Day Thirteen - Highs. Lows and Experimentation

Our last official day in the village came with lots of emotion.  We spent the morning shopping in the square of Bardejov where there are many quaint boutique style shops.  Many bargains were to be had and suffice it to say our suitcases are more full than when we came.

Off we were to the village of Stebnik where my grandmothers and Denise & Deb's grandparents hailed from.  What is there not to like about the beauty of this area!

We visited the beautiful church of St Paraskeva where are relatives were baptised.

We were then able to tour one of the oldest houses in Stebnik, one owned by my second cousin who passed away a year ago.  I had dreams of buying this house one day but it definitely fits the definition of "fixer upper" and my delusional dreams are gone!  It looks quaint from the outside but the inside is another story.  Can you say "money pit?"

From here we stopped at my cousin Stefan's house.  He was in Prague babysitting his grandchildren but his wife, Olga provided us a lunch of potato pancakes and homegrown grapes.

She also gave me a boatload of dried mushrooms!!!

A stop at another house found second cousins of Denise & Deb.

Then we were off to see the museum/guest house that my cousin Jozef's son-in-law, Dusan created.

Paul and I on the property where our grandmother grew up.

Probably the best find of the trip was Deb and Denise finding their great-aunt, Anna Reshetar.

After five trips I finally found the old cemetery in Stebnik.  More scouring to do here on my next trip.

Our last evening the ladies of the church in Becherov held a dinner in our honor.  They are most appreciative of the funds we bring to support their tiny little parish.  In the past the monies have gone to replace all the windows in their church and last year it paid for new gold on the cupolas and new paint for their 90th anniversary.

Here is a final picture of our group in the village.  Fun to find out that I am related in some part to most of these people.

The experimentation part was using my iPhone to take photos instead of my camera thus hoping to reduce my load on the next trip.  I think the photos turned out just fine however the internet connection here leaves a lot to be desired.  It was taking far too long last evening to upload the photos and I decided to just call it a night and finish it this morning.  Next trip I will just upgrade my cellular data plan!

We are off to Vienna for our final night in Europe and then fly home in the morning.

Until then...