FEBRUARY 27^TH

We arrived at Vienna Airport at 8:30 in the morning and met Denisa and Bandy at the McDonalds. Lance wore the red T-Shirt Denisa gave him for his birthday last year. Theodore and Tilly-Bear wore their cool sunglasses and their own photo I.D. around their neck – in case they get lost.

When we arrived at Bandy and Denisa’s flat, we were greeted by a large banner on their living room couch. Denisa’s teddy bear put its arms around Theodore and Tilly-Bear to welcome them.

We took a nap to compensate for jet lag. Later in the evening we went to a shopping mall in Bratislava and just walked around. When we came home, we gave Denisa and Bandy gifts.

FEBRUARY 28^TH

Today is the 26^th anniversary of Lance and Dianne.

The first snow Lance and Dianne saw in Slovakia was at the Cerveny Kamen Castle, and Lance took a picture of it.

Our tour of the castle was in Slovak. All of the rooms in the castle are furnished to look the way they once looked when they were in real use hundreds of years ago. There are underground passages in the castle that we also explored.

After a tour of Cerveny Kamen Castle, Lance and Dianne were imprisoned.

We drove to Piestany to meet Denisa’s father, Dusan who was staying there for a few weeks while he received treatments for back pain at the spa. The link below will connect you to the Spa’s website.

(http://www.kupelepiestany.sk/index.php?set_lang=en).

Dusan thought Theodore and Tilly-Bear looked cool wearing their sunglasses – especially since it was going to rain. He was very glad they came to visit him in Slovakia.

Dusan speaks some English. He treated us all to lunch. Our waiter took this photo before we started eating. (L-R) Dusan (Denisa’s father), Bandy (Denisa’s fiance), Lance, Dianne, and Denisa.

It started to rain again in Piestany. Dusan had some extra umbrellas in his hotel room just across the street from the restaurant. We walked to the spa to see the hotel.

The Thermia Palace is the first five star hotel in Slovakia. Heads of state sometimes stay here.

This photo shows only one part of the dining area. In another area someone is playing the piano while another musician plays violin – very romantic.

After our tour of the hotel and the spa, we stopped at a pub for refreshments. Lance learned never to order soda. If you do, you’ll get soda water. Instead, order cola, cola light (sugar free), or Sprite.

This coaster (above) was on our table at the pub. Dusan told us that Slovak women are “all natural, no silicone”. We also learned that the bar maid on this coaster had lots of “milk and blood”. Why blood? I don’t know.