Reflections on Things at Hand: Slovakia

Sadly, one of the biggest victims of the camera theft in Barcelona, besides a couple hundred extra pictures from China and the pictures of Barcelona itself, were all of my pictures from Slovakia. I passed through Slovakia a couple times during the summer odyssey. I flew into Bratislava on the way back from China, before catching a train up to Ruzomberok for a conference, and then catching another train on to Austria, before passing back through Bratislava on the way to catching a flight to Madrid. On the way to Spain I had a day to walk around downtown Bratislava, which I absolutely loved. Folks who complain about the expense of visiting Europe should consider Slovakia - much less expensive than neighboring Czech Republic, Austria or Hungary, but very beautiful - with loads of history. On the initial trip to Slovakia I was scheduled to speak at the Catholic University of Ruzomberok at a conference. I can state without any reservation that I have never, ever been treated so well at any conference. They were extraordinary - from answering all of my questions to picking me up at the train station to feeding me royally to taking all of the main speakers on a whirlwind tour of Slovakia after the conference to taking a detour on a late night, rainy trip to the train station so that I could say that I had visited Poland. Absolutely amazing. It's one of the places that I am considering for my sabbatical, and I can't imagine a more pleasant group of folks to spend a few months with. Ruzomberok itself is a fairly sleepy town, although it had just opened up a western coffee shop as well as a more western nightclub (both owned and run by one of the students at the university). The guy who ran the nightclub was great - he'd talk to you for a few moments and then order you a drink. You might then say that you wanted to drink something else, but he'd just shake his head and "your" drink would arrive - and, he was right, it was fantastic. The Catholic University of Ruzomberok is first-rate. Again, sadly, all the pictures are gone, with the exception of ones that my friend Janka sent me. On the last night (which I had photographed extensively) we were up in the mountains and ate at this little mom and pop restaurant - just an amazing group of folks (including a Dickens scholar who was kind enough to allow me to pester him endlessly about Dickensian subjects). It was one of those moments when you just realized that there would be few times in your life when you would be that completely satisfied. Here are some pictures that my friend Janka (she's the one in the hat) - along with pictures of Kathleen (an ex-pat from the US - the one standing behind me while I look like I'm meditating) and my good friend Katarina (in the black t-shirt). The last year has been pretty brutal, and that's one of those moments that recharged my batteries - I don't think I've had so much fun since the world was young.