Before we left for Slovakia we studied on our own with the only materials we had available

We wanted the complete experience so we lived in the hotel section of the student dormitory
See Joe waving from our window?

There was a bar on the ground floor. The legal age to drink is 18.

We even figured out how to use the washing machines

The welcoming ceremony was held in a very impressive building

160 students from 35 countries were divided into 13 groups according to ability. We were the oldest students by decades.
Joe joined the beginners in the A1 class. Eileen was placed in A4.

There was classwork every day

The University is located along the Danube.

There's a 'UFO' restaurant on top of the "new" bridge.

In the afternoon there was time to relax

and play

Some evenings were special

with music

and dancing

and traditional food

like this

August 21st marked the anniversary of the lives lost during protests against the Communist suppression of the "Prague Spring"
We learned the protest song "Pravda Vitazi" (Truth will Win)
Weeks later I saw a battle flag with the same phrase in the War Museum in Svidnik where the Russian and Czechoslovak armies fought the Nazis

We received our certificates in the closing ceremony

Then it was time to leave

Time to travel on our own and test how much we have learned