Friday, June 22, 2012

During the night I listened to the rain hitting the windows.  In the morning, I could hear the bells dinging as the sheep along the hillside moved about outside my window, as well as an occasional “Baaa!”  Ah…Osturňa.  I’m not likely to have an experience like this again any time soon.

Osturňa sheep grazing in the fields

We had our final breakfast, then said “farewell” to our wonderful hosts.  As we drove along the narrow road that leads out of Osturňa, I felt sad to be leaving this wonderful “snapshot of my past.” 

Osturňa’s lush green land

Part of me was disappointed that I could not make any family connections, and that I did not get all of the information I had hoped to find, but another part of me was satisfied.  I had done it.  I finally made it to all four of my ancestral villages.  The four different locations in Slovakia that have shaped me.  I walked in all four of my grandparents’ footsteps, and that felt pretty awesome.  We still had one more stop to make in my quest to learn what happened to those ancestors who at one time–about 100 years earlier–decided to leave Osturňa, perhaps traveling along the very same road heading to Podolinec.

Photos by Lisa A. Alzo
Copyright 2012, Lisa A. Alzo
All Rights Reserved