Thanks to a late Easter and the overlap of Liberation Day on April 25th our kids got a full week off of school this year for Easter break. The last time that happened was five years ago when we took a trip to Greece. We explored some different options of flying somewhere again but the prices weren't great for the places we wanted to go. Therefore, we expanded our options by looking at driveable destinations. We are blessed to have so many friends spread across the continent so it was an easy choice to decide to visit our mission colleagues and friends in Slovakia. It's only an 11-hour trip after all! Our Italian friends always look at us like we are crazy with our road trip adventures. We live a little over an hour from two bordering countries and some in our area have never stepped foot out of Italy.
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| So much beauty to soak in on the drive |
Pasquetta (little Easter) morning we loaded up and headed east making our way through Italy, Austria and finally Slovakia. We had a lot of holiday traffic around the northern lakes in Italy and then Luca got car sick which required cleanup so we didn't roll into a little village outside of Bratislava until around 9pm on Monday night. The long trip was so worth it as we were overjoyed to see our dear friends and immediately felt at home.
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Our amazing friends and hosts - The Rice family
... and no that is not their house ;) |
The weather was not very cooperative as it was cold and rainy most of the week. But this trip was more about our friends than sightseeing, so honestly spending our first day inside relaxing was a complete blessing. The kids went to the park before the rain came and then they played games and hung out all day, capped off with taco Tuesday dinner and more games. Coming off of a very busy period of ministry and then the long drive, Jonathan was really feeling the effects come Tuesday and had very little energy (later to discover that his new bottle of probiotics contained milk which he can't tolerate).
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| Spring in full bloom (pc: Samuel) |
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| Fun at the park (pc: Samuel) |
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| Park (pc: Samuel) |
Wednesday we had hoped to tour a bit of Bratislava and a castle on our own, but that didn't happen as again Jonathan was still experiencing bad symptoms. Our kids got some homework done while their friends did some online schooling that day and then we all headed out for dinner in downtown Bratislava.
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| Bratislava Flag Ship Restaurant |
We went to an amazing traditional Slovak restaurant and enjoyed some different foods, all covered in cream sauces. The food definitely had German influences and was heavier than our Italian traditional dishes.
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| "dumplings" topped with sour cream and bacon...yes, please |
We then walked through Bratislava Old Town and along the Danube River waterfront before heading back home.
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| Locks of love |
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| A Mexican watching over the pedestrians below ?? (pc: Samuel) |
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| Old town square |
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"Man at Work" sculpture
A watcher coming out of a manhole |
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| River cruise boats on the Danube |
The final full day of our Eastern European vacation was spent across the border in Austria touring the city of Vienna.
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| The fields of canola were so stunning all along our drive (pc: Samuel) |
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| Okay, I can go home now |
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| lilac love |
We started out our city visit with the Mozart museum that is located in the house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived from 1784-1787. No pictures were allowed, but it was a wonderful experience full of imagination and awe as we learned and reflected on the life of the great composer.
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| Mozarthaus |
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| Mozarthaus |
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| Every musician's dream visit |
We then ate our sack lunches under the shadow of the great St. Stephen's Cathedral. A visit inside was nearly impossible with crowds packed in like sardines. We have been in so many European churches over the years that it felt very much like many others. The uniqueness they do hold is the historical figures that have filled their great walls with preaching or music in centuries past. To me, that is always the most fascinating aspect of visiting cathedrals.
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| Stephansplatz |
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| Beautiful architecture |
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St. Stephen's Cathedral
Behind the scaffolding, you can see the difference between the dirty and clean exterior |
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| The backside of the cathedral |
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| The tiled roof is gorgeous |
