Kendra and Košice

Our week at school was busy with normal routines as well as extra preparations for two upcoming events - "Speaker's Corner" (we are practicing with our six student entries for this public speaking competition next week in Žilina), and the song I'm directing for the school ball on Valentine's Day (which I'm having separate rehearsals for, at the primary and secondary schools.)  Our after-school and evening activities were normal as well, except that we were informed that church choir won't start up again until mid-February, which is kind of nice to not be so rushed on Mondays for a while.  

We took the day off on Friday, so that we could get to the airport in Košice (the 2nd biggest city in Slovakia, in the eastern part of the country) to meet Kendra's flight at 2:05.  It worked out well for us to go visit our Global Missions colleague at his Lutheran high school in Košice ahead of time.  Our pastor was kind enough to let us borrow the church car for the weekend, which really helped out a lot!!  

"A Mighty Fortress" greeted us in the entry-way into the school!  Someone came out to meet us right away and took us in to see the principal's secretary, who made us some hot tea while we waited for the principal to arrive.  We visited for a while, then we were taken on a tour of their facilities.  

This is a science classroom that looked pretty high-tech and modern. 

There is a slight shortage of classrooms when the language classes split in half for conversation classes, so this class met in a library area with their American lector, A.J., who we had met last spring in Prešov.  

Their large workroom for 24 teachers reminded us of our old one.  We met some of the teachers, and they are really friendly and nice.  

Next we went into a chemistry classroom, where there was a college professor as a guest lecturer.  He was giving a demonstration using dry ice - very interesting!  

Super-cooling some objects with liquid nitrogen.  

We were really envious of this language lab for conversation classes.  Our students have to set up their desks into a u-shape for each class, and we have to carry CD players around to the classrooms for listening exercises, so this would be great!  

There is even a music room where the choir rehearses, they have music classes, and it's all decorated with photos from concerts and tours involving student ensembles from the school.  Nice!!  

Last but not least, we visited Jacob's classroom, where his students were giving powerpoint presentations on various U.S. geographical regions.  

After Jacob's last class for the day, we went to lunch in the school cafeteria with Jacob (at left), the principal (on the right), and an assistant principal who heads up the English department.  It was great getting to see Jacob in action, and he's obviously doing a great job there.  We were just sorry to cut our visit fairly short!  

We picked up Kendra at the airport, then returned to Liptovský Mikuláš for a kapustnica (sauerkraut soup) party at a colleague's flat in a nearby village.  These five teachers are office partners, and they had wanted to get together for a traditional pre-Christmas party, but there was no time in December, so it was moved to this weekend!  It just happened to be Tim's "Names Day" on Friday, so they presented him with some candy and many good wishes before we started eating.  

It was a nice party for the eight of us - good food, good conversation, and good fun!
(Left to right:  Tim, Kendra, Daša, Laura, Miro, Eva, and Vierka)

On Saturday morning, we took Kendra to see the wooden church at Svätý Križ.  The lady giving the tour let me take a couple of pictures inside, which isn't usually allowed.  These are painted panels on the balcony --- one with my initials on it!   

And this is the main altar of the church - very old and beautiful!  

Next we headed to NE Slovakia to see a castle we've never been to before, L'ubovńa Hrad.  The roads got progressively worse during the morning due to the snow, but Tim is a veteran Iowa winter driver, so it was no problem!  

It was pretty cold too, though nothing like the polar vortex conditions in the Midwest!  We bundled Kendra up with an extra coat, scarf, hat and gloves to keep her warm!  

No, Tim did NOT carve our initials inside a heart on the wall of the castle tower ---- someone else had already done it!!  LOL!! 

This castle, like others we've seen in Slovakia, dates back to the 12th century and has been added onto during different time periods and in various architectural styles.  It was of course used for defensive purposes first, and then much later as a hunting lodge.  

It was snowing too much to see views in the far distance, but even the castle below was pretty to see.  And from this window we should have been able to see the mountain we climbed last fall - "The Three Crowns" - just across the Polish border.  

More snow-covered scenery below the castle.  

There were only a few other brave souls out in the elements visiting the castle that day!  

We stopped at a nearby salaš/restaurant for lunch after hiking around the castle and its grounds.  The hot soup, bryndzové halušky, and pirohy were all delicious!  (We wanted Kendra to taste the Slovak national dish for sure!)

On the way back from L'ubovńa, we saw this stork's nest atop a fire station.  

It's closed during the winter, so we only saw it from the road, but Spiš Castle is the largest castle in Slovakia --- very impressive!  

We were really disappointed that the weather was so overcast, because we never got to show Kendra 'our' beautiful mountains.  We just kept pointing out where the mountains WOULD be, if the clouds weren't in the way!!  So we eliminated our hike up into the mountains near Hrebienok due to all the snow.  Saturday night we did walk around the centrum here in L.M. and even went inside the catholic church for a peek.  Later we had fun skyping with Kendra's parents, Tom and Carol, back in Bettendorf, Iowa.  

On Sunday morning, we got up really early to drive to Košice through the snow.  I found a service online which listed a congregation providing an English translator, so we went there for a 9:30 service.  It was very much like an American contemporary service with guitars and praise music, a few hymns, scripture readings, as well as the sermon.  The translation was done in a sound booth in the balcony, and we heard it through headphones.  It worked well that way.

After church, we headed out to see some of the sights in Košice, starting with this Renaissance bell tower.  

Next we went to St. Elizabeth cathedral, which is the biggest cathedral in Slovakia.  

The inside is very impressive - tall and Gothic!!  We took Kendra out for one last lunch in Slovakia, and we even located the little restaurant we liked so well when we were here for an overnight trip just after New Year's last year!  The only unfortunate thing was that the skies never did clear enough for Kendra to see the mountains on the drive over.    :-(

So here are some pictures I took on the way home to L.M. after seeing Kendra off through security at the Košice airport.  (Just to prove to Kendra that we do indeed have mountains here in Slovakia!)  

Sunset out the car window! 

A sunset and a church steeple!!  :-)  

More mountains in the distance on our drive home - beautiful!!  

After we got home Sunday evening, I washed sheets and towels, then made some cookies to take to the staff at school on Monday in honor of Tim's 'names day' last Friday when we were gone.  It was so much fun to have Kendra here to get a feel for our 'home away from home' here in Slovakia!    :-)