On Good Friday morning Michael was up early, looking forward to a good breakfast buffet. We went downstairs and were greeted rather coldly and unsmilingly by a sister-bitch.
She was bad. We dined as quickly as we could, with only two other guests- and left. Forgetting our key at the table, Michael went back for it: She coldly handed it out for him to grab.
Good Friday Exploring Trenčín
We spent Good Friday Exploring Trenčín, wandering around looking for the Trencin Castle entrance. Following a wooded trail, we enjoyed a peaceful walk up the castle hill. The landscape was quite green, inhabiting lots of birds, including a woodpecker. Winding around Trencin Castle the back way, we stopped at a nice hillside chapel, overlooking Trenčín.
Today, it’s traditional to clean all the churches in preparation for Easter Sunday mass. Along with a cute old man, we watched them sweep, mop, dust, and polish the chapel. As Michael pointed out, the Jesus (statue) is covered by a purple cloth in all churches, between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. After wishing the old man a “Merry Christmas” (veselé Vianoce), we headed back up the hill, in search of the castle entrance.
We met a boy and a man who were in the hotel at breakfast – they too, were winding around the castle, and looking for the entrance. One castle entrance we found during opening hours, but we couldn’t take the tour, as we had to get back and check out of the bitchy hotel. (The book said it was a waste of an hour, anyway.)
Well, they let us pay. It was funny too, as the hotel is run by a joint Slovak-Canadian management firm, and thus the good accommodating service (by my book!) In the hall, were mounted “employee of the month” photos, and except for about three of them, you have never seen such sour looking faces. I mean we were laughing at how dour and mean they looked. No-one smiling at all. Hmmm… something I was to notice more attention to later on.
You’re Always Smiling
Already at Berlitz, Zuska tells me, “Thank you for your smile.” Before leaving on my Easter trip, she told me that I’m the best. “You are just perfect, you never have any problems. Not like the guys…”
That seems to be an ongoing thing with me, for Jacquie (my manager at Nordstrom) and now Zuska tells me that I am Number One. I like that! Zuska always smiles too – and people wonder what we are up to. Bibiana even said, “You are always smiling, you must be a very happy person. You are lucky.”
Well…it may be. So where was I? Ah yes, we walked back to the Bahnhof (train station) and got tickets to Bratislava. And this time I didn’t have to tell her (the ticket lady) to calm down.
This is an excerpt from my Kosice Journal, documenting my exodus from a (relatively happy) bustling life in beautiful San Diego, to (voluntarily) take a post teaching English in the newly independent eastern capital of Slovakia during a very cold winter 1999.
