Slovakia I - The Comeback Kid

I chose this photo taken from inside the car because I think it is typical of the simplicity, color, and green spaces in Presov.

Our next stop was eastern Slovakia. This is the second time we have gone to Presov (Preh’-shov) to visit our host son, Viktor, of 15 years ago and his family. The conversation is heady, leaning toward politics and morality. The food is hearty and wonderfully prepared. The activities are delightful but restful at the same time. 

At Viktor's father's house: An indoor/outdoor room 

Part of this is because we stay at the Trattoria owned and operated by Viktor’s friends of longstanding. (His treat, he insists!) While it’s called Trattoria (another Italian word for eatery) in fact it is a small hotel.  It must have been a rambling, roomy, old single residence of some quality with a generous interior courtyard in the days before WWII. The present owners are father-chef, daughter - business manager, &  son - operations. Since we came in the low season, we had a charming bedroom & bath in the old house, comparable to a B & B.  Before we arrived Viktor warned us that there might be some extra noise and disarray  because the owners were adding seven new rooms. This is a good sign. It means that this part of Slovakia is needing extra hotel rooms for business travelers & tourists.

Viktor in between translations; Beyond the green and the little red house we hear a choir singing Slovakian songs:  a celestial accompaniment as we converse.

We noticed many positive changes in Slovakia between our trips of August of 2005 and June of 2012. Here again the effects of the EU are obvious. In ’04 we were in Bratislava, the capital city, old and historic, largest in Slovakia. This time we stayed around Kosice (Ko-zee’-cheh) and Presov, what one might call provincial cities. Never think that I apply this term pejoratively. The provinces of a country can often vie with the big hubs. In this case one sees better why Slovakia doesn’t wish to bail out Greece or Spain. Obviously these are hardworking Slavs who have cleaned up from the Soviet days, refreshed and regenerated their economy. Whatever money the EU gave them has been properly applied: the bums are off the streets, gypsy eyesores are gone, half-finished street works are but few, city sanitation services are in place. Slovaks are bulldozing dead factories (with those horrid smoke stacks!), & rebuilding new ones on those sites. Most impressive is the car manufacturing corridor along the central highway. 

This might be a beer factory, but still it is representative of the many factories renewed or brand new.

A digression:

I’ve grown up knowing that my father at age 19 in 1938, left central Arkansas to work for the summer in the Ford Factory at Dearborn, Michigan. At the time he was an Industrial Arts major. When he reminisces on his experiences, he speaks with great respect for Slovaks and Poles who were masters of the foundry. They were kind and tolerant to a skinny, curious, green kid from the deep South. My father who eventually became a dentist learned the essentials of casting and metalworks from them. But, he always finishes his tale with, “I’ve never seen any human beings work harder than those Slovaks!” So, coincidentally,  in 2012 as we were riding along observing the car factories, I quoted what my father said. Viktor replied in a his charming Count Dracula accent, “Waal, da Slovaks alwez kom’plan abot werking, but dey weel dooweet anyway!” 

An official building freshened up: the crosswalk sign reflects the regulation continental signage required by the EU.

To return briefly to the position of Slovaks on bailing out Greece, et al.….We can totally understand their harsh stance: Slovaks don’t want to comply!  After such a long period of oppression being known as Czechoslovakia, in 1993, like Siamese twins, they were separated. Naysayers be damned! Little Slovakia is making a comeback. They are just beginning to prosper and whammy! Now, they must honor EU “solidarity” and bail out the lazy Greeks! 

Slovakia is a land of rolling hills.  Note the smokestack - a remnant of Soviet occupation.

We would not say that Slovaks are US-style capitalists, but they are hardly naïve concerning the ins-&-outs of socialism. The political right has struggled to push back the left, especially composed of aging citizens psychologically attached to the Soviet regime & the politicians who profit. 

Slovakia is so progressive that its currency is now the euro. I’m afraid their protest is in vain. “Rich” Slovakia must pay its part and rescue the Greeks with its fellow Euro-Members.

Another view of Presov: Nice cars, repaired streets with signage. Toujours des couleurs!