February 20, 2020

Today has been a good day, all around. Yesterday was bleak and drizzly and I was feeling a bit out of sorts and kids felt a bit cooped up. Mairin had the good fortune of coming home mid-day after an impromptu sleepover at our friends' apartment. She had an absolute blast and really loves having a friend here whose company she enjoys so much. She stuck around the apartment after lunch to do the school work the other girls had done in the morning. The rest of us bundled up for our adventure for the day -- trekking to a Home Depot-like store to get a few necessities that we hadn't yet tracked down. We have a nice vacuum cleaner here in the apartment, fortunately, but we were really in need of a mop and broom and bucket. We took a bus about 25 minutes away and arrived at Obi, the Slovak version of Home Depot. As you can see, it looks remarkably similar!

They also had some crazy toilet seat options. These were holograms and very trippy. 

We successfully found everything we needed and came home to a low key evening.

Another mundane endeavor, but one worth documenting is that washing your bed linens is quite the production with a tiny washer and no dryer. Yes, I know I mentioned that the machine was a combo washer / dryer, but in reality, it doesn't actually dry clothes. So we hang everything dry, which is fine. But when it's time to wash the bedding, it gets a little crazy and takes multiple days to do everyone's. 

 

Perhaps even more than our dishwasher at home, we are appreciating our giant American sized washer and dryer!

Today was sunny and brisk. I took advantage of that and went out for another short jog along the river after I finished school lessons with the little girls. 

After lunch, the 5 of us went out in search of a park behind our apartment that our friends told us about! There is great paved path along some lovely trees and access to the river. This part of the river flows calmly around a small island and we remarked how we wished we had our kayaks! Moments later, we saw kayakers! It was gorgeous and we loved feeling like we were in nature yet so close to home. We made it to the cool park and the kids loved it, especially the fun zip line! The park is on the grounds of what appears to be some sort of museum dedicated to the water treatment system. ???? The specifics are a little hazy, but that is the general sense we got. There are also various pipes and water features throughout the park. Doug said it was one of the most welcoming and inclusive places we've seen so far in central Europe -- there was a picture of a non-white girl on a sign at the park, there were community gardens, and a FREE TOILET! 

On our way home, the kids encountered a bit of mud...which is a major understatement! They didn't realize quite how sticky the mud was there and Carys got stuck and walked right out of her shoes!

Mairin fishing Carys's shoes out of the mud

The sunshine and fresh air were great for all of us and we are eager for a fun weekend here in Bratislava!