Our Weekend in Košice

Last weekend we had Friday off because of a national holiday so we took the train to Košice. Košice is the second biggest city in Slovakia and is in eastern of Slovakia. It is a very nice city and we plan to go back at some point. While in Košice we visited our friends Andrea and Drahuš that we met the first week we were in Slovakia. We had a wonderful time with them.

The first day of our trip on Friday we took a hike. The place we hiked was a little reminiscent of Helms Deep from "Lord of the Rings".

Here we are at the highest point of our hike. We hiked through the canyon you see to get to where we are in the picture.

Another picture of the canyon. You can sort of see the town below and the farm fields as well.

After getting to the top point of our hike we walked along the edge of the canyon. In the above picture we are looking down into the canyon.

A Picture of us holding on to make sure neither of us falls into the canyon.

The last picture before we descended a path back down into the canyon. In the above picture you are looking to the south. Just beyond the mountain peaks is the country of Hungary.

Sunday afternoon in Bobrovec

It has been a little while since we have posted and we have many pictures to add. This first picture is from a bike ride we took about 2 weeks ago now with a teacher from the school and her family. They are a very nice family and we had a good time. They live in a village just outside of Liptovsky Mikulaš. We are going to spend Sunday afternoon with them this weekend as well.

 

Bike Ride to Liptovsky Hradok

Today we took a bike ride to Liptovsky Hradok. Liptovsky Hradok is about 6km East of Liptovsky Mikulas. Today was a perfect day for a bike ride and we really enjoyed it.

The view of the road back to Liptovsky Mikulas as we left.

A picture of the Low Tatras which were just to the south of us as we biked along.

Another picture of the Low Tatras.

Us on a bridge over a river that runs through the valley that Liptovsky Hradok is in. This river empties into a large lake just to the west of Liptovsky Mikulas.

A picture of the river without us in front of it. Beyond the river and in the mountains is one of the many ski hills in this area.

The View From Our Apartment

This picture is the view from our bedroom window. From our window we look towards Liptovsky Mikulaš. The mountains beyond Liptovsky Mikulaš can be seen in this picture. You can also see a couple of the other block buildings in our complex.

This is the view from our balcony that is connected to our kitchen. This picture is looking Southwest from our apartment.

This is a close-up picture of the Western Tatras as seen from our balcony. In the center beyond the two peaks on the left and right is snow. We took this picture Thursday of last week. The snow melted after a few days.

More Pictures of Our Apartment

This is a picture of our living room. The coffee table has served as a good place to set up our computer since there is not really a desk anywhere. There is also a TV in our living room that we have yet to turn on.

This is our bedroom. This room was decorated the best when we got here. Most of the furniture is from Ikea. Who knows where the rest of the furniture in the house is from. We can't really complain though. Our apartment is free and although a lot of things are old most things are in pretty good condition.

This is a picture of our kitchen nook and the door to our balcony. This spot is perfect for the two of us to eat our meals. I don't know what we'll do if we have guests.

Here is the rest of our kitchen. It is a good size for us since we are not cooking large meals. Everything works very well. We have yet to have used the gas oven, but we do know how to use it now.

Our bathroom/wash room. We had never seen this sort of sink/tub combination, however it seems to work quite well. The washing machine works well too. Our toilet (not pictured here) has been leaking, but somebody is supposed to come and fix it tomorrow.

Our Apartment!

These are pictures of our apartment. The first night we got here it seemed a lot worse, but over the last week we have come to enjoy it quite a bit. It's the first place we have lived in that is bigger than one room.

This is a picture of the elevator and stairwell in our apartment. The elevator looks like something out of the Adam's Family.

Please come in! The door to our apartment.

This is our entry way. The two doors on the right are to the toilet and the bathroom/washing machine.

Our hike into the Western Tatras

These are pictures from our hike into the Western Tatras. We can see the Western Tatras from the balcony of our apartment.

The Picture above is Bryn with two teachers from the school that took us on the hike.

Us on the trail keeping an eye out for bears.

Melinda with the two other American teachers that are in Liptovsky Mikulas, Liesebet and Adam.

One of several poisonous mushrooms we saw on our hike. Many people pick non-poisonous mushrooms in the mountains.

The view from close to the top.

We have been in Liptovsky Mikulas for almost 2 weeks and have not
had much time to post. We have been enjoying our time in LM very much. LM is a nice size to walk around and to enjoy the mountains that surround the town. The two pictures below are pictures of the town center.

  

These are some pictures from our last night in Bratislava.  The top picture is on the bridge over the Danube which was built by Communists in the 70's.  In the background you can see the "pekny hrad" (beautiful castle)
or Bratislavsky hrad (Bratislava Castle).The picture below is the castle, 
but without us in front of it.  Bratislava is a beautiful city, and we are looking 
forward to exploring it more.  
We arrived in Liptovsky Mikulas on Saturday evening, and have been enjoying our time here so far.  Monday and Tuesday are days off this week, so there have been people from the school who have been taking us around town.  Yesterday we went on a (long) hike up into the mountains.  We will post pictures later on from that.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) is our first day at the school, so we are looking forward to seeing it and finding out what classes we will be teaching.  
Also, our apartment is good, although obviously a Communist block building.  The name of the area is Podbrezny, which means "under the white birch trees" but a more appropriate name would be under the cement buildings.  It basically looks like several high-rise college dorms in a city block.  The area also has a couple of restaurants and two grocery stores (potraviny). More pictures to come.
 

In Bratislava!

We have our currently staying at a retreat center just outside of Bratislava. Last night we went into Bratislava and had a small walking tour of the
city. It is a very beautiful city and it is quite intersting to learn about how the city has changed over the years as a result of communism and then the collapse of communism. Unfortunately we do not really have time right now to explain a whole lot about the city. However, here are some pictures that you can look at and get an idea of what the city looks like.
The above picture is a picture of the royal palace in Bratislava. The picture below is a picture of the guards that are "protecting" the palace.

The following picture is a picture of the main square of Bratislava at night. The picture is a little dark, but, if you would like to make the image larger simply click on it. This city square is the location of the "Christmas Market" in Bratislava.