Zilina Trip

We were up bright and early this morning and walked to the train station a little after 7:00 a.m. to meet Pat'ka and catch the train to Zilina, to finally apply for our work visas.  It was yet another beautiful day, and we really enjoyed the scenery passing by the train windows.  Another teacher from our school was also on the same train, going to a teacher training day.  I brought apples for all of us to eat on the train, gifts from our landlady's garden.   

3 colleagues from school on the early morning train to Zilina

 The bus stop in Zilina is right by the train station, but we had just missed the bus and would have had to wait for an hour for the next one, so we decided to walk instead, and it only took 45 minutes.  The best part was getting to see so much more of the town as we walked!  No, wait, the BEST part about missing the bus was getting to eat the most delicious treat we've had yet, from a little kiosk on the street.  Pat'ka told us her father would bring pirozky's back to them from Zilina when she was a child, and we agreed - they are marvelous!!   Ours were warm, and they are a light croissant type dough bun filled with jam and poppy seeds - delicious!  A little later on our walk, we stopped at a coffeeshop where we found hot chai tea lattes - yum!  

The first of the city squares in Zilina with the
Holy Trinity Cathedral in the background

 When we finally arrived at the immigration office, there were many Korean men there waiting in line already.  Kia has a large factory here, so there are many workers also needing visas to build cars!  Pat'ka succeeded in getting us in line after a bit, but we had some disappointing news.  She had been given copies of the official application by local authorities in Liptovsky Mikulas, in a sealed envelope which she was told not to open.  Well, when the immigration official opened it, the dates given for our employment were Sept. 2011-July 2012 ---- incorrect!  So we were sent away empty handed.  Bummer!  Unfortunately the only person in L.M. who can process this paper is out of town all this week, so we'll have to go sign papers again locally next week, then make another trip to Zilina to apply for the work visa.  SIGH!!  The kicker is, our FBI background checks from the U.S. are only considered to be valid in Slovakia for 3 months after the date of issue.  We had no idea about this, and of course I got going on that and all our other paperwork WAY ahead of time, so our "expiration date" is Sept. 23, which really puts a squeeze on the timing.  If we have to re-do the FBI background checks, that will really throw a wrench in the works, so please keep this complicated process in your prayers that things go smoothly and quickly from here on out!!  We now have such sympathy for immigrants to any country who are overwhelmed by a complicated process that seems designed to frustrate instead of assist!!  

At that point in our morning it was about 10:00, and our return train tickets were for around 4:00, so we adopted the "make lemonade from the lemons" theory of life!!  We strolled more slowly back to the city centre, then enjoyed going up and down the narrow cobblestone pedestrian streets, looking at the shops and people-watching.  Pat'ka had arranged a meeting with a colleague, so we sat at a coffeeshop on the square drinking tea and soaking in the experience while they talked.  Later we had lunch then went to an art museum featuring an exhibit by a famous Slovak painter.  There was also a very modern mall where we watched exotic and colorful tropical fish, sharks, and seahorses in huge tanks for a while.  It ended up being a wonderful day despite our disappointment about the visas, and the train ride home was another scenic trip through the countryside.  

Pat'ka and Tim 

On the main square with the old Town Hall in the background
(building the farthest right of the facing buildings)

The building facades were so beautiful along the square

Fountain in the middle of the square -
cherubs playing musical instruments!

Church of St. Paul the Apostle on St. Mary's square

This is a close-up of the cover on the well in the middle of
St. Mary's square --- notice the many padlocks ---

It is a tradition for lovers to place a lock on the well cover,
then throw the key down the well, to symbolize that their love
has bound them together forever.   :-)   

I think this photo is a little artistic --- my tea tray as we sat
at a cafe on the square feeling very European!    :-)  

A castle on the hill out the train window on the way home

The castle ruins - they were very high on a hill across the river

Our journey went along the river all the way, and we crossed over a time or two!

Two tired travelers on the train ride home!!