Europe Again

March was good. I started a program through work where I track (honor system style) that I'm exercising three times a week, so I can get a rebate on my health insurance. I also gave up TV for Lent again this year. A highlight of the month was being able to fly out to Chicagoland for Nick's wedding a few weeks ago. It was really good to see some of the old college folk, and hopefully I get to see them all again come September. Additionally during that weekend I was able to briefly visit with my little sister and visit her church as well as see her pad.

But that was last month. More recently, in the ten days starting with Good Friday, I was able to fly out to Central Europe again to visit Jennn. Though I'd recommend up to a year apart for the growth of any committed couple, the apart thing is now getting a bit old. So it was really good to be able to visit with each other this past week. This year's trip felt less like a traveling vacation, and more of just a time to hang out with each other. It was really good--just what we needed.

For a brief synopsis of the trip, I'll highlight a few things. In my mind the trip consisted of three periods. The first was my arrival and getting settled in. This time included seeing The Passion of the Christ with Jennn on Good Friday (opening night in Europe), hanging out with my future brother-in-law and the Fabricis, as well as meeting up with Matt and Jennn's grandfather for a quick Easter lunch (he was on way through Bratislava as part of a Central European bus tour). Quality time.

The next section of the trip began when Jennn and I caught a train to Budapest, Hungary. Matt left for Prague on Monday, but we still kept up the family reunion of sorts by meeting Grandpa Mack for a stroll around the city parks and dinner at the hotel with his tour group. The following day Jennn and I were able to catch a few more sites before heading back to Slovakia (photos of the trip to be up soon).

Finally, the third period of my 10 day trip was spent hanging around Bratislava. I was able to sit in on some of Jennn's English classes and see what she's been up to for the last two years. We also had a few sessions of pre-marriage counseling with Pastor Hanson from the English-speaking church. That was really good. Good to think about our lives together and start talking about what expectations we may or may not share for the future. Still, it wasn't all business, we were able to visit a cute little wine town just outside the city, and also join some of Jennn's coworkers from school for a dinner downtown.

And now I'm back at home staring at the old computer screen again. Yet now all I need to do is close my eyes and I can still see my fiancee's smiling face. So here's to our home stretch of being apart, and knowing that the last of our big goodbyes are now behind us.

Steve