MY FALL 2003 TRIP TO SLOVAKIA  

I left Canada October 20 on Lufthansa Airlines to Frankfurt, where I arrived after flawless flight the next day and continued to Vienna where my long time friend and our correspondent MIROSLAVA DULOVÁ met me. Before my departure I emailed her to come to pick me up at the Swechatt airport around 3:00 PM. This of course I forgot by the time I arrived in Vienna. The flight was right on time. Vienna Airport is relatively very small on the world scale of international airports and it takes almost no time to get to the arrival hall and to claim your luggage. So I was out by 2:30 PM. There was nobody there to pick me up. I went back and forth between the parking lot and the arrival hall for half an hour, almost having tears in my eyes as I was tired and didn’t feel to wait for the bus to Bratislava. My luggage consisted of two huge suitcases, one camera bag, one carry on suitcase for my photo equipment and a huge box containing a set of golf clubs. All of this was piled up on the luggage cart, that was really difficult to maneuver, and for which by the way you must pay 1 or 2 Euro. This is a problem for any first time North American traveler except for the people from countries where the Euro is their currency. You can change some money at the exchange boot right in the arrival hall but you will also pay a hefty service charge for it. You will get the money back after returning your cart to its proper location. Mira arrived right on time as per my forgotten instructions just as I was about to buy an Austrian phone card and call her on her cell phone. Going through both borders was smooth as usual and we went right away to pick up my car from my friends at ADVANTAGE CAR RENTAL. Juraj Petro was waiting for me at the office. This time I got the same Škoda Felicia again, which I rented on previous occasions. I seem to have luck for the same car. I must tell you that you must have your headlights on between October and March. I don’t remember the exact days. The highway police officers are issuing heavy fines for non-compliance with this new law. Even I forgot to turn the lights on and was stopped near by Nitra. This time I received only a warning after talking to the officer in Slovak and admitting my forgetfulness. So I made myself a sign with one word in Slovak “SVETLÁ” lights, and still forgot to turn them on several occasions. The highway police officers got smart and now they are videotaping the offenders, so they do have you on the record should you claim that your lights were on. After unpacking and some rest I went for a beer to a pub with my friends. Several of my old friends still even after 40 years do go every Tuesday for a beer. It seems to many of them that I come for a beer with them more often then friends living in Bratislava and I was back home in Vancouver between my visits.

Thursday early morning I went to Liptovská Teplička where I stay now in PENSION ĽUDMILA. They increased their capacity to 20 beds and the fee per person is still only US$ 9.00. The US dollar at the present time is only about 33.20 SK a huge drop from 50.00 SK a year ago. 33.20 SK is also a price for one liter of gasoline. One US Gallon is 3.7854 liters and that means that in Slovakia one US Gallon will cost you US$ 3.79. I think that even with the prices for gasoline in North America recently skyrocketing, we still have a good deal on gasoline. I believe that now the price of gasoline in Slovakia is just about the same as anywhere in Europe.

I went on the freeway all the way to Nová Dubnica and then through Považská Bystrica, Žilina, Martin, Ružomberok, Liptovský Mikuláš, Liptovský Hrádok to Štrba, Šuňava and from there to Liptovská Teplička. The road from Šuňava winds through forest and at many locations the low fall and winter sun never shines on the road, thus leaving icy patches here and there and they are hard to see and are very dangerous. Soon I was sliding from side to side as well, so I reduced my speed and went really slow. Later on I passed three men looking over a car in the ditch. I heard that there were several accidents on that road during the day.

In the evening I went to visit my friends from folklore group Jánošík from Svit. They had a performance in one of the old luxurious hotels, Hotel Grand in Starý Smokovec at the foot of High Tatra Mountains. As I walked though the lobby suddenly I remembered that I used to stay in this hotel with my parents and my sister as a child during winter holidays and we would go tobogganing at nearby Hrebienok.

Friday I had genealogical research job in Petrovany, south of Prešov and I also visited my friends HELENKA and JARO BIROŠ (Bohumile Onasisse) in Prešov. We went for a tea at Black Eagle Restaurant in the Prešov’s cultural center. Later on I returned to Liptovská Teplička and visited my friends only to learn that a mother of a friend of mine had sprayed crazy glue in her left eye trying to glue a knob to a kitchen drawer. She didn’t feel that she should go to a hospital to get it look at by eye doctor. So I suggested that they call the hospital and tell them what had happened. The doctor told them to come to the hospital immediately as if it is left untreated she will go blind. They do have a car, the only thing wrong was that the potential driver had few beers and some slivovitz already and I was the only one that has not been drinking so far, so I took the lady to the hospital in Poprad which is about 22 kilometers away. The patients in Slovak Hospitals now have to pay to visit a doctor 20 SK and they also do have to pay for the stay in the hospital about 100 SK per day. Small price by our standards, but it is a lot if you make 50-50 SK per hour, which many of my Slovak friends make. They cleaned her eye and prescribed some pills and in less than an hour we were on our way back. It was getting quite cold, as Liptovská Teplička’s elevation is 919 meters above the sea level. It is much colder here than in Poprad.

Saturday I went to Dolný Kubín, visiting my friend deacon Frater Gabriel and his family. Frater Gabriel was very happy about the story and pictures published in the last issue. From there I went through Ružomberok, Donovaly, Banská Bystrica, Zvolen and Detva to festival of fujara players in Korytárky near Hriňová. I attended the first part of this small but beautiful festival, which has taken place in the Roman Catholic Church. There were many fujara players’ playing and singing. It was also really nice to hear the voices of three best folk singers of Slovakia: MONIKA KANDRÁČOVÁ, DARINA LAŠTIAKOVÁ and HANKA HULEJOVÁ. After the performance in the church I rushed to Detva to see my friends at the cultural center where they were having a festival of Roma singers. From here I returned for a while to see the second part of fujara players’ festival taking place at cultural center in Korytárky. I stayed for a while and then went through Čierny Balog, Brezno and Čertovica, Kráľová Lehota, Východná, Važec and Štrba to Liptovská Teplička.

Sunday I went to Bratislava where I stayed until Wednesday, of course Tuesday night I went for a beer with my friends. Wednesday morning I went to Komárno and Hurbanovo. In Hurbanovo there is a brewery for one of the best Slovak beers, ZLATÝ BAŽANT. They also operate a restaurant called “KAŠTIEĽ” with many pheasant specialties on the menu. I had a pheasant soup and roasted pheasant’s breast with blueberry sauce and it was delicious. From here I went to Nitra. Next day I went to visit my friend, folklorist, and heligónka player ujčok TONKO BENDÍK in Hrušov, district Veľlý Krtíš and I bought four liters of his fantastic Hruškovica (pear brandy) from him again. From here I went back to Nitra and continued to Bošany near Topoľčany and Partizánske where I had genealogical research job. The weather was really bad, dark low clouds and raining heavy, so I decided to return next day. I continued on through Partizánske, Prievidza, Bojnice and Nitrianske Pravno to Vyšehradné visiting my friend and master potter RASŤO HARONÍK. Nex day early morning, since the weather was much better and the sun was shining, I decided to return to Bošany and do the ancestral video, take pictures and do the research. From here I went to Nitra, Zvolen, Banská Bystrica, Donovaly, Ružomberok to Liptovský Mikuláš and then to Demänová valley and my favorite HOTEL FIM. I had a great dinner in their very fine restaurant. I had venison steak with mountain cranberries. Later on I received a phone call from a friend in Liptovská Teplička that my friend Bernadeta Pitoňáková has passed away due to heart failure. She was only 55. I stayed in the hotel for the night and in the morning I continued to Liptovská Teplička. The weather has changed for better and it was warm and sunny again. I really enjoy staying in Liptovská Teplička. The air is clean; it is peaceful, no through car traffic as the road ends there. I feel like in the fairyland. The people are very friendly and I do have a lot of friends here. I feel like at home in fact I do feel at home here. It is centrally located and most of my research is in Eastern Slovakia, so I am close to everything. I managed to go to the Sunday services at their Church blessed to John the Baptist. Next day I went to Telgart visiting parents of friends of ours. PALO HANDULA had a stroke five years ago. I also visited my friends at the sanatorium in Červená Skala. I continued to Brezno and then through the mountains to Hriňová and Detva where I visited my friend JANA KUCBELOVÁ, owner of folk art store PARTA. We met in Korytárky a week before, where she told me that her cameraman who was to film the performance of one of the best Slovak opera singers MARTIN BABIAK during Detva’s 2003 folklore festival didn’t tape it and mine was the only tape of this unforgettable performance at the Roman Catholic Church. So I had given her the tape much to her delight. I also visited my friends at the cultural center again. During my travels I am in contact with my son through email every chance I get to sit at the computer. In Liptovská Teplička I am checking my email at the local office. My son had informed me that someone has ordered research in Nižný Kručov and Čičava near Vranov nad Topľou. I emailed him back to scan the letter and the birth certificate my client sent by snail mail. Since I never shown him how to scan documents and attach files it didn’t come the way I wanted it. So I called him right away on my cell, gave him instructions and five minutes later I had everything printed in front of me. Wow so fast, thanks to the technology. Next day early morning I went to Nižný Kručov and Čičava near Vranov nad Topľou and did the Ancestral Village Video and took some pictures. On the way back I went to Údol near Stará Ľubovňa visiting family of a friend of mine. From there I went through Podolínec, Spišská Belá, Kežmarok and Poprad, where I stopped to buy some groceries at KAUFLAND. Kaufland is probably the most reasonable priced grocery store chain in Slovakia that also sells kitchenware, radios, TV’s and many other items. Their fruits and vegetable section however doesn’t add up to the western standards, as they don’t have refrigerated counters for them as we are used to in North America. They had a special on Mandarin oranges, but most of them on the counter were rotten. When I was passing through the aisles I found stack of boxes filled with beautiful Mandarin oranges, so I bought some. The bananas were also half price, so I got some of them as well. From here I went for some more shopping at the huge department and grocery store TESCO, where the selection is much better. TESCO could be compared to Wall Mart, except TESCO has far better selection on anything and I just feel better in TESCO than in Wall Mart. All the stores are huge with minimum of 60 check out stands in one row and most of them are open 24 hours. Next day I attended the funeral of my friend Bernadeta Pitoňáková who passed away due to a heart failure in Liptovská Teplička, she was only 55 years old. The funeral was attended it looked like by everyone in the village. In Evening I went to Svit, visiting my friends from folklore group JÁNOŠÍK again and this time I went with them to their performance in Stará Lesná. Next day I went to Prešov and Okružná visiting parents of JAROSLAV BIROŠ where his wife HELENKA was celebrating her 25th birthday. I stayed there over night and Sunday on the way to Liptovská Teplička I attended a celebratory mass at VIKARTOVCE celebrated by the Mons. Doc. ThDr. ICLic. FRANTIŠEK DLUGOŠ, PhD. This was Saint Martin’day and he is the patron of the village. Mons. Dlugoš blessed their flag, the village seal, and their coats of arms. In the evening I took friends of mine to a Slovak folk restaurant in Poprad. I had fantastic roasted breast of duck with red cabbage and dumplings and then we visited my friend Nórika Gašková who lives near by. Monday I returned to Bratislava and Tuesday I went for lunch at my favorite restaurant in Vienna, Austria, The FIGLMÜLLER. I also went to St. Stephan’s Cathedral, took a lot of pictures of the saints, and strolled through the old town and Graben. On the way to Bratislava I went through CARNUNTUM and its Roman ruins. Barbara F. Abendschein and AR staff writes: Soon after the Roman conquest of Pannonia in 12 BC, Carnuntum (near Vienna, Austria) became a base for military operations led by Tiberius against the Marcomanni, a Germanic tribal confederacy. By 14 AD, the area was patrolled by the legio XV Apollinaris, transferred from Emona, the first Pannonian town on the Amber Road. At this time, for military and administrative reasons, the eastern part of Noricum province, to which Carnuntum originally belonged, was transferred to the province of Pannonia. Between AD 35 and 40, legio XV erected a military camp which initiated the Roman settlement in Carnuntum, and became one of the largest and most important fortresses on the Danube limes or fortified boundary. In AD 62 the legion was dispatched to the eastern campaigns, returning in 71 and remaining until the latter part of the reign of Trajan (AD 98-117) when it was replaced by legio XIV Gemina, which remained garrisoned in Carnuntum for the rest of the Roman era. When Trajan divided the province of Pannonia into two parts, Carnuntum became the capital or governor’s seat of Pannonia Superior. The next emperor, Hadrian, visited in AD 124 and granted Carnuntum the rights of an official town or municipium. After the Viennese basin was overrun by Barbarian tribes from north of the Danube including the Marcomanni and Quadi, Marcus Aurelius launched a counteroffensive from his headquarters at Carnuntum, where from AD 172 to 174 he also wrote the second book of his Meditations, a literary-philosophical treatise on Stoic values which has stood the test of time. On April 9, 193 Septimius Serverus was pronounced emperor while in Carnuntum, and awarded the city the status of colonia. From here I continued through Bratislava, Nitra, to Hronský Beňadik where a new 15 Km stretch of freeway was just opened few days ago, bypassing a very treacherous part around river Hron and ending past Nová Baňa by Rudno nad Hronom. I stopped to shop at METRO in Zvolen. Metro is very similar to North American Costco. Also requires membership, though it is free and the selection on everything is far, far better then Costco. You can hardly compare them, as the Costco is basically a plain Jane outfit. Since I liked the duck at the restaurant in Poprad so much, I decided to get a duck, dumplings, and red cabbage. I roasted the duck at friends of mine house in Liptovská Teplička, made the cabbage, steamed the dumplings and as a desert we had shredded chestnut puree with whipping cream. The cost for dinner for four was less than my portion at the restaurant. Next day I went to manor house in Mojmírovce near Nitra. I was lucky this time and got a fantastic two level room in the old bastion tower. Read story on following pages. Since daughter of a friend of mine the mayor of Liptovská Teplička studies in Nitra I offered to take her home for the weekend as I was returning to Liptovská Teplička after my stay in Mojmírovce. Well from giving ride to one girl I ended up giving ride to three girls traveling all in the same direction. Went to METRO in Nitra and got another duck, cabbage and dumplings and some fine Australian wine and we were on our way through Partizánske, Nováky, Bojnice to Vyšehradné, where we stopped for a glass of champagne at my friend Rasťo Haroník. Soon after we went through Martin and we dropped off the first girl in Šútovo near the famous Šútovo waterfall. Next girl was dropped off in Poprad and Majka, the mayor’s daughter in Liptovská Teplička. I roasted the duck this evening at the same friends. I stayed here through the weekend, the weather was great and Tusesday morning I said goodbye to all my friends and went to Bratislava, stopping in Bošany to do some more research and continued through Nitra to Bratislava. In the evening to surprise of my friends I showed up at the pub and they were wandering if I was in Canada in the mean time. Wednesday I went for lunch at my Bratislava’s favorite restaurant VODNÍK, where they had a Mexican week. I must tell you that in 1995 I visited Mexico with my family and didn’t find their food very exciting. Much to my reluctance I did ordered some sautéed beef in Mexican peppers and fantastic sweet sauce served on tortilla and it was just fantastic. We also had some chestnut desert. After the lunch I returned my car to ADVANTAGE CAR RENTAL, packed and repacked my two huge oyster shell Samsonite suitcases and next morning at 5 AM, I was picked up by my friend MILAN ŠTEFÁNIK and drove to Swechatt Airport near Vienna, Austria. Soon I was on the way to Frankfurt, where I waited for my connecting flight to Vancouver.

The service at LUFTHANSA FLIGHT LH 492 WAS TERRIBLE. The food was awful, their video system was all malfunctioning and we were forced to watch two movies with no sound, so they shown a third movie, this time with sound. I wanted some service and there was no sign of personnel, so I turned on the call light. It took 45 minutes and I had to point out to them that my call light is on for that long and that if I had a medical condition I probably would be dead by now. I filled out a complain form, but to this day, and this is now three weeks after the flight, I didn’t hear back from LUFTHANSA The GERMAN AIRLINE.

We arrived in Vancouver on time, I was picked up by my wife Maria and to my surprise also our son Mathew and I learned the terrible news of our daughter’s friend Fraser Bracken passing, due to a liver failure five years after liver transplant. He was only 19 years old. And thus my fall 2003 trip to Slovakia has come to an end after 31 days.

Vladimir

GO BACK TO TRAVEL

Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 11, No. 4, Winter 2003
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 2003 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.