Mad Dash to Slovakia

Before we started on our trip, the office elders--Elder Tew and Elder Streng--were kind enough to wash and clean out our car. We put a lot of miles on the car. Hence, we end up with a lot of candy bar wrappers and water bottles inside the car after a long trip.


Marv was particularly pleased when we drove through the cities where his grandparents were born--Vsetin and Jablunka. Vsetin is a large and vibrant city. Jablunka is quite a bit smaller. Both are situated in a picturesque valley, surrounded by tiny farms and apple orchards. (Jablunka means "little apple" in Czech.) The area reminded me a bit of Switzerland, minus the Alps, of course. But it is hilly, green, lush, and beautiful. We discovered a GREAT restaurant in Vsetin. To get to it, you have to walk down a flight of stairs that takes you under the city street. It's like walking into a cave. Inside, the wood dining tables have handcrafted linens, and the benches are covered in sheep and goat skins. I was eating next to a fox fur. He would've made a perfect fox stole. The lighting was all candles, except for the stone fireplace. We had some of the best Hlusky ever made. (Hlusky is my favorite Czech dish.)

It was getting late in the namesti--town center--but with the sun setting, it cast a beautiful glow on this little town. What is so amazing is that every town throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia has a namesti like this one. They are usually centered around a very ornate church and a fountain. They have beautiful fountains. Moravia was celebrating its 700th anniversary of something of other-- I have no clue what--but I don't think they have a clue, either. In conjunction with this festival, they had a family wine tasting festival. Everywhere throughout Moravia, families were out drinking some kind of homemade wine and dancing. (Side note: The Czech Republic is made up of two regions--Bohemia (Prague and to the north) and Moravia (southeast and into Slovakia). Marv's ancestors lived in Moravia when it was all the Austrian Empire. In fact, when they emigrated to Texas, they signed papers declaring they no longer held allegiance to the king of Austria.