Family Ramblings

They Work on Saving Energy!

2008-01-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

I keep remembering this and decided to write a short piece about all of the opportunities taken to conserve energy in the countries we visited.

First of all, the toilets are not water-wasting monsters. Little water sits in the base--probably all that is needed for a flush.
In the halls of most hotels and restrooms, the lights are on sensors which turn them on when you arrive and off when you pass. I was so impressed with this that I found a light switch with a motion sensor at Home Depot and Larry installed it in our guest room (more to come). It works well, but the light remains on considerably longer than they did in Europe and considerably longer than necessary.
This is my all-time favorite! When we got to the airport in Prague, we found that we had to go up a level. I spotted the escalator and my heart sank! It wasn't working and we were carrying lots of stuff. I got a little closer, and realized that [ta-DAH], the escalator doesn't move when no one's using it! As soon as the sensor at the bottom or top is activated, it springs into motion. Now I realize that we in the USA can't replace all escalators with motion-sensing models, but I don't understand why that technology isn't used in all new buildings.

Happy New Year from Nellie and Martin

2007-12-31T09:28:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Nellie and Martin

2007-12-14T10:23:00.001-05:00

Left to right: Ferdinand, Larry, Beverly, Dee, Dick, Rod and Jean at Gusta's

Left to right: Rod, Jean, Dee, Nellie, Beverly, Larry and Dick at Katka's

Left to right: Ferdinand, Marian (pronounced Mar-i-AN) who is Katka's husband (she is Ferdinand's daughter), and Rod

It was great to hear from them!

Lenka

2007-12-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

Lenka is the daughter of Katarina (Katka) and the granddaughter of Ferdinand. She has recently graduated from law school and is enjoying having leisure time.

When asked if they would think about visiting us in the US, a number of family members said that they don't fly. Not Lenka!

Lenka is the one who loves to travel, and her grandfather said that he has a hard time saying "no" to her, so maybe Ferdinand and Lenka will turn up on our doorsteps sometime. We're hoping so!

Prague

2007-12-10T19:45:00.001-05:00

Prague was beautiful and I hope to write more later. For the time being, you may check out the pictures we took while we were there. I hope to add more captions to the collection in the next few days.

Of course, my favorite scenes were architecture, especially the doors and windows.

For now, I'll just mention a few things that interested me–like the white pigeons. We saw them in both Prague and Budapest. Have I just not noticed? Do we have them here?

Or the sign we saw for a Toy Museum on the grounds of the Prague Castle–when I looked more closely, I saw they were having . . .

a Barbie Exibition!

And occasionally we'd see a sign that we loved, like the sign on the Chinese carry-out(?) near our hotel.

Kuty

2007-12-09T18:51:00.001-05:00

One of the main things we wanted to do on our trip was to visit Kuty, the village where Larry's grandfather was born. Ferdinand was kind enough to arrange a day there, visiting family, going to a street fair, and visiting the cemetery (I collect cemeteries, as well as doors and windows). The picture at the right shows Ferdinand (a different Ferdinand) and Alžbeta (Elizabeth) Valachovič, Larry's great aunt and uncle. This picture was taken from their tombstone.

We rented a car and, in two groups, we headed toward Kuty. Not only did we have Ferdinand as a guide, the car came with a GPS (the story was that Rod told the car rental guy about his Slovak grandfather and he threw the GPS in free—don't know if that's true, but we kept urging Rod to tell the grandfather story whenever we thought it might help) and the GPS spoke English. We had great fun navigating, after we figured out the system. Like the story of storeys in buildings (where the second is the first), apparently the second turn off the rotary is called the first turn.

We enjoyed the 30 mile trip from Bratislava to Kuty, but were anxious to get there.

When you look at our Kuty photos, you may want to refer to the descendant chart (October)—or not. We had a lovely day!

Much of Kuty looks like most American towns. Then, there are the wonderfully Slovak parts--the soft lovely look of the old houses, the colors . . .

A new part of my door collection—
and Kuty has many wonderful old buildings.

Coming

2007-12-06T13:01:00.000-05:00

Coming: Finally, the pictures from Kuty. Check the Links list to the right. If you don't see the link, check back in a couple of days. I'm working on it now.

New Friends! Beata & her Family

2007-10-27T20:22:00.001-05:00

We were so lucky that Beata found me on the internet and decided to send a message looking for her mother's family in the US! That was the start of our trip! She was the reason all of the Valachovic cousins got to meet each other! She found Ferdinand and Gusta.

On the Friday after we arrived in Bratislava, Beata and her parents Eva and Pavol Bedesco, invited us to spend the day in their village, Horne Saliby. We piled into two cars and drove from our hotel to Beata's home. It was drizzling or raining during our whole trip--and it continued for an hour or two.

We were greeted royally and sat down to eat. The food was superb and the company was outstanding. After the meal, we gathered in the living room (of course, took some pictures) and got to know each other better. There was the usual situation with the language--Ferdinand and Beata translated for the others, Beata and I talked quietly explaining and asking questions, everyone pantomiming. I hope our hosts enjoyed it as much as we did. Coping with the two languages just made it more fun for me.

Eva and Pavol are both retired art teachers. He taught woodworking as well. Eva does exquisite needlework, and was kind enough to give a crocheted doily to each family. Beata follows in their footsteps and does a little of everything--she showed us several pieces of her work. Gorgeous! She is also a gardener, and even though we were there early in October, we could see that she put her heart into her garden.

Suddenly someone looked out the window and saw that the rain had stopped. A rainbow! The perfect symbol for our day together.

Later in the afternoon, we walked through the village to the confectionery shop. You can imagine what we found there. Even though we thought we'd never eat again when we left the table earlier, each of us carefully chose a goodie. And they were good!

As we walked back toward the house, Beata asked us if we'd like to see her church--the church where she is the organist. Of course, we did! Someone came to unlock the door and we went into a lovely, elegant church. With a beautiful pipe organ. Then came the gift. Beata asked if we would like her to "give a little concert." Again, of course. And, she said, she would sing also. She began to play, and then her voice came through. We were entranced. She has the voice of an angel! Tears ran down Larry's cheeks! She sang several hymns in Slovak and some in English. One that we all recognized was A Mighty Fortress is our God so we sang also. I assured her than I would send the English words.

The day couldn't have been better. I hope Beata, Eva and Pavol realize how happy they made us!

More Family Matters: Dinner with Gusta

2007-10-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

Gusta's Church

On our Sunday in Bratislava, Gusta invited us to attend a Mass at his church and for dinner following the service. Of course, we were happy to go! He asked us what we'd like to eat, and Dee listed several dishes she remembered her grandmother making--and Gusta pronounced them possibilities, but told us he was serving roast goose. (We were a little confused because Frdsh translated it as toast goose, but once we got the translation straightened out, it was fine.) Goose is served at festive occasions in Slovakia, so we were honored.

Gusta asked a member of his congregation to pick us up at the hotel and take us to the church. It was a wonderful service. Even though we spoke no Slovak, We could follow easily. The church was bright, light and airy and the many young families attended. It was a standing room only crowd.

After the service, we moved to Gusta's apartment in the church complex to find dinner in the works and other guests waiting. He had invited some English-speaking members of the parish, so Ferdinand did not have to bear the entire burden of translation. This dinner was to be the pattern for others we attended. First the slivovitz (a strong plum brandy), then the wine, then the dinner of soup, roast goose (Wonderful!!), red cabbage, dumplings (those are dumplings in the pic, not French or Italian bread) . . . and on and on. Then dessert, which included several of the things Dee had mentioned. Then the fruit. All accompanied by wines, beer, and other offerings of drink. We developed a litany which went bukty, šisky, drobne, strudel . . . They were all there and all wonderful!

At dinner were five Valachovic second cousins:

Augustin Drška (Gusta)
Rodney Girard
Larry Valcovic (did I mention that Larry's father changed the spelling of his surname?)
Dee Girard Brown
Ferdinand Hesek

Shortly after dinner, a sixth second cousin arrived. She was Kornelia (Nellie) Barto with her husband Martin. Nellie and Martin are involved in the film industry. I didn't find out exactly how they're involved, but I'd like to know. Martin spoke excellent English, which I'm sure Ferdinand appreciated, as the other speakers of English had left at that point. They are a delightful couple and we enjoyed them very much. Of course, at the arrival of new guests, food was returned to the table and we had bukty, šisky, drobne, strudel . . . and, of course, wine and pivo (beer).

At 6 (or at 18, as they would say there--they're on a 24 hour clock), Gusta had another Mass, so we said good-bye to him and left to visit Ferdinand's daughter Katarina. More about that in the next post.

Prague Metro

2007-10-24T23:51:00.001-05:00

The Prague metro system is relatively new, clean and easy to figure out. If you are familiar with the Metro in Washington DC, they are much the same, except that I never had to stand on a train! If the Metro was crowded, as it usually was, someone always offered me a seat!

We bought 3-day passes and rode frequently, during the day and at night.

Mystery!

2007-10-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

As I said, we visited a street fair in Kuty. One of the first things I saw was the group at the left. It was kind of surprising, but who knows? The music was faintly familiar--kind of a soft pipes type.

As I got closer, I saw that they were selling a CD. And I saw that I had a CD by the same group! The name of the group was Wayra. And I had bought the CD at a street fair here, in the US--probably in Annapolis. Now I was confused. Did the travel a lot? A copy-cat group? A group like Ringling Brothers or the Cirque du Soleil with red and blue (and maybe purple and green) arms to enable more performances?

I googled and found their website. Sent them an email. I hope they'll respond so I'll have an answer to the mystery!

Descendant Chart

2007-10-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Today I'm posting some old family pictures. This chart is to make it easier for the family to see the relationships. Non-family members, skip the chart if you wish..

Descendant List of Jozef VALACHOVIC - 22 Oct 2007

1-Jozef VALACHOVIC (abt 1852-18 May 1926)
+Alžbeta POLLAK (abt 1856-10 Oct 1926)
. . .2-Rozália (Rose) VALACHOVICOVA (22 Nov 1878-2 Nov 1964)
. . . +Michal POLLAK (22 Aug 1868-22 Feb 1955)
. . . . . 3-Ladislav P. (Latzie) POLLAK (1900-1948)
. . . . . +Marie GRANETZ (-)
. . . . . 3-William (Bill) POLLAK (18 Jul 1902-24 Jan 1957)
. . . . . +Rose SOKOL (20 Jan 1908-)
. . . . . . . .4-William (Panda/Bill) POLLAK Jr. (17 Jul 1935-)
. . . . . 3-Mildred E. (Millie) POLLAK (22 Jan 1912-21 Feb 2005)
. . .2-Kliment VALACHOVIC (1880-1882)
. . .2-Ondrej VALACHOVIC (10 Nov 1882-24 Feb 1962)
. . . +Helena VALACHOVICOVA (27 Feb 1884-31 Oct 1961)
. . . . . 3-Jozef K. VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . +Vilma [VALACHOVIC] (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Stanislav (Slavka) VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Konstantine VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . 3-Anton VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . 3-Helena VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . . . . 3-Ján K. VALACHOVIC (18 May 1911-14 Aug 1975)
. . . . . +Anna (Anka) [VALACHOVIC] (22 Jan 1922-)
. . . . . . . .4-Ján VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Zita VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . . . . 3-Maria (Marka) VALACHOVICOVA (13 Apr 1914-10 May 1985)
. . . . . +Jozef DRŠKA (4 Jan 1912-24 Apr 1996)
. . . . . . . .4-Father Augustin (Gusta) DRŠKA (1939-)
. . . . . . . .4-Emil DRŠKA (1942-1944)
. . . . . . . .4-Štefánia (Stefka) DRŠKAOVA (1946-)
. . . . . . . .4-Veronika (Vierka) DRŠKAOVA (1948-)
. . . . . 3-Ferdinand VALACHOVIC (4 Nov 1924-20 Apr 1936)
. . .2-Lorenc Kuty VALACHOVIC (10 Aug 1885-Aug 1967)
. . . +Helen SMRTIC (29 Sep 1883-Oct 1961)
. . . . . 3-Florence Erma VALACHOVIC (23 Nov 1909-3 Mar 1996)
. . . . . +Eugene Stanislaus GIRARD (16 Feb 1911-Nov 1963)
. . . . . . . .4-Delores Helene (Dee) GIRARD (10 Oct 1934-)
. . . . . . . .4-Rodney Eugene (Rod) GIRARD (5 Jul 1936-)
. . . . . +William (Bill) WOODS (5 Dec 1912-5 Nov 1994)
. . . . . 3-Elizabeth H. Smrtic VALACHOVIC (8 Oct 1912-8 Jun 2002)
. . . . . +Henry S. (Hank) SKADRA Jr. (1906-)
. . . . . . . .4-Gordon Henry SKADRA (16 Jan 1933-25 Jan 1976)
. . . . . . . .4-Helen P. SKADRA (8 Oct 1937-22 Jun 1998)
. . . . . . . .4-Milton (Skip) SKADRA (12 May 1939-)
. . . . . . . .4-Charles (Chuck) SKADRA (12 Sep 1940-)
. . . . . . . .4-Carol SKADRA (25 Dec 1942-)
. . . . . . . .4-Gloria SKADRA (28 Sep 1944-)
. . . . . . . .4-David SKADRA (5 Mar 1946-abt 1970)
. . . . . . . .4-Henry SKADRA (23 Mar 1948-)
. . . . . 3-Richard Charles (Dick) VALACHOVIC (4 Nov 1916-9 May 2004)
. . . . . +Doris Stewart COX (16 Dec 1918-25 Mar 1975)
. . . . . . . .4-Lawrence Richard (Larry) VALCOVIC (12 Jan 1936-)
. . . . . . . .4-Dorothy Louise (Dot) BAKER (23 Nov 1941-)
. . . . . +Eleanor Preble JONES (14 Nov 1926-)
. . . . . . . .4-David Preble VALCOVIC (27 Aug 1951-)
. . . . . . . .4-Donald Keith (Don) VALCOVIC (23 Feb 1954-)
. . . . . . . .4-Clark Berkes VALCOVIC (6 Jul 1956-)
. . . . . 3-Julia VALACHOVIC (3 Mar 1920-)
. . . . . +Arnold (Arnie) HENRY (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Arnold (Arnie) HENRY (7 Oct 1944-)
. . . . . . . .4-Pamela (Pam) HENRY (12 Feb 1950-)
. . .2-Justína VALACHOVIC (1888-1895)
. . .2-Sebastian VALACHOVIC (1890-1896)
. . .2-Alžbeta VALACHOVICOVA (20 Nov 1892-29 Jul 1973)
. . . +Ferdinand VALACHOVIC (30 May 1891-Jan 1972)
. . . . . 3-Stefan VALACHOVIC (13 Nov 1911-3 Jul 1998)
. . . . . +Rozalia (Roska) KUBOVICOVA (7 Jul 1918-10 Jan 1989)
. . . . . . . .4-Frantisek VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Vilka VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Marka VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . . . . 3-František VALACHOVIC (25 Jan 1915-)
. . . . . +Aneshka TRUBIROHOVA (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Eva VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Maria (Marka) VALACHOVIC (30 May 1945-)
. . . . . . . .4-Ladislav (Lacka) VALACHOVIC (14 Apr 1947-)
. . . . . . . .4-Kornelia (Nellie) VALACHOVICOVA (30 Aug 1952-)
. . . . . . . .4-Pavol (Palka) VALACHOVIC (25 Feb 1955-)
. . . . . 3-Genoveva VALACHOVICOVA (20 Jul 1917-12 Jan 2007)
. . . . . +Augustin (Gusta) HESEK (10 Sep 1911-20 Apr 2000)
. . . . . . . .4-Dr. Ferdinand HESEK (1938-)
. . . . . . . .4-Agnesa HESEK (13 Sep 1940-30 Jul 1955)
. . . . . . . .4-Margita HESEKOVA (1943-)
. . . . . . . .4-Maria HESEKOVA (1947-)
. . . . . . . .4-Jozef HESEK (1951-)
. . . . . . . .4-Augustine HESEK (1956-1956)
. . . . . . . .4-Pavol HESEK (1957-)
. . . . . 3-Anton VALACHOVIC (-)
. . . . . +Olga MATHAROVA (-)
. . . . . . . .4-Yarka VALACHOVICOVA (-)
. . .2-Anthony Francis (Tony) VALACHOVIC (20 Jan 1895-12 Sep 1974)
. . . +Louise Sarah HLADIK (17 Sep 1897-14 Nov 1967)
. . . . . 3-Bernadine Mary (Betty) VALACHOVIC (9 Oct 1917-18 Oct 1998)
. . . . . +Mario (Mark) COMINOLE (16 Nov 1919-)
. . . . . . . .4-John COMINOLE (1946-1946)
. . . . . . . .4-Martha Jeanne (Marty) COMINOLE (25 Jul 1947-)
. . . . . . . .4-Mark Guy (Buzz) COMINOLE (17 Sep 1948-)
. . . . . . . .4-Laurie Louise COMINOLE (7 Sep 1950-)
. . . . . 3-Paul Thomas (Pauly) VALACHOVIC (29 Jul 1921-)
. . . . . +Madelyn Kathryn CROMER (7 Feb 1925-5 Jan 2007)
. . . . . . . .4-Thomas Mark (Tommy) VALACHOVIC (1 Feb 1946-)
. . . . . . . .4-Kathryn Ellen (Kate) VALACHOVIC (11 Nov 1947-)
. . . . . . . .4-Paul Edward VALACHOVIC (28 Sep 1955-)
. . . . . 3-Jeanne Louise (Jeanie) VALACHOVIC (21 Oct 1927-)
. . . . . +William Allison CARPENTER (12 Aug 1922-4 Nov 1977)
. . . . . . . .4-Allison Lynn CARPENTER (28 Jun 1952-)
. . . . . . . .4-Paul Anthony CARPENTER (31 Jul 1953-)
. . . . . . . .4-William Fred (Billy) CARPENTER (31 Oct 1955-25 Jun 1970)
. . . . . . . .4-John Francis CARPENTER (13 Jan 1962-)
. . . . . . . .4-Sara Jeanne CARPENTER (15 Mar 1964-)
. . .2-Florence VALACHOVICOVA (1899-1908)

Family Matters

2007-10-21T09:42:00.000-05:00

I'm back to blogging. The trip home was uneventful, if long. Arrived in Annapolis and my back developed major problems making it difficult for me to sit at the computer. I'm on the mend now and want to talk about a number of things I had to skim over while we were traveling.

Valachovics from both countries, taken during our trip to Kúty (more about Kúty later): Front row, l-r: Jean Girard, Magdalena Hesekova, Larry Valcovic, Beverly Valcovic, Dee Brown; 2nd row, l-r: Rod Girard, Pavol Hesek, Margita Jakubecova, Adriana Jakubecova, Maria Galkaova, Ferdinand Heske, Dick Brown (This was behind the home of Ferdinand's brother Pavol's home. Pavol was not there. Below is the descendant list for Ferdinand's family, starting with his father Augustin and mother Genoveva Valachovicova:

1-Augustin (Gusta) HESEK (10 Sep 1911-20 Apr 2000)
+Genoveva VALACHOVICOVA (20 Jul 1917-12 Jan 2007)
. . . . . 2-Dr. Ferdinand HESEK (1938-)
. . . . . +Helena MACEJKOVA (1939-)
. . . . . . . . . . 3-Katarina (Katka) HESEKOVA (30 Mar 1965-)
. . . . . . . . . . 3-Anna HESEKOVA (4 Aug 1975-)
. . . . . 2-Agnesa HESEK (13 Sep 1940-30 Jul 1955)
. . . . . 2-Margita HESEKOVA (1943-)
. . . . . +Jan JAKUBEC (-)
. . . . . . . . . . 3-Adriana JAKUBECOVA (-)
. . . . . 2-Maria HESEKOVA (1947-)
. . . . . +Milau GALKA (-)
. . . . . 2-Jozef HESEK (1951-)
. . . . . 2-Augustine HESEK (1956-1956)
. . . . . 2-Pavol HESEK (1957-)
. . . . . +Maria [HESEKOVA] (-)
. . . . . . . . . . 3-Pavol HESEK (abt 1981-)
. . . . . . . . . . 3-Magdalena HESEKOVA (abt 1983-)

Yesterday, I went back over the travel entries and added some pictures. Scroll backwards and take a look. There are a few links also.

Today, I'd like to introduce the American Valachovics to the Slovak Valachovics.
The evening we arrived, we were met in the hotel lobby by cousins Ferdinand Hesek and (Fr) Augustin (Gusta) Drška.

Ferdinand Hesek -Ferdinand is retired from his work which involved calculating air pollution from road traffic in an urban built-up area. He spent time in Los Angles working with colleagues on the problem. He has two daughters. He was most generous with his time, acting our guide during all the time we spent in Bratislava, making certain we met family and saw the sights in the city.

Augustin Drška - Gusta is a priest in a Catholic church in Bratislava. We were to see more of his kindness and delightful sense of humor on the Sunday that we were his guests for Mass and dinner.

We had a wonderful dinner that first night, even though Gusta spoke no English and Ferdsh's was rusty. We talked about family, using a genealogy chart Gusta had made and the pictures we had of Uncle Tony's visit to [then] Czechoslovakia when Gusta was ordained. That was in 1963, so everyone looked much different. We were thrilled, as the trip went on, to meet many of the people in the pictures!

Pavol & Maria Hesek - On Friday, we went to Kúty, the Valachovic home in Slovakia. There, Maria Hesekova and her children (not so little children!) Magda and Pavol (both college students) entertained us royally before we went out to visit the street fair and tour Kúty. Unfortunately, Pavol was working out of the country during our visit, so we didn't meet him.

Maria served a wonderful meal of goulash and a strudel to die for! We all thought we had tried outstanding strudels in the US, but Maria's was glorious and we had a new standard by which to measure.

Magda (whose field of study is IT) was kind enough to scan several old family pictures for me, including the photo at the right of Ferdinand Valachovic (1891-1972), husband of Aunt Elizabeth (in Slovak, Alžbeta, 1892-1973). I'm thrilled to death! Aunt Elizabeth's birth name was also Valachovicova. As soon as I get a grip on the naming convention, I'll add it. I still have one question that I have to ask Ferdsh to answer.

Some Thoughts in Prague

2007-10-09T03:03:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we toured the center of Prague. The architecture is lovely, but not as old as I had expected (true of many places) because after the erection of Gothic and Baroque palaces, homes, other buildings, there came a time when the Renaissance style came into fashion, so many of the facades were reconstructed--or when an area was reconstructed, it was done in the Renaissance style. It's lovely, but not quite what I expected.

We took the Metro to the Wenceslas Statue in Wenceslas Square (myth: Wenceslas was never a king--a prince or a duke, but never a "Good King . . "). The Metro was easy--much like the Washington Metro and about the same age--built in the 1960s. Stations are clearly marked.

Another thought: I've found a possible career correcting English translations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Next to our hotel, we have a Chinese restaurant with a sign that says Chinsky Pull Up. We're assuming that means carry-out, but haven't checked it out. Menus offer Chicken Gordon Blue. We meet these translations many times each day. I'd love to move through central Europe with a red pencil. Too much teacher in me? It's great fun to try to figure out what we'll be getting when we order.

Must cut this short. This is probably my last posting from Europe. We leave early tomorrow and my priorities are (in this order) a long shower with my own shower head (who thought this would become so important) and then to bed. After that, I'll look at pics and organize my thoughts to write more.

The Trip to Prague

2007-10-06T10:08:00.001-05:00

Still no pictures. That won't happen until we get home. I guess that business people have no use for a graphics program and don't want to email photos home, so these computers in business centers have no graphics programs or slots for photo disks.

After we left Bratislava, we drove through the countryside in the Czech Republic, stopping at Telč (Telch) (pic above) and Čresky Bodejovice (Chesky Boo-da-veech). Both are lovely old towns. In Telč, the gothic chateau was destroyed and the lord of the manor sent for builders and craftsmen to rebuild it in the Renaissance style. When they finished, he said, "Just go ahead and finish the town in the same style," so all of the buildings have Renaissance facades on them. If you look carefully behind the roof line, you can see building backs that don't match. It looks like a Hollywood set. The fronts are decorated beautifully, many trompe-l'oeil works protraying old stone work. This restoration work was done centuries ago.

While staying in Čresky Bodejovice, we took a day-trip to Čresky Krumlov, a larger town surrounding a lovely castle. Along the same lines, when the castle was rebuilt after the Renaissance, they used the same technique, creating a Renaissance look for a Gothic castle. In the gorgeous chapel, the marble is applied with paint, a technique which cost them more than the original mable. I don't know if we'd have known the difference if we had not been told. They even painted cracks in the marble! On to Prague today.

We left Čresky Bodejovice this morning and drove to Prague. It was a nice drive, but thank heavens for our GPS! Across country is fine, but city driving is tough when you have to puzzle over the road signs. At home, we never give a thought to those international symbols on signs (like the pic of the airplane before the airport or the men and women on restrooms), but we've really appreciated them here! We look for them!

Houses in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic are almost always built using a technique like stucco. I've been interested in the process and taken a good number of pics of buildings in various stages of construction. There must be a good source of clay in the area because the under layer is made of a ceramic-sort of 3-D tile. Then the stucco layer is applied and a color layer on top. Mostly pleasant shades of yellow, but a lot of rose shades also. Wood seems to be used for decorative purposes only.

Anyway, we got to the hotel, and they had reservations for Dick and Dee, but not for the rest of us, so we went to lunch while the hotel got organized. Lunch at an Italian pizza place--much better than the Czech pizza place a few nights ago. Apparently no Czech restuarants open today. Who knows why. (These are really our only two lapses--we've eaten Czech and Slovak most of the time.) Anyway, we went back to the hotel and our little clerk (right) gave us all room keys and apologized for the problem. Larry and I went up to our room and found . . . . . . shoes, pajamas and fruit there. Somebody else's room. We went back to the desk and found no room at the inn. The upshot of the whole thing was that for tonight we're staying at another hotel and will go back to the first for the next three days. She threw in two small bottles of champagne. The substitute hotel is lovely. The clerk saved the day by finding us a room at the inn for the next few days!

Tonight we go to dinner and a folklore festival. We've been looking forward to this!

When I really have time, I'll tell about our night in the old winery with the gypsies.

Many New Relatives and a Visit to Kuty

2007-10-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

This has been a wonderful week in Bratislava! The city is beautiful, the weather has been wonderful—well, there was that day at Hrad (Castle) Devin when it rained until we left—and the company has been outstanding! I will summarize the last few days here and add some pictures, but will have to wait until we get home to go into more detail.

There is a lot of construction and restoration going on in the city. They say that last year the population grew 10 per cent and the construction is trying to keep up with the growth. They have done a wonderful job in the Old Town of keeping the look and feel of antiquity, but if you get a peek behind an old door in an ancient building, you may see a very modern entry way leading into a bank.

Last Thursday, Ferdinand (Ferdish, pronounced Ferdish) and Beata took us to a castle which dated back to the 11th century (maybe earlier—I’m in memory mode). It stood through the centuries with various families and nobles occupying it. At some point in the nineteenth century, it became just an old castle—no modern touches, so the owners left it standing and built a “modern” castle elsewhere. At the time of World War II, the Germans occupied the empty castle, using it to store munitions and whatever. When they left, they exploded the castle. The City of Bratislava has spent the last fifty years restoring it, with most of the restoration done in the last ten years. What a job!

On Friday, we spent the day with Beata’s family who welcomed us like family. We spent a wonderful day eating and drinking and getting to know each other. It turned out that her mother had known Ferdish when he was a child! The connections grow and grow! Ferdish and Beata must have been exhausted keeping up with the language differences. Translations were going in every direction, including, “no, I think what he meant was . . . . So, English to Slovak, Slovak to English, English to English and Slovak to Slovak.

On Saturday, Ferdish took us to Kuty, the home of the Valachovic (VEL a ko vish) grandparents. We had a meal at cousin Paul’s home (Ferdish’s brother) which was wonderful and more than we could have wished. I’ll include more about Kuty in a later entry.

On Sunday, cousin (Father) Augustin Drska, also known as Gusta, invited us to a mass in his Slovak Catholic church. Even for us non-Catholics, the mass was familiar, though spoken in Slovak.

After the Mass, Gusta served dinner. This started, as meals have each time, with Slivovitz, then wine, offers of whiskey, and on and on. The roast goose was wonderful (served in pieces—not like a Thanksgiving turkey). It was accompanied by cabbage and dumplings, and followed by every kind of dessert you can imagine. Dee had mentioned several desserts her grandmother used to make, and Gusta offered some of each. Our standard for strudel has reached a new high after eating in Slovakia! Gust had invited several members of his church who spoke English, so the interpretation duties were shared.

After dinner, cousin Kornelia (Nellie) and her husband Martin came by. Martin speaks excellent English, so the talk got louder and more enthusiastic. More food, more drink, and then we left to visit Ferdish’s daughter Katerina and her family. Again, a warm welcome and wonderful food and drink. Since we were without a car, Nellie and Martin loaded some of us in their car, so the group was growing. Lenka, Ferdish’s granddaughter and daughter of Katerina and Marion just graduated from law school and was happily enjoying her leisure.

Today was a “free” day. We visited Old Town again, had lunch, and this evening we have been invited for dinner at a nearby winery by Nellie’s sister Marta and her family. Ferdish is glad that it is within walking distance of the hotel, so that he may join the toasting and drinking. Here in Slovakia, you do NOT drive after drinking. Restaurants all serve non-alcoholic beer for drivers.

More the next time I get a chance. As you see, I have access to photos now, so I’ve included them here and will add some to the last entry. Whoops! no pictures. The photos from my camera are too large to upload, and there is no graphics program. Maybe later . . .

Arrival in Bratislava!

2007-09-27T02:54:00.000-05:00

We’re here and finally settled in Bratislava! We spent a lovely day and a half in Budapest, did a quick tour of the city and Parliament building and left the city by train yesterday. More about Budapest later.

I’m finding that it may be difficult to write regularly. Computer access will be easy. It’s finding the time that may be the problem. If I don’t get back to it regularly, I’ll add more when we get home. Here at the business center in the [lovely] hotel, they have no slot for my camera card, so no pictures today.

Last night we met cousins Ferdinand and Augustin (Gusta). We were surprised to find our wonderful Beata with them! She had stopped by the hotel to meet us.

After a traditional Slovak greeting, which involved Slivowitz (that’s a phonetic spelling, I guess), Ferdinand and Father Augustin went to dinner with us. It was wonderfully filled with family stories and clarifying relationships. Rod, Larry, Dee, Ferdinand and Gusta are all second cousins.

Gusta invited us to Mass on Sunday, and then dinner at his house. Roast goose is served on very special occasions and this is the season (or festival time) of roast goose, so it’s to be on the menu. When I mentioned Gusta’s cooking, they laughed. Gusta will go to a certain village where they are prepared and get two to take home with him.

Today we drive with Ferdinand to a nearby castle (imagine having a nearby castle). Beata will go with us. We rented a car which comes with a GPS which speaks English.

Tomorrow we take the train to Beata’s village to have dinner with her family and see “life in the Slovak countryside. (Can’t find the close quotes on this keyboard.) Ferdinand has filled the other days with family visits: a trip to Kuty on Saturday to meet a large portion of the Valachovic family, a trip to a cathedral one day with a stop on the way to meet his daughter, and dinner with cousin Franticek’s daughter. As I said, the time in Bratislava is full.

Language has not been a problem. Many people speak English and love to use it with us. Ferdinand has a pretty good understanding, but gropes for words, which we fill in as we go. Beata denies her command of the language, but her written English is very good, and I suspect that her spoken English is also, albeit, slower than she would wish. The day we spend in her village with her family should be a test for her—no one speaks English, so she will be the interpreter.

I was a little concerned about the food—not whether I would like it or not—I knew I’d like it. I was just afraid it might lean heavily toward the carbohydrate side. I need not have worried. Everything is available and wonderful! Breakfast this morning had all of the things you’d find on any fine breakfast buffet in the United States, plus many typically Slovakian meats, breads, and vegetables; also beans in chili sauce and something that looked like sushi. Didn’t get to the sushi—too many other things to try.

The others are out in Old Town while I finish this up. Will have to catch up with them. More when I get a chance.

It's Time!

2007-09-22T08:27:00.000-05:00

This is the last post before we leave for New York. Everything's packed and there are just a few tweaks to be made before we go. Larry is determined to take only one bag. There is no way on earth that I can do that! I wish!

A fifty pound per bag limited seemed iffy at first. Then I got a bag almost packed and found that it weighed 22 pounds. I couldn't even carry a 50 pound bag!

Com back. See if I find internet cafes. Take care!

The Time is Getting Closer!

2007-09-18T14:45:00.001-05:00

In the next day or so, I'll be sending out "invitations" to Larry's family (since it's their ancestry) and to a few of my friends and family who I think may like to check on us occasionally. I hope you'll travel with us, and please feel free to make comments as you read--that's part of what makes it fun for us. All of this is predicated on whether or not I can find internet cafes as we travel. I'm assured that I'll have no trouble.

We leave home on Saturday, September 21, and fly out of JFK for Budapest on Sunday evening. Since we'll only be in Budapest for a day and a half, I may or may not write. Depends on the situation.

We arrive in Bratislava on September 24, and for the next two weeks, I should have plenty of time. The others drink pivo (beer). I don't . . . maybe a little vino . . .

We've been doing all of the last-minute things. I'm not sure what that means for Larry, but I've had my suitcases, open, on the dresser for a couple of weeks. First I looked through my clothes and laid out all the possibles. Checked color and purpose. Did that for a week or so, and then began checking to see what would fit within the luggage weight limit. It's been an on-going process. I discard some things, look for a while, and then reclaim some and discard others. Probably, at the last minute, I'll toss in whatever fits, weigh the bags, and just go with it. I always try to pack minimally and I always end up with things I don't use and didn't need.

I've been watching the weather in Central Europe (see weather in Bratislava to the right of the screen). It's been raining for about a month. Only in the last few days has there been less rain--not more sun, but less rain. Oh, well, we have raincoats and we'll just carry on. There will be so much to see and do, that the weather probably won't matter much.

Again, come with us. Enjoy. Comment. We're glad to have you along!

Larry's a Star Volunteer!

2007-08-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

I'm departing from my usual trip focus to share an achievement of Larry's. He's been volunteering at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and has enjoyed it a great deal. They have also appreciated having him there, as shown by a feature in their annual report. I'm sure they won't mind that I am "lifting" their text.

Larry Valcovic will tell you that there is no typical activity when he volunteers at CBF's headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland. "Sometimes it's getting mailings out, sometimes it's data entry. I've helped set up the CBF booth for boat shows, [spoken with] Maryland legislators, even spent a day at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center collecting baby crabs for tagging." After 20 years evaluating toxicity data for the Environmental Protection Agency, and almost 30 living within walking distance of the water, Larry had to get involved. He explains that living in Annapolis, and seeing so much shoreline construction, combined with declining fish, crab, and oyster populations, sent him to CBF's door. While he jokes that volunteering "gets [him] out of the house," it's clear that Larry, like most office volunteers, enjoys the camaraderie of the office, and the shared commitment to giving something back.

A New Wonderful Toy!

2007-08-18T10:18:00.000-05:00

Larry found the most wonderful thing for our trip! He was browsing through the TravelSmith site and found a translator. Since none of us speak Slovak, Hungarian, or Czech, we can use all the help we can get.

With the talking translator, you just type in an English word or phrase, then you listen and see the translation in 20 languages, including Russian,Japanese, and Korean--Slovak, Czech and Hungarian. You can also use it in reverse, so I'd guess it's possible to have conversations--albeit slow conversations--using it as a go-between.

We've been playing with it and, not only is it fun, I think it will be helpful. More on this later.

Updated Pics!

2007-07-17T10:08:00.000-05:00

At last--all of the pictures!

One More Step Forward

2007-07-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

One more thing accomplished. I finally filled out the application, got the 2 pictures required and headed to the AAA office to get an International Drivers' Permit (don't know if I'll be driving in Europe, but I want to be prepared!). While we were at the AAA office, we wanted to look at travel/tote bags, so Larry and I ambled around the office while I waited for my name to be called. In my hot little hand, I had the application form and the 2 pictures.

I looked at a good number of bags--ever on my lifetime quest for the perfect bag or purse. At some point, I realized that I no longer had the photos! Went back through all the bags, walked around the office, questioned people nearby . . . finally realized that I'd have to go home, get other pics and return next week. Just at that point, Larry found the pics in the pocket of a bag I'd been looking at! Larry has always been our family finder, probably because he thinks so logically. I, personally, think that he says to himself, "Now where would I be if I were two little photos/" and then hears a little voice whispering, "in the pocket of that brown purse . . . " Mission accomplished, thanks to Larry.

I came home and googled for the bag type I was looking at in the AAA office. Found one on eBay and bought it! This one isn't necessarily exactly what I was looking for, but I do like it and I would carry it on a daily basis, so-- The price was right and it has lots of wonderful pockets. Like blogging, I'm going to try it out!

Travel Group

2007-05-13T17:10:00.000-05:00

It's time to meet our travel group. To the left is Larry, then Jean (well, almost), her husband Rodney, then Dick and his wife Dee. My picture is to the right. Larry, Rod and Dee are cousins. Dee has done the major part of the planning and we're impressed with what she's done, as well as very thankful! Rod has been doing research on transportation in Europe and I have been trying to contact family members in Slovakia. As I've said below, my new friend Beata has been very helpful in finding people! As Dee works on the plans, the rest of us serve as cheerleaders and offer a suggestion now and then.

Larry is a geneticist who retired from the federal government about two years ago. He worked for the Environmental Protection Agency. Jean is also retired (most of us are). Rod is a retired engineer. Dick owns a Ford agency in Johnstown and Dee is a retired nurse educator. I am retired from teaching and working for the State of Maryland. We retirees smile a lot. It's a great life!

Plans Progress

2007-05-09T08:51:00.000-05:00

My passport finally came! Larry's arrived through the mail about 2 weeks before mine, and I was beginning to wonder if they'd let me leave the country. Now that it's arrived, I really feel as though I'm on my way.

The time frame has changed a little. We will leave New York on Sept. 23 and come home on October 10. We're flying in to Budapest. It looks as if the plan is 2 nights in Budapest, 5 nights in Bratislava, 1 night in Brno, 1 night in Telc, 3 nights in Cesky Krumlov, and 4 nights in Prague. Lots of castles! I'm looking forward to some shopping also. We've paid for airline tickets, so things are now carved in stone.

Sunday we went to a presentation from the Czech Republic . We had seen a program on television in which they told about a marionette theater, so when I saw that there would be a local presentation, we certainly wanted to go. I thought I had understood from the TV program that the marionette plays were adult theater, but the people here scheduled it at 3:30 in the afternoon, so there were MANY children in the audience. The play was The 3 Musketeers, and was really too old for the very young audience, so maybe I was right. At any rate, we really enjoyed it! I had wondered about language and what they would do to overcome the fact that no one in the audience would speak Czech, but it was in Czech, with a little French (probably because the book is French) and some English subtitles projected on the top of the puppet theater. It was delightful and the language was not a problem at all, because the action portrayed the story. I hope we'll get a chance to see another while we're in Europe!

I'm thinking about what to wear. I want to take as little luggage as possible. I've read that the weather in Bratislava is the warmest in Slovakia, but I don't really know what that means for the end of September and beginning of October. I've asked Beata what she advises and am waiting for a reply. Am thinking of several pieces of that travel knit. I figure I can coordinate 4 pieces into many outfits. Then there's the jeans question.

Another Family Member Found!

2007-03-23T12:57:00.000-05:00

Beata has done it again! She has found another second cousin of Larry's! This time she was able to track down Dr. Ferdinand Hesek at the University of Bratislava. I don't know what his field is, but have asked him. Won't it be interesting if it's a genetics-related field?

In 1963, when Larry's great-uncle Tony made a trip to [then] Czechoslovakia for the ordination of his great nephew Augustine Drska, he did a wonderful job of taking pictures of all of the family groups. Unfortunately, they were only partially identified. We know this is Ferdinand's family and that he is probably the person on the far left. Uncle Tony is the gray-hair gentleman in the middle. I've sent the pic to Ferdinand for help in identification. There are others in the set which I intend to take with me when we go. I'll also really concentrate on taking pics of family members.

Note: I did a wonderful job of that when we went to the Valachovic Family Reunion last summer at Tom & Pat's home in Johnstown. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the pictures since. I have no idea what I did with them. You'd think it would be hard to lose them since they were on a disk and I did bring the disk home. No, I did not erase them--at least I don't think I did.

Now we are in touch with two cousin and are planning to meet both while in Slovakia--as well as Beata, the wonderful detective.

A Touch from Slovakia

2007-02-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

When I started working on genealogy, I really couldn't find much information on the web about our families. I decided I'd leave tracks across the internet, so that other family members wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel.

Over the last few years, I've been contacted by a good number of distant relatives and it's been wonderful! Many have shared information. Some relationships have resulted.

Toward the end of January, I got a totally unexpected message from Slovakia! It was from Beata, who didn't think she was related to the Valachovics (original spelling), but was wondering if we knew of some of her mother's friends who had immigrated to the US.

Their names were familiar to Larry, from his childhood in upstate New York, but he didn't know anything about them. I forwarded the message to his cousins [brother and sister] Rodney and Dee. I soon heard from Rod, who said that he (and his wife Jean) and Dee (and her husband Dick) were thinking of taking a trip to Slovakia in September--and would we be interested in going, too. Yes, yes, yes! More about that later. Back to Beata.

Beata is a teacher in Bratislava, although she lives outside the city. We exchanged several messages and at some point, I told her about Larry's great uncle Tony who had made a trip to Czechoslovakia in 1963 for the ordination of another great nephew. I told her the name, as I remembered it. Wouldn't you know! I had the correct name and Beata was able to locate him easily! She even went to visit him in his office in Bratislava! Now we're looking forward to meeting Beata and her family, as well as members of Larry's family when we get there! I love the internet!!!

Some Questions

2007-02-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

We're finally firming up on our plans to go to central Europe next fall!

Right now it looks as if we will be landing in Budapest about September 11, going on to Bratislava, and coming home from Prague (with a side trip to Vienna) about seventeen days later. I've always wanted to visit that area and Larry's genealogy works in, so it's win-win.

We've got our passport apps in the works and I've been thinking about whether I'd like to blog over the trip. I have two main questions:

Will I enjoy blogging or will it quickly become a burden?
Do I want to schlep my laptop, along with bags and whatever?

I've done the schlepping in the past, so I'll be able to figure that out by the time we leave, but I haven't done the blogging. To help figure that out, I thought I'd start now and learn to use the program before I leave, rather than on the plane. I can also see how I feel about this "journaling" kind of thing. Most content will have to do with our trip. I'll tell you who we're going with and about the wonderful connection I [serendipitously] made in Slovakia.

I think I missed the place where they tell you how to add a caption under a picture, so I'll tell you that the above pic is Old Town Bratislava. Blogging is much different that starting out writing the HTML coding myself--I don't feel as if I have as much control.

I'm going to close for now because I'm getting very anxious to see this on the web.