Slovakia - Castle Walls and Waterfalls

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have shared much of their history in the last century but they remain distinct identities. The more mountainous terrain of Slovakia led to an historically pastoral lifestyle while Czech Republic was, and still is agricultural. This distinction is small but it still shows. When driving through Slovakia I noticed many small shops and stands selling "ovci syr" (sheep cheese). Sheep cheese is not uncommon in the Czech republic but I have only seen it in the store. Meanwhile in the alcoholic beverage department the Czechs have the edge in beer while Slovaks favor wine. However, both of them create a throat-burning fruit based alcohol called slivovice (sleeve-o-veets-eh).

This past weekend Tom and I took some time to explore these cultural differences. First, the hills! Tom had knee surgery mid-December so he has been itching to get out. Slovakia gave us the chance to stretch our legs a bit as we hiked the four kilometers to Kl'acký Vodopád (Kl'acký Waterfall).  

Testing his knee on a wet mossy log over a creek. We looked for a potentially less hazardous way but couldn't find a place where we could guarantee dry feet. I had my waterproof boots but Tom was in normal shoes.

Yay hiking!

One of the coolest parts of the whole weekend was finding bear prints in the snow! Tom and I saw plenty of scat this summer in the North Cascades but prints were a first!

There were fox prints too!

Kl'acký Vodopád. Pretty small right now in the middle of winter. Though this has been a mild winter so perhaps it is bigger than normal. 

Slovakia is quite a pretty country. 

We got back to the car refreshed and ready for a day of further adventuring! Next stop was Strečno Castle. Slovakia is covered in castles. Some are little more than artistic piles of rubble while others look like something fresh out of a fairytale. Strečno is somewhere in between though it favors the rubble classification by a few notches. Most of its walls are still visible and the main building/tower is whole but its last major renovation was in 1689. 

Turns out the castle only officially takes visitors from April through October but a little fence doesn't deter us. It isn't trespassing if you stay outside the fence right?

Or if you enter the property because there is a break in the fence between some buildings?

Well, we got in but this is a touristy peasant village thing with the castle still looming above us. So, we went back around the fence and off in to the woods. 

Many thanks to the local Slovaks and intrepid tourists before us for creating paths up to the castle. 

It was great to explore the castle grounds but I have to say the view was the best part. We spent quite a bit of time on the castle bluff taking pictures of the medieval building behind us and the beautiful town below us. 

I have many more thoughts to share on Slovakia and pictures of the sights we saw but I think this is a good start. 

My first hockey game!

Last week Tom and I went out with some of his old friends. One friend and I got to talking about sports. He couldn't believe I had never been to a hockey game. I ran down the four most popular sports in the US: American football, baseball, soccer, basketball. Him: "Where is hockey?" Me: "I have no idea I only know those first four." Ice hockey is far and away the most popular sport in the Czech Republic. It was then decided we were going to the next home game. (My apologies in advance for the low quality of the images. Turns out I don§t know how to take pictures when things move.) 

Prostějov Hawks skating onto the rink. It was Prostějov versus "Brno's crap team" (Brno has two teams).  

It was great fun to watch! Unfortunately Prostějov did not do very well. Tom's friend said it was like watching pond hockey. You know, the neighborhood kids playing outside. Prostějov lost 3-1 with Brno scoring their third point when Prostejov had six players on the ice versus Brno's three. That was embarrassing. But I got to practice my Czech swear words! 

My lovely escorts and cultural interpreters

Tom and I. I had the hardest time taking this picture. The beer was starting to get to me...

End of the game. The fireworks are from Prostějov's super fans. The whole game they were chanting and singing on behalf of the home team. When finished shaking hands the Prostějov players went over to wave and clap for them as a thank you for the support. 

Day Trips and Camera Clicks

Running errands has taken Tom and I to some of the bigger cities in the Czech Republic including Prague and Olomouc. Then on the sunny days in Prostějov we have been visiting some of the local sites. Here is a spattering of images and anecdotes from where we have been. 

 Tom had to go to Prague to get a Chilean student visa. The embassy sent him an email the day before stating "We await your arrival at 10am tomorrow." No scheduling. That was it. He had to get his visa the next day. That meant we had to leave the house by 6am. After three hours of driving to get to Prague then trying to find our way through morning commute and construction we were buzzed in to the embassy with a little time to spare at 9:45. And then we sat for nearly three hours, with no other people, waiting for the Consul to give us the time of day. 

 The embassy was a bit of a frustrating start to our time in Prague but it was a nice day to go out and see a few sites. I saw most of the big sites when I visited for a few days last year but Tom showed me a few smaller ones I had missed including this padlock covered bridge. All around the world there are places where couples affix locks to represent their love. This particular one can be found in the Malá Strana District of Prague. 

Not terribly exciting but I ground some meat for the first time...

The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic. A UNESCO World Heritage Site for its representation of "Central European baroque artistic expression." After various plagues columns were sometimes erected in cities to thank God for their survival and help protect them against plague in the future. Protection came from depicting some of the saints that thwart sickness. This particular column isn't dedicated to the plague but it was probably influenced by it.  

Reservoir and local castle in Prostejov. The castle is so tall and skinny!

Silliness at a local park/garden...

More silliness...

Leafy clumps in the tree, kind of difficult to see here, are mistletoe! It grows wild all over the Czech Republic. Sometimes when mistletoe is particularly prevalent it looks a bit like the trees are still green.

Peek-A-Boo!

A milk machine! Local farmers deliver milk into the machine. Consumers can bring a bottle or buy one there. A liter of fresh milk costs less than $1!  Fresh milk for us and more money goes back to the farmers.

Milk milk milk