A Day Full of Adventures!

One of the booths at Kvety Podhradia.

Jennifer during her horse ride.

Well yesterday was a very busy day. Although we didn't have a class to teach, the Bible School in Martin kept us very busy with activities. In the morning, after devotions and breakfast, the whole team got on a bus to go to Kvety Podhradia, which was a folk art exhibit in Podhradie. There were many booths set up along the street selling things ranging from food, to wood crafts, to jewelry, to paper crafts and much more. While we were there, we were able to watch what looked like a class of children perform some songs they learned. As we were getting ready to get back on the bus, Jennifer decided to take a picture on a horse. We didn't know that if you gave the owner a tip, they would take you on a horse ride. So, Jennifer rode a horse in Slovakia!

The pet camel we saw.

We returned to the hotel for about three hours of relaxation before heading out for yet another adventure. For this adventure, most of the team went knowing that we wouldn't be back until very late at night. This is part of the reason the blog wasn't posted yesterday, oops! After about A hour of driving we arrived at the restaurant in Bojnice, which served us chicken with cheese melted on it and vegetables! Now I don't eat vegetables often but it was kind of  nice to see them on our plate outside of breakfast time. Since we arrived at the restaurant early and ate fairly quickly we had some time before our night tour of Bojnice Castle. Most of us used that as an excuse to have some zmrzlina (gelato). Once members of our team and the Vancouver team got exactly what we wanted, we started taking a walk to see a view of the city when we saw a man walking a camel. One of the Slovaks with us asked him why he had a camel and his response was, "Some have dog, so I have camel." We just about died laughing when we heard the translation.

Bojnice Castle during the day.

We headed back to the meeting spot to walk up to the castle for our guided tour.  The Bojnice Castle is nicknamed the Cinderella Castle because it is one of the most restored castles in the area. After looking at it and spending time inside of it, I definitely understand where Walt Disney got his castle ideas from. It was magnificent both inside and outside. Our tour was very special. Not only were we given a tour, but it was also a scary tour, complete with us seeing ghosts and people jumping out at us. I'm not a fan of scary or startling things so I wasn't too thrilled about the scary part of the tour but it was kind of fun.  Seeing the way things were 900 years ago was very interesting and I am very glad that we had the chance to see the different lifestyle. We got back to the hotel after 10:30 and after lots of walking and general exhaustion from the week, it was time for bed. 

One week until we return home. Please continue to pray for us, especially that we will stay well and have the energy to complete this next week of teaching. Thank you for all your support and prayers!

-Sara Martin