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| Us! Well, maybe not. |
Have we lost interest in the blog? By no means! The problem is time and energy. We have been very busy since January (our last entry), particularly on weekends, when these posts typically happen. Much of the busyness derives from school work that teachers have (as opposed to homework, that students have) so we don’t want to talk about it. Oh, yes, the 5th year students did have their traditional costume day; pictured is Paula in her Latin American teacher garb. The students--namely the student council--sponsored the 4th annual school formal dance, or Ples as it's known in Central Europe. Like Mardi Gras, Ples has to be held before Lent.
Bratislava reopened the
Reduta, the home of
the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, at the end of January. The hall had been closed for renovation for two years. The revitalized hall is very fancy and very useful with two concert halls and a number of recital rooms. The staff puts on a purple light show at the end of the orchestra's concert. That information is added so you will know that the purple hue on a couple of these pictures is not from the camera.
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| Some of the attendees |
The International Church in Bratislava got a new pastor, Miriam Schmidt, in mid-February. The previous pastor, Arden Haug, remained as coordinator for Europe for ELCA Global Mission, so we had the unusual experience of having the outgoing pastor install the incoming pastor. That process required extra work for Paula, since she served on the committee of three to provide the “hail and farewell” luncheon for the two pastors. Connection with the school helped, since the congregation could hold the event in the cafeteria of the gymnasium, the Evangelical Lyceum’s elementary school, a block away from the church.
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| SNP Square, Banska Bystrica |
We had committed to spending time in Slovakia during our semester break at the end of February instead of gallivanting all over Europe, so the day after Ples we left for Banska
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| Another side of SNP Square |
Bystrica and Kosice in the central and eastern part of the country. “Banska” means “mine” (a hole in the ground, not a possessive) in Slovak, so you know where Banska Bystrica’s money
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| The SNP museum |
came from, at least until gold and silver deposits petered out. (See our June post from last year). BB was also at the center of the Slovak national uprising (SNP is the acronym derived from the words in Slovak) against the Nazis in 1944, so houses the modern looking SNP museum.
As a side trip we went to Kremnica, site of the Austro-Hungarian, and then the Czechoslovak, and now the Slovak mint. Euros are not made there now, but many commemoratives are. The mint also
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| Kremnica's main square |
supplied coinage to many countries that chose not to do their own coin manufacturing until the beginning years
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| From the Castle Church tower |
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| Another view |
of this millennium. An example is Algeria; we, certainly, did not know until this trip that in the 1970s Paula might well have been using dinars made in Slovakia! As you can see, we were cold during our trip. That's not surprising, since we were on the edge of the mountains at the end of February.
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| Main square, looking back |
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| Castle exit (or entrance) |
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| St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, Kosice |
Kosice is the country’s second-largest city, and there is a Lutheran school there as well. We had dinner with an ELCA
colleague. As noted, Kosice stands as the edge of the Tatra mountains, so it is industrial; U.S. Steel is one of the big employers in the area
and one of the sponsors of the technological museum there. Though minerals taken from
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| Entrance to the church tower |
the earth meant wealth for both cities, different mining in separated eras led to unique development.
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| View from the church tower |
We just finished Easter break, during which we broke our commitment to see Slovakia first! Some friends had gone to Lisbon and raved about it, and February’s cold weather got to us, so we ended up in Portugal. But more about that next time! And the time after that, God willing, we'll explain wooden churches
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| Relocated to Kosice |
and say more about Eastern Slovakia.
Along the way, a park
dedicated to Eduardo Coelho (who founded Lisbon’s biggest newspaper) offered us
wonderful views across the valley in between the hills (the part that took the
heaviest damage in 1755) to the castle and cathedral. From the tram stop, we took number 28 up into
the historic area, The castle, Sao Jorge, overlooks the city from the other
side of the valley than Coelho park, but in a much more spectacular way. 
First
built by the Moors and captured by crusaders in 1147, Sao Jorge served the kings
of Portugal until the earthquake and flood, and then in other roles until the
early part of the nineteenth century. 
Venturing outside the city toward the Atlantic coast makes things
change dramatically-- first, to
Sintra, a bit inland with another Moorish-built castle that provided a
view of the coast and warning if enemies approached. 
not 
much more. We, however, went further. The truth is, not much opens on Easter Monday, except
for the huge Oceanarium (aquarium), the second largest in the world. The Oceanarium stands as the centerpiece of
Expo ’98 architecture, which dramatically altered the landscape of north
Lisbon. If you work it right, a cable
car takes you there! The Oceanarium features all of the world's ocean ecosystems on several different floors. 
not 
much more. We, however, went further. The truth is, not much opens on Easter Monday, except
for the huge Oceanarium (aquarium), the second largest in the world. The Oceanarium stands as the centerpiece of
Expo ’98 architecture, which dramatically altered the landscape of north
Lisbon. If you work it right, a cable
car takes you there! The Oceanarium features all of the world's ocean ecosystems on several different floors. 
