Svadba (Wedding)

My apologies for not posting sooner…but you will read why a little later on in the blog.

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day.  We walked part way around the lake to view the mountains behind our hotel.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped at one of the lovely adjacent ponds and discovered many large frogs.  There were lots of sounds coming from the pond as we figured out it was mating season for them!

We left the Tatras for our drive to Lipany where our foreign exchange student’s sister, Veronika, was to be married later that day.  It was a beautiful drive as we followed Google Maps on my phone.  We came upon the Spis Castle which I believe is the largest castle in Europe and the scene of the move Braveheart.  It is a spectacular sight to say the least.

At that point Google Maps had us head north towards Lipany.  Their was a sign at the beginning of the road but of course it was in Slovak so we could not read it.  There was also a barricade but it was only part way across the road.  It had a sign which we later found out meant “forbidden entry,”  Turns out we were on a private logging road.  It serpentine back and forth as we climbed the mountain.  As we approached the top it was evident the reason for the “forbidden entry” sign…the road had washed out.  But they were in the middle of repairs and fortunately we were able to squeeze through.  The road afforded us spectacular views of the valleys and the Tatras off in the distance.

We finally made it to Lipany, checked into our hotel, changed our clothes and left for the wedding.

The ceremony was in a fairly new Greek Catholic church with a beautiful choir.  The bride looked stunning as did our student, Ivana.

After the ceremony we met Lubica Dzuganova, a friend and the mayor of the bride’s village.  She and her friend Igor transported us to the reception in a nearby village that could handle he 200 plus people invited to the wedding.  The setting was lovely.

The reception began with the traditional toast to the bride and groom followed by…of course…chicken soup…a traditional first course in any Slovak house or restarurant.  After this the main course, or so we thought, was served.  It was a chicken goulash, rice, two kinds of cabbage and a piece of chicken stuffed with some vegetables.  There were numerous pastries on the table.  Off to the side was a a beautiful display of fruit and two wedding cakes!

They had a live orchestra that began playing and serenading the tables.  They played a mix of Slovak/Rusyn and modern music.  Evidently the electrical system couldn’t handle the load and the lights kept going out!

A few hours later we were served another meal…this time it mashed potatoes with schnitzel…a full meal in itself!  Again more dancing and then the folk group from Lipany and Tichy Potok came to perform the Redovy.  The bride is escorted into the center dressed in her kroj (a native folk costume) and seated in the center.  They then remove her parta (the headdress worn by the young single women) and give a small head covering along with a babushka to signify that she was now a married woman.  A circle formed around her as we danced and took turns dancing with the bride after paying into her dowry.  Back home we refer to this as the Dollar Dance.

By this time the next course of food was presented, this time on a buffet table.  Knedle (dumplings), bread, sausages, pirohy, chicken and pork were the offerings.  Needless to say we were stuffed and didn’t stay for the last course!

All of this food was in addition to the many various types of alcohol on the table…bottles of wine, Becherovka, Vodka, Slivovice and more!

We finally left around 3:15 am and the party was still going strong!  So now you why I did not post that evening!