The view from Chleb
We were granted some intriguing weather for our Saturday-morning hike in the Mala Fatra. Clouds were rolling down the canyons, sweeping across the peaks, scattering to give us glimpses of the valley below, and enshrouding us in glory. We rode the lift from Vrátna and hiked to the peak of Chleb. The above photo was taken looking south. I think the brilliant rape-seed fields are a nice touch.
We’ll be taking a very brief trip to Vrátna valley for a family getaway. The weather doesn’t look like it’s going to cooperate, so I’ll post someone else’s picture. It’s more likely to make you jealous….
This afternoon Paula and I hiked to the ruins of Ostry Kamen Castle. We approached it from the west, near the village of Bukova. The approach is up a steep incline – quite a little workout for a Sunday. After we made it past the steepest grade, we started walking on a switchback road, and immediately passed an older couple with their dog on their way down the mountain. (more…)
Listen to this traditional Slovak song. I’ll print the words below, with apologies to my Slovak friends until I can figure out how to add the diacritical marks to my blog. Also, I ask my Slovak friends to offer their translations of the text in the comments section.
Vychodí, vychodí ponad kostol hviezda,
coze sa ti, milý, moja krása nezdá,
coze sa ti, milý, moja krása nezdá.
Nezdá sa mi, nezdá, od jedného casu
kedy Tvoje oci premenili lásku…
kedy Tvoje pery premenili lásku…
kedy Tvoje bozky premenili lásku…
We had a lovely Sunday drive today. After attending church in Nitra, we drove north along the mountains to a Salas called Kostrin, where we had an intensely (and deliciously) Slovak lunch. Then we headed further north and east to Bojnice castle. It’s nice to live in a place that is so well seasoned with food for the belly and the soul….
I never thought I would be writing these words, but Trnava actually has a legitimately good sushi bar. It’s called Wasabi, and it is the real deal. I can’t say that it is in the same class as Austin’s Koreana (which, in a nightmare-become-reality, burned down last spring just weeks before I returned for a visit). On the other hand, I can honestly say their Broccoli soup is out of this world, and their maki and nagiri are tasty and fresh, though the variety is limited.
About the soup: it’s a heavenly creamy broccoli soup, with some chunks of fresh salmon, croutons, and topped with shavings of parmesan cheese. And it is unreal.
Oh, one more thing: I will start teaching a conversational English class there next Thursday evening. I plan to accept payment in sushi….
I’ve mentioned before the generosity of Slovaks and their core need to reciprocate any act done on their behalf. One common manifestation of this is that if you invite some Slovaks to dinner, they will never show up empty-handed. Very nice.
Last night proved to be a special instance of this: we invited our friends from Jaslovske Bohunice for dinner, and they showed up not only with a lovely bottle of wine, but with a box full of some homemade Vetrniky! The exclamation point, the boldface type, the italics, and the hedonistic photograph below are justified by these marvelous little caramel-capped, creampuff-like nuggets of wonder.
And Daniela made them well.
I have a confession: I am smitten.
And the object of my affection – my new beloved – may be of the most glorious and agonzing kind: that unattainable love, perhaps that forbidden love, that leads to despairing frustration that can only be ended by the most drastic and unthinkable measures.
My new True Love is not a woman, but the Slovak Language. Alas, she is very much like a woman: to love her is not to understand her.
Sigh.
On Sunday Paula and I played the role of groupies to a musical ensemble called Missio. Their soloist is our friend from Strecno, and she invited us to stay with her family for the weekend. We travelled with the group to Dolny Kubin on Sunday, where they performed in a church that afternoon. Their music is rich, spiritual, haunting – and gorgeous. And I wish I could get it on iTunes.
When I go to a concert of any kind, I watch the musicians closely to see whether they look like they are having fun. Of course, you can’t always tell just from looking; but for some reason I enjoy the music more when the performers are themselves delighting in their own creativity and beauty. I mean by this the delight of humility and simplicity, if that makes sense. And I can tell you that the members of Missio simply enjoyed themselves. (more…)
I’m going to tell two more stories about having my use of Slovak corrected. The stories are representative of a theme of my experience here. I don’t know whether other people learning other languages in other places experience something similar – but I suspect they do. After you read them, I would be happy to hear your theory about why things happen this way – is it something about language, or human nature, or something else?
The first episode happened over a year ago, when I needed to purchase an art canvas for Anya to paint, and to have a photograph printed. I had to go to two different shops, but in both cases I would have to specify the dimensions: “I would like a canvas x cm by y cm”; “I would like a print l cm by w cm.” I was going to these shops right after Slovak, so I asked my tutor how to specify dimensions. She told me to say “x cm za y cm.” That seemed simple enough. (more…)