I’ve been back in Seattle nearly a full week. I’ve done half a dozen loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, walked my doggy, reminded the kitties that their feeding routine doesn’t change just because I’m around, received some really nice welcome back greetings at the office, cleaned up the yard a bit, and slept and ate more than I thought was physically possible. (That reminds me…I’m hungry. Must get a snack when I finish this post.)

 

 

 

I was gone for five and a half weeks, or thirty-eight days.

Eight flights. (One ticket I bought myself.)

Five trains.

One bus. (Bus 93! in Bratislava – it’s the only one you need to know.)

Six rides in school vans (rock on Jivko, dakujem Eduard.)

A dozen rides in friends’ cars. (Sorry Jozko.)

Three suitcases. (…if you don’t count the smaller bag jammed into the larger one.) (Sorry Jozko.)

Nine hotel rooms.

Two dorm rooms. (Four roommates of the six-legged kind in one.)

One spa treatment.

Five castles. (One closed to the public but we got in anyway – dakujem Eduard!)

Two amazing churches.

One monument to the Red Army.

One monument to the Slovaks who were deported, arrested, or killed trying to escape communism.

Two flocks of sheep and goats.

Too many goodbyes.

Uncounted: servings of vyprážaný syr, pivo, шопска салата, tears, smiles, and new friends (I hope).