Thursday 21 June 2012

Connie's PS!

Connie insists I mention the reaction we have had throughout the journey to my hair! It is currently natural silver grey with a rainbow through the front.

It seems this is quite a talking point from 2 year olds upwards, flight attendants, passport controllers etc! She has thoroughly enjoyed watching people watching me, and their expressions as they try to work out if perhaps I'm someone famous they should recognise!

And my tattoos have drawn some attention too, oh yes, and my feet ... it seems most folk forget they have toes and find my Vibram Five Fingers rather odd.  All in all I appear to be something of a celebrity in my own unobtrusive way ...

Goodbye Bratislava



Today we head back to Scotland after an amazing 5 days exploring Slovakia.

36!
We have been incredibly lucky with the weather.  As we arrived the temperature rose above 30 and has remained there throughout with almost constant blue skies and very little cloud.  Yesterday it peaked at 36 degrees (97 F in old money).  I honestly can't remember the last time I spent time in such heat.

It seems the temperatures at home have slowly started to struggle toward 'warmish' so hopefully the return won't be too painful!

Yesterday we really enjoyed just pottering around the old city and were unexpectedly serenaded by Swiss Long Horn players who were perched around the clock tower of the town hall!  We wandered down to the New Slovak Theatre again to take some photos of the building where we'd enjoyed our opera last Saturday.  Connie enjoyed some time in Marks and Spencer (!) and we sat by the Danube eating birthday ice-cream!

One of many statues

By the Danube

Birthday Treats!


The Slovak New Theatre in the background

The Hotel!



Last night we found a wonderful restaurant and ate a delicious meal which created the perfect end to our trip.

Until the next Cavegirl adventure, au revoir!

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Tour de Slovakia; white-knuckle ride (at warp speed) - edited!


An epic cross country journey (the return as recorded on my Garmin)


The past two days have been truly action-packed, so much so that I was incapable of blogging day by day which had been my intention, so apologies if you have been eagerly tuning in only to find we had apparently disappeared from the face of the earth.  In fact on a number of occasions we really, nearly did!  By the end of each day I was only capable of flopping into bed (only to lie awake in a wired stupor for most of the night!) with any form of coherent diary writing quite beyond my word-deficient over-loaded brain.  

So to begin – we were collected early by Peter and his partner, Dada, in her small(ish) Suzuki jeep which already contained her large(ish) 18 year old son and their small 2 year old daschund Susa, yes, a dog …. And we were about to embark on a 1200 km round trip.  In the event the son was delivered to school as we left Bratislava, not so Susa!

Peter is a heavy, heavy smoker and requires regular stops during which he chain smokes until we set off again.  And of course Susa required breaks as well. Suddenly, arriving at our destination anytime this month, seemed unlikely to say the least!  However, Peter overcame this apparent problem by driving at warp speed (a G suit would not have gone a miss!) between said stops, regardless of the terrain or road conditions ... some stops were even for us to sight-see, many were not, finding us slewed across random laybys as if we had just crash landed!  

In fact he had devised a wonderful route from west to east (and east to west) to capture as much of the varied countryside as possible that makes up Slovakia.  Having left the environs of Bratislava we were quite quickly into a gentle undulating valley for many kilometers before heading into a hillier area to pass through the traditional village of Čičmany to the north of central Slovakia.  The village is protected from development now and retains some wonderfully decorated village dwellings.  We stopped here for coffee and enjoyed wandering down the main street taking photos.

From here we wound our way through some beautiful countryside passing through small villages until we reached a village where Dada's Great Grandfather had lived and who is remembered by a sign on one of the houses; he was a local medical doctor and taught in the Catholic school there.

We stopped for a late lunch by a man-made reservoir that was completed in the 1970s and forms part of an extensive hydro electric system that serves Slovakia's power requirements.  They also have two nuclear facilities and coal-fired generators too.  We all ate a regional speciality, gnocci with sheep cheese and bacon.  Whilst I wouldn't choose to eat potatoes as a rule it was interesting, and tasty, to try a local food.

From here the pace really picked up with Peter driving at crazy speeds, breaking insanely late into blind corners and leaving Connie and I in a braced position to avoid making an unscheduled exit through the side windows, or through the windscreen; my Garmin's inertial dampers must have failed at some point and the mapping of the route from West to East was somewhat disrupted!  By this point we had been on the road for some 8 hours and were hot and rather cramped sitting in the back.  The temperature has remained well above 30 since we arrived here, not ideal conditions for journeying in a small vehicle with four adults (and a dog) with no air-conditioning! 

Our next destination was in the High Tatras a section of mountains that form part of the Carpathian range.  With peaks climbing in excess of 6,000 feet this area is stunningly beautiful (and still snow-capped) and really appealed to Connie who has spent most of her adult years climbing and mountaineering.  It also held particular interest for me as Peter and I had worked on a book together a number of years ago which narrates the history of the Kempinski hotel located here.  We parked by the ski-jumps.  I'd never before seen them 'in the flesh' so to speak and lacking snow, and seen from below seem to be totally insane!  Ski-jumpers must be completely mad!

The next stop around 17:30 was in the beautiful town of Levoča.  This town was built over the centuries almost entirely by Germans (and German money) who had been invited into the region by former emperors to develop trade.  The result is a stunning Bavarian looking town of quality buildings with beautiful frescos and a church which houses the largest wooden altar in the world and is a UNESCO listed site.  Unfortunately for us the church was by this time closed.

Peter had devised a plan to take in another church but by now it was getting really late and we still had some 3 hours or driving ahead of us to reach Medzilaborce and the Andy Warhol museum.  We eventually arrived around 8 pm (13 hours of death-defying driving)!  The restaurant at the 'hotel' had already shut.  Fortunately we were able to wander down the street and find a Penzion with a restaurant still serving.  

Medzilaborce  is the end of everything, right up against the Polish border and had the air of a one-horse western town that has past its prime, if it ever had one - you half expected Clint Eastwood to suddenly appear!  Obviously the Warhol museum is here because this is where Andy's parents lived but it couldn't be located in a less accessible place!  There are large gypsy populations in this area which straddles the border areas of Poland, Ukraine and Hungary.  As with many itinerant populations there are grave social problems surrounding them as the 'system' has tried to integrate them into a fixed way of life so alien to their ancestry.

The meal we had was delicious and plentiful and Connie will probably wax lyrical about the pizza forever more!  Fortunately for her I understand we have a Slovak chef arrived near where she lives who is now producing such pizzas.  The meal was ridiculously cheap as well - 22 euros for two soups, a pizza, a pasta dish, a chicken dish, chips, bottled water, beer and coffees.  I really don't understand how they can function economically!

The 'hotel' was typical former communist but clean and adequate for the one night although with small rooms and no air-conditioning was stiflingly hot; another 2 hours only of sleep ensued.  However a wonderful breakfast of ham and mushroom omelettes set us up for the day and at 1.50 euros a complete bargain.

Donald Warhola (Andy's nephew) was teaching a class of children and we peeked in to see him and met his wife.  We then spent 30 minutes or so wandering around the exhibition.  I have to say I'm not particularly fond of most pop art but seeing a whole series of pictures together, by several artists who were contemporaries or students of Warhol certainly helped me to understand the thought processes the artist had followed.  

On our return journey we came back a more direct route which took a mountain pass through the Low Tatras a lovely family skiing area before returning through the valley and eventually into Bratislava.  We were very fortunate to be going in the 'right' direction as the outbound traffic was badly effected by a lorry crash which created 10s of miles of standing traffic.

Throughout our journey a female Slovak voice droned out directions from a satnav which Peter often disagreed with or was driving so fast he missed the instruction, resulting in hair-raising U-turns on many occasions or violent breaking to make an almost missed junction and I have never before arrived at a petrol forecourt in excess of 60 mph, at this point I closed my eyes and 'disappeared' elsewhere until the vehicle came to a halt!

The dog ... I have to say Susa behaved impeccably sitting quietly on either Dada's and Peter's lap for the entire journey and by the end of day 1 was probably the only creature in the car who didn't smell!  

Storks - it's amazing to see storks flying around and nesting on telegraph poles along the road!

We celebrated the end of our road trip by having dinner at our hotel with our hosts.

A most interesting trip and one from which I thought we may never reappear at times!

Ready for the road trip ...

Peter, Dada, Cavegirl and Susa the dog!

Traditional village building

Stopping for coffee

Dada's Ancestor

Lake lunch stop


At the Warhol exhibition

High Tatras


Madness



Today is Connie's 60 th birthday, we are staying at one of the best hotels in Bratislava right in the heart of the old city next door to the US Embassy and I booked an extra room at the last minute  - hopefully we'll both return home rested now LOL!








Tuesday 19 June 2012

We made it back to Bratislava ...

... how, I have no idea!

This is a short post just to say I will return tomorrow morning and recount all (at least as many as I can recall) of the events of the last two days; our epic Tour of Slovakia, Aryton Senna style at warp speed ... and if that isn't a bunch of mixed metaphors I don't know what is!

To come ... a dog, u-turns, Slovak SatNav, storks and much more!

Now, after yet another night of 2 hours sleep, I'm off to eat and then head for the land of dreams, I hope.

Cavegirl

Sunday 17 June 2012

Sunday in Bratislava

Two go wild in Bratislava!
The weather has been just perfect, really hot, blue skies and a gentle breeze.

We headed into the old part of the city and marvelled at the architecture and many pieces of public art displayed around the place.

Bratislava is a traditionally Catholic area and we passed a number of nuns on their way to mass and caught the sound of hymns and psalms being sung as we wandered past the numerous churches.  However it is also a modern European city and by lunchtime was also buzzing with families enjoying the sun and tourist groups being herded along by their guides.  There was a Sunday market with a number of very good local craft stalls which we enjoyed browsing, and yes, purchasing from!

We spent the hottest hours (yes, I am rubbing it in ... LOL!) of the day in the shade having a delicious lunch with Peter and his partner Dada which they had prepared for us at their home high up above the city in the diplomatic quarter, in fact, right opposite the American Ambassador's Residence, a mini White House!

We then wandered back down to the centre and completed the day with an alfresco coffee and a spot of people watching.

Part 2 of the adventure begins tomorrow when Peter collects us at 7 am and we begin our 'road trip' as he insists on calling it!  We are heading to the birth town, Medzilaborce, of Andy Warhol's parents, to visit an exhibition of his work.  As Peter and I had worked on the press release for the event the Museum curator is giving us a personal guided tour, and word has it that Warhol's nephew is also visiting!

So, without further ado a selection of photos from today.

Main Square

Cavegirl by one of the many public sculptures

Fountain by the Presidential Palace

Baptist Church

Bratislava Castle

Lunch at Peter's house

Cavegirl in her element!



Connie, the photographer!


MMM the best laid plans of ...



Anyone who knows Heathrow and its 5 terminals will appreciate that to arrive at Terminal 5 and use the automated check-in to be told your flight leaves from Terminal 1 isn't a great start!   So we duly transplanted ourselves across to 1 and were able to check-in OK; it seems to be to do with BA having bought BMI and it will return to Terminal 5, so I wasn't going completely mad!

We still had time for Connie to fulfil her extensive requirements in duty free before boarding!

Stepping out at Vienna into 30 degree heat was an absolute joy, blue skies, sunshine and warm.  I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed the sun, and seeing the blue, and feeling warm.

Peter was there and we headed to Bratislava, a 45 minute drive through the Austrian countryside until you reach the Danube. There has been a fair amount of building since I was here 7 years ago and Slovakia now feels much more seamlessly EU rather than former Eastern-bloc.

After a brief coffee break to meet his partner at their home he dropped us off at our hotel.  Checking into a hotel is pretty routine, I've done it hundreds of times before ... however on this occasion once our details had been taken, a phone call was made and the hotel manager appeared and introduced himself and shook my hand ... this was never likely to be a good omen!  They had double-booked our room ... by now, on 2 hours sleep, many hours of travelling and yet to be acclimatised to the heat I was not amused.  But, the hotel had already arranged an alternative in their sister hotel and a car took us around.  In fact, the same driver later took us down to the opera so all in all no great disaster.

The opera - Puccini's Manon Lescaut - in fact the opening night of this particular performance.  Opera in Bratislava is excellent and still follows the old state-funded style so tickets are 'cheap' compared with opera elsewhere.  In fact, since Slovakia became part of the EU the opera house here is filled with opera-loving Viennese taking advantage of the bargains available.

This was a modern staging of an opera written in the early 20th century of the story of an 18th century heroine.  The first two acts were somewhat confusing with strange mixes of period clothing and modern staging, upside down sofas suspended from the ceiling, trees mounted horizontally ... and the weirdest section with almost space-age marshmallow costumes that wouldn't have been out of place as the entry for Yugolavia in the Eurovision of the 1980s!  All the while though we were listening to a top rate classical orchestra and first-class singers.

The story is classic Italian opera, young man falls for inappropriate woman, pines, wins her, she's outcast, he follows, they die tragically ... the final act last night was stunning, an empty space with brilliant lighting to depict a desert scene in America.  Quite a night.

Hopefully today will be less 'dramatic'.


Saturday 16 June 2012

En route ... edited

An uneventful journey to Heathrow, a little delayed, but nothing major and no connecting flights to worry about.  Crowne Plaza overnight; great room, two huge double beds, the quietest air-conditioning unit but no clever device to stop a snorer LOL!  Funny how snorers can wake up and tell you how little sleep they had when you listened to them all night, sleeping!  I've since discovered that snoring actually disrupts the quality of sleep so perhaps that's why a snorer can appear to have a long sleep only to wake up unrefreshed.

Of course I know I don't snore because I stayed awake listening!  My lack of sleep wasn't down to the sonorous roar from the corner, in fact I always find sleeping difficult the night before a flight, actually I find sleep difficult period but especially when travelling with others; I feel responsible for everything going smoothly and arriving at the departure gate on time.

This is the forecast for Bratislava

Oh yes!

Time to get up and catch our flight to Vienna, via the duty-free shopping, which Connie has been dreaming about for weeks!


Friday 15 June 2012

Packed and ready to go!

Welcome!

If you've hopped over here from my regular blog you'll know that I do some freelance language editing from time to time.  Editing Slovak English in fact!  This can prove variously deadly boring, highly entertaining, very occasionally lucrative, but more often than not just quite interesting and an intellectual challenge.

It all started about 8 years ago when I needed to know how to say 'Happy Christmas' in Slovak for reasons I won't elaborate here!  I contacted www.english.sk and duly had my question answered and in that question developed a cyber friendship and gradually working relationship with Peter.

I visited him a number of years ago in Bratislava and then he came to visit us some years later.  So this is a return trip for me but a first visit for Connie.

So, what triggered heading East again ... a piece of editing of course!  6 weeks ago I edited a press release for an Andy Warhol (and friends) exhibition at the eponymous museum located in his parents birth town in the far East of Slovakia, hence the 'almost Poland'quip!  It sounded so interesting Mr Grok suggested I go along.

And go along I am, and taking Connie too, as an epic 60 th birthday celebration for her.

More to follow as the days unfold.