Monday with Eva and Táňa

Eva and Táňa are my two former adult students, now dear friends, with whom I skype regularly from back in Iowa.  They planned three days of fun activities for us during our visit!  

Liptovský Mikuláš area, Slovakia - June 12

We saw this snail on the pathway up to our apartment in Bobrovec.  These huge snails have always fascinated us!  

Monday's activities started at Liptovská Mara on a beautiful sunny morning!  

We went out on a pontoon boat together with Táňa's kids and their friends.

More of the gang enjoying the boat ride.

Enjoying the sunshine on the lake.

The water was absolutely glassy, with the mountains and clouds reflected on the surface.

The skipper of the boat let Tim take the wheel for a while!

At the far end of the lake is this bell tower, which is below the Havránok archaeologic site (ancient Celts).

We even had a clear view of Slovakia's most famous mountain, Kriváň, from the boat.

After taking this picture, I joined Táňa and Eva at the front of the boat where we dipped our feet in the warm lake water.  

A video clip of our boat ride!

Fish hatchery in the mara

A fisherman

We headed to the south side of the mara for lunch at a lakeside restaurant.

I can't even tell you how excited we were to taste this delicious Bryndzové Halušky, which we can only get in Slovakia!!  And the very best is in the Liptov region, of course!!  YUM!!!

The restaurant has been around a long time and has a reputation for having awesome Bryndzové Halušky.

It was fun just hopping back on the boat to continue our ride after our delicious lunch.

Another view of Kriváň across the water

Such a beautiful day to be on the boat!

Heading back after our ride and lunch --- Tim with a couple of "movie stars" on board the boat!   ;-)

Prosiek, Slovakia - June 12

In the afternoon, the girls brought Tim and me to the Mráz cottage in Prosiek, Chata Monika.  Here we are enjoying snacks in their altanok, a sort of back yard shelter with three open walls and a roof, so that it's in the shade and has plenty of nice breeze to keep cool.

And here we are heading out for a walk/hike up into the hills behind Prosiek.  (You can see the altanok at the far left, behind the cottage.)

Typical haystacks in a field at the edge of the village.

Such pretty views on our hike --- wildflowers, mountains.....

And a peek at the mara in the distance too.

Wildflowers in the long grasses

As we headed from the meadows to the forested areas, the wildflowers were different.

And more different types of wildflowers when we finally got up above the treeline.

A video from our destination

Enjoying the view from atop Scala Čerenová.

There are usually wooden Slovak crosses at the top of the peaks that are hike destinations.

Tim with his trusty trail marking!  We are so grateful for the excellent colored markings on trails in Slovakia, though on this hike it wasn't needed because Eva knows this route like the back of her hand!

The view of where we'd been, on the way down from the skala (or rock).

Eva walking through the tall grasses on the way down.

In the top center of the background, behind the trees, you can see the rock where we were.  And Tim and the girls are showing us more wild roses --- the Iowa State Flower!!

Monday evening was a blast too --- Eva, Tim and I played volleyball with our our regular Monday night adult group at school.  Some new players, but many we knew from school, such as Erik and Janka, and Peter too.  It was such fun!!  :-)