Slovakia: Love, Joy, and Fresh Air

I realize that it's been quite a bit of time now since I was in Slovakia, but thus far, I'll have done is to recount the stories from travel, of which there were many. Better late than never, I suppose. It might've come earlier, but to my consternation, I discovered that the post I had been working on had not been saved appropriately and I was henceforth compelled to recommence... And so without further ado - my three days in Slovakia.

Slovakia was beautiful. My friends live in a National Park. They are surrounded by mountains. Their village is small, with less people living there than went to my high school, but the life in the village is wonderful. Simple, but wonderful. There is an orchard in that everyone eats from. There is a ski slope just in their backyard that everyone skis down. Everything - the church, the little yellow post office, the one-room library, the school, the mini grocery store are a 2-5 minute walk from any given point in the village. I loved the house that I stayed in - the house where Kate grew up. It was very special to be there with her. This family is very important to me, they have played a big role in my life, and I can barely remember a day without Katarina in it. There are few children who are quite so dear to me as Sam, and though I've scarcely had enough time with him, I can recount to you with great detail every single beautiful moment we've been with each other. And so though the three days were fleeting at best, each waking second was a treasure. I loved learning more about his little personality and who he is. I loved the fact that although he didn't speak much English, he understood it perfectly. He usually responded to me in Slovak, but if I'd stayed for just a few more days, I'm confident he would've been jabbering away in English with no problems. This child is quite advanced, I must say. He watches with evident fascination all sorts of films about bacteria and why it's important to brush your teeth and about what our bodies do with toxins. As a result of this education, he is very adamant about things like brushing his teeth so that he can kill those evil bacterias. One thing about him certainly has not changed - he continues to be a perpetually ball of never-stopping, always-going, even-higher-than-your-average-kid, ENERGY. It's unreal how much energy that child has.

Kate's father was a skilled carpenter, and each room has an array of richly beautiful inlaid wooden floors, intricately fashioned wood ceilings, painstakingly carved chairs with flourishing designs... A true pleasure just to be in a place like that. The first night, I couldn't have been more content to snuggle down in what was honestly the most comfortable bed with the most comfortable pillow and the most deliciously poofy comforter that I have ever in all of my eighteen years slept in/with/under.

The first day was golden. Kate and her mom prepared a sumptuous breakfast of freshly baked jelly rolls - flaky warm and filled with homemade strawberry jam. Meeting Esther was a special moment; she is the most beautiful and sweetest little thing that I ever did meet and I've been dying to meet her ever since she was born. The four of us got bundled up and strolled down the street to Sam's school - the same place where Kate went to school as a girl. That afternoon, Sam, Kate and I went skiing.

How awesome is it to have a ski slope practically in your backyard? Incredibly awesome. I was so impressed with Sam's skills, and his perseverance, and the way he improved in just a few short hours. Amazing kid let me tell you. Just three years-old and skiing like a pro. He made it all the way down that mountain several times without falling...

...albeit the successful times down the mountain, there were indubitably a few falls in there as well...

Meeting the beautiful Esther! Gorgeous, gorgeous child with a laugh that would melt the hardest of hard hearts in seconds.

The next day, Katarina blessed me greatly with a trip up further into the mountains. A friend of hers named Lenka came along for the ride. Lenka and I had emailed a bit before, having been introduced by Kate and she was a blessing. A huge blessing of great proportions!!! She's about my age, and was undeniably a kindred spirit with a smile that could light up the darkest of places. She attends a bilingual high school (English and Slovak) and her English was flawless. She's the kind of person who I know I would be the best of friends with if we didn't live an ocean and the better part of a continent away from each other. She comes from what sounds like an awesome, God-pursuing, super-loving, totally-incredible family of six children of which she claims the title of oldest. She shares a love of all little people, and the five of us made a very happy group hiking in the mountains of Slovakia. The day couldn't have been more pristine, the sky couldn't have been a more unadulterated bluer blue, the sun couldn't have been any more glorious in all its scintillating luminosity (...perhaps I have been re-reading Anne of Green Gables recently...if unseemly, excessive, and slightly unnecessary amounts of flowery modifiers get on your nerves, just try your best to overlook it...) But to be outside that day with that crisp, pure air, with mountains and friends on every side.

I was impressed with the distance that Sam hiked all by himself, but there were certainly a few times that found him being pulled in the sled...

Utterly breathtaking mountain views. The day was so clear, you could see radio towers on the mountains far, far away.


We ended the day with a trip to a mineral water spring. Slovakia is known worldwide for its mineral waters which are full of all sorts of interesting things like sulfur and calcium and such. They were warm despite the cold outside. Anyone and everyone can bring bottles and fill them up with the carbonated, slightly-bitter tasting waters. Pretty neat stuff. And so we traipsed down the road, pants and shoes wet through from the day, mud splattered, pretty tired, drinking our mineral water that had just come up from out of the ground, with the golden glow of the late-afternoon sunshine bathing us in its light. I was altogether thoroughly content with life. We came home to a phenomenal meal, warm and filling, prepared by Kate's mom, eaten with good fellowship over the dinner table. Lenka and I did the dishes together afterwards, chatting in the kitchen while Kate put the kids down. She is a gem, a rare find, and I am so happy that we were able to spend a day together. May we meet again one day soon!

At the mineral waters...

The last day, we stayed in the village, visiting the church where Kate came to know the Lord, walking to the post office, playing in the snow outside (Samuel had at least three snow forts in the makings), riding bikes down the road, stopping by the grocery store, checking out books from the library. Each minute was special, and each minute made me long to stay there more and more and more minutes.

Reading about sharks together.

The village!

See the little biker?? That's my Sam!

My room with the most incredible bed and the most incredible welcome poster.

Last treasured evening with Sam - lots of one-on-one time with just the two of us.

When I woke up the next morning at around 5:15 to leave, he had woken up as well.... I can't recall if I told the tales of travel from there back to here. Don't think I did. They were similarly harrowing involving a late taxi driver (arrived about 20 minutes after he was supposed to and got us to the train station about 2-3 minutes after my train was supposed to leave), booking it down a windy Slovak road dusted with a new coat of slippery snow at a lot of kilometers an hour, and running, literally running to catch a train in the nick of time. Thanks to Katarina for risking the well-being of her arm by thrusting it forcibly into the door of the train as it was shutting.

Slovak trains are much cheaper than they are here in France. Cost me about 7 euros for about a 3.5 hour train ride. In France, a 3.5 hour train ride might be something more like 30-40 euros... It was lovely to sit in a compartment with a great many old, Slovak ladies who spoke not a word of English (or French) and listen to the rhythms of their language as they bantered back and forth while the Slovak countryside whizzed past us.

And then at the end of the taxi, the train, the buses, and the planes, I was thankful, oh so thankful, to see little Abi bouncing up and down, and Heather's purple coat and Sarah's bright red one - the Faders and Sarah waiting there for me at the Geneva airport. My flight got in a bit early, so I killed some time riding up and down the escalators, but soon enough there they were, beautifully familiar faces after a day of tens of thousands of strange ones, and it truly actually felt as if I was coming home. And it continued to feel like going home as we piled into the car, listening over and over again to the same familiar kid tunes, holding our breath under the tunnels, and eventually all dozing off together in a heap of coats.

The next morning, I was up at 6:30 making last minute preparations for Morgan's visit and a few hours later, I was on a train heading to Lyon to pick her up and a new adventure had begun.