Slovenia

Saturday, June 10 - We started our last day in Vienna with a visit to the Kunst Historische Musem that was specially constructed in the early nineteenth centrury to hold the Hapsburg Art Collection. This is one of the most beautiful museums we have seen with extraordinary Italian and northern European collections from the 15th - 19th centuries.

We took an afternoon train from Vienna to Ljubljana Slovenia and arrived in the late evening at our hotel. Typically it was raining as we walked from the station to the hotel.



Sunday, June 11 - Finally, a glorious sunny morning as we awoke. We threw caution to the winds and didn't carry umbrellas as we began our stroll about the city. After walking to the city square to see the architecture and get our bearings, we began by visiting the antiques market that was set up along the river-front. The people offered old watches, clocks, medals, uniforms, tools, glassware; all sorts of interesting junk, not unlike what you would see at a US flea market, but with a decidedly central European flavor.







Next we walked to Tivoli Park and enjoyed the flowers and trees. In the park we visited the museum that housed a display on modern Slovenian history, essentially during the 20th century - from the time it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, through WWI (the important battles of the Soča River in which Ernest Hemingway was an ambulance driver), then the formation of a constitutional monarchy that deteriorated to a dictatorship during the depression years, through WWII, with the fighting by partisans, through the Communist era as part of Yugoslavia, and into the short (10 day) war for independence in 1992. We have been very impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Slovenians, perhaps foremost among the former Eastern Europeans that we have visited. Perhaps some of this accounts for the trajectory that this nation has followed in the last 100 years. After resting at some cafes and sampling the excellent Slovenian wines, we finished the evening with a very fine dinner at a small restaurant in the old town.

Monday, June 12 - We picked up a car in Ljubljana and traveled to Lake Bled, about 40 km north in the heart of the Julian Alps where we plan to spend most of our final three days on the trip. We checked into our room at the charming Hotel Berc and walked the three blocks down to the lake. Our first trip was in a boat out to a church that is located on an island in the center of the lake. This church is on land that was given by a 9th century King to the local Bishop. The church was built almost immediately and has been renovated and reconstructed several times since. There are many beautiful sights - castle church, mountains - that we enjoyed both from the boat as well as by walking around the lake. We had a good dinner at the Osteriža Peglzn, followed by the famous cream cake at the Park Hotel. Then we walked along the shore of the lake to the sounds of Slovenian folk music from one cafe terrace mixed with a bad Elvis impersonator from another cafe.

Tuesday, June 13 - We drove about 20 km to Lake Bohinj, a less commercialized lake in the mountains. After viewing the small church at one end and staring down from the bridge at hundreds of brown and rainbow trout gathered at the exit from the lake into the river it feeds, we hiked up to one of the waterfalls that feeds the lake (500+ steps, but well worth it).

After returning from this hike, we took a cable car up to the ski area that is surrounded by peaks - a spectacular sight. We spent an hour walking around the ski area and after riding the cable car back down we drove back to Lake Bled and took a hike up the Vintgar Gorge formed by the Sava River that feeds into Lake Bled. We are amazed by the turquoise color of the water and will look to some geochemists to provide a complete explanation. We finished the day with a fine dinner at Penzion Mayer, adjacent to our Hotel. I enjoyed a typical Slovenian Farmers plate consisting of sausages, meats, kraut, and some kinds of dumplings. I don't think I ate any horse or "young pony", but both are prominent on the menus here.

Wednesday, June 14 - For our last day, we made a trip through the mountains in Trglav National Park, about a 200 km trip that took most of the day. Early on, we stopped at the site of the 239 m. ski Jump that regularly produces the world record for duration in the air. It's a bit difficult to imagine staying suspended in the air for 15-20 seconds. We took a short hike here to get warmed up for some of the other sights we would see. The trip over the top of the pass included 50 numbered hairpin curves that were challenging to drive, but rewarded us with breathtaking views. I can't wait to print some of the pictures we took; I hope they accurately reflect the beauty. While these peaks are only about 7500 feet, they rise abruptly from near sea level, so they make a very strong impact. On returning back we passed through the Soča valley where several critical WWI battles were fought. We were amazed to learn of the nearly 500,000 troops killed and missing in this campaign. We checked into a room near the airport so we'll be able to catch our 7:10 am flight to return home.

It's been a wonderful vacation in which we have made many new friends, renewed some old friendships, and learned much about this wonderful part of Europe. We hope to return again and look forward to sharing our stories with you all.

Krakow, Poland and Vienna, Austria

Monday, June 5 - We left Dolny Kubin today for Krakow. The countryside didn't change much since we were traveling through the mountains. We arrived in Krakow in the afternoon and took a tram to the city center. We first visited the city square which is one of the largest in Central Europe. It is dominated at one end by a tower and at the other by Maria's Church. The "Cloth Hall" at the center is currently used for souvenir shops. The church was really "over-the-top" in terms of Baroque design with elaborately painted walls and a spectacular gilded altar piece. We couldn't really say that it was beautiful; it had decorations from almost every era since Gothic.

We found an interesting restaurant, "under the angel" that was located in the basement of a 12th century building, then we walked around the Jagiellonian University where Nikolai Copernicus had studied and we did some shopping.

Tuesday, June 6 - The weather continues to be cloudy and cold with intermittent showers; the same for almost two weeks now. Our first visit was to the St Francis Church where there were particularly many beautiful windows in the Art Noveau style. We next went to the Wawel Castle. On the way to the castle we walked past the house where Karol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II, had lived when he was Archbishop of Krakow. The castle was very interesting with a spectacular church that contained the remains of many Polish Kings; again it reflected many architectural eras. The palace had been reconstructing in the 16th century after a fire and was beautifully decorated in the renaissance style with many beautiful tapestries. One of the rooms that was particularly interesting was the "Hall of Deputies", the home of the early parliament. The ceiling contained the busts of many individuals from all walks of life, who appeared to be looking down on the proceedings. On leaving the castle, we were accosted by several individuals, but Phil managed to prevail. After lunch, we visited more churches and then the Jewish quarter.

Wednesday, June 7 - We left Krakow to travel first to Auschwitz, where we saw barracks and reconstructions of the gas chambers and crematoria. Some of the most striking displays showed all the goods - luggage, shoes, brushes, clothing, and even hair - that had been taken from the victims. The efficiency with which this was done was terrifying. We left Auschwitz at about noon to drive back into the Czech Republic where we had to drop off the car in Ostrava. We then took the train from Ostrova to Vienna, arriving at about 8 pm. After getting settled in the Penzion Hargita (another of Rick Steve's suggestions), we had a light dinner and walked around town before retiring for the night.

Thursday, June 8 - We traveled to Hofburg, the palace of the Hapsburgs where we saw the Morning Exercises of the Lipizzaner horses. They didn't really perform, but they were practicing and training the horses. Nonetheless this was done with wonderful precision. We then visited several royal churches and outside of one of them we encountered some kind of military ceremony complete with military band and all kinds of official looking people. We assumed that it was all for our benefit. The church where this ceremony was held, the Augustinian, was the place where coronations and royal weddings took place. After leaving the church, we stumbled across a museum that had a display celebrating the 100th birthday of Kurt Gödel, the famous logician. This was extremely interesting, even to Sue , and we bought the catalogue. After a lunch of "real wienerschnitzle" we visited St. Stephan's Church, a magnificent Gothic cathedral that had been "improved" with Renaissance additions - altars, etc. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and went to see "Sleeping Beauty" ballet at the Operahouse in the evening.

Friday, June 9 - Today, we went to the Hapsburg's summer palace, Schoenbrunn. It is a spectacular place, second only to Versailles. It gives some appreciation for the wealth that these families had accumulated. Tonight, it's back to the Operahouse for a performance of Verdi's opera "Don Carlos". This is the "long" version in the original French; I don't know how long we'll last.

Slovakia

Thursday, June 1- We traveled by early morning train from Prague to Ostrava, CZ where we picked up a rental car. From Ostrava we drove to a museum of historical buildings in Rožnov pad Radhostem. Here we visited a village that was typical of the Wallachsian group of people from this area. We then drove on to Dolny Kubin to meet our relatives. We arrived at the home of Iveta and Leonard Bobcek and their children Ninka and Motchko. They live near the village of Veličniá, which is the town where my grandmother lived before emigrating to America and also close to Zabrež from where my grandfather came.


Their home is beautifully situated in the hills with many views of the mountains in the Low Tatras. Luckily, the weather was relatively clear when we arrived, so we were able to get a few pictures of the mountains. Others of Ivetas family (Maria nee Labda, her husband Joseph Kovachik, Maria´s brother Pavol Labda and his wife Milká) joined us after dinner and we shared many stories about family members. Fortunately, Iveta is an English teacher in the elementary school, so we had a very good translator.

Friday, June 2 – Members of the Strapec family came by today to take us on a trip to a cave and into the High Tatras. We joined Joseph and Erica Strapec and his mother Maria (nee Farbak, relatives of my grandfather´s half-brother and perhaps related to my grandfather directly) on the trip. The caves were among the most beautiful we have seen with many spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and sheets.. The High Tatras were unfortunately not visible due to rain and clouds, but we had a nice trip nonetheless. On returning home, we stopped by Joseph´s home to visit his sons and a niece who had just returned from working in GB. We then went to Joseph´s uncle (Andrej Farbak´s) home to visit with more Farbak relatives. The language barrier was a bit higher here, but luckily a neighbor who runs a local language school was able to translate.

Saturday, June 3 – We traveled with Iveta and Leonard to visit the Orava Castle and then on the Orava Museum of wooden houses in Zuberec. The castle was very interesting, with good decorations and a very good guide, who fortunately was able to give descriptions in English as well as Slovak. Sue and I felt that this castle was even more impressive and well-preserved than the more famous Prague castle. After seeing the castle, we drove to the village of wooden houses in in Zuberec. There we viewed houses that had been transported from Veličniá (home of my grandmother) and Zabrež (home of my grandfather). Iveta told us that the house of a peasant farmer was much like the house where her grandmother had lived and was probably like the house where my grandmother was born. We also saw the Catholic church from Zabrež, the town where my grandfather Farbak was born. All in all, it was very interesting to get a sense of our family roots. After traveling around Lake Orava, we returned to Dolny Kubin for dinner with the family of Iveta, including her Aunt Mildred and Uncle Pavol, her mom and dad, and her sister Tanya with husband Duchan and daughter Sashka.

Sunday, June 4 – Today we dug more deeply into family roots. Iveta´s mother took us into the village of Veličniá where we visited the church that both my grandmother and grandfather had attended. We are sure that my grandmother attended this church, but less sure of my grandfather. It was a very attractive church that had been built in 1779 after Emperor Joseph II allowed more freedom for Protestants to build churches. We saw the baptismal font where she was probably christened and sat in the pew that had been a family favorite for many generations.

We then walked down the street to the site of the house where she had been born. The current house on the site was built in 1963, replacing the original house which may have been over one hundred years old at that time. The current resident and person who rebuilt the house was a nephew of my grandmother, Milan Labda, 74 years old. He had been a forestry worker and later a steel worker before retiring. His father Jan was my grandmother´s brother. They had owned a little land and basically did subsistence farming, raising vegetables and animals for their own use, probably the life that my grandmother had left.

We next traveled over the Orava River to the village of Zabrež to visit what we think was my grandfather´s birth home. Maria Farbak had told Maria Labda that this house was her childhood home and had been in the Cutka family for several generations, so we assume that it was the home that the two half-brothers had left to come to America. It is now quite run-down, but has a very pleasant site next to a brook. Perhaps we can come back and use it as a summer home.

We also want to comment on the great hospitality that we´ve received here. You can´t enter someone´s house without being offered a drink, usually Slivovits or something stronger, and something to eat. We´ve eaten wonderful foods, including Halušky - Slovak gnocchi with cream/cheese sauce and bacon, Kapusnitsa - Sauerkraut soup, served here with potatoes or noodles, but very similar to what we grew up with at Christmas time, and wonderful home-made desserts.