Kvačianska dolina

Thursday and Friday at school were normal teaching days, and the evenings were normal too, giving English lessons and going to volleyball/basketball.  Unfortunately our washer went on the blink, and we forgot to mention it at school Friday morning, so I went down to tell our landlady after school, which of course means no one can take a look at it until Monday.  I goofed - oh well.  We'll manage!  

I spotted this big guy on the walk to school Friday morning.  We had a HUGE storm Thursday night with lots of thunder and lightning, so things were quite wet in the morning.  They say these are the kind of snails the French eat.  They definitely look more appetizing cooked and swimming in garlic butter!!  But it was fascinating to see a snail so big.

Saturday morning we got to sleep in, then were picked up at 10:00 for a day with Marian and Susan.  The original plan was to hike in the High Tatras, but the weather was cloudy and rainy there, so we headed west instead of east seeking partly sunny skies.   :-)

This pic is for Rod P., Brian R., and Dave S.  (Our beer-connaisseur friends!)   We headed to the village of Kvačany, at the entrance to a beautiful mountain valley where Marian and Susan planned to take us hiking.  Well, our first stop was at this micro-brewery for a beer to prepare us for the journey!   They had many different types including a green beer (nettles - we didn't try it) and a sweeter red beer which I actually enjoyed.  First time ever for me to have a beer before 10:30 a.m.!!  LOL!!  

The pub/chata/micro-brewery was charming, and we relaxed on the outdoor patio around the corner.  The river/creek was just out back.  

Then we headed up the trail through the Kvačianska dolina valley.  

The springtime mountain flowers along the way were so beautiful!  The tall white ones in the background were unlike anything we'd ever seen before.  

This famous rock formation is "The Head of Janošik", who was the legendary Slovak "Robin Hood" who stole from the rich to give to the poor.  See the face??    :-)

The mountain valley was so beautiful with the tall rocks and lush spring greenery!

We saw several beautiful waterfalls like this one, far below us.  

As we continued climbing, I, of course, had to find an outcropping with a steep drop below for a picture!   :-)  

More mountain spring flowers.  Many of the pretty varieties we noticed were really tiny, so wouldn't show up in a picture.  Most of the flowers were white, purple, or yellow.  We also saw a couple more living escargot --- I should have collected them for supper!!  LOL!  

Our destination for the journey was an old mill which has been restored in what was once the village of Oblazy.  This little girl was fascinated by a woodworker in his workshop.  He was being so patient, talking to her as he worked.  The hobby horses were cute too! 

This is the waterfall just above the mill.  

And this is the mill.  The water is diverted into a wooden sluice, and it falls over the mill wheel next to the middle section of the building.  The mill's power was used to grind flour and to saw wood and timber.  

This is inside the mill, where a series of gears redirect the power into the mechanical saws and to grind flour.  

There was a nice pathway along the river to the mill (past the footbridge in the distance behind us.)  We stopped and rested on one of the benches at the river's edge for some sweet snacks, apples & pears, and some cranberry sparkling water that Marian pulled out of his backpack for us.   :-)  

At the end of the trail, back where we parked the car, with the valley stretching out behind us.  Many of the car licenses were from Poland and the Czech Republic -- popular spot!  

By this time it was 2:00 - we couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed!  So we headed back through Liptovsky Trnovec, where we ate lunch at a nice restaurant in a pension near Liptovská Mara.  (The lake which is similar to Saylorville.)  We ate on the terrace outside, and had a delicious meal.  It was another amazing day enjoying beautiful Slovak scenery and nature with fun Slovak friends!!  Tim may or may not be napping on the couch while I've been blogging.   Tee hee!!    

Magical May Day

Tuesday was a short school day because of our end-of-the-month school worship service at church after 3rd hour.  We again had two of our students tag-teaming the sermon translation, and Adrian & Nicole did a super job.  On the walk back to school, Erik invited us to join his class for zmrzlina (ice cream) as we crossed the square.  We all agreed that zmrzlina is a wonderful appetizer just before lunch!!  :-)   We got a lot of work done back at school after lunch.  

Just before we left school for the day, Danka and Edita, colleagues in our office, told Tim about a Slovak tradition that he MUST do on May 1, the next day.  Apparently, husbands must kiss their wives under a cherry tree in blossom on May 1st, and the gals were quite insistent about it.    :-)    Unfortunately Tim's sense of humor got lost in the translation, as I was the only one who laughed when he replied by asking, "Where can I find the nearest cherry orchard?"   LOL!!  (Others 'got it' later when Tim kept sharing his one-liner!)

Then after school Tuesday, we met Saška, the basic school principal, and her daughter, Zuzka, for conversation at a sidewalk café.

Saška and Zuzka already speak fabulous English, but Saška had some questions to ask for a class dealing with American history, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather to meet for conversation, and then just relaxing in the sunshine!  

Tim had this ginger beer - delicious - which reminded us of the birch beer up in Houghton.  (Both are like versions of root beer!)  I had an orange-flavored water - refreshing!  

Yes, this is a completely normal and common scene in Slovakia!  

Tuesday evening I had my gals for English lessons, and we also got to skype in to Lute's math class at Wapsie Valley for a few minutes.  He introduced us to his class, Tim helped a couple of students with math problems as they reviewed for a test, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Lute - it was awesome!!   :-)   

May 1 is "Labor Day" here, so no school today!!  This morning we took a bus to Pribylina, where Janka (our colleague who teaches us Slovak at school), her husband Marian, and their daughter Livka (age 2 1/2) picked us up for a day touring eastern Slovakia sites.  

We decided to share an American tradition for May Day too.  I made Livka a May Basket with sweets and treats from America AND Slovakia!   :-)  We had to explain about ringing the doorbell and running away undiscovered, but that didn't work in the car - HA!!  

We parked the car and headed into the city center.  On the way, we passed this beautiful entrance to a cemetery, and we were curious to see "Do Videna", since everyone says that for "good-bye" here.  It made sense when Janka explained that it literally means "until we see you again".  

Our first stop was in Spišska Nova Ves, which is a town of about 40,000 with several claims to fame.  It has the longest lens-shaped centrum in all of Europe and the highest steeple in Slovakia.  It has also been home to famous bell-makers through the centuries.  

Just one of the many buildings along the town center - this one now houses a museum.

This is the Catholic church on the town square, with the tallest steeple.   It actually has 7 clock faces on the tower!  Tim, Janka and Livka, ready to go visit the church.  

We're getting really good at climbing steep staircases up church towers!  

This bell was HUGE - made by the famous bell makers from this city.  The tower actually had to be rebuilt at one point, just to support the weight of the bells.  This biggest bell has a hammer mechanism to ring it, since it's too big for a clapper.  

Another of the 5 famous bells in the church steeple.  

Views from the tower -- this looks down the LONG centrum, and overlooks the evangelical (Lutheran) church - blue/gray building in the center.  

This is looking the other way down the centrum, with a huge beautiful theatre in the center. 

Coming down from the bell tower on the steep staircase!  (We were behind one poor woman who was hyperventilating because she was so afraid of the steep stairs!)  

Marian snapped these pics of us and emailed them to us.   THANKS!!  :-)  

This statue is dedicated to the renowned bell makers from Spišska Nova Ves.

The idea is to ring the bell and make a wish, and it will come true as the tones of the bell  float up to heaven!   

We each gave the bell a ring!    :-)

The sign on the bell statue.  

This is a better explanation than I could give!

Marian was very pleased to find the first cherry tree of the day!!  Marian and Janka led off the tradition with a kiss under the blossoms on May Day!!  

Yes, we did enjoy this Slovak tradition!    :-)
I looked it up online, and it's supposed to ensure that the woman is beautiful in the coming year.  (Much better than the Easter Monday sprinkling of water tradition meant to ensure good health!)

This lady is wearing the traditional attire of this region.  

Walking back to the car with our hosts.  Livka was getting really excited about going to the zoo!!  

The zoo in Spisška Nova Ves is one of four in Slovakia, the smallest, but the most beautiful, built in a lovely park setting.  

I don't think we've ever been to a zoo in May before, but it's a terrific time to do it, because there are so many baby animals!!  This little monkey was adorable clinging to its mama as she was swinging around on the bars.  

Baby porcupine!!  (The adults were huge!!)

We also saw a darling kangaroo joey peeking out of its mama's pouch.  There were quite a lot of other animals too - lion, tiger, bear, baboons and many other monkeys, ostrich, emu, camels, exotic birds, coati, other big cats - it was a really nice zoo!  While we there, a clown on stilts walked by and held a sprig of cherry blossoms over our heads for another May Day kiss opportunity!!  :-)  

Our next stop was Levoča, which is known for being a walled city (dating from medieval times), and for having the largest Gothic altar in Europe.  We parked by this huge Catholic secondary school, which is where Marian graduated from H.S.   Very impressive!! 

This is behind the school (Janka, Marian and darling Livka), next to part of the wall, which you can see extending back a long ways.  It took 100 years to build the wall!  And up on the hill far in the background is a church we visited later.  

This is a tower at the back of the school, with an observatory at the top.  

The large church at the left houses the famous altar, but unfortunately it was closed.    :-(  

This is part of the town square, including this cage which was used for law-breakers, so they could be publicly humiliated by all who passed by.  

The town square was very picturesque, but unfortunately, much of the centre was being reconstructed, so things were pretty torn up around the outside.  Marian said there are usually flowers planted everywhere, and it's one of the most beautiful town squares.  This is the Rathaus, or what used to be the town hall.  

We ate a delicious lunch at a restaurant on the square, on a patio overlooking a courtyard out back.  Then we continued our historical tour of sites in eastern Slovakia!  

This is one of the old gates into the walled town of Levoče.

This is the church on the hill seen earlier from afar.  This was the setting for a mass said by Pope John Paul II back in 1995 with over a million people in attendance.  All the roads in the town were closed and used for parking for that event, and Marian was there with his family.  The hillsides must have been covered with worshippers!!  

(On the walk up the hill, we found yet another cherry tree, so both couples shared Kiss #3 on May Day!!)  This is the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Mariánska hora - such a peaceful, beautiful setting.  It is one of the oldest pilgrimage sites, dating to the 1200's.  People still come here on pilgrimages nowadays.

The altar where the Holy Father said mass is down at the far side of the lower meadow, marked with a simple wooden cross (you can barely make it out in the center, very back of the meadow).  It must have been a lot like when the Pope visited Iowa in 1979!

Next, we paid a visit to Marian's parents' home in L'ubica, where we had snacks and tea.  They have a nicely remodeled older home with a big garden out back.  And finally, we just drove through Kežmarok, which is another famous eastern Slovak city that we will visit again to see the famous sites there.  On our drive, we saw many beautiful flowers in yards and gardens, and many flowering trees and bushes in bloom all over the hillsides.  There were also MANY people out in fields and gardens planting potatoes, which is traditionally done on May 1, on the Labor Day holiday.  

We got back a little early for the bus back to Liptovsky Mikuláš from Liptovsky Hrádok, so we conveniently found a zmrzlina shop to have an ice cream cone at the end of our day together.  Here are the three baseball cap wearers on our day's adventures!!  (Livka didn't want to wear her hat early in the morning, but after she saw the two guys wearing theirs, she definitely wanted to join the hat brigade!!  LOL!!)  

What a Magical May Day indeed!!   :-)