On July 2, 2015, after a year of planning, I returned to the Muranska Planina region of Slovakia with several members of my extended family.  On July 3 we visited our ancestral village Muranska Lehota and on July 4 we explored the Muranska Planina forest and the ruins of the Muran Castle, concluding the day with a surprise meeting of long-lost relatives.  July 5 was the last day of our visit.

Sunday, July 5, 2015:  Having agreed to meet up with our newly found relatives at church on Sunday morning, we returned to Muranska Lehota for early morning mass.  We squeezed in the pews amongst the locals and easily followed the familiar, universally Catholic stand, kneel, sit cycle of the service. Continue reading →