik and Tim.  

The interior of the church was beautiful.

The balcony and organ at the back were really ornate.

A group of elementary students from the host school in Prešov sang some songs during the worship service.  Vicki translated the sermon for us, which focused on Jesus washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, and how Jesus gives teachers the example of serving others.

After church, we went back to the Bishop's office for more refreshments.  (Hot tea again was nice after being in the unheated church for the service!)  Then we were ushered into this enormous, gorgeous room with highly ornate decorations and a library around the top floor.  The room was all set up with chairs for a program and awards ceremony.

Students from the Lutheran H.S. in Prešov presented an entertaining program with musicians, skits, and speeches.  

Vicki from our H.S. and Katka from our elementary both received teacher awards.  (Two teachers were recognized from each of the four schools in attendance.)  The Bishop is in the middle, then our Headmistress, Janka, and the elementary principal, Saška.

After the Teacher Appreciation / Recognition program, we walked a few blocks to have a luncheon all together.  We ate with some of the teachers from Košice, because we hadn't  yet gotten a chance to talk to A.J., another American who has been in Slovakia 4 years.  We had a 'small world' connection with A.J. (at left).  His aunt, Pam Haase, was Lute's pre-school teacher at the Lutheran pre-school in Boone!!  We remember her well!  Tim and I also taught some of Pam's kids (A.J.'s cousins) in Boone - crazy!!  

Erik's hometown is Prešov, so he was our personal tour guide for the hour between the luncheon and our bus departure time.  The building in the background is a bank designed by a famous architect.  

This statue of Jesus is in the Centrum (pedestrian walkway area in the center, historic part of the town.)  The 47th meridian runs directly through the center of Prešov, just behind the statue a bit.

This area is Holy Trinity Square - with St. Nickolas atop the statue.  

St. Nickolas Cathedral - (Roman Catholic) - is the most imposing structure in the Centrum.  Unfortunately it was locked, so we weren't able to look around inside.  

This photo is for Joe and Jackie Carey - I hope you see it!  I don't know why I thought of you when we were here, but I did.  This is a lovely statue of Pope John Paul II next to the Catholic church, and the Lutheran church is in the background.  It is just such a serene statue to honor the Polish Pope.  All the Slovak peoples are very proud of him.  

This giant Easter Egg on the square near the cathedral has Prešov's  city emblem, with strawberries and blossoms.  (Tim of course told Erik that his Dad's hometown was Strawberry Point, also with strawberries as symbols of the town!)   :-) 

The yellow building at the far end of the arches is part of the school Erik went to, and that is the actual room where he sat for the Maturuta!   

Prešov is another really beautiful city, with many examples of Baroque, Rococo, and Gothic architecture.  We had a great time with Erik as our tour guide for his beloved city, which is the 3rd largest in Slovakia.  

In the distance, halfway up the hill, you can see Prešov's 'Calvary', which was too far for today's short time, but Erik says the views from the top are spectacular, and it's his favorite place in the city!

Erik wanted to show us the Greek Catholic church as well, but its doors were also locked.   Luckily, as we walked by the adjacent Bishop's house, we noticed a priest, so Erik asked him if we could enter the church.  A cell phone call later, a nun opened the doors and let us inside!  It was really impressive!

Erik really wanted us to see this - it's one of only 3 replicas of the original Shroud of Turin.  There were many other religious relics in the Greek Catholic church as well. 

This is the Greek Orthodox church (different from Greek Catholic!)  Prešov, in the east part of Slovakia, is quite close to the Ukraine, so there are more Eastern Orthodox in the area.

One of the ornate buildings along the Centrum area.  (I think this was a judicial building / court for the Prešov region.)  

Views of the High Tatras from the bus window on our trip home.  

The clouds really changed the look of the mountains!

Another castle on the way back - in Liptovsky Hrádok.  We dropped off several of our teachers in various towns and villages along the way, to save them back-tracking to get home from our journey's end at our school in Liptovsky Mikuláš.

Just after we dropped off a couple of young elementary teachers in a small village, this horse-drawn cart came by.  The driver laughingly told the gals to hop on for a ride home, which prompted Saška to tell us another Slovak expression that goes something like this:
A good wife looks fine in a cart and fine in a carriage.    I kind of like that one!!   :-)  

We had an evening appointment after our day in Prešov.  We had no English lessons because of Maundy Thursday (Green Thursday here - for the Garden of Gethsemane).  Last Monday after choir rehearsal, one gal who also plays volleyball had asked us, through an interpreter, to come on Thursday and meet a Slovak couple who had lived in the U.S. for 16 years.  We eventually found out the couple are Baptists, the husband preaches, and there would be a Bible Study at their house.  So we went to their home in a village a few kilometers away, Smrečany.  We got to visit with Peter and Iveta and hear their fascinating life stories of defecting from communist Czechoslovakia, meeting in Texas working for a Baptist radio station, and then receiving amnesty to return here after the fall of communism.  Peter still works part time for United Airlines in Texas, so they go back and forth a lot with the free flight benefits.  Their kids all speak perfect English and are home-schooled in English, though they are learning Slovak as well.  It was really neat to experience their dynamic Bible study group, though we mostly listened to Slovak, so didn't follow much.  They'd stop every now and then to give us a general overview, but it did make us appreciate even more how patient our school colleagues are in translating constantly for us!!  And it was so nice of Martina from church to invite us to their Bible study group, and give us a ride there and back!  

This was a great 'children's sermon' type lesson about Easter.  Each of the different colored eggs had something inside, which related to the Easter story.  For example, hair to represent the donkey Jesus rode on as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, a (Lego) cup to represent the wine at the Last Supper, a thorn to represent the crown of thorns, etc. etc.  It was really clever!  The second to last egg held a stone, symbolizing the stone covering Jesus' tomb entrance.  And the last egg was ...... EMPTY!!    Because the tomb was empty on Easter morning because He is Risen!!  Praise God for this great gift of salvation and eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ!!