My wife and I spent New Year’s 2003 in Slovakia with some friends. We rented a cabin on the shores of Lake Orava, which was formed in the 1950s when the Slovak government built a hydroelectric dam, flooding a valley that was home to three villages. The government relocated the villages’ inhabitants to a newly-established town, Namestovo.

Only one building remained above water: a church set on a hill. It is now a museum on an island.

On New Year’s Day, we went for a walk on the frozen lake to the island. It was both beautiful and nerve-wracking. I thought almost constantly about what might happen should the ice break and one of us tumble into the frigid water.