Just another perfect day...

Woke up to blue sky and sunshine on Sunday, and didn't see a cloud in the sky the entire day! For that matter, it's exactly the same as I type this at 8:30am Monday morning.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of rest, but we ended up going for a short walk just before lunch. There was another little viewpoint we hadn't been to.

Terchova.

Looking back through the valley.

So we just sat outside for the afternoon and enjoyed the sunshine and a couple of cold drinks. We've been here for four nights now, and although we've done a lot of hiking, there's so much more we could do. I found a GREAT hiking website for trails in Slovakia at http://mapy.hiking.sk/ and so here's a map of where we are...

All of the yellow, green, red, and blue lines are marked hiking trails. The ones we've been on I've brushed over with pink. So while we've done a few hikes, we have by no means seen all there is to see.

But, it's time to move on. Today will be a travel day, however we're only going about 30 kms (18 miles) to the town of Dolny Kubin. There are not many couchsurfers available in this area, but one girl replied that she would like to show us around even though she can't host right now. So Jana said she would meet us when we get off the bus this afternoon, and help us to find a place to stay. 

How about a short history lesson? Of course everybody has heard of Czechoslovakia, but that country hasn't existed since January 1993 when it was officially split into Czech Republic and Slovakia. These countries have had a rocky past, occupied by Germans during World War II, and then the communist years between 1948 and the peaceful revolution of 1989. They also peacefully resolved to be split into two countries in 1992, and that was made official on January 1, 1993.

The Terchova church was built in 1945.

The town of Terchova had mostly wooden houses, but more than half the town was burned to the ground by the Nazi's near the end of the war in 1945. I can't find any reference to it, but I'm assuming the original church was also made of wood and disappeared during the fire. This church has an amazing mechanical nativity scene in it's lobby. You can check out our 15 second video here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIZAa3kN3X0

And on another note...

This was taken exactly 26 years ago today. Happy Birthday to our daughter Lindsey!!