Gallery Shots
Slovakia is an easy "pop-over" destination from Vienna, Austria, since you can quickly travel to Bratislava, Slovakia by bus or boat from Vienna.
For me, the visit to Slovakia was a bit more than a pop-over destination; my great grandfather, great grandmother and grandmother were all born there, in far eastern Slovakia near the borders of Poland and Ukraine.
If you travel to Slovakia, take the time to read about it's history and the history of Eastern Europe.
An elegant and charming city
Beautiful western Austria.
To explore my ancestry, we first visited the Open Air Museum at Stara Lubovna, which includes the church where my grandmother was baptized and my great grandmother was married.
What a wonderful opportunity to literally stand in the footsteps of my European ancestors!
Armed with my great grandfather's birth certificate - written in Slovak, Russian and Latin - we headed to the small village of Matysova, where my great grandparents lived and my grandmother was born.
In Matysova, we stopped at a house where people were working outside and showed them my great-grandfather's birth certificate. Without even one word in common language - except "America" - the people immediately called the village resident who has the exact name as my great grandfather! My cousin! They then took us to his house where he invited us in for refreshment. Thankfully, he spoke some English!