Experiences of Slovakia

OMG, Merlin! All of your pictures are so incredible! The beautiful blue church, delicious looking food, the wonderful ambiance of the restaurants! And, yes, the beer! I would probably gain at least 10 pounds the first day but this sure does make me want to go there. And that lovely lady is Lisa? What a great holiday, Merlin. Thanks so much for sharing. :D
 

ndynt said:
Once again, wonderful pictures. Love the church. It is just perfect for weddings. Wonder why it was painted blue. Had to google it. Interesting history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Elisabeth_(Bratislava)
Even though I do not drink beer...it looks tempting. Can understand, even with eating, you were tipsy. What a wonderful holiday, Merlin. Again, thank your for sharing it.
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Thank you Nona, I have been meaning to say for some time, your previous avatar picture reminded me of a a friend I have, a wise open woman radiating an inner peace.
 
Glinda said:
OMG, Merlin! All of your pictures are so incredible! The beautiful blue church, delicious looking food, the wonderful ambiance of the restaurants! And, yes, the beer! I would probably gain at least 10 pounds the first day but this sure does make me want to go there. And that lovely lady is Lisa? What a great holiday, Merlin. Thanks so much for sharing. :D
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Thank you Glinda I thought the beer might tempt you, it was a truly memorable experience and yes the lovely lady is Lisa, who who has persuaded me to go on these trips.
 

A few more photos of Slovakia, this is a small town called Trvna about 100Km east of Bratislava, it was a grey day but we enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, with its many old buildings, and a couple of disused synagogues amongst them. The one was an art centre the other a rather sumptuous sort of cafe/bar/tea room.

trvna4a.jpg

trvna3a.jpg

A disused synagogue now used as an art centre
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A beautifully restored synagogue now an upmarket cafe bar, we had a couple of G&Ts (they served very large ones) here and left very happy :)
trvnaa.jpg

The ceiling, with the ladies gallery
trvna1a.jpg
 
Good Question Josiah..


Hi Merlin this is the first I've visited this thread since you posted the first lot of pictures...and I love them all...however I don't know why but the place gives me a feeling of a lack of atmosphere..a kind of cold feeling. Please correct me if I'm wrong it's hard to tell from a photo of course, but much as they are charming pictures I kinda get that feeling of a kind of lack of warmth to the place.
 
Josiah said:
Tell me Merlin was there a great deal of concern in Slovakia about the serious goings on in the neighboring Ukraine?
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I can't really say Josiah, as tourists and only being there for a few days, I didn't have any conversations with the locals, but I would guess there is a general fear of Russia's intervention in the Ukraine, and Putin's desire to rebuild another Russian empire.
 
hollydolly said:
Good Question Josiah..


Hi Merlin this is the first I've visited this thread since you posted the first lot of pictures...and I love them all...however I don't know why but the place gives me a feeling of a lack of atmosphere..a kind of cold feeling. Please correct me if I'm wrong it's hard to tell from a photo of course, but much as they are charming pictures I kinda get that feeling of a kind of lack of warmth to the place.
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Very good point Holly, and thinking about it you are probably right. To be fair the last posing of Trvna was on a Sunday morning, and the place was deserted with everyone in church, they are a very religious country.
I do find northern European and ex soviet block countries to be very lacking in warmth compared to say Spain, Italy Greece etc.
Communism also seems to have the effect of destroying the nations/peoples spirit, which I guess will take generations to recover from. I found Poland and Croatia to a degree the same with beautifully restored buildings, but lacking in warmth. Food for thought :confused:
 
It's funny how I could pick up that vibe from the photos Merlin but I'm glad you can see it too.. and thinking back to your trip realise it did have that kind of feel..

You're right the Greeks Italians and Spanish are so much more friendly and warm hearted...not necessarily honest about their feelings but they do at least give the impression..LOL...Slovakia reminds me a lot of parts of Eastern Germany .

Incidentally...I just looked at your profile and I looking at your latest photograph on thsi thread I cannot believe you're 73 years old !!!!...I hope you don't mind me saying, but you look at least 10 years younger than that...!! ...and no I'm not flirting with Merlin before anyone says it..LOL..I just thought I would mention it. :D
 
hollydolly said:
It's funny how I could pick up that vibe from the photos Merlin but I'm glad you can see it too.. and thinking back to your trip realise it did have that kind of feel..

You're right the Greeks Italians and Spanish are so much more friendly and warm hearted...not necessarily honest about their feelings but they do at least give the impression..LOL...Slovakia reminds me a lot of parts of Eastern Germany .

Incidentally...I just looked at your profile and I looking at your latest photograph on thsi thread I cannot believe you're 73 years old !!!!...I hope you don't mind me saying, but you look at least 10 years younger than that...!! ...and no I'm not flirting with Merlin before anyone says it..LOL..I just thought I would mention it. :D
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Thanks Holly I get that comment all the time, a decade ago I was always being taken for my daughters husband, flattering for me, but not so much for her :upset:
My partners have always been over ten years younger than me, so maybe its a mistake on my birth certificate, I am only 63 really :D

I am disappointed you are not flirting with me though :cry:
 
What one person might interpret as lack of warmth in atmosphere, I would interpret as lack of prosperity. It looks like the area hasn't even completely recovered from the second world war and cold war and these buildings seem to be still in the process of getting upgraded.

Mediterranean towns in their hot climate with their pretty white buildings with blue trim and pots of geraniums have a healthy tourist trade and more money, so of course the atmosphere and inhabitants would be quite cheerful, even if it is a bit of an act to cater to tourists.

If you have ever seen the movie about the East Berlin Stasi (The Lives of Others, 2006) it gives an idea of what life was like behind the iron curtain. I don't find it surprising that the people in those places would not be very 'warm and fuzzy' or lacking 'warmth', but as Merlin mentioned, they did serve a generous G&T.
 
Cookie said:
What one person might interpret as lack of warmth in atmosphere, I would interpret as lack of prosperity. It looks like the area hasn't even completely recovered from the second world war and cold war and these buildings seem to be still in the process of getting upgraded.

Mediterranean towns in their hot climate with their pretty white buildings with blue trim and pots of geraniums have a healthy tourist trade and more money, so of course the atmosphere and inhabitants would be quite cheerful, even if it is a bit of an act to cater to tourists.

If you have ever seen the movie about the East Berlin Stasi (The Lives of Others, 2006) it gives an idea of what life was like behind the iron curtain. I don't find it surprising that the people in those places would not be very 'warm and fuzzy' or lacking 'warmth', but as Merlin mentioned, they did serve a generous G&T.
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I don't feel its entirely a prosperity issue Cookie, I concentrated on posting old buildings and decaying ones, because I find them more interesting than the modern or fully restored ones. The main street in the town is pedestrianised with flower baskets everywhere and new shops with designer clothes etc. Here you could have been anywhere in a prosperous European town.

Your second point about living behind the "Iron Curtain" is I would say most definitely the main cause of any coldness, the film you mention "The Lives of Others" is excellent and frighteningly accurate as Lisa has verified. The population were brainwashed into being suspicious of everyone, friends neighbours and strangers. There was constant surveillance by the state and citizens rewarded for betraying friends and neighbours.
I would say the warmth is still there in these people, but more deeply buried because of their past experiences.


The full movie, but may not work in your country and is not the best quality :confused: The film does have both an inspirational and hopeful end.

[video]https://archive.org/details/TheLivesOfOthers-EastGermanZionistPigsTrueStory[/video]



Another series of films worth watching are set in Poland loosely based on the ten commandments "The Decalogue" directed by Kieslowski, these are beautifully crafted and give an insight into peoples lives during the Soviet period.

A review by Robert Ebert
 
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Thanks Merlin, that makes a lot of sense. I like your word 'pedestrianized', the flower baskets, etc. in the main shopping drag, in contrast to the stark properties and grounds in the pictures which do evoke some sadness, but that's life. I like the architecture though, including the textures and colors of the decaying old buildings.

I can understand how people in that area would still have suspicious feelings as a result of the soviet era, maybe now mostly in the older generation and glad that its not because they are poor. I met someone in the 90s who was taking a trip over to one of the eastern bloc countries and told me she only took her least favorite clothes there because all her relatives there had so very little that she would end up giving everything she had brought away. I suppose things have improved now. I'm going to try to find 'The Decalogue' somewhere, it sounds very good.
 
Merlin, all great shots. Thanks for posting. I like the fact that most of the buildings are so old. I try to imagine what their society was like perhaps 100 years ago or whenever the buildings were new.
 
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