Visiting family in friendly -- and chilly -- Slovakia

Debbie Dignan

It was back in September of last year that my husband Jack and I

received an e-mail from our son James, in Biloxi, asking us if we

would like to join him, his wife and baby for the holidays in

Slovakia. Major James Dignan, U.S. Air Force, is a “Hurricane Hunter”

who pilots WC-130 airplanes into major storms.

His wife Simona is originally from Slovakia and has many relatives

there, including her parents and siblings. She assured us that we

would be most welcome at the family home in Poprad and she and James

would provide the airline tickets. They were also giving our daughter

Molly the same trip as a graduation gift because she was completing

her studies at Chapman University. This seemed like the proverbial

“offer you can’t refuse,” so we didn’t!

The first thing we did was to go online to see what we could learn

about this country, since we weren’t even clear as to its location in

Europe. We learned that it has existed as the Slovak Republic, having

separated from the former Czechoslovakia in 1993, and is bordered by

Austria, Hungary and Poland and what is now called the Czech

Republic.

We flew to Vienna, via Amsterdam, and were met by James and

Simona’s father, Fero, who had made the five-hour drive from Poprad

to meet us. We then located the Bahnhof, where we waited for Molly to

arrive on a train from Frankfurt. (James was unable to get her on the

same flight.) A friend of James’, in Germany, had made a two-hour

trip to Frankfurt just to meet Molly’s plane and see that she got on

the correct train to Vienna. That was just the first example of

people there going to great lengths to make this a wonderful

experience for us.

After the long drive on icy roads back to Poprad, we were welcomed

by Simona and the baby, her mom Anna and her 13-year-old brother Fero

Jr. We were given an entire floor in their large home that they built

themselves. Anna is an orthodontist in Poprad, a town of 44,000,

nestled at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains. She has three other

dentists working for her, but because of the socialized health

insurance, incomes are far below what an orthodontist in the U.S. can

command.

We soon learned that food preparation during the holidays was a

high priority. A typical breakfast includes yogurt, bread, fresh

fruit, a selection of cheeses and sliced meat and tea. The main meal

occurs at midday and always features homemade soup, various sausages,

bread, possibly a venison stew, dumplings, potatoes, sauerkraut and

home-preserved fruit, which is grown in summer on their property.

The grand finale was a huge variety of “Kolachy,” pastries and

sweet, continually replenished throughout the day. Wherever we

visited relatives and friends, we were treated to meals with many

different dishes and were shown such cordiality in their homes. On

New Year’s Eve, the family was given a private dining room in the

Atrium Restaurant and Penzion in Poprad, which is owned by Anna’s

cousin, with a huge feast prepared by family and friends. The

fireworks that Fero Jr. set off rivaled those we see in professional

displays at home. A friend of his who belongs to a traveling dance

troupe entertained guests with a break dance routine.

The church we attended in Poprad was built in the 13th century and contains many wood carvings that date back several centuries. It is

believed that heating the church will cause damage to these wooden

statues. Therefore, those of us in attendance felt as if we ourselves

might have become statues of ice by the end of the mass, especially

when we were told it got down to 15 degrees below zero. (We later

found ourselves questioning this theory when we visited churches of

similar vintage in other towns where heat was turned on.)

Our hosts took us to visit a number of interesting towns. Levoca

was a medieval royal “free town” that was an important trading center

on the route between Hungary and Poland. St. Jakub’s church there

houses the largest wood-carved altar in the world. Somehow, this

altar was transported and displayed at the 1967 World’s Fair in

Montreal.

We also went to the site of the famous Spis Castle, one of the

largest in Europe. The village of Pribylina is comprised of early

settlers’ homes that had been relocated from all over the country.

Dressed in early Slovakian clothing, craftspeople demonstrate skills

of long ago. Another day was spent sledding in the High Tatra

Mountains -- cold but exhilarating!

We would enjoy going to Slovakia again, in the spring or summer,

when we could visit places that weren’t accessible because of the

weather. Accustomed to living in Southern California, we found

ourselves “climately challenged” on this trip!

* DEBBIE DIGNAN is a Costa Mesa resident.