The High Tatras, East Slovakia

The High Tatras, East Slovakia

This is the itinerary devised for us by my colleague, the ubiquitous Anton, who hails from East Slovakia. 

Saturday 

08:00 Depart Bratislava

+2,5 hours, stop at Donovaly. "What's there?  Mountains, lunch in the cottage restaurant.  You have to eat lunch, no?"

+0,5 hours Vlkolínec.  "Not directly on the road!!! Ask about!!! Traditional Slovak village. Be prepared to pay €2 for car park, you afford it, no?"
Direction Podbanské (exit the highway) - "This way you see the High Tatras, not the highway!"
Arrive Štrbské Pleso, Hotel Kempinski.  "Don't do too much, it will kill your husband!"


Sunday
Štrbské Pleso - "See the mountains, the lake,and walking around, if you wish." 
Tatranská Lomnica - "Go there if the weather is good, take the cable car, you will see beautiful views on the top. Ask in the hotel because seats are limited." 

Spišský Hrad - "One hour driving from Štrbské Pleso, spend at least 2 hours there!"
Levoca - "You will like the historical buildings, it's a town, OK, it is not a city"
Kežmarok -"It's a medieval town, it's 0,5 hours from Poprad.  Don't visit Poprad, there is nothing there to see!"

Monday

Visit Bojnice Castle on the way back to Bratislava.


Thank you Anton.  We followed your itinerary to a 't'.  But we had to forego Tatranská Lomnica - it was far too windy and cold on Sunday.  In any case, the concierge at the hotel told us that the cable car times are fixed so going there will restrict our time at Spišský Hrad.

Bratislava - Danubiana

The ground floor gallery at the Danubiana

"Go there, even if you don't like modern art. There are a lot of ballast around, but if you like art, you cannot miss the Danubiana.  Just look at the colours, the shapes, don't try to understand the objects", urged Tatiana from the office. 


The Danubiana Meulensleen Art Centre is probably one of the more unusual art galleries that I have visited.  The two storey building is located on the borders of three neighbouring countries: Slovakia, Austria and Hungary; what is unique about the place is that it is surrounded by a wide expanse of water, open air and endless banks of a dam.  


On the grounds outside, there are scores of modern sculpture, but none more impressive than Peter Pollág´s the Wings of Danube, the immense glass mosaic sculpture that proclaims imagination and dreams in a riot of colours. Even on a dull and wet day, the spirit was lifted by the sight of this joyous, soaring sculpture.  








There are more of Peter Pollág in the main hall, including a diptych of acrylic and oil on canvas. Truly a masterful colourist, Pollág juxtaposes symbols, lines and curves to create recognizable fragments that are not entirely real, but are not imaginary either.  What drew me to his style is the sheer vibrancy of the colours.

Sculptures at the Danubiana

Another painter that lights up the day is  Ján Hlavatý.  His abstract paintings are dominated by blocks of primary colours, with the unmistakable overtones of emotions, passions, and energy. In this painting, the brilliant orange and shimmering gold seem to float on the clouds of a blue summer sky.  So full of life, so full of possibilities.

Tomorrow, we go to the High Tatras.

Bratislava - Easter is here

More Easter eggs in floral decorations in the hotel.  Yesterday, when everybody in the office broke off for Easter, there were a lot of kisses and hugs and "veselé velikonoce". Over lunch, I learned that "oblievacka", or water pouring is a typical Easter Monday custom in Slovakia.  On this day men visit their female relatives and friends and pour water on them.  According to tradition, pouring water on women will guarantee their beauty and good health throughout the year. In many regions, water buckets have been replaced with perfumes, a small syringe filled with water, a water cup, or a water pistol.  After oblievacka, women reward men with sweets, fruit, money or painted Easter eggs.  All my colleagues were curious about how the British celebrate Easter.  I am ashamed to say that I could only say: chocolate Easter eggs, hot cross buns, treasure hunt, simnel cake, and the Queen distributing Maundy Thursday money to "deserving senior citizens" - one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age.

Just outside the office, the cherry blossom is in full bloom. This is a beautiful sight.  I have not seen the pink variety yet.  On the way to work, I also see the golden forsythia in full bloom, along the dual carriageway.  


Oh, these spring days!
Heated spring air
Above wintry grass

Bratislava - The Warm Glow of the Morning Sun

In the morning, when I draw the curtains in the sitting room, I bask in the warm glow of morning sun casting its golden shadows over the houses and hills in the distance.  It is such a pleasure to have this view to look forward to in the morning. 

View from Pribinova to the north of Bratislava

Easter is around the corner.  My colleagues explained that there is a local "brutal" custom in which women are beaten for good luck.  I have decided to forego the initiation into this custom and to seek my good luck elsewhere.  

A touch of Easter decoration at the Concierge desk

Bratislava - Something Old, Something New

It's back to "Primi" along the Danube for some food.  I first visited this place in August 2011, in the height of summer, when most of the diners sat outside enjoying their dinner and drinks al fresco. Two things remain a constant: diners gaily smoking in abandon inside the restaurant, the time it took to grill a fish and some vegetables.  Despite the small flurry of snow flakes today, the conservatory part of the restaurant was exceedingly warm, so it was time for some lemonade, which was refreshing and delicious.  

For the entire time I was in the restaurant, the barman was serving liquor in the standard 50ml shot glass, non stop.  But of course, I am in a country where drinking is very much a part of the Slovak culture!  Fortunately, the locals mostly hold their liquor well and I have never seen a local being visibly drunk.  It's a different matter for the English though; young men descend upon Bratislava for their stag parties, and can be seen inebriated in their ridiculous Superman costume.  A young girl in the office once asked me if these young men behave in the same way back in the UK.  And what can I say, young men and women alike getting stone drunk on a Saturday night, staging fights on the streets and becoming a burden on the emergency services in the hospital.

The 2012 Marathon continued.  At the Eurovea square outside the SND, the crowd gathered to watch the runners on the wide screen, and listened to some animated commentary the content of which escaped me, as it was in Slovakian.  In the hotel foyer, there were hordes of runners in their track suits; an unusual sight was a small group of runners from Africa - I hardly ever see Africans in Bratislava!

Yesterday was Earth Day 2012.  To mark the occasion, the hotel switched off all the lights in the foyer from 20:30 for an hour, and urged the hotel guests to power off as many devices as possible.  In the foyer, tea lights were used to form the two digits of 60, but no one was in sight.  As a campaign to raise awareness, it went down like a damp squib.

When I started this blog in 2009, it is designed to be a travelogue.  But I want to make an exception this time: the joy of discovering how to send SMS in Chinese.  This is made possible by the international keyboard on my iPhone 4S.  I tried pin-yin, which I struggled with, as pin-yin requires the user to speak pudonghua.  Imagine the delight when I found I can write the characters in free hand and then choose the right character that shows up on the screen!  The next challenge is to re-learn writing Chinese, a skill that I have lost due to a long period of neglect.  My sister was utterly surprised to get an SMS from me in Chinese characters....

Bratislava - Japanese food

This is Ebi Soba, or rather, the Bratislava version. It is inferior to any of the soba noodles  that I have eaten whether inside or outside Japan.  Still, it was a welcome change for a jaded palete.  The Sencha green tea was the real McCoy, but mistakenly served in a cup that was bigger than the teapot.     

Bratislava - Hlavné Námestie

It's off season, and there was hardly a tourist in sight at the Main Square, Bratislava. Today, it was overcast, windy and rather chilly.  As I have only packed for summer weather, I looked a little bit short sighted in my white capri pants.  
The Old Town is as charming as I remember it from my last visit.  Today, most of the stalls on the square were selling painted Easter Eggs.  But trade was slow.

The Old Town Hall dominates the Hlavné Námestie

The splendid Art Nouveau building (centre) from the turn of the century

The 2012 Bratislava Marathon