Family & Friends | Portraits in Slovakia

V & I recently went to Slovakia to visit his family. When I imagined our trip (before we got there, I mean), I pictured us visiting his (literal) family: his mother, sisters, niece, nephews.

And we did visit those people. We spent a lot of time with those wonderful, loving, generous, thoughtful, welcoming, loving (did I mention loving?!) people. But we also spent time with his other family. And by ‘other family,’ I mean the people he grew up with. The people he spent his childhood and adolescent-hood with. The people that, now, as adults, spend holidays together and have children that play together. His friends. People that were just about as excited for V’s return as his blood family.

Our trip to Slovakia surprised me in so many ways. I’m still processing everything and have oodles of photos to help me re-explore my experience. But, one unexpected holdover from my time there was the sense of family I felt from everyone we visited, relative or otherwise. I grew up moving around all the time, and even as an adult I haven’t been fabulous at putting down roots or establishing a community for myself. So it was beyond my wildest imagination to experience life on the inside of a close-knit community, and I loved everything about it. Hugging, joking, celebrating, chatting… kissing hello… poking fun at one another… linking arms & walking around… it was all awesome.

We got a little time with this crew (V’s sister, niece, and childhood friend) for a photo shoot around the square in the walled town of Bardejov, an area famed for its mineral water (a natural spring that used to attract royalty from across the continent). It’s also where V grew up, and it meant the world to me to be there with him.