Later that month, Joyce and I
had the opportunity to travel to Slovakia. We went to Bratislava,
which is the capital. (We had to go to the Czech embassy there
to apply for a visa, waiting outside in the cold rain and snow!)
While we were there, we had the chance to visit friends and family.
The aunts we visited (both widows now) are actually my mother’s
cousins. It is nice to be able to have occasional contact with
them. One of them in particular is a very sweet lady, and in my
mind’s eye she doesn’t seem much different than she
did when we visited Czechoslovakia when I was a teenager. She
worked for years in the office of Bratislava's botanical garden,
and on a previous visit, she took us there for an “insider’s
tour.” As these older women are, in some ways, keepers of
the family history, I was glad to learn a few things from them.
In fact, I finally learned the year my maternal grandmother emigrated
to the United States from Slovakia—1905. As is customary
in this part of Europe, when we left, both aunts asked us to convey
their greetings to various members of the family.
On the way back to Prague, we decided we needed a break, and
so we stayed in Brno for a couple of nights. (Brno is the regional
capital of Moravia, which is one of the provinces of the Czech
Republic.) In fact, we stayed at a hotel that was just down the
hill from Spilberk Castle. That night, it was impressive to look
up at the castle from our hotel room. It was sparkling white and
beautifully illuminated!
The next day, we went through the castle. It turns out that it
was a prison and fortress under the Hapsburgs. Prisoners from
all parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were kept there. This
was especially the case after the anti-Hapsburg revolutions of
1848 (multiple revolutions in various parts of the empire). So
the people who were kept there were basically nationalists from
the various parts of the empire. There were Italians and Poles,
French and Hungarians (other groups too). The Italian revolutionaries
were known as the “carbonari” (probably related to
the contemporary term “carabinieri,” which is now
used to refer to the Italian national police force.) The prison
was also used during the Nazi era. (The area of the Czech Republic
was under German occupation then and was known as the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia.)
It was interesting to go through that prison, but it was easy
to see why it gained the reputation as a place of suffering. In
some ways, the authorities there tried to provide humane conditions.
Interestingly enough, torture was used, but there were well-defined
limitations on its duration and severity. Limitations or not,
it certainly did seem like quite a place of suffering. And, thinking
of the torture that is apparently going on in various places today,
it was an uncomfortable reminder of the present state of affairs
in our world. In fact, that night, looking up at the castle from
our hotel room, I could no longer see it as the impressive, serene,
sparkling white castle at the top of the hill. Having toured its
prison wing, the whole place now had a very different feel.
Well, there is certainly more to tell, but we’ll have to
leave that for another time. In fact, for some of you, that time
will be this summer. Thank you for your interest in and support
of the work here.
Blessings,
John & Joyce Michael
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
337 |
