Blogs from Slovakia, Europe - page 33

Florencia, Italia, a 17 de noviembre del 2008. En alcance al ultimo correo les mando mas fotos del Este Europeo. Despues de Budapest (no me queria ir de alli tampoco), me fui a Bratislava. Como referencia creo que ya les habia dicho que este era el pais de la pelicula "Hostel". Pues Eslovaquia es un pais muy adormilado, la gente gusta de irse a sus casas muy temprano y los negocios cierran muy temprano. Esta ciudad tiene mas movimiento que Kosice (la ciudad donde caminaba yo solo a las 8 de la noche), pero igual les da por irse a casa tempranito. El centro historico es chico, bonito y limpio, el resto de la ciudad es como un super infonavit de los viejos (no adjunto fotos porque son iguales a los edificios de Kosice). Tambien esta ... read more

This has been our first Christmas spent in Slovakia and so I thought I would share a little bit about the traditions and culture that surrounds the Christmas season. Christmas traditions begin a little earlier in Slovakia (and Eastern Europe) than in the United States. This is due mainly to the celebration of St. Nicholas Day on the 6th of December. Of course, the legends upon which Santa Claus is based are derived from the stories attributed to St. Nicholas. Children leave their shoes near a window and the next morning, they are filled with candy, nuts, and fruits, as well as chocolate representations of Nicholas or Santa Claus in modern times. Winter sports are very popular in Slovakia and early in December, the outdoor skating rink is opened to skating and hockey practices can begin. ... read more

They say it never rains, it pours, and it's certainly been like that this November with my travelling. Just three days after arriving back from Milan, I was on another after-work, budget, Ryanair flight to Bratislava, Slovakia. Davies and I must've arrived on the last plane to Bratislava, as the airport was completely empty. It was cold outside, shrouded in fog. We needed to find a ticket-machine to buy bus tickets, but none were to be found as the bus arrived. The driver points out a couple of machines that our eyes have missed before mercilessly leaving us behind. Grrrrr. Twenty minutes later we get on the next bus, rattling past IKEA and a big shopping mall into town. After some difficulty finding our tram at the main train station, we hop onto it where it ... read more

All Saints Day in Slovakia, as well as many other Slavic countries, is a highly celebrated holy day. Throughout the entire weekend, Slovak families travel across the country to visit cemeteries where their deceased family members are located. Cemeteries overflow with flowers and thousands and thousands of candles are lit and placed on the graves. Families take time to meet together and take care of their family members' gravesites. Because some families must travel to multiple cemeteries across large areas of Slovakia, this begins taking place on Friday and doesn't end until late Sunday night, when the actual observance of All Saints takes place. Virtually all Slovaks travel to their local cemetery late on Sunday night to pay respects and light candles. Additionally, war memorials that commemorate the World Wars are highly decorated. Although the practice ... read more

I didn have much to write about yesterday. Spent the day in Vienna, but not really doing anything worth writing about. It was so cold, so grey, so gloomy, so crowded, so everything. Humbug. Today was much better. I had to be at the boat dock on the Danube Canal by 8, so was up early. Luckily it is just a few blocks from my hotel. I have to say that I really did a great job picking the hotels. Can complain at all about any of them, especially the locations. The catamaran to Slovakia took a little over an hour. Spent a nice day in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It was very quiet there since it was an overcast Sunday morning. I did see all the sights I wanted to, and a few more. ... read more