Never say never, so the saying goes. But here's one last look at Bratislava, a place that has become my place of work on and off for more than a year.
It had become a habit of mine to draw the curtains first thing in the morning to have a peek at the weather. From the French windows of the bedroom, I can immediately see the kind of weather in store for the day. The depth of snow lying on the veranda also gave an indication of the severity of snowfall overnight. There had been some snow in early February this year, but none that lasted. The touch of fluorescent blue in the morning light put a chill in the spine, and I counted the blessing of not having to get on public transport and trekked north to the office. In a taxi, the journey took about 20 minutes door to door, and it could cost somewhere between €7 and €12, depending on the taxi firm and the driver. I had learnt not to trust the taxi meter and would only pay what I considered to be a fair price for the ride. Now and then, I would be given an unexpected tour around town, to places that I do not recognise, but what is in a fare, when I cannot speak the language?
The office has not changed much during the time I had been there. The stale onion smell still lingered in the lift and the corridors. The security guard had changed. The furniture store on the ground floor still looked empty of customers. The same faces were still smoking outside the entrance to the building. From one of the meeting rooms, I could see a corner of Bratislava, away from the glass and chrome of the city centre. Sometimes the sunset from here could be spectacular. There was much to commend about working in this country, where relationships matter, whether on the golf course, over lunch or over a cup of coffee.
The Eurovea shopping centre has become the shop next door during my stay. In the evening, approaching it after a long day's work, the glitter and the dazzle of the neon lights beckon. Like all shopping malls the world over, it is dominated by global brands and the experience pales after one visit. My favourite boutique is Gizia 4G, a Turkish brand of brash and colourful clothing. Every time I touched an item, an assistant who lingered nearby would immediately moved it back into position. But that did not deter me, the only customer in the shop, from buying what I liked since that brand is absent from South of England. Somehow I quite enjoyed moving things around to keep the assistants alert.
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| 4th February 2013 Pribinova ulica, from the Sheraton Hotel, Bratislava |
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| 4th February 2013 The SND glistening in the winter snow |
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| 5th February 2013 View from Roznavska 24 |
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| 7th February 2013 Eurovea Shopping Mall, Bratislava |
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| Eurovea Shopping Centre Bratislava |
What I really like about Eurovea is the sculpted glass ceiling, an amoeba like structure that pours light into the shopping complex. Often, the shopping centre could be empty during the quiet hours, and there was this sense of freedom - I was in a city but I was relatively insulated from the crushing claustrophobia of consumerism. I still used the dry cleaner Cistiaren and I still could not understand what the assistant was trying to say to me about such things as beads in a sweater, lace on a dress, and after picking up my laundry, I would say ďakujem, dovidenia, and exchanged a smile with this little old lady.
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| 7th February 2013 The concierge at Sheraton Hotel |
Although I made a point of not featuring people in this blog, I would make an exception to the concierges at the Sheraton Hotel. Featured here is František, who always welcomed me with a big smile. I had got into the habit of ordering my own taxis, and often the dispatchers at the taxi firm address me as Pani Diana, but in this hotel, they always address me formally as Madame Pincott. In the foreground is a bunch of stunning amaryllis, each one a perfect blood red.
Slovakia is not Slovakia without ice hockey. Once, on an evening, I passed Mala Hala in the taxi and there was a huge crowd converging on the building. The taxi driver said: Ice hockey! This is a nation that won the silver medal in the 2012 World Championship! Here, at a tent outside the Eurovea Shopping Centre, teenagers were playing ice hockey with some cartoon characters. There were no parents looking on, just a bunch of kids having a whole lot of fun. One of the kids who came off the rink asked me: "Where are you from?" and when I said "England", he looked disappointed, "Japonsko?"
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| 4th February 2013 Teenagers practising ice hockey, Bratislava |
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| Dog owners on a training course with their dogs |
Now and then, I was attracted to some day to day events. On this Sunday, I saw a group of dog owners taking their canine friends out on an obedience class. The dogs were asked to lie down and then taken out to the winter cold to walk around their owners. The dog that caught my attention was this German shepherd, lying flying and watching what was going around. And when I approached her, she welcomed me with a nuzzle and a lick of my hand. She reminded me of the dog that I once had, and maybe I should pay my dog a visit in the pet cemetery one day, to say a proper goodbye to him....
