Settling into Slovakia

Trencianske Teplice Spa Hotel

I arrived in Trencin a week ago Saturday.  My new employers, Jaro and Jana, owners of the Canadian Language School, were nice enough to take me to a local spa area Trencianske Teplice.  It is a beautiful village a short drive east of Trencin.

I didn't use the spa facilities but I could see people bathing in the hot spring waters.  It really reminded me of Ouray, Colorado and the times I would visit and use the hot springs.  All the country side of Slovakia is truly beautiful.

Jana and Jaro at a park in Trencianske Teplice

I stayed with Jaro and Jana for about a week until I moved into my new apartment.  Many thanks to both of them and to Julie Dean, the teacher I am replacing (although no one can replace Julie, she is amazing) for showing me the "ropes" at the school and making sure the apartment was clean and tidy.  I'll blog more about my apartment in a later post.  If I can figure out how to shoot a video with my camera, I may have a short one to post.





Trencin is such a lovely little village.  Trencin Castle overlooks the town which is nestled in a valley straddling Vah River. Trencin was occupied by a Roman military camp and it is still possible to see an inscription carved into the rock face in the new Hotel Elizabeth currently under construction. The inscription is from AD 179! Trencin has a wealth of history and I'll write more once I start exploring the town.

View of Trencin from the Castle

Yesterday, Doug (my new best friend and the only other English native speaker at the school) showed me around the neighborhood. We decided to watch the historical celebrations at the Trencin castle where medieval battles are reenacted. It reminded me of a Renaissance Festival.

Here's a short video on one of the reenactments:

I'll be traveling in East Slovakia; Levoca and Kosice (the second largest city in Slovakia) for a few days.  I'm so excited to be in this little gem of Central Europe.  I can't wait to see what Slovakia has to offer.