In
April 2017 two members of staff and five students made the journey from
Peterborough, England to Handlova, Slovakia for the next stage of the Fair
Trade project.
After a very early start and a long, but comfortable
journey, the English team arrived in Handlova where the students were met by
their host families. One by one, the remaining partner schools arrived from
Italy, Germany, Denmark and Austria.
On the
morning of day one the project teams met at the Town Hall for a welcome
presentation from the Mayor of Handlova. After a brief presentation the Mayor
invited everyone up in person to present them with a gift bag from the people
of Handlova and the opportunity to sign the Handlova
Town guest book.
Our
next stop was the Gymnasium Ivana Bellu, our Slovakian partner school. During
our visit to the school we received a tour of the building and watched the
student presentations.
After enjoying lunch at the school we made our
way to mining museum to learn about the heritage and history of Handlova,
before moving on to the art gallery for a spot of creativity, sewing felt
hearts, which we were able to keep as a reminder of the day.
Day
two saw us travelling by coach by the town of Trencin for a tour of the castle
and the opportunity to climb the tower. The castle was situated high above
Trencin providing fantastic views of the town, river and surrounding
countryside. Climbing to the top of the tower only served to make the views
even more stunning!
After
some fun and games with the stocks and a picnic lunch in the castle grounds the
students were split into groups and set the challenge of producing the most
imaginative Fair Trade photograph. With two hours to capture the winning pose
the students made their way around the town of Trencin.
Day three was a real treat. Once again, we
travelled by coach but this time up to the mountains to a remote livestock
farm. Upon arrival, the group was split in two, with group one visiting the
sheep barn and group two learning how to make the traditional Slovakian cheese,
Korbáčiky. The students loved
being around the animals, particularly milking the sheep and holding the lambs
who were more than happy to have a cuddle or two.
After swapping
activities, the groups came together to watch the farmers cook a mountain side
lunch of Bryndzove halushky - potato
dumplings, sheep cheese and roasted bacon, followed by dessert of berries with
cream cheese.
After lunch the students were given free time to explore the
farm while they waited for the arrival of the horses. As the horses made their
way over the hills, it was clear to see that this was going to be the highlight
for our students. One by one the students were given the opportunity to ride
the horses, guided by one of the farmers. As predicted the English students
went back for more, enjoying a second ride around the hill. This was a lovely
experience for our students.
On the journey back to Handlova we stopped at a small, purpose
built glass workshop. During our visit we were able to watch how glass is
heated, manipulated and blown to create beautiful glassworks. After learning
the basics, the students were invited to have a go at glass blowing themselves.
We didn’t have quite as many volunteers as with the horses but we are pleased
to say that Luke, one of the English students, was up for the challenge.
Day four was the one we had all been looking
forward to, the beautiful, fairytale castle of Bojnice. We travelled by coach
to the town of Bojnice which did not disappoint with its tree lined main street
leading up the castle. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side, but that
didn’t dampen our spirits (just our hair!).
After
receiving a very informative tour of the castle, with lots of photo opportunities,
we made our way to one of the local restaurants for lunch where we treated to
some traditional Slovak cuisine. After a delicious lunch, the winners of the
photography competition were announced. We are proud to say that our students
were in the groups that placed 2nd and 3rd.
After lunch we walked back up the hill to
Bojnice Zoo, which is situated opposite the castle. The students enjoyed seeing
the animals and the stunning views from the tree top view point.
It was difficult to believe that day five had
come round so quickly. With our bags packed, the English group boarded the
coach for the final time as we prepared to depart at lunchtime. Before our
journey home there was just enough time for one more visit, this time to the
town of Kreminca and home of the Mint.
It was
another chilly day and on our approach to Kremnica we could see snow on top of
the mountains….in April! (we don’t get much snow in England).
Our
itinerary for the morning was a tour of the Mint factory where the coins are
produced in their thousands and the Mint museum which had its own secret mine! After
the tours, and with just an hour to spare, the students were given some free
time to explore the pretty town of Kremnica and of course, make snowballs out
of the huge snow block covering the town square! After our time in Kremnica, it
was time to say good bye.
Farewell Slovakia, we had a blast!