First of this year's crop?

Was this a bucket of currants just gathered this morning? When would the wine making begin? I wanted to ask so many questions, but she was busy talking to someone waiting to get on our bus.

A common language?

After spending time in this part of the world, I am amazed by the idea of common language. 

Often when I am speaking English to someone, they will comment that my English is very good, meaning understandable. My internal response, at first, was "Of course it is!", then later taking pride in my slow, clear professorial diction. But I soon realized that wasn't it. Here in Bratislava, I often overhear conversations in English neither party is a native speaker. 
On the Danube the other night, we were watching a photographer and his subject, a 30ish man. I imagined that he was a politician having campaign photos taken. I couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, but it was in English. So a Slovak photographer and Austrian EU candidate? 

My husband is much better at attempting to use Slovak. The other day, while visiting Vienna, he forgot where he was and ordered "dva káva". The proprietor replied, in English, "Oh, you are from Slovakia!"

I guess my conclusion is that, as an ignorant American who only speaks one language, this isn't a bad place to be.

  

Slovak/Hungarian relations, part 2

We have enjoyed several Slovak movies shown with English subtitles at a local cinema. One in particular was "Muzika" (2008) by director Juraj Nvota, a black comedy set in the mid 70's Czechslovakia about a jazz saxophonist starting out in a band. While they dream of playing Switzerland, reality offers them a wedding in Hungary under the condition that Hungarian songs be on the play list. It seemed hopeless until a conversation with his brother-in-law, a drunkard who spends his time listening to loud music alone in an attic room lined with egg cartons for sound insulation. BIL pointed to a stack of Hungarian records and claimed he knew all the lyrics. So the band acquired a new vocalist. 

As you can imagine, the wedding crowd caught on quickly that the singer was not fluent in Hungarian. It ended in fisticuffs. After the injured band members were deposited into their vehicle, they were told in no uncertain terms to never attempt a return engagement in Hungary. 

The episode is just one in a very entertaining, and enlightening, movie.  I have no idea if you can stream it (with English subtitles) anywhere. 

Slovak/Hungarian relations, part 1

When we were in Hungary for the wine festival, we shared a picnic table with a fellow who wanted to use his English. It took patience on both sides, but we enjoyed the conversation. The Hungarian language is Uralic, believed to have originated in the Ural Mountains. Needless to say is is quite different from English and indeed from Slovak.

We talked about how Hungarians learn foreign language and the relative difficulty of each. I mentioned that we were staying in Slovakia and asked if anyone learned Slovak. It is a neighbor, after all. It seemed to be the last language anyone would study. From there, he went off on a political commentary. "We hate the Slovaks, because they hate us!" Then he pointed out that Hungary was a very old country. Slovakia was a very young country, seemingly unworthy of consideration. Since our discussion could not develop in much subtlety, I left it at that. 

Upon reflection, it should be noted that the Slavs had been ruled by the Hungarians for centuries. It may be understandable that there is leftover animosity over a century after the relationship was dissolved. The country may be young, but the people have been around all along.

By the way, Bratislava has many names in many languages. I often see references to "Preßburg" or "Pressburg" , it's German name. I haven't noticed much of "Pozsony", the Hungarian name. I'll have to start looking. 

For my panhandle friends

Two pictures taken within feet of each other in Dovinska Nova Ves, Slovakia: yucca and bindweed. 

Yucca, native to the U.S., is grown as an ornamental in Slovakia.

Bindweed, native to Europe and Asia, seems to be a pest here, too.

Milestone

I sent off the paperwork in the mail before I left home. I had no idea how long it would take to process. There must be a letter sitting with our mail back home. I was sure glad to see the that my husband's Medicare was paid.

I dug it out of my digital history

Two years ago when we spent time at the EXPO 2015 in Milan, one of our favorite restaurants was in the Slovakia pavilion. We had this Andy Warhol-esque souvenir picture taken there.  

What's not to like?

The banner has been up at the bus stop for a couple of weeks now. We could figure out "when" and "where". The "what" was in question. What was "Hody"? The clip art of the grape leaves gave us a hint. We almost forgot about it. We went to a movie and got back on the bus about 9:30. They had been going at it since 3:00. It was a grand party with wine, music and friends.

To quote my husband, "You've got to love a town whose principle industry is making wine out of currants."

Sisters?

I hope they forgive me taking a candid shot.

I noticed them just as we got on the bus. They crossed themselves as the bus pulled out by our church. They were talking intently the whole trip. The one on the left had a wide smile with deep laugh lines around her eyes. 

I decided to risk the picture without time to compose. It wasn't until I got home and looked at it that it really struck me as a portrait of two women who had seen so much in their lives. 

If they are 75 now, then they were 3 years old at the end of the war. They were 26 during the Prague Spring and 47 during the Velvet Revolution. Now they are riding in the senior seats of a bus. I wish I knew enough Slovak to ask about their story. 

A panorama of Devin

This post is for me to remember a beautiful day. My husband at the far right. Moments later, after I put my camera away, a cruise ship appeared where the Morava flows into the Danube. 

My shopping list

I went to the Lidl which is just a short walk from our bus line. 

My list was:

     Pasta 

     Salsa

     Chips

     Bananas

     Paper towel

How about a practical Slovak language lesson? Did I get everything on my list? What else did I get?

Or if you prefer, a QR (quantitative reasoning) one? Figure out how much I'm paying for the bananas in (U.S.)cents/pound. 

A hike over the hill

We left our place and walked up starting from the church square. It was about four miles and took 2.5 hours, over a fairly well marked trail. You can see we did have to backtrack. Look at the satellite view. You can see our little village with the green dot and the red dot on the edge of suburbia. We caught a bus into town and had a nice lunch. I love this life. 

Again in transition, but more sure of my direction

We have passed the half way point on our stay in Slovakia. There has been time to get reacquainted, to debrief on the last year, to plot out our plans for the future. 

Three years ago when I started writing this blog, I felt very much in transition and unsure of the future. This time I do not feel so adrift. My husband is retiring, but I will continue teaching, at least for the next few years. This trip has demonstrated that we can spend extended time traveling while I'm on break. We are excited thinking about plans for Christmas and next summer.

My work on maintaining my health is paying off. l re-post from the first entry in this blog:

So I start with a to-do list. Things I can do now that will help me face the transitions.
1.  Eat oatmeal three times a week.
2.  Walk/hike/exercise 30 minutes every day.
3.  Do something creative every day.
4.  Write something in this blog every day.

I am doing this for myself. I can do it every day and eventually I will have something wonderful, for myself and those I love.

Bureaucracy?

So how much is 150 Hungarian Forint? That's what we were paying for each deciliter sample of wine at the festival. A deciliter is less than a quarter of a cup, about 3.5 ounces. Just a splash in the glass cost a little more than 50 cents. We were given a hand written receipt each time. The booth kept the carbon copy. I wonder how many receipt books had to be tallied after the three day festival?

I may need a glass of wine to contemplate the process. 

Budapest Keleti pályaudva

The trip to the wine festival required a change of trains at the Budapest trim station, a marvelous step back in time to the 1890's. 

Rose petals

The roses continued to be lovely. In Hungary, they seem to prefer bushes, rather than climbing trellises. We saw many front yards taken over with them, huge blooms of many colors with many dropped petals. We saw this display in the park by the river as we were leaving early in morning. It must have been a romantic evening. 

I'm sorry that I couldn't get a good overhead shot. 

Storks were nesting

Stork nests are impressive at six feet diameter. They are often on top of man-made platforms. Here you see nests on a power pole, a museum and two on the school. Look carefully you can see the chicks. 

A language lesson

"Bor" is wine in Hungarian. You can see that the other languages have similarities. I wonder how long before they start displaying "红酒" for the Chinese tourists. 

Tokaj

We enjoyed the wine festival in Hungary. Pictures are awaiting download from the camera. I can report that the wine glasses made it back to Devin.

After an oatmeal breakfast, we're off on a hike this morning. 

Nám. sv. Cyrila a Metoda, a.k.a. our bus stop

The church is called kostol svätého Kríža, Chuch of the Holy Cross. The square, námestie, has the name of the two saints, Cyrila and Metod. In my ignorance, I had no idea who they were. It wasn't until I saw a video showing the history of the Devín castle that the mystery started to unfold. They were two brothers, Byzantine theologians and missionaries, born in Thessalonika in the 9th century. Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs. They developed a script to translate the bible into Slavic languages which eventually led to the Cyrillic alphabet. 

I look forward to their feast day, the 5th of July, a national holiday celebrating Slovak literature and culture. 

I got mine

I got my senior pass for the trains in Slovakia. We're getting away for an overnight to Hungary for a wine festival.

Roses

Our street is really not much, more of an alley where the recycling dumpsters are lined up. I recognize it by the tower on the firehouse. It is named Hradná, Castle, for the view of the ruins looming overhead. The view is really lovely, changing throughout the day under different light. When you turn the corner from the bus stop, you look up to the castle and then you are drawn back to street level, greeted with the gentle scent of the climbing roses. 

Frustrated

"The first June weekend from 3rd to 4th June 2017 will be in the SNM-Music Museum in Dolni Krupe's mansion as a traditional ruby ​​and memorial to the Count of Mary Henriet Chotecka, a prominent personality of rosary in the beginning of the 20th century in Europe and the founder of the marshmallow in Dolná Krupe . The jubilee 10th annual exhibition of roses by the organizers of the SNM-Musical Museum and the Rosary Society by Marie Henrieta Choteková brings interesting program and the Choice of Ruže 2017, which will be attended by the visitors themselves."

-translated by Google 

I wanted to go to the Rose Festival to hear the Beethoven concert. After all, he is said to have written the Moonlight Sonata in Dolná Krupe. But it looked like there was no good public transportation for the last leg out to the town. The above didn't say what time the concert was. 

I gave up.

And what was this about marshmallows?  

Yes, I can get oatmeal

It's not steel-cut, but it is a good breakfast.

The next morning

The other night we ventured out to do an evening picnic along the Danube. We are making due without the picnic backpack, last used at Tanglewood. We have now acquired a few utilitarian containers and stemware that are suitable for carrying over short distances. I packed a salad with hard-boiled eggs and local sauerkraut. My husband cooked spaghetti with his homemade sauce. There was a bottle of local wine.

The picnic table in the woods was swarming with mosquitos. We ended on the bank perched on the boulders with the containers on our knees. The mosquitos were still bad but after dusk faded and the wine took effect, we didn't notice. It seemed as if we could reach out and touch the lit up cruise ships passing in the dark. 

The rocks were hard. Our knees were stiff. We gathered everything up, well almost everything. Cell phone flashlights were lit, in vain, to try to find P's handkerchief. 

The next morning he returned and documented the recovery of the blue cloth.

Preschool outing

There is a school at the bus stop. The classes go out for walks wearing their hats and reflective vests.

Buzzing over my breakfast

I couldn't imagine what I was hearing. It sounded like an army of weed-wackers. I looked out the window and then saw one, and then several, flying overhead. It was an invasion of ultralight airplanes on an early Saturday outing, flying along the Danube. The view of the castle must be terrific.

You will have to use your imagination as my camera couldn't discern them in the blue.

Ride-up convenience

I suppose it is not unlike swim-in bars. This is a walk-up, bike-up window near the Trenčín train station. If you look closely, it is a glass mug of beer sitting on the ledge. 

Fortresses

Tonight I walked the other way around the castle and was struck by this view of two decaying fortresses overlooking the Danube.

What's wrong with this picture?

I have to say the it is easier to get eggs home on the bus when the carton has only ten eggs.