Žiarska Chata

We leave tomorrow on the first leg of our journey back to Iowa for Beth's graduation from DMU, we're all packed, Tim is sleeping, but my mind is racing.  So I thought I'd post something new on the blog!  

Sunday after church we decided to bike into the Žiar Valley, north of Podbreziny.   We packed a lunch in a backpack and headed out under sunny skies.  We ate our sandwiches on benches in the village of liar, on benches with a view of this bell tower.  

We went by several of these tall "maypoles" which are put up by young men in front of houses of the girls they are sweet on!  

We took a detour off the road to check out this church, which has recently had its steeples renovated in the traditional wood shingle style typical for this area.  

Most of the ride was close to this mountain stream, and we crossed over it several times.

The day was absolutely beautiful, with white puffy clouds in a bright blue sky!

Once we got into the forest, this sight caught our eye --- a warning about looking overhead for road construction above.   LOL!  

This was the entrance to a cave, but they were giving a tour when we arrived, and we didn't know how long we'd have to wait, so we continued our ride. 

The road started getting much steeper after gradual inclines for the first part of the trek, so for the last 4 kilometers, we walked the bikes uphill.  

We brought snacks and water along, and we stopped a few times to take in the gorgeous scenery along the way.  

There were so many wildflowers along the way, so I took many photos, but the pictures don't really do them justice.  The spring colors were so beautiful!!  

Continuing our climb into the Žiarska Dolina - finally Žiarska chata came into view - the restaurant/pub at the far end of the path into the mountain valley.  

We made it!!  :-)  

The day kept getting warmer all afternoon, so we were definitely ready for a cold beverage by the time we arrived at the chata.  (cottage)  But room temperature was O.K. too, since the cooler evidently wasn't working!!  LOL!!  

There was a sign for trails up beyond the chata, so next we left the bikes behind and checked out that area. 

This area had a wooden fence around it, with the cross and bell, as well as many plaques.

We guessed it must be a memorial area for those who have died in the mountains here, from climbing accidents, avalanches, etc.  

There are many of these carved wooden figures in villages all over the region, so I asked Tim to pose with this one!        :-)  

We climbed up farther yet, and found this waterfall which was fed by snow still melting up in the mountain.  

Another picture of the waterfall from farther away.  

More mountain views - it was spectacular scenery! 

Flowers and scenery on the ride back down the valley.  Which, but the way, was all downhill.  Those first 4 kilometers back down we used the brakes a lot, but after that, it was so relaxing just coasting all the way back for miles!  

There's even a bee in this pic!   

Buttercups, I think!  They remind me of Ella Chabot!!   :-)  

The bright yellow hill is rapeseed, which is the crop used to make canola oil.  There are many fields of it around here, and the yellow is incredibly bright.  

As you can see, there were many stops along the way to photograph the beauty of the mountains, meadows, forest, and fields.  The parts that can't be captured on a blog are the sweet scents of spring flowers in the mountain air.  Amazing!!  

We stopped again for some mineral water and cake at a café in Podbreziny before heading back to our flat again after almost 6 hours of enjoying nature!  What a wonderful day!!  

Seniors' Last Day

We've had some warm weather again lately, and it's been nice to have sunshine sometimes for our walks and bike rides to get places all week!

This is the next step in the reconstruction process for the future primary school.  They seem to be putting a thin layer of cement over the styrofoam insulation.  

Patka with Rivi, who is all decked out in her Slovakia attire for the ice hockey game!  She made the earring, shirt, and bracelet herself!         :-)       GO SLOVAKIA!!  

Thursday was a normal day at school, but our evening plans were a bit altered.  Tim and I both normally teach English to our adult students, but since it was a big hockey game for Slovakia, Tim and Marian went to a sports bar to watch on the big-screen instead.  Then they went out for supper with Marian's wife Susan, so they had a fun time.  

Meanwhile, instead of our normal English lesson, Eva, Tana and I met at the town center for pizza and wine to celebrate Tana's birthday!!  It was a beautiful evening to be outside, and so much fun to be with these beautiful ladies!!  The funny thing was, we knew what the score of the hockey game was too, because of the huge roars of excitement or disapproval we could hear bursting from other venues and echoing on the square.   

Friday was the last day at school for our seniors.  All next week they'll be home studying for the Maturita examinations which will take place the following week.  

The seniors didn't go to any classes of their own, but they marched through the entire school, going into every classroom singing songs.  When they came into the room where I was teaching, they all wrote their first names on the chalkboard and threw candy to the students, parade-style, as they were singing.  I didn't have my camera, but Tim got this picture of our wonderful V.AP class in the hallway.

One thing we've noticed is that here in Slovakia, the students always dress up REALLY nicely for big events, which is so impressive!!  During the long break, there was a formal ceremony where the seniors thanked all the teachers and administrators.  There were tears from those who understood Slovak!  Then each teacher was presented with a beautiful ribbon-wrapped flower by one of the students who expressed personal gratitude and sentiments on behalf of the class.  It was really lovely!  

Group photo of the seniors with the staff.  We'll really miss this group!!  Classy kids!!  

The next tradition is for the seniors to carry their class photo board, (which will later be framed and hung in the school with previous class photos), around town, again singing, and collecting money in a hat.  For what??  Not sure, but probably a party!  When we were walking to lunch, we saw this class, which is from the state gymnasium (H.S.), but we didn't run across our students.  (Notice the green stuškova ribbons from the party back last fall, symbolizing their status as seniors.)

Friday night = volleyball (T & M), basketball (T), and grocery shopping (M).  Saturday has been a day of laundry - sheets, towels, & clothes, cooking (goulash and banana bread), and skyping.  The weather forecast was for rain today, and it got cloudy off and on but never did rain, so I was able to put clothes outside on the line.  

The beautiful flowering trees and bushes viewed from our balcony today as I was putting laundry out on the line.  

And more flowers on this tree the other direction.  

Sunday is supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees, so we're planning a longer bike ride after church tomorrow, up into a mountain valley.   :-)   

Another Whirlwind Week!

Oh my goodness, almost a week has gone by since the last post to our blog.  YIKES!!  I'll try to give the Readers' Digest Condensed Version of the past week!  We have been really busy, which is why I haven't had time to write, but that probably comes as no surprise if you've been following the blog much.  LOL!

Friday was full of the normal school activities, plus an extra trip walking to an office in the town center to have our signatures notarized for our application for next year's work visas.  Friday evening was also normal - volleyball for us both, basketball for Tim, and grocery shopping for me.  

I've mentioned it before, but our primary school is presently housed in a rented building.  An old communist era army barracks on the lot adjacent to our H.S. athletic field is now being renovated for the primary school to move into.  The workers are finishing up the new red tile roof, with many skylights!  

This is the art on the side of the building that is being covered up by the styrofoam insulation, which will be then covered with a layer of cement/plaster, and then painted.  We've watched this process occur on some blocks of flats, and it's interesting walking by our future school every day on the way to and from lunch, noticing the progress being made close-up! 

Saturday morning Tim left early for another of the school basketball tournaments.  About mid-morning I decided to stop by and watch for a little bit, for the first time.  

The games are 4-on-4, and the teacher team didn't have any subs, but Tim is in really good shape, so he was usually the first one up and down the court, and he made lots of points while I was there!  His jumper is still golden and he can drive on the younguns!  

I got lucky with my timing, because the game I saw happened to be against our H.S. team, and all 4 of the guys are in my sections of classes.  So it was good I could be there to support my students, even though the teacher team prevailed!!    ;-)  

My students, Tomás and Tomás, Jakub in the distance, and Marek under the basket.   :-)  It was such fun watching them play!!  

After the basketball tournament, we had a quick lunch at home, then headed out for a bike ride on a beautiful summer-like afternoon.  The flowers on the town square are beautiful now, so of course we headed that way first.

We're loving the lilac blooms this spring.  The fragrance is heavenly as we walk or bike past the bushes full of blossoms - from white to lilac to dark purple varieties!  

There was a Saturday afternoon wedding at the church on the square!  Such a perfect day for wedding photos!    :-)

We decided to head east to Okoličné, because when we went to Janka's house for the lasagne dinner, we had gotten glimpses of the area and wanted to return.  There were many beautiful gardens in the village, and we stopped by this stream that flows into the Vah River behind the village.  (It's technically part of L.M., but a distinct neighborhood.)

We headed along a bike path to see where it led, and we discovered we were in Podbreziny, where we've been several times by car or bus.  Lo and behold, we spotted Zuzka on the other side of the creek, so we crossed a bridge to say hi!  Tim invited us for cakes in honor of Mothers' Day, which we enjoyed on an outdoor table.  (The "White Russian" cake was fabulous, by the way!!!)

While we were sitting on the terrace enjoying our cakes, Erik and Miška happened to be walking by.  I had to take this picture when I saw the guys were each wearing a shirt from the other's native country!!  (Especially with the HUGE ice hockey game coming up on May 14 between Slovakia and the U.S.A. in the world championships!)  Since the weather was so nice, it seemed like everyone in Podbreziny was out walking, so we ended up seeing several other friends, colleagues, and students while we were there.    :-)

This is the bike path to Podbreziny, along a picturesque creek.   So pretty!  (The translation is "under the birch trees")

Enjoying our bike ride views! 

The fountains in the town square are back on again now, and lots of families with kids were out enjoying the beautiful day when we headed back towards our flat.  

More flowering trees along the town center, next to the city hall.  

 Saturday evening, I cooked a big meal then made a batch of cookies.  I made up cookie packages to take to Jan and Zuzka, our sermon translators, on Sunday morning.   We also delivered a plate to the lady upstairs who had given us the jars of peppers and red cabbage, since I finally found out which flat she lives in after playing Sherlock Holmes!  LOL!  (Later in the afternoon, she brought my disposable plastic plate back again....filled with some Slovak cakes!!)  

Sunday was Mother's Day, and Tim continued his tradition of serving me a delicious and visually beautiful 'breakfast in bed'!!  He's a keeper - just in case there was any doubt!  

At church, there was a special Mother's Day theme, starting with kids reciting poems and other sentimental readings about mothers.  They were darling!!  They also sang a song, then presented their mothers with a flower afterwards.  

Zuzka had invited us to go to another famous tourist spot on Sunday afternoon, rain or shine, and it was raining, but we had umbrellas!!  :-)  She drove us to Vlkolínec, which is a historic village where time stands still and some people still live in old, old houses that were typical for this region a century or more ago.  

Some of the houses serve as a museum with antiques that have been used fairly recently.  People lived in this house until the 1980's.

This is a life-sized nativity scene, which is very typical of the wood carving that is traditional in Slovakia.  

The village of Vlkolínec is nestled into the mountains, and it's difficult to reach by bus, so that's why Zuzka offered to drive us there!  Despite the rain and chilly temps, there were other tourists visiting as well.  

This is a bell tower from the 1700's, again typical of this region.  The wood shingles were very common, as the people living in the mountains had lots of time to make shingles during the long winter months!  

The village church also had the wooden shingles.  To the right, behind the stone wall, is the cemetery where we heard a cuckoo bird calling.  We've never heard one before, and it was astonishing how much it sounded like a cuckoo clock!  It just went on and on and on!

There were many wooden carvings throughout the village, and most of the houses were very brightly colored like these.  

We hiked up the hill beyond the village a little ways to take in the mountain views and the village below us.   The rain had even stopped by then.    :-)  

It started misting again as we were leaving, so this isn't very clear, but some of the steep hillsides were terraced for growing crops.  

Sunday night Tim took me out for Mother's Day supper -- at Good Mood Pizza -- our new favorite pizza place which was recommended by my students!  Slovakia was playing Russian in world cup ice hockey, so the place was full of fans watching the game.  We just may have stopped on the way home later for some Mother's Day zmrzlina too!!   :-)   

On Monday, we met Pat'ka at the train station bright and early to head for the immigration police office in Žilina.  It was cold and rainy again, unfortunately, but the good news is that our applications were both stamped and accepted on our first attempt this time!  Photos and fingerprints - done too!   Evidently getting a work visa renewal is not as difficult as applying the first time.  So now we'll just wait for a call in a month or so, then go pick up our new work visas, hopefully by the end of June!!  

Last fall, we were afraid of taking any photos at the foreign police office, because of how intimidating it looks with all the bars and locked doors.  We didn't want to get arrested for illegal photography before we even got a visa.  So this is Tim's "serious" face this time!!  

Monday after school there was a gathering of teachers (and babies/children) from the two schools who are home on maternity leave, which lasts 3 years here.  The government pays a portion of the salary to moms - or dads - who stay home and care for their children up until age 3.  It was fun seeing all the little ones!  Then we rushed to our Slovak lesson, church choir rehearsal, and school volleyball.  Whew!  

Tuesday was a BIG day at school because the U.S. vs. Slovakia hockey match was being played at 11:15.  We joined our classes that period with a couple of other teachers' classes in the auditorium to watch the game online on a big projection screen.  Of course it was perfectly justifiable in our curriculum --- one of the Maturita topics is Sports/Leisure, and we told our students they had to talk in English the whole time, so it was great for our conversation classes!!  :-)  Since we don't follow hockey at all at home, we were caught up in the excitement for the Slovak team, and I was cheering right along with the kids as Slovakia scored the first two quick goals and proceeded to beat the heavily favored American team 4-1 to advance beyond pool play.  The U.S. had already qualified, so it's great that both teams will continue playing!!  

Tuesday night I baked another couple batches of cookies, so we could take them to school for more of our students.  I'm checking off the list, and I only have 3 classes left to treat with American baked goods.  The students were surprised and very appreciative!  Tuesday was also a BIG day because Paul turned 27 - WOW - where has the time gone??  We did get to IM with him a while on Skype, but couldn't talk because he was at work.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAUL!!  

Today (Wed.) it finally started warming up again after a few really chilly days.  We got the extra bed moved out of the spare bedroom finally, so there will be room for our guests to stay next month!  The custodian and IT guy from school helped load it onto a trailer.   :-)  After school, we were tempted to go outside for a bike ride to enjoy the weather, but in the end, we decided to catch up on a lot of stuff that needed doing since we've been gone so much lately --- housecleaning, laundry, emails, and now the blog!  So now I'm caught up.  Sorry you regular readers had to wait so long between posts!!  Thanks for reading and sharing our adventure and our mission!!  We appreciate your prayers, emails, and comments!  God bless!!