Random musings on Slovakia

Having been here six weeks now, things are starting to become more familiar and differences less noticeable. Since it’s the differences that probably make for the most interesting reading, I’d like to mention a few differences I’ve noticed between Slovakia and our two English-speaking countries before I forget.

We haven’t really mentioned our apartment yet, so I've included a few pictures here.

Beds are different. Ours are a single unit, with a mattress on top of a supporting box, all covered in the same matching material. They are shorter, narrower and lower. They sometimes come with a matching backrest along the wall, which makes them look more like futons. Pillows are much bigger, on the other hand – nearly twice the size. Storage abounds in our little apartment, with standing  units, drawers and display cases on most walls. The contents of our massive suitcases barely fill a fraction of it, but I could see this being useful in permanent homes as opposed our little nomad pad.

Bedroom doors – are glass! It’s the cloudy, textured glass that you find on English bathroom windows, so it does obscure things, but just to be on the safe side, we helped it along with wrapping paper.

Bathrooms – the toilet is often in a separate room from the shower and sink. No comments on the relative merits of this over having them all in one room. There are obvious pros and cons to each system. It’s just different.

Windows – the cool ones, like they have in France. If you twist the handle one way, it opens it a crack at the top. If you twist it another way, it opens it wide from the side, like a door. There are no screens, so it really feels like letting a bit of the outdoors in. I don’t get screens. They kind of defeat the purpose of opening a window.

Shopping-wise, it seems the busy time is weekday afternoons. This is because everything is closed by noon on Saturday. The exception is big shopping centers (obchodné centrum – do you believe it took me a month to learn that one!), which are open well into the evenings.

While we’ve been here, Mark’s colleagues Jitka and Martin have been very kind and invited us to their homes. Through them we have experienced fantastic Slovak hospitality, and learned things about everyday Slovak life that we would never have otherwise known.

For a meal, it is common to start with soup (polievka). Often this is a clear broth, with bread in it. One time I had one with strips of pancake in it. For Christmas, the meal includes a traditional sour cabbage soup called kapustnica.

Home brewing is also very common, and often includes some traditional spirits based on fruit. Slivovica (plum based) is the most common. Jitka’s father shared some he had made that was over 18 years old. He gave her a bottle that was made when she was born that is to be drunk on her wedding day. What a nice tradition! He also sent us home with some hruškovica (pear based), which is literally the strongest thing I have ever tried. There is also borovička, made from juniper berries.

So these are some of the things we’ve learned and experienced over the past weeks that we’ve been in Slovakia. It’s nice being more familiar with things now, even though we still have a long way to go. While nothing compares to that sense of awe and discovery of the first week in a new place, when familiarity creeps forward, that is the time when a new place becomes a home.

Karen