Visit with family in Slovakia

July 12 (Thursday)

We crossed the border into Slovakia mid-afternoon driving from Budapest. The road where we entered is a smaller one from the south (#67)...... Our passports were stamped and we stopped to buy the road sticker that you must have to drive legally here (basically a toll) and to change money.

Three or four jumped on the tractor and at least 10-12 climbed up into the wagon.

This is our third visit to Slovakia to visit our relatives, descendants of my husband's father's ancestors. In the past we have driven from the west from Vienna but since we came from the south we took the shortest route, not the fastest or straightest and it took us over the forested mountains of the Volovske vrchy. The scenery was very beautiful but the winding road is not good if you tend to become motion sick.

We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Park, in the Cingov-Hradisko area near Smizany ( population about 7,000) and Spisska Nova Ves (population about 35,000) at 5 p.m. The hotel is located at the very edge of the Slovensky Raj National Park (aka Slovak Paradise). It's a beautiful park with over 220 km of marked trails and I hope we can explore some of them on this trip.

We called to let our cousin Zana know that we had arrived. We were invited to one of the family homes in Iliasovce, a very small town of about 980 people, which is the town of my husband's ancestors that is located about two miles from our hotel. We had a wonderful evening of conversation and great food along with some excellent slivovica. The earlier car ride had caught up with me and I was happy to retire for the night....

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July 13 (Friday)

We walked down to the breakfast room at the hotel for some coffee and food. They had a very nice selection and it compared very well with the other places that we have stayed on this trip. There wasn't as much food but it's a smaller hotel.

We waited in the lovely garden in front of the hotel for the arrival of the other members of the family (that we had not seen yet on this trip) to pick us up. After warm greetings, we drove into Spisska Nova Ves, a larger town for this area which was a couple of miles east of our hotel (Iliasovce is north).

This is the weekend of the annual carnival with miles of vendors and carnival rides around the historic and largest cobbled town square in Slovakia. This is where the Catholic parish church, the Evangelical church, the Town Hall, the Reduta building and the gallery of the Artists of Spis are located. The historic bell tower is here and where we climbed to the top for pictures three years ago......

The little boys wanted to ride the carnival rides and so did the big boys! The Butterfly was first, followed by Ninja Turtles, Octopus, Boomerang, Bombastic, Evolution, Extreme and the bumper cars. Everyone had a great time. We took a break for lunch at the Pizzeria Eurospis that is located on the town square & we all had individual pizzas. The food was good and the service was good though I've heard that service in restaurants in Slovakia are sometimes quite spotty though they seem to be getting better. (We only had one bad experience on the first day when it was just the two of us and no Slovakian relatives along... )

We went back to the carnival for another ride or two before walking back to the UPS building (Igor runs the franchise here) where we had parked. In the last few years the business has grown and he now has six trucks and eight employees.

Our next stop was at the crystal factory. In 1994 when we first visited Slovakia, it was located in a house in Iliasovce. When we returned in 2004, it had moved to Spisska Nova Ves and they have grown more since then and moved into an even larger building. We purchased a few pieces to take home and watched one of the cutters make some fine cuts in some glasses. www.glasscrystal.sk

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with the family and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. It is a special time to share with family. Most of the family know some English, especially the 20 & 30 somethings, so it is much easier to communicate now. Also our one cousin lives in the U.S. now and is a great translator.... I would sure like to be able to speak Slovakian but at my age it is very difficult to learn a new language. By the time we depart, I always know a few words that get used frequently but I can't seem to retain them for long....

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July 14 (Saturday)

Today was the big family celebration in honor of cousin Marta's 60th birthday and the whole family was here. We had an authentic Slovak picnic at the grandparent's old house.

After everyone had arrived, it was time for lunch in the party room (converted from the old garage). We then spent the afternoon outside eating, drinking, talking & playing. All the children loved the huge swing set the Uncle Jan had built and all had great fun with the sack races and futball!

Next on the schedule was the absolute highlight of the whole trip..... Uncle Jan's cousin Vlado arrived with a tractor pulling a large wagon. Three or four jumped on the tractor and at least 10-12 climbed up into the wagon. Off we went up a farm path south of the town of Iliasovce and drove up to the highest point on the hills there. Once we finally reached the top, we stopped and jumped out of the wagon. We couldn't believe the utterly fantastic, gorgeous 360 degree view from there. To the north were the High Tatras (still with a little snow), and all of Iliasovce and to the east and south were Smizany, Spisska Nova Ves, Slovensky Raj (and our hotel) and many other little towns.

Incredible! Uncle Jan began to sing and the others joined in (in Slovak, of course)....I had "goosebumps".... singing on top of the mountain somehow reminded me of that great scene in "Sound of Music". Then Jan told us that we were the first Americans ever to be at that spot... wow! We took lots of pictures including panaramic but somehow I know a picture will not be able to catch all the beauty of the hills, fields and forests and old country villages on this afternoon.

After a slow descent past a herd of cows and another flock of sheep, including two very ferocious sheep dogs, we arrived back in Iliasovce (pronounced I-li-a-shove-say), we parked the tractor and wagon and crossed the street to the town pub (our first visit) for some water and drinks. Then it was back to the picnic for more wonderful food.

An older gentleman walked over to the old place to say "Dobre Den" (good day).... his name was Stanislav and it turns out that he is a fourth cousin, once removed. We got a picture. Iliasovce is a village of 980 people. It turns out that most are related somehow. Our cousin told us that before she left for the U.S. in the mid-1990's, of the 251 homes there, 248 were somehow related.

This has been a wonderful day with family and I feel really lucky and blessed to have experienced this. The hospitality and the warmth are incredible!

P.S. If you ever go to Slovakia, be sure to have some homemade slivovica, if possible! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slivovitz

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July 15 (Sunday)

Today we went on a rafting adventure. We left from one of the family houses in Iliasovce around 9 a.m. and eleven of us drove in two cars for about 1 1/2 hours past the gorgeous High Tatra Mountains to the Pieniny National Park on the Slovakia border with Poland. Along the River Dunajec are the unique old wooden rafts, ( http://www.tourist-channel.sk/turizmus/pieninyen.php3 )

We purchased tickets and waited for our raft. Eighteen of us got on though we noted that the sign on the side of the boat said there was a twelve person maximum per boat.

The two navigators controlled the raft with long poles as we gently floated down the river with magnificent scenery on both sides. It was amusing as there were many of the very same type of rafts floating also that were Polish (you could tell by the little painted flag on the side of the raft). It was very relaxing and even the younger children loved it. (If you go, take sunscreen or an umbrella)

The guide in the front wore a blue vest decorated in a traditional Slovak fashion. He gave a tour in the Slovak language but we were lucky to have our cousin translate so we could understand. It is still a very worthwhile trip to take even without a translator as it is so scenic.

We floated for close to an hour and a half and went the distance of about 10 km from the Cerveny Klastor down to the village of Lesnica. Once we reached the end, it was interesting to watch the men unhook and dismantle the five long sections that make up the raft and lift them on to the truck. They stacked six rafts per truck and then drove them back to the start of the run. Our guide told us that he makes three runs each day on the same raft.

We needed to walk about 1/2 km to where the bus will take you back to the start to pick up your car. There is also an option to walk back along the river's edge (takes about 2 hours- free) or to rent a bike and bike back on the same path.

There were also very colorful horse and carraiges to be rented to drive you to where the bus and the restaurants were. We decided to skip the restaurant there and as it was 2 p.m, and we wanted lunch, we stopped down the road at a restaurant that Igor knew. There is an "inside" restaurant that has much better service than the outdoor one which is connected. We know as we started at the first one and moved to the second one. The food was really good also. (I forget the name but will add it if I find the receipt)

As we drove back to Iliasovce through the gorgeous landscape, I was so thankful to be here. we have been here three times and each time has been during the summer when the landscape is green and lush and the weather is perfect. I was informed that during the winter, the temperature averages between -17 to -20 degrees Celsius (around 0 to -5 degrees F!). This is a great place for winter sports, especially skiing.

As this was our last night here, we had a special BBQ in the backyard of one of the homes. The kids gave me a tour of the yard which is quite large. The majority of the backyard is dedicated to the growth of fruits and fresh vegetables. It is sad as we will be leaving tomorrow........ off to the hotel to pack, which will be a challenge with all the wonderful gifts that they have given us.

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July 16 (Monday)

We had our last breakfast buffet at the hotel and checked out. We have been very pleased with our choice of hotel. The location is excellent, they have internet, and the cost for the larger room (apartment) including breakfast was only about $80 per day ( a steal compared to Rome and Budapest).

We drove out past Levoca a short way to the Spissky Hrad ( Spis Castle) to take some more pictures and then headed to our goodbye lunch. As usual, the food was incredible. We had to chuckle when we had a couple of bowls of some great soup (thinking that this is a nice light lunch), and were then presented with an incredible meal, plates of chicken, potatoes (from their garden), zucchini and salad. Then we were offered dessert bars, then something like Blueberry Trifle with ice cream, coffee and chocolate!

After our goodbyes and a couple of tears, we left and drove back to Vienna through Slovakia. We stopped in Martin to see one of the families for about an hour. The area around Martin is very beautiful and we have never stayed longer than an hour or so. Next time we come, we have been invited to stay here for a few days to take in some of the sights of this region of Slovakia. It sounds like a great idea... maybe next year......

After arriving in Vienna, we will spend the night at the Vienna Airport Hotel, literally across the small road from the terminal and fly out towards home at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow.